'Riverdale' Season 4 Episode 18 Preview: Tickle-porn trio and videotape mystery comes to focus in 'Lynchian'
'Riverdale' announced its entry after a bit of a hiatus with a musical and the controversial Barchie kiss. With that, it's back to the typical unabashed, audacious drama that brings with it a heightened sense of suspense as it closes in on another successful season. As of April 28, the show's rating on Rotten Tomatoes stands at a healthy 84% and that's proof that The CW's subversive teen drama has managed to pull off a four-peat in terms of ratings.
The upcoming episode, 'Lynchian', is a film-related term that joins Tarantinoesque, Kubrickian, Spielbergian, Altmanesque and Capraesque officially as part of the Oxford dictionary’s ensuing lexicon. As reported by Consequence of Sound, Lynchian is defined as "characteristic, reminiscent, or imitative" of the works of 'Mulholland Drive' filmmaker David Lynch. The dictionary adds that "Lynch is noted for juxtaposing surreal or sinister elements with mundane, everyday environments, and for using compelling visual images to emphasize a dreamlike quality of mystery or menace."
Now as far as picking keywords like sinister and surreal go, we have two theories from the synopsis that fit the bill. The official synopsis reads: "Jughead and Charles follow a new lead after the contents of the latest videotape take a sinister turn; Kevin, Reggie, and Fangs take their latest business venture to the next level; Cheryl and Veronica's maple rum business faces a new threat."
So the tickle-porn trio has a sinister scheme and the Barchie promo released after the end of Episode 17 is pretty surreal. That said, it does look like Charles (Wyatt Nash) is yet to put his demented plan that he's concocted with Chic (Hart Denton) into motion meaning the Barchie storyline might take a bit of a backseat. An extended sneak peek shows Reggie (Charles Melton), Fangs (Drew Ray Tanner) and Kevin (Casey Cott) at Pop's where Reggie suggests a plan of dumping Terry so as to manage the tickle-porn business on their own.
Simple plan: The moolah they rake in funds their community college education.
You can watch the sneak peek here:
It is pretty refreshing to see Kevin and Reggie get some much-needed screentime. Both characters had great storylines in the previous seasons and fans will be pleased to see these actors on-screen. The plot still adds to a part of the episode and it's interesting to see how it pans out for the trio.
What are your thoughts on 'Lynchian'?
'Riverdale' Season 4 airs on Wednesdays at 8 pm ET on The CW.