When I sit down to watch an episode of Riverdale, here’s what I like to see. I like some sleuthing. I like ridiculous off-brand product names. I like dialogue and performances that actually make me laugh. I like some social commentary. This episode had it all!
Okay, maybe it didn’t have a truly jaw-dropping cliffhanger. Maybe it continued to keep Jughead isolated from everybody else. And maybe Fangs could never have opened for Ritchie Valens in 1955 because he was was fourteen years old and not yet famous. But reader, I didn’t care because I was watching Archie and Reggie/Betty and Veronica/Jughead and Tabitha/Cheryl and Toni fall in love1.
“American Graffiti” pivots on two important 1950s themes: American car culture and various tactics of the Second Red Scare. Do these seem like tonal opposites? Maybe, but don’t worry! This is why Jughead is kept separate from everyone else, I guess.
At the end of last episode, Sheriff Keller decided to outsource his damn job to Jughead. Forgive me, I watched the episode several days ago, so I can’t exactly remember why Keller comes to Jughead. It doesn’t really make sense with Keller’s stance as the episode goes on—namely, that Raybury’s death isn’t worth investigating because he was un-American (translation: a war protester, a suspected communist, and mentally ill). Throughout the episode, Jughead and Tabitha uncover that Raybury had one additional “un-American” trait: he was married to a Black woman.
A little U.S. history reminder: interracial marriage bans were not declared unconstitutional until 1967, although New York state (where Riverdale is set) never enacted any anti-miscegenation laws. However, Brad and his wife June moved to South Carolina to be close to June’s family, where they were obviously met with violence. The two had been living long distance to keep each other safe, and June reveals to Jughead and Tabitha that Brad had written to her as recently as a couple weeks ago about his plans to make enough money from his writing to move their family to Europe—not the actions of a man who was going to take his life.
The Brad/June story is obviously in the show to set up a conscious parallel with 1950s Jughead and Tabitha’s budding romance, but the actress who plays June, Robinne Fanfair, does a great job of making her feel three-dimensional. I don’t love how the show felt the need to emphasize that Brad wasn’t a communist—it plays into the liberal/centrist narrative about McCarthyism, that unchecked witchunts for commies are bad because normal, non-commies could get hurt in the crossfire, not because government persecution based on political party is bad!—but maybe this is because they remembered that they sort of based this character on an author whose politics were decidedly mixed, but never very socialist.
Quick rundown of Brad Raybury and Ray Bradbury, with similarities highlighted
Brad Raybury: Writer, WWII veteran, anti-war protestor, worked as a janitor, went to a few communist meetings
Ray Bradbury: Writer, unfit for military service due to poor eyesight, anti-war protestor, worked as a writer professionally, never went to a communist meeting2
I’ll also commend the Riverdale writers for not sequestering the discussion of interracial relations to this plot only. A subplot in this episode is Toni’s Black literary club, Black Athena, where Riverdale’s black students (including two new unnamed characters who nevertheless get ample speaking time) discuss works by Black authors. There is some tension when Cheryl expresses an interest in attending a meeting and Toni rebuffs her, only for Cheryl to later find out that Clay lets Kevin attend. Cheryl continues on her journey of allyship and everyone is allowed to express varied opinions about the works of Ralph Ellison, Zora Neale Hurston, and Richard Wright. Good job!
Meanwhile, Archie and Reggie bond over cars when Frank finally gives Archie his hot rod back. Betty and Veronica’s pursuit of these respective flutter bums doesn’t go according to plan, as each boy seems more interested in the car/each other than the gal on their arm. Archie lets Reggie borrow his precious car for a date with Veronica, and when Reggie returns it at an extremely late hour, they have a scene together not unlike the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode “Mac and Dennis Move to the Suburbs”.
When Archie and Reggie’s aggressive flirting/dick measuring contest ends up leaving the four of them (Betty and Veronica having talked them into a double date) out of gas and stranded, the boys and the girls split up. Reggie confesses how homesick and insecure he feels, and Archie confesses that his dad was his best friend and he’s so protective of the car because that was the last thing they shared. We even maintain some continuity with Reggie’s struggle with racism, when he asks Archie, “Am I too uppity for you?” The next day, Archie is cockblocked by Betty, who is helping Reggie fix up an old car that Reggie wants to call “Bella”.
Stray observations
Because it’s too early in the timeline to ask about “Jackie or Marilyn”, we instead have the men of the Andrews household debating “Elizabeth Taylor or Marilyn”.
Betty and Veronica then engage in their own version, “Brando or Newman”. Please, I’m still shellshocked from the DeNiro or Pacino wars.
When Betty suggests they use public transit for their date, Archie is disgusted. And I was disgusted right back at him!
Uncle Frank is inconsistently decent in this episode.
I kind of like that Clay is a mansplainer. He has a flaw!
That Archie and Reggie grabbing for the keys moment…yes.
Followed closely by Veronica saying, “Who cares about the boys?”
Pop gives Reggie Bella in this universe…I also wonder if Pop is canonically Riverdale’s guardian angel this time around.
When Archie says his dad was his best friend, Reggie asks, isn’t his best friend that guy, Soupcup or something? No, Reggie! Apparently they are not best friends anymore, and I hate it.
Archie, wondering where Reggie is: “Where else is there in Riverdale to go other than Pop’s?”
Old time slang words of the week: So many good ones! Archie says “What the frig?” and “You’re itching for a switching” within the first several minutes. While “fantabulous” struck me as modern, its first U.S. usage was apparently in the 1950s. Fangs utters the incredible sentence, “They'll never jive with us getting circled.” I’m assuming this means getting married, but cannot track down any history of this usage. I can’t remember who says “gringle”, but apparently that means worry.
Real life product names: While Patricia Highsmith and Ray Bradbury are fictionalized, along with their novels, Riverdale has elected to keep all its Black writers as the real-world versions (probably a good idea). Toni’s club discusses Invisible Man, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Native Son.
Will we actually learn something about the milkman next episode? Will Archie and Reggie actually kiss? Stay tuned!
I guess Fangs and Midge fall in love too, but I’m not particularly interested in them.
You're so right -- I didn't even notice the POC writers having their names left intact. Can't help but wonder if it's a deliberate unsettling of The Canon OR if the writers feel uneasy changing those specific authors' names. Either way, it's effective!
Great write-up - I look forward to these each week now. Really looking forward to what you have to say about this past week's episode, because WOWZERS that was something.