Riverdale (4×07) The Ice Storm Review

For our review of last episode, click here.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, Archie visits the grave of his father as he prepares for the first holiday without him. Running unopposed, Hiram becomes mayor of Riverdale. And with Dodger now stable in the hospital, his family looks for revenge against those that almost took him away. Here’s what happened in “The Ice Storm.”

With a giant ice storm hitting the area around Riverdale, each of the groups are stuck in situations with their least favourite people and with nowhere to turn tensions hit the ultimate boiling point. Veronica and Archie put a Thanksgiving dinner together for the community centre, but that is crashed by Dodger’s family. Jughead and Betty are stuck at Stonewall with Bret and Donna as they try to uncover a secret society. The Blossoms have a family dinner uncovering their cannibalistic past trying to get their extended family to leave. And Alice, FP, Hiram and Hermione have a very heated dinner at Pop’s.

The world of Riverdale is expected to be filled with absolutely campy and ridiculous storylines and this is becoming increasingly evident through the family history of the Blossoms. Resorting to cannibalism and feeding their uncle to extended family to push them away is such an over-the-top side plot that makes everything else happening in this world seem actually kinda normal.

Meanwhile, some of the other characters are unfortunately becoming less and less relevant as they go through the same cyclical arcs that bring nothing new. This is most prominent in Hiram’s one-beat villain and Jughead’s storyline which has him surrounded by boring, one-dimensional prep school students. Thankfully Betty enters the fray this week and adds some much needed dynamicism to this story as Jughead has someone to actually bounce back and forth with.

However, the episode shines in the contained situation revolving around El Royale as Dodger’s family confronts Archie. The show managed to delicately and gracefully honor the life of Fred Andrews, but it has not forgotten his impact on this world and its characters. He was the moral compass, the piece of Riverdale that made sense and even in death he continues to teach those who loved him some necessary lessons. Archie and Mary both have moments to deal with their loss in this episode, but its Archie’s change in character seen most in this story that shows the impact of Fred. Archie no longer seems confused or unsure of his path. He has purpose, he has focus and that makes for a very likable Archie Andrews.

What did you think of “The Ice Storm”? Let me know in the comments below!

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Dylan Phillips