Content Warning: This article contains references to murder, kidnap, grief, and other mature themes
If there was ever a show that was hailed for its unbelievable storylines, it's full of abandoned storylines and huge scandals, which are promptly forgotten almost as soon as they are introduced.
Betty, Archie, Veronica, Jughead, Kevin, and Toni seem to be a part of the most gruesome and absurd happenings in the town, leading to some really wild storylines for viewers to watch. From lost children to forgotten serial killers, this is the surreal reality of Riverdale.
The Tickle Circle
In a fairly weird and unnecessary twist, Kevin faced some financial issues. To get him out of this crisis, he got involved in a tickle circle, where he was paid huge amounts of money to make videos, where he tickled or got tickled.
The entire plotline was based on a tickle fetish, which was inappropriate because everyone on the show was in high school and, thus, underage. Moreover, Kevin got everyone involved, including Reggie, and they got together and made weird content in a group. It was one of the wildest plots on the show and was quickly forgotten.
The Farm And The Escape By Rocket
Everything about The Farm was creepy, and the showrunners really built it up across seasons, only for it to end in the most mind-boggling and amusing manner: Edgar Evernever attempting to leave the planet on a rocket the size of half his body.
The cult was quite scary anyway, indoctrinating adults and teenagers alike at an alarming speed. Nobody in town bothered to do anything about it, while kids were getting their organs illegally harvested under everyone's noses, including sweet and nice Cheryl who had been through enough at that point. Along with floating children and the all-white dress code, it was easily one of Riverdale's most absurd stories.
Cheryl's Meetings With Jason's Corpse
Season 3 got even more shocking when Cheryl's secret in her basement was revealed — Jason's embalmed corpse whom she would talk to everyday. While viewers understood that Cheryl and her brother shared an inexplicably close bond, this just took it took far.
Losing Jason was the worst thing that happened to Cheryl and it was quite upsetting that the writers didn't take her pain or grief seriously enough (and that none of the other characters did either). It also took away from the emotional "farewell" that Cheryl finally gave to Jason.
The Charles And Chic Saga
Riverdale excels when it comes to complex family relations, and the Joneses and Coopers were at the forefront of this. Alice and FP had had a baby, whom she had placed for adoption when she was a teenager. However, when Alice was older, she discovered that she had crossed paths with her son again. Except, this Charles was an imposter, whose real name was Chic, and was known for a number of shady things, including murder.
The real Charles then made his debut as an FBI agent, but he, too, was a serial killer. Weirder still, he was Chic's longtime lover. They reunited in prison, and then escaped and tried to kill a bunch of other people. It was just one more thing about Riverdale that didn't make sense.
The Auteur
Yet again, showrunners spent a huge amount of time on the Auteur and their creepy home videos, which were sent around to households in the town. The videos culminated in a gruesome murder too, and instead of a big bad being behind the videos, it turned out to be, rather anti-climactically, Jellybean.
Although she didn't commit any murders, her videos inspired someone to. Her snuff films were merely a cry for help, as she wasn't getting the attention she deserved from her brother or folks. Riverdale could have done without the Auteur.
Betty And The Serial Killer Gene
So much about Betty has evolved in the course of Riverdale, but her most notable tendencies have been her darker ones. Her dark alter ego at the beginning of the show, combined with her belated findings that she had the "serial killer gene" was pretty out there, and also not really given any resolution.
She ed the FBI to fend off the bad guys instead of becoming one, and also became an almost victim of The Trash Bag Killer. She's done some questionable things, but labeling a teen a serial killer is pretty wild.
Toni Becoming La Llorona
Riverdale was quite a ride for fans of the show, and the isolated storylines of each episode gradually became more and more unbelievable. When the spirit of La Llorona paid a visit to the alternate reality town, everyone was scared for Betty's unborn baby and Toni's own Anthony, but things went way past that.
Toni offers her own life in exchange for Baby Anthony's, but not as a sacrifice, but as La Llorona herself. The earlier spirit had endured enough, and the Serpent Queen turned into the ghostly entity herself to save her child. This was unexpected, to say the least.
The Devil Paying A Visit To Rivervale
The Devil, or Mr. Cypher, was another unique character who made it to Rivervale, and his antics were no less than the other absurd storylines in the show. He targeted all the main characters, getting Kevin's soul for Broadway fame, Jughead's for his ability to write, and Nick St. Clair's because of Veronica.
He was bested by Tabitha and Pop Tate, but still struck a great deal with Veronica, who was going to "skim" him souls every week from Babylonium, starting with Reggie's. The Devil himself making a visit to the town really spelled trouble for it.
Jughead Faking His Own Death
Easily one of the wildest tales concocted on Riverdale, Jughead was able to successfully fake his own death, and had his friends weave an elaborate string of fake romances and wakes to catch Mr. Dupont out on his crimes.
There were many other ways that Jughead and the gang could have proved his crimes, but they chose to go down the most extreme route. People were actually led to believe he was dead, which was another level of dedication to crime-solving by him.
The Mothmen Saga
After labeling them extraterrestrial beings, giving Jughead some serious visions about being abducted, and even having Pop Tate attest to their presence, the Mothmen turned out to be the serial killers on the Lonely Highway, who murdered Polly and countless others.
This story got wilder as they were revealed to be a rogue arm of the Blossom family tree, incestuous as well as murderous to the core. The entire plot was winding and went from aliens, to murder, to incest really quickly.