Riverdale gay

Since Riverdale returned from its winter hiatus, we’ve been eating up every episode.

We know “subtle” and “Riverdale” don’t really go together, but jeez. He is the first openly gay character in Archie Comics history, and his introduction was met with both praise and criticism. The play went on as Weird Comic Book Fantasy with character names changed.

While we’ll be surprised if Aguirre-Sacasa ends up adapting Archie’s Weird Fantasy for a Riverdale arc, it does explain why he’s so comfortable with changing the Archie characters while staying (somewhat) true to their original personalities.

Kevin’s character is portrayed with sensitivity and depth, and his storyline explores the struggles that LGBTQ youth face, including coming out and dealing with discrimination.

The introduction of Kevin’s character in Riverdale was met with widespread acclaim from the LGBTQ community, who welcomed the inclusion of a positive gay role model. It’s perpetually in conversation with its source material, and the idyllic ‘50s Americana that the world of Archie Comics upholds. 

Like Twin Peaks (its greatest influence), the show argues that there is a deep sickness underlying this suburban paradise.

You could ponder why this world contains both the real-life Smith College and the fictitious Highsmith College. At the end of Season 6, the characters in Riverdale are sent back in time to the 1950s, where they play the same characters, but without any memory of their past in the 21st century. His presence also led to the formation of the Archie Comics’ “Love is Love” anthology, which featured stories from different characters across the Archie universe dealing with LGBTQ themes.

The creation of Kevin Keller marked a significant turning point for Archie Comics and for LGBTQ representation in comics in general.

These characters’ primary ambition is to outrun the sins of their parents, but they reflect their generational curses, and vice versa. Archie’s Weird Fantasy was a play about Archie Andrews coming out as gay and moving to New York. It’s a ‘50s where people use words like “heteronormative,” “polyamorous,” and “videos.” It’s also a ‘50s wherein our heroes have been given a moral imperative to “bend towards justice” in order to prevent a forthcoming apocalypse.

In the first episode, “Chapter One: The River’s Edge,” Jughead describes that “Riverdale was not the same town as before… it was a town of shadows and secrets now.” But with time, we learn that this teenage tragedy was no aberration. At the end of the episode, it’s revealed that all three of these characters are Abigail, cursed to live forever and reinventing herself through the decades.

This is literally true in Rivervale, but it reflects a more metaphorical truth of Riverdale.

However, it’s also possible that Betty and Jughead’s relationship is simply a representation of a close friendship.

The answer to whether Betty from Riverdale is straight or not is not clear-cut. Literally, this is Casey Cott playing Tom, but in a certain dramaturgical sense, it’s Kevin playing Tom. (For what it’s worth, present-day Tom (Martin Cummins) later has a secret gay love affair with Frank Andrews (Ryan Robbins).) 

This way of thinking doesn’t just apply to this particular episode.

The show’s writers have taken care to show that being gay is just one aspect of Kevin’s personality and not the defining one.

One of the reasons that Kevin’s character has been so well-received is that his storyline is not solely focused on his sexuality. And Riverdale‘s queerness isn’t a new thing; it’s been there since the beginning.

Queer Riverdale beginnings

Riverdale was created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and is produced by Greg Berlanti.

As such, he’s been much more involved with the story.