There's a strong argument to be made for Riverdale being the most extra show on television. No other show manages to pack in as many plot twists, murders, and musical numbers into a single season of television, and most of those television shows aren't based off of long-running all-American comics. However, for all the unique things that Riverdale does as a television show, there is one well that they keep going back to time and time again. That is, of course, having young men of Riverdale fight each other in large groups.
There's a lot of conflict going on in Riverdale, causing men to throw punches without fail. These men punch each other out of pain, and sometimes they brawl in the rain. In the dark or in the light, Riverdale men just love to fight. A lot of fights break out in school, where social niceties often unspool. But with so many conflicts since the show's start, it's hard to tell Riverdale fights apart.
So many of the same characters are getting into fights over and over again — here's looking at you, Jughead — that these brawls tend to bleed together. Ahead of the town-wide fight that is destined to break out in the episode "Chapter Thirty-Four: Judgement Night" on May 9, 2018, it's the perfect time to get reacquainted with the many thrown punches leading up to this massive showdown. Take a glimpse at these photos and see if you can tell which Riverdale fight is taking place.
School Throwdown
It's clear from the picture that this brawl goes down in Season 2 of Riverdale, once the Southside Serpents have set up shop in Riverdale High School. This brawl breaks out following after two of Riverdale's most prolific punchers, Jughead and Reggie, get into a brief argument over Jughead wearing a Southside jacket. A very brief argument. It's only about 10 second from talk-to-punch, followed by the rest of the room breaking out into a fistfight. This is a relatively minor scuffle, but also one of the quickest brawls in Riverdale history.
House Party
Believe it or not, there was a time when the kids of Riverdale could throw house parties and spend time together without having to worry about an active serial killer or a Jingle Jangle epidemic. This brawl features Jughead (who is usually played by Cole Sprouse but hands this fight over to a stunt double for some shots) and Chuck. This fight is important because it marks the moment in which Chuck begins to reconsider his actions, leading to his Season 2 redemption storyline. Apparently Riverdale is trying to make violence actually be the answer.
Study Hall Brawl
Finally, a fight that is only Jughead-adjacent. Before Jughead became the fight-hungry Serpent he is today, Archie was throwing most of the scuffle-starting fights in Riverdale. After trying to throw some homophobic insults Jughead's way, Reggie gets a faceful of Archie, but Archie quickly loses the upper hand.
This fight occurs in the series' second episode, establishing Reggie as a fight-prone student and Archie as someone who uses his fist to solve all of his problems. Someone insulting your friend? Punch them. Someone trying to assault and blackmail your girlfriend? Punch them. Classmate trying to drown themselves in a river of ice? Punch the ice.
Brawl In The Rain
The showdown between the Southside Serpents and The Red Circle the most iconic brawl in the history of Riverdale. On a rain-soaked evening lit only by street lamps and moonlight, the brawl begins by both sides just charging at each other, trying to do as much damage as possible. The fight is eventually brought to an end by Veronica shooting a gun straight up into the air — because unfortunately the only way to get young Riverdale men to stop fighting en masse is to know that someone brought a gun to a fistfight.
Post-Prison Shootout
While this particular screenshot isn't of the brawl itself, the Serpents' attempt to lead Fangs out of Riverdale's prison marks the beginning of what could be the biggest conflict in the show's history. After a shot goes off and tears through Fangs, the long-simmering war between the Serpents and the Dark Circle has clearly come to a boiling point. There seems to be a crowd of over fifty people gathered outside that prison, meaning that this brawl is of such a magnitude that Fangs may not be the only casualty. With so much violence coursing through the heart of Riverdale, "Chapter Thirty-Four: Judgement Night" could feature some of the most fatal fights of the series yet.
While Riverdale citizens may think the town has more pressing matters like an election, a rise in organized crime, and a rampant serial killer to contend with — when all of that is over, Riverdale could perhaps benefit from some in-school anti-violence training. Just saying.
