This is one of my favorite episodes of the series when the "teens" played their parents back in the day. A homage to/dark send up of "The Breakfast Club" guesting Anthony Michael Hall! Great eighties soundtrack (though the "teen spirit" remark sets it in early nineties). Good acting on one of my favorite guilty pleasures. One for the parents I guess.
18 Reviews
Pleasantly surprised
danvalencia-857138 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
There's no doubt that Riverdale's quality has been on the decline since the end of season 1. Saying that, it is still a good laugh since some of the things that happen on the show are nothing short of nonsensical and whacky, and I'm glad the writers aren't making the story overly serious this year like in season 2.
This episode was for the most part a flashback episode, with Alice telling Betty about when she was younger her and her friends (coincidentally every parent of every major character in the show) played Gryphons & Gargoyles (Riverdale's D&D). They young actors played their parents' young counterparts and while at first I thought the idea was a bit cringey and awkward, the results overall were actually pretty positive. There was also a lot of surprising development for all the parents in this episode which was nice to see.
I'm aware that Riverdale's story won't really make any sense. It's just a weekly, zany teen drama which just entertains and this week it did entertain, and I was pleasantly surprised.
This episode was for the most part a flashback episode, with Alice telling Betty about when she was younger her and her friends (coincidentally every parent of every major character in the show) played Gryphons & Gargoyles (Riverdale's D&D). They young actors played their parents' young counterparts and while at first I thought the idea was a bit cringey and awkward, the results overall were actually pretty positive. There was also a lot of surprising development for all the parents in this episode which was nice to see.
I'm aware that Riverdale's story won't really make any sense. It's just a weekly, zany teen drama which just entertains and this week it did entertain, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Blown
asthavchandraker8 November 2018
Something Special
badmanlykme7 November 2018
Riverdale has always exceeded the point of realism and sometimes has shaky dialogue but this episode is stripped back and revamps the series with a one off flashback episode and it really impressed me.
The acting from Lili Reinhart particularly impressed me as she's playing someone with more angst opposed to being light and sweet as she usually is. All the other actors also did a great job and I found it unique that they kept most of the same actors to play the parents.
It's fun and crazy at times but does add more layers to the parents. I really hope we get another flashback episode because right now Riverdale is at its peak.
10/10
The acting from Lili Reinhart particularly impressed me as she's playing someone with more angst opposed to being light and sweet as she usually is. All the other actors also did a great job and I found it unique that they kept most of the same actors to play the parents.
It's fun and crazy at times but does add more layers to the parents. I really hope we get another flashback episode because right now Riverdale is at its peak.
10/10
Apa was the true revelation
hnt_dnl26 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The reason why this show works is because it's incredibly self-aware and pop culture heavy along with a spot on casting, but admittedly, at times I wish the teens would talk more like normal people! This episode provided that huge relief. I've been reading reviews and they are all praising LIli Reinhart as Young Alice Cooper, but in fact the true best and most spot on performance was delivered by KJ Apa as Young Fred Andrews. It was uncanny and eerie how much Apa embodied Fred in his speech patterns, body language, facial tics, demeanor, and personality. I've always thought Apa was one of the better actors on the show and Archie has always been one of my favorite characters, but this episode proved me right that when given the proper material, he's leaps and bounds better than most. Make no mistake, Reinhart was exceptional as Young Alice, but Apa was just simply sublime as Fred. The other actors were generally good, save for Camilla Mendes as Young Hermione. I couldn't see an ounce of Hermione in her performance, which is no surprise as Mendes is easily the worst actor on the entire series. But I will say her acting in Season 3 is somehow not nearly as bad as it was the first 2 seasons. The main thing I loved about this fun bottle episode is that all the actors who play the teens actually got to sound like normal teens as they were playing the younger versions of their parents. They sounded authentic. The supernatural game subplot was just secondary as I spent the bulk of my time marveling at how the writers and actors captured the teen spirit of the early 90s and also ecstatic at getting to see one of my favorite 80s teen movie icons Anthony Michael Hall in a cheeky cameo role as Principal Featherhead. This episode was loads of fun!
Brilliant
chrissyelizabeth-1456331 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I love this episode and I loved seeing everyone play the parts of their parents in the flashbacks. I thought that Cole Sprouse did a great job as F.P. and his backstory was enlightening into the way F.P. is as an adult and as a parent because in this ep young F.P. said that while he may end up drinking and living in a trailer just like his father he would never hit his kid which he stuck to because as much as he puts Jughead through he's never physically abusive to his son and he loves Jughead and is very fiercely protective of him.
Far off from the expectations.
Azanspy24 November 2018
I had a great feeling that this would be the best Riverdale episode ever. But it was really bad for that. The flashback was shown in the same manner as every episode without much difference and the suspense too was not well enough. Only the costumes were good. A good opportunity wasted.
Unoriginal and a cliche
christinemacapaz8 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Half of the episode is just a knockoff of The Breakfast Club and using the main characters to play their parents just seems like an easy solution. Using the same actors for completely different characters makes the new "characters" seem unreliable. The whole episode was just one big cliche.
Amazing
fabiodenotti11 November 2018
What the heck happened
bigjazzfamboi8 November 2018
Wow this has gotten bad
jlamb-571118 November 2018
Midnight club = breakfast club
casper_vif8 November 2018
This made me stop following the show
johan-magnuseriksson-185-973836 March 2019
All of season tree has just been incoherent and stupid.
The show has never made sense but in the first two seasons that was what made the show great.
Now it more and no sense has become nonsense.
To bad because I really liked the show and had high hopes for season 3. But my time as a viewer is over.
Thank you
The show has never made sense but in the first two seasons that was what made the show great.
Now it more and no sense has become nonsense.
To bad because I really liked the show and had high hopes for season 3. But my time as a viewer is over.
Thank you
Train wreck
uzzie-357-51657925 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
You get so used to the characters being who they are and then they do the laziest and cheesiest flashback episode where everyone becomes their parents' younger selves. Even as the story was playing along you need to keep track that Veronica is actually Hermione for things to make sense and it just seems like a whole bungling screw up as you need to keep reattaching the faces to their new names for anything to make even one bit of sense.
Didn't go as well as they hoped perhaps. Not entirely terrible as a passing the time sort of show but the episode made it hard to follow and digest
Didn't go as well as they hoped perhaps. Not entirely terrible as a passing the time sort of show but the episode made it hard to follow and digest
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
