This post contains spoilers about the Riverdale season two premiere, “A Kiss Before Dying.”
“Bulldogs are here for you.” And with those five words, Charles Melton officially stepped into the shoes (abs?) of Reggie Mantle on Wednesday’s season two premiere of Riverdale. It was a brief scene, with Archie introducing him with the very informative words, “Thanks, Reggie,” in case viewers needed a reminder that there was a new Reggie in town. (Ross Butler left the show after season one to continue his work on 13 Reasons Why.)
And then it was over. Josie and the Pussycats arrived to also show their support for Archie and Fred, who still hadn’t woken up at that point. The girls mentioned something about giving one of their nine lives to Fred and just like that, Reggie and his dimples were shoved to the background to blend in with the rest of the Riverdale Bulldogs.
But for five words, Charles delivered beautifully. His dimples looked great. His eyebrows were near-perfect. And his hair contained the right amount of product (if any). And then there’s his hoodie-vest combo, which made me wonder: Is Reggie into hiking? Camping? Is this an L.L. Bean catalogue? And out of all the Riverdale teens, who would be best at making fire? And then I answered my own question when I remembered Charles' Instagram from a few days ago.
To my delight, I wasn't alone in appreciating Charles's first five words on Riverdale. I swear on the old Reggie and the new, I did not write these tweets.
According to showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, one main difference between Reggie 1.0 and Reggie 2.0 is you’ll just be seeing more of the character, who’s appeared on every season two episode that’s been filmed so far. “Reggie’s such a big part of the mythology… we were really missing that kind of day-to-day frenemy antagonist with Archie,” RAS tells TV Line, adding that viewers “will be really surprised and pleased by” Charles’s performance. No word on whether or not the performance will include at least one shirtless scene at the Riverdale High boys' locker room. Fingers crossed!
