‘Riverdale’s’ musical episode a revelatory mix of good and odd

Foreground, from left: KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes and Jordan Calloway

Teen angst and sprightly singing enliven a musical episode of “Riverdale,” but a temporary change in storytelling doesn’t alter the dark tone of the increasingly dispiriting interpretation of the comics-inspired high schoolers.

Initially, the inclusion of musical numbers in the drama feels like the teen scenarios from “Glee,” but in typical “Riverdale” fashion, the students adapt “Carrie: The Musical,” inspired by Stephen King’s horror story about a telekinetic girl who snaps after being bullied by the school’s popular students.

The play, directed by the show’s gay guy Kevin (Casey Cott), brings together girls who have “real” conflicts: Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch), the self-appointed star of the show, is working with Josie (Ashleigh Murray), who finds the former’s behavior freaky; and Veronica (Camila Mendes) faces the music, as her frenemy Betty (Lili Reinhart) calls her out for offenses against their own clique.

Tumultuous bonds

And this being “Riverdale,” the adults get involved in some way in the school production—revealing not only their thoughts on the matter, but on their tumultuous bonds with their children.

Betty’s oft-problematic mom Alice (Mädchen Amick) addresses a gnawing fear; while Cheryl’s enmity with her own mother Penelope (Nathalie Boltt) escalates.

Reinhart surprises with a lovely voice.

The musical numbers are revelatory, for the actors and their characters. Reinhart surprises with a lovely and playful voice, easily the best among the group. Mendes and Petsch are no slouches in the vocal department, able to shine in separate performances.

Archie (KJ Apa), however, gets to sing considerably less lines from a few songs. Still, the male cast members look good, and complement the singers’ performances with decent dance moves. Brooding Jughead (Cole Sprouse) skips the numbers altogether, and documents the making of the musical, instead.

Show-stopper

While the songs are nicely done, they have little recall, and tend to sound alike.
“Glee” was helped by a vast catalog of covers, but original songs can be funny and catchy, like in the ongoing “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and the musical episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” ages ago.
It’s hard to differentiate the songs here.

But, the musical sticks to the stressful and disconcerting mood the show has established since its debut. There’s a literal show-stopper that abruptly ends the proceedings—announcing the return of the mysterious villain Black Hood, who shows off his handiwork in a typically gruesome manner.

It could’ve been so much more, but this episode advances several subplots in a livelier-than-usual way, and is a breather of sorts from the regular routine.