I never write reviews, but Riverdale is a special case, for which I'm making an exception. [And this one star is for S1-S4. I'd give the rest 0 or negative stars if I could.]
What happened to this series??? I used to love it so much! I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and the way they portrayed first love in S1. And the fact that they decided NOT to go for the comic book's ever present struggle between Betty and Veronica to "get" Archie. It was a new and refreshing take and I relished that! While the plots in S2 & S3 were beginning to get crazier, the show was still entertaining to watch and I had gotten attached to the characters, so I tuned in.
It all started going downhill after 4x16 with the cheating sub-plot. Season 5 had some potential that sadly never materialised and then the show went completely off the rails! With all the crazy witch stuff, different timelines, etc., it ruined EVERY SINGLE ONE of its characters, all of their development and turned into a steaming pile of nonsensical garbage with no real stakes whatsoever. It used to be my favourite show and it declined so quickly and turned into something that I could no longer recognise or care about.
I don't know what happened in the writing room, but I've never seen a beloved show being destroyed so quickly and so completely - inexistent plot, complete character assassination, intolerable preaching to the audience. You'd think those writers would check the ratings for some indication of how well they are doing their jobs, but why would they? Judging by some of the things I've read them say, they believe they've created some unappreciated masterpiece and it is the fans who do not understand. Yes, right.
As someone who used to be a huge fan, all I can say is to the creators is - shame on you for destroying your story and your characters and for depriving us from the enjoyment we got from this show...