*Contains spoilers!*

After the cliffhanger Season 2 finale of Riverdale, the show is back for its third season and it hasn’t disappointed. Each season seems to focus on different topics, the first being the murder of Jason Blossom and the second focusing on the mysterious killer The Black Hood while also having sort of a mob undertone. The third season seems like it will  focus on Archie Andrews’ arrest while having a slight supernatural undertone.

The first episode starts off with Jughead Jones sitting in a diner as a voice-over starts. The show then cuts to what the four main characters have done that summer: Veronica Lodge working at the same diner, Betty Cooper helping work on Archie’s case, and Archie with the other three main characters at a creek. It then finally goes to the courtroom where all the characters are present. During this part they go over everything that Archie has done, from forming two vigilante groups, attacking a man who threatened his girlfriend, reckless use of a weapon and the accusation of what Archie’s trial is for. After the judge moves the trial to the Tuesday after Labor Day, he tells Archie that he should spend the time he has with family and loved ones. This then goes to Archie and the gang at the same creek they were before messing around and having fun, which leads into them all sitting at a campfire with each character with their respected significant other. This is when Betty and Jughead explain that Archie can escape the trial by taking a trail and be a free man instead of being in prison for something he never did. When the scene goes back to the courthouse, Archie says he would take the offer that he would go to juvie instead of prison.

The scene then cuts to Archie on the bus going to juvie, looking like he definitely doesn’t belong there. Once they arrive, they go through a process that seems very prison-like and unusual. The place they put Archie seems  shady, strange things go down, and they casually drop hints at what it is. For example, there is an underground fight club that the head of the juvie center holds and takes bets of who will win. The supernatural element of the show comes in with the game Griffins and Gargoyles; the game is an obvious parody of Dungeons and Dragons. The only people so far that have been seen playing this game were Dilton and his friend Ben, which end up both getting written off the show in a later episode. The reason many people are saying that this season has a supernatural element to it is because of the character called the “Gargoyle King.” The character design for the Gargoyle King is something out of a nightmare; it has a bloodied, snout shaped skull, and branches in a wing shape.  

Although I have only covered bits of the episode, I would say the episode itself is definitely taking a darker tone and will definitely be one of my favorite seasons by far.