Riverdale Shoots Itself in the Leg By… Copying Umbrella Academy, Really?
Why bother making something original, when there's already such a great setting written?
Riverdale fans have been through a lot with the show, from behind-the-scenes drama to some very questionable writing decisions – all in the hopes of getting a decent ending for the show.
As the trailer for the seventh and final season was released, they may be raising their eyebrows at a completely new storyline and setting.
One that could potentially bring back all the fan-favorite characters, and at the same time take the focus away from all the unfinished stories from the past.
When the first episode of Riverdale season 7 premiered on March 29, many viewers found themselves enjoying the new setting more than they could have imagined.
Aesthetically pleasing and cleverly written, the episode reintroduced all the characters in a '50s style. However, some people noticed very strong similarities to another show that could potentially get Riverdale into a lot of trouble.
"Is it just me or is this season… Just a straight-up word-for-word copy for The Umbrella Academy? " Redditor NoLeopard1134 noticed, later elaborating on their thoughts.
"Time traveling character, who is often seen as the intelligent, sensible one of the gang, travels accidentally to the future where they see an apocalypse. They travel back, warn the rest, and the rest of the season is spent trying to figure out the cause and stop it.
They ultimately fail in a dramatic, CGI-heavy showdown where a massive space rock wipes out modern earth. A millisecond before the gang gets killed, the time-traveling character creates a half-cocked Hail Mary to time-travel the cast to Mid 20th Century America, where [they all] get stranded."
And we didn't even mention the obvious: superpowers that characters from both The Umbrella Academy and Riverdale now possess.
Fans may be disappointed by this coincidence, but they are certainly not surprised, as they recall other instances when Riverdale has been accused of copying ideas from other major shows and movies.
For example, some viewers remember when Marvel introduced the multiverse, only for Riverdale to immediately follow their footsteps.
One might argue that the multiverse became a truly widespread pop culture phenomenon, but fans believe that Riverdale took it one step further and turned Cheryl Blossom into their own Wanda Maximoff.
Whether the idea was really borrowed or these similarities are entirely coincidental, the vast majority of loyal Riverdale stans seem to be happy with the episode.
Make sure to tune in on CW on Wednesdays to not miss a new episode and see how the story unfolds for a grand finale.