Riverdale Has A Fan Service Problem: The Toxic Relationship Between Twitters Fans And Television Writers
Firstly, I wanna say it’s a free country. People can root for whichever television couple they want. That being said, The CW’s Riverdale has a fan service problem. So, it’s time to dissect how Riverdale keeps indulging its “loudest” Twitter/social media fans (other TV shows have a fan service problem too, but for the purposes of this article, I’m gonna discuss Riverdale).
Bughead (Betty and Jughead) and Varchie (Veronica and Archie) are the root of Riverdale’s fan service problem. Those two couples occupied the majority of Seasons 1–4, and to the detriment of Riverdale, it looks like the show is circling back to its fan service problem in Season 5. Episodes 1–3 of Season 5 were the last three episodes of the high school years. Therefore, if I was in the mood to be generous, I’d say it’s understandable that those episodes wrapped up Bughead and Varchie. Whether Bughead and Varchie should’ve continued that long is a different matter, though.
Anyway, the time jump — which began with Season 5 Episode 4 — was supposed to be a breath of fresh air for Riverdale. And for a moment, the time jump was invigorating. Barchie (Betty and Archie) fans finally got what they wanted. Betty and Archie hooked up at the end of Season 5 Episode 5. And their FWB arrangement continued until the end of Season 5 Episode 8. Betty and Archie ended things when Archie admitted he still had feelings for Veronica.
There was no reason for Riverdale to circle back to Varchie. The relationship between Archie and Veronica is trashy at best. In Season 5 Episode 3 (the show’s high school graduation episode), Veronica begged Archie to have sex one last time (even though they were broken up). Having Veronica beg Archie for sex one last time was cringe worthy. The incident further proves how Veronica and Archie’s relationship basically only consists of them having sex at inappropriate times. While there’s nothing wrong with portraying consensual, sex positivity in pop culture, Veronica and Archie’s inappropriate hookups reveal how they have nothing in common besides sex. As a result, returning to Varchie felt stale. And there was only one reason Riverdale did that. Because the show has a fan service problem. Varchie fans happen to be extremely “loud” on social media, particularly Twitter — almost like a child throwing a temper tantrum. But “loudest” fans doesn’t equal most popular couple. If you scroll through Twitter or other social media platforms, you’ll see that Barchie is quite popular. The only difference is that Barchie fans might be a little less vocal than Varchie fans. Also, if the gender dynamics were reversed in the graduation episode — meaning a guy begged a girl for sex — we’d be using a certain word to describe that encounter.
Riverdale also has a fan service problem with Bughead. Bughead remain broken up, but that couple should’ve never been allowed to continue so long. Part of the problem is the age of Bughead fans — I’ll leave it to readers to guess the age group that lacks maturity. The stars who portrayed Bughead previously dated, and Bughead fans can’t separate real from reel. Nothing wrong if those fans don’t ship (root for) Betty and Archie. But a couple dating IRL should have zero impact on the plot of the TV show.
The problem with excessive fan service is it rewards the brattiest and “loudest” fans, which only makes those fans feel more entitled. Riverdale had an opportunity to do something new and fresh with the time jump, yet messed that up within five episodes of the time jump. And that’s both pathetic and embarrassing. There’s no reason for Riverdale to keep indulging Varchie fans. Both Varchie and Bughead have been explored ad nauseum. Also, writing a TV show isn’t a group project. It’s okay for fans to feel the way they do, but Showrunners/TV writers shouldn’t feel obligated to indulge these temper tantrums. It’s clear that Barchie have the best chemistry out of Barchie, Bughead, and Varchie. Barchie therefore deserve to be endgame. Betty and Archie just belong together. All Bughead has is solving mysteries together and a common sibling because of their parents (FP and Alice), while Varchie just have sex at inappropriate times. So, let’s not pretend that Bughead and Varchie are epic romances. It’s time to leave Bughead and Varchie where they belong — in the past.