'Riverdale' Season 4 Episode 8 'In Treatment' Review: It's therapy time for traumatized teenagers of the town
This review contains spoilers for 'Riverdale' Season 4 Episode 8 'In Treatment'
Senior year is meant to be a defining period in a teenager's life. Instead, the teens in Riverdale have been battered, bruised, traumatized and safe to say, on the edge. 'In Treatment' gives them that much-needed time to destress and reassess. Guess the teens have Mr Honey (Kerr Smith) to thank after he decides to bring in a sweet-toothed, patient and a kind-faced Mrs Burble (Gina Torres) to counsel the students of Riverdale High.
Breakdowns were the theme of the episode. Starting off from Betty (Lili Reinhart) who has trust issues with her mother, to Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) who has had her own share of turmoil, each of the core four cries out their issues and each time, there's Mrs Burble giving them expert counsel. That this is Riverdale and no one can be trusted is a phrase that springs to mind the minute we see Torres' Burble. However, she does make some great headway.
Three seasons of Riverdale hasn't seen this. There have been musicals, dances, parties— things the teens did to distract themselves. But this one gives them a chance to have some expert opinion by their side. In Burble, they see a woman who listens to their laundry list of insane stunts they have pulled and the horrific things that have happened to them. And not for a minute does she judge them for all that has happened.
Moving on from Betty, Archie (KJ Apa) has probably spent more time at his community center than school. His nights are a rush when he does a vigilante job taking down the scum of the town. And it came with consequences. His mother, Mary Andrews (Molly Ringwald), was almost killed after the Dodger debacle and Archie is just hurt and helpless. Sweet, yet sound advice, comes in the form of Mrs Burble who urges Archie to take a non-violent, but strategic route.
Veronica Luna Nee Lodge (Camila Mendes) may have made it to Harvard, but there's support from Hiram (Mark Consuelos) and that infuriates here. The wise counselor nails it when she says Ronnie is obsessed with her father and diagnoses her with the Oedipus and Electra complexes. This means cutting the relationship with Hiram and she does so in her own style by challenging him. She rejects Harvard, gets into Yale and promises him about making sure she burns his business to the ground.
For Jug (Cole Sprouse), it is about living a simple life. Be the son his dad wanted him to be. Jug snaps out and realizes his mistakes. He decides to focus on solving the mystery at Stonewall Prep, but also not miss out on academics while at it. He makes it up with FP (Skeet Ulrich) by giving him a warm hug.
In all, this is a refresher of an episode. That videotape storyline is back, but again, vanishes just as fast as it appears. The Flash Forward sees Archie, Betty, and Ronnie in the precinct with Brett and Donna identifying them as Jug's killers. Not that the world would believe them anyway, but it was a jolt that shook up a rather surprisingly well-written chapter.
'Riverdale' still has 15 episodes left and there's a lot of ground to cover. For now, it has managed to dish out ludicrous, yet compelling episodes so far and 'In Treatment' doesn't disappoint.
'Riverdale' Season 4 airs on Wednesdays 8 pm on The CW.