Riverdale Season 7 Episode 15 Review: Miss Teen Riverdale
Justin Carreiro
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The race is on to win the Miss Riverdale Teen Dream pageant.
No RuPaul's Drag Race judges were needed on Riverdale Season 7 Episode 15. The drama was upfront on camera and backstage for who would snatch the crown.
It's another '50s-inspired tale for the teens of Riverdale 1955. A campy pageant plot is all fun and good, but it can't distract us from asking: what happened to the murder mystery part of Riverdale Season 7?
"Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Two: Miss Teen Riverdale" sometimes felt like a different show. A chapter that would be closer to the original Archie Comics than an episode of the dark and eerie Riverdale.
As this new reboot has gone on, those murder mystery elements have gone away. If you compared this chapter to Riverdale Season 1 Episode 1, it would be like night and day. It doesn't feel like Riverdale anymore.
One of the problems hurting Riverdale Season 7 has been a mixture of retreading high school plots and the inconsistency in characters.
With this time travel twist to Riverdale 1955, it has forced the characters to relive teen stories. We've had multiple seasons of Riverdale set in high school, so these storylines aren't breaking new ground. But a trip to the past would work better if it's willing to tackle something new.
A story about an underdog overcoming naysayers and proving them wrong to get the crown has been done to death.
Hal: And the title of Miss Riverdale Teen Queen 1955 is…
Alice: Ethel Muggs.
Sure, there were character beats that added excitement to the storyline, but we could've predicted how this would turn out at the start of the episode. (I even guessed the outcome once Ethel fantasized about competing.)
We're only a few episodes away from Riverdale's series finale. We need more to end this series on a high; the 1950s-centric storylines aren't doing it anymore.
Ethel's dream of winning Miss Riverdale Teen Dream was heartwarming and sad.
Her daydream exposed a lot about her inner wants, but more importantly, it was a good reminder of her story. Ethel has suffered a lot during Riverdale Season 7!
Between her parents being murdered, her being accused of murder, and her being taken to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, she's dealt with many blows. She has overcome so much and still tried to stay positive. Ethel is the story that doesn't fit into Riverdale's perfect image.
To her, winning the pageant would be the quick fix to wash away all the horror of the past.
I liked that she acknowledged what she wanted in life and how unfair the town was to someone like her. She's been abandoned and thrown into situations, like the murder rumors on Riverdale Season 7 Episode 3, and has had to react.
Ethel has never had the power, but her coming clean to Betty was a great step toward achieving her goals in life.
We won't know if her winning the pageant will drastically change everything, especially since the judges didn't get their real winner. The best guess is that the town could start warming up to her again.
She is the first Miss Riverdale Teen Drama to win live on national television. That credit would be too hard for some people to ignore and for the town to mistreat her again.
The big conflict of "Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Two: Miss Teen Riverdale" wasn't that big. The stakes barely threatened the contestants once they got Ethel into the pageant.
Let's break it down: the teens would drop out if Ethel couldn't compete. Alice and Hal couldn't run their show if the teens dropped out. So, Ethel had to compete.
It's a simple solution to a simple problem. And based on the tropes of this plot, we all knew she would compete.
Betty: Ethel, you’re so beautiful. Why aren’t you competing?
Ethel: I couldn’t. You heard what your mom said about being Miss Riverdale Teen Queen. She’s supposed to embody the best of the town. Be Riverdale’s ideal girl. That’s not me, Betty. I’m the girl whose parents were murdered. The girl who’s quiet and likes comic books and draws creepy pictures. No one in their right mind would crown me Miss Riverdale Teen Queen.
Where's the excitement? Where are the stakes?
Ethel would've been fine if she didn't win a high school beauty pageant. All the girls, including Ethel, would understand if someone else won. They'd be upset, but they'd all move on.
The real draw came in the side plots that surrounded the pageant storyline. For example, Midge and Fangs' latest baby trouble.
Did anyone else hate Alice for spilling the beans about Midge's pregnancy to her mother?
It was none of Alice's business, but she destroyed someone's life to protect her image. It was one consistent element of Alice in 1955 that cuts deep because we've seen a better, kinder version of her starting on Riverdale Season 3. I miss that Alice.
Betty: Okay, wait, so Midge and Fangs have actually…
Toni: Yes, Betty.
Betty: Just once or multiple times?
Veronica: From the way those two would look at each other, I’m guessing they were doing the deed on the reg.
Hopefully, Fangs can get that hit song and gold record quickly!
Midge being forced to stay at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy is a dangerous situation. The Sisters will do anything to punish and conform their patients; Midge is way too sweet to be stuck in a terrible place like that. Karma will get Alice one day for what she did.
Speaking of Alice, her scenes with Betty were the best parts of the chapter by far.
You could feel the tension between them. Every line of dialogue was a little barb that cut deep, something that seemed so sweet and innocent, but their one-liners were masking their honest thoughts deep inside.
Alice's obsession with the pageant and the picture-perfect look of the winner seemed like she was overcompensating. She was way too invested, even for someone who was a past winner.
Her chat with Betty sheds a lot of light on the real Alice hiding below the "perfect" 1950s housewife.
Does anyone else think Alice regrets not being a stewardess?
She would never admit it, but I felt she wished she could be traveling the world instead of being married to Hal. Their fight in the bedroom was very heated, and Alice looked sad when she brought up her old dreams. It felt like a life she'd rather have.
It could be one of the reasons why she bumps heads with Betty so much. Betty continually tries to push for growth and explore the world outside Riverdale, while Alice gave up those dreams to create something in town.
Alice: You know, I was Miss Riverdale Teen Queen back in my day.
Betty: I know. Everyone knows.
Alice: The night I was crowned, it was the greatest night of my life. I thought I could do anything. Be anything. You know, well, it’s silly, but I thought I might grow up to be a stewardess and travel the world to see glamorous places.
Betty: You wanted to be a stewardess? That I did not know.
That resentment and need to keep the perfect image built up a wall (and delusion!) that has made her one of the villains of Riverdale Season 7.
Hopefully, Alice drops that wall. Her tears -- after Betty said she loved her -- showed there was some hope within her. She wouldn't have helped Ethel win if she didn't care, even a little.
Last Thoughts From Sweetwater River:
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Evelyn Evernever is the comic relief. Every quip and one-liner sent her way was funnier and more cutting than the last.
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What was up with the guys at the diner? Their behavior seemed so off; most of them didn't seem like the characters we've come to know all these episodes. They wouldn't be that excited and overdramatic about a pageant.
- Alice can't ever deny it going forward. Betty had what it took to be Miss Riverdale Teen Dream.
Now, over to you, Riverdale fans.
What did you think of "Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Two: Miss Teen Riverdale"?
Will Alice ever drop her guard with Betty? Did you expect the twist with Ethel's win? Who did you want to win the pageant?
If you missed the latest episode of Riverdale, you can watch Riverdale online via TV Fanatic. Come back here and share your thoughts in the comments below.
Justin Carreiro was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
