A lot of anticipation surrounded the season 2 premiere of “Riverdale” last week.  The first Season of “Riverdale” was a smashing success and had excellent timing in its debut, as it emerged right after “Vampire Diaries” left the scene.  Many hardcore “Vampire Diaries” fans were looking for a new teenage drama with an edge to fill their need, and “Riverdale” appeared at just the right time.  A Spin-Off of the original Archie comics, “Riverdale” is anything but simple cheesy drama.  Set in the small town of Riverdale, the series premiered with an unsolvable murder.  Indeed the entire first season was spent finding the killer of a character that we never meet except in flashbacks.

Gritty, dark, humorous and deliciously small-town, “Riverdale” offers us a glimpse into not only high school drama, as the main characters navigate their relationships, but something much more intense–the complicated life of a small town.  Indeed it paints a picture of what greed, wealth, notoriety and betrayal can do to a small town.  Although there isn’t a super natural quality to “Riverdale”, like there was in “Vampire Diaries”, many of the same characteristics are still inherent.  You have your love triangles, mystery, drama, plot twists and above all the teenage angle that provides the perfect back-drop for self-discovery.  The first season was full of plot twists and surprising dark secrets, as well as the blossoming of two new relationships for our main characters.  I won’t divulge too many of the big reveals here, but hurry and binge watch it so that you can catch up!!  I will say that *spoiler alert* the first season ended in an incredibly dramatic scene where Archie’s dad, played by Luke Perry, gets shot in a local diner…

Thus when Season 2 premiered last week, we weren’t sure if Archie’s dad would be alive or dead.  The season premiered with him being rushed to the hospital and a montage of Archie going through the motions to notify friends and family.  Obviously because it is Luke Perry, it was highly doubtful they would kill him off so soon, but you never know.  The first episode of this season then set into motion a new set of roles for many of the characters.  Veronica, now newly involved as Archie’s girlfriend, also welcomes her father, recently released from prison and played by Mark Consuelos–a new character this season–to town.  Molly Ringwald, who plays Archie’s mother, will also be reprising her role in a more permanent capacity this season as she nurses his dad back to health.  We still don’t know who shot Perry or why, but the premiere ended with yet another attack–this one with tragic results.  The same attacker who shot Archie’s father, then goes on to attack Ms. Grundy–Archie’s former music teacher and lover–except this time no one comes to her rescue and she is killed.  Who is this mystery serial killer?  Why has he come to Riverdale?  And what is his connection to the people Archie cares about? No one yet knows. But it is apparent that the threat will be back.  We also don’t yet know what involvement Veronica’s father has in the whole situation.  And let’s not forget psychotic Cheryl.  Who after learning that it was actually *spoiler alert* her father who murdered her brother last season, decides to torch her whole house leaving her mother to practically be burned alive.  Her mother survives but is burned beyond all recognition, and with her father and brother dead, now it appears that Cheryl–as deranged as she is–is in charge of the family empire.

So if you are dying for a good darker drama with a younger spin, then binge watch Season 1 if you haven’t yet! Then you can jump right into season 2 of Riverdale to scratch that itch!