lystn

New episode out now! We watched the pilot episode of Riverdale, and wow did we have some problems with it! We discuss the CW’s penchant for adapting outside properties into “young, dark, and sexy” content and how that is often problematic, and how while two of us have watched more than one season we barely remember anything because it gets so convoluted. We do cover the awful inclusion of statutory rape, don’t like how the teens are unnecessarily sexualized, decide that the producers are not “woke” for calling themselves out on their cliché writing choices, and discuss who is actually writing this show and for what audience. We do admire the production design and talk about the Twin Peaks vibes it starts with, but ultimately land on the fact that it’s essentially just (bad) Archie fanfiction. Katy steals a joke and then owns up to it, Carrie gets triggered by the portrayal of the publishing industry, Maddy works on her voice acting, and Mack has a deep, deep well of rage inside himself. We aso wonder why Gen Z references Woody Allen movies, pitch a dark Teletubbies law drama, get confused by what MSG is, call out The Little Mermaid’s irresponsible behavior, reminisce about high school, and come to the conclusion that nobody’s really having a great time in Riverdale. Turns out teens doing sexy things makes us uncomfortable! Does that mean we’re old? Anyway, give it a listen! There’s something for everyone?  SERIES SPOILERS TW: Underage sex, statutory rape, incest