As a day one Riverdale fan, it's hard to remember exactly what I thought The CW show would be prior to its premiere. Yes, I knew it was a teen drama based on Archie Comics, and I knew it would feature a murder mystery not unlike my beloved Pretty Little Liars. I knew there would be shirtless teens running in the rain (thanks to a very steamy promo on The CW) and I knew, as someone who had already picked a side of the iconic love triangle between Betty, Archie, and Veronica, that there would be ample shipping to be done. Yet looking back now, on the cusp of Riverdale's fifth season, and one thing is clear: I knew absolutely nothing about what this show would become.

I've covered Riverdale for five years now, and every time I think I've seen it all... I absolutely haven't. Yes, Riverdale went full Pretty Little Liars by bringing characters back from the dead and giving its main characters multiple secret siblings, but it also elevated the craziness in unexpected ways, too. (It's fitting that Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the creator of Riverdale, is now rebooting Pretty Little Liars for HBO Max.)

Who would have thought that Veronica would open a speakeasy to hide the existence of her other speakeasy? Who would have ever expected Archie to box a bear, and then box a man in a bear suit? Who would have ever expected Betty to do a striptease to the Donnie Darko soundtrack version of "Mad World," or Jughead to be nearly killed in order for his classmates at a prep school to win the rights to author a series of YA novels?