u/Sad_Interview_5685

I am currently on my third watchthrough of Riverdale and once again have experienced the pure joy of this episode. It is without a doubt my favourite episode of Riverdale, the fourth in the Season 6 Rivervale mini-series. I am going to put it out there and declare it an absolute masterpiece. Why do I bestow upon it this ultimate accolade ? For many reasons. Let us start with the absolutely stellar performance of Madelaine Petsch, who portrays three generations of Blossom women in the most skilful and nuanced way. Madelaine should have been awarded an Emmy or whatever the appropriate award is for her incredible acting in this episode. She just lights it up.

There are other factors that elevate this episode into the stratosphere. The choice of music was perfect and incredibly moving, the lighting was excuisite, the scene framing and camera work were masterful. Oh yes and a certain young Witch from Greendale shows up towards the end. In short , a simply magical episode.

So I am on my third watchthrough of Riverdale now and yes I love the show. It is bonkers and insane and it doesn't care and I really get that. However there is one aspect of the show that sticks in my craw and I cannot seem to get past it, namely the writers treatment of my favourite character, Cheryl Blossom, specifically their treatment of her trauma and obvious psychological issues.

Let's break it down Cheryl experiences an overwhelming amount of trauma. Her father murders her twin brother and hangs himself. Her mother emotionally abuses her and sends her to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy for conversion therapy, she survives an attempted sexual assault and a suicide attempt. Rather than exploring the psychological aftermath, the writers often glossed over these events after one or two episodes to the next shock twist.

I was especially shocked by Cheryl's suicide attempt by drowning in Sweetwater River and how, after being rescued ( well played Archiekins), she returns to school almost immediately, and her friends treat the event casually. You could argue, and I do, that treating Cheryl's suicide as a mere temporary dramatic hurdle, rather than a severe medical crisis, romanticises and trivialises actual mental health struggles.

So what happens next with Cheryl? Well rather than be given the help she needs the writers lean into gothic tropes to represent her unstable mental state. The absolute corker here is Cheryl keeping the taxidermied corpse of her dead brother Jason in her home with whom she has regular conversations. Now folks come on..at this point Cheryl is clearly very ill indeed. Credit to Madelaine Petcsh for how she performed in those scenes it must have been a hell of a challenge. I believe this just turns Cheryl's trauma and grief into an eccentric caricature rather than handling it with any kind of clinical or emotional sensitivity.

And therein lies the rub..because I feel the writers missed a golden opportunity to highlight an issue like mental health and treat it with grace and dignity, like they did so well with Fred Andrews death and Archie's grief journey. I feel Cheryl's character deserved so much more. As someone who has had his fair share of mental health struggles in the past I feel particularly attuned to Cheryl's plight.

I thank you so much if you have read this through to the end, and if anyone here is struggling with issues of their own I urge them to reach out and get the help that is out there. I wish you all good luck and as Cheryl herself would say...Toodles !