• Home
  • Movies
  • Music
  • TV
  • Video Games
  • Wrestling
  • Topics
  • Latest Comments
Search
Cult of Whatever logo
  • Movies
    Featured
    • The Living Daylights: Timothy Dalton as James Bond

      The Living Daylights is still awesome, thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 28, 2022
      Movie Blogs
    Recent
    • Elvis: Austin Butler

      REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • The Black Phone: Ethan Hawke as The Grabber

      REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • Jurassic World Dominion Logo

      REVIEW: Jurassic World Dominion – Here we go again…again

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 12, 2022
    • Three Men and a Baby: Tom Selleck and Ted Danson

      Three Men and a Baby is still awesome thirty five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2022
    • The Bob's Burgers Movie Poster

      REVIEW: Bob’s Burgers The Movie is Bob’s Burgers The Show, which means it’s great

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 28, 2022
    • Top Gun Maverick: Tom Cruise

      REVIEW: Top Gun Maverick is a sequel that soars!

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 27, 2022
  • Music
    Random
    • Johnny Cash Folsom Prison Cover

      Fifty Years ago Johnny Cash did Folsom Prison...

      By Matthew Martin
      | September 11, 2018
      Music Blogs
    Recent
    • The Beatles: Get Back

      What GET BACK reveals about the Beatles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 15, 2021
    • Simon And Garfunkel at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam1982

      The Boxer is a song about being conned

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 4, 2021
    • Lady Gaga: Chromatica Album Cover

      Lady Gaga’s discography is totally out of order

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 3, 2021
    • Michael Jackson Thriller Album Cover

      Thirty years ago music fans said “Nevermind” to Michael Jackson

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 21, 2021
    • Queen II Album Cover

      On Queen’s The Miracle, and the importance of track ordering

      By Matthew Martin
      | February 16, 2021
    • Linda Paul Mccartney 1976

      50 years ago, McCartney dropped “Lennon” and went solo…

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 5, 2020
  • TV
    Featured
    • Nancy Drew S03e01: Kennedy McMann as Nancy

      Nancy Drew S03E01 Review: The Warning of the Frozen Heart - Uh-oh!

      By Salome G
      | October 10, 2021
      TV Blogs
    Recent
    • Riverdale S06e18: Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge

      Riverdale S06E18 Review: Biblical – Spooky chaos!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04e04: Heather Hemmens and Sherri Saum as Maria and Mimi DeLuca

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E04 Review: Dear Mama – Emotional?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Evil S03e03: Katja Herbers and Aasif Mandvi as Kristen Bouchard and Ben Shakir

      Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex – Contrived?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Dark Winds S01e03: kinaaldá Ceremony

      Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K’e – Swoon!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04e03: Sibongile Mlambo, Lily Cowles and Michael Trevino as Anatsa, Isobel and Kyle

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E03 Review: Subterranean Homesick Alien – Treading water?

      By Salome G
      | June 23, 2022
    • Obi-Wan Kenobi Series: Ewan McGregor and Vivien Lyra Blair as Obi-Wan and Leia

      REVIEW: Obi-Wan Kenobi had a good season and little else

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 22, 2022
  • Video Games
    Featured
    • Arkham Knight

      Batman: Arkham Knight - A fitting end to a trilogy

      By Tom Farr
      | July 18, 2015
      Video Game Reviews
    Recent
    • Legend Of Zelda

      Can a Legend of Zelda movie work?

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 6, 2022
    • Super Mario 64

      Which system had the better launch: A battle of four Nintendo consoles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 1, 2021
    • Luigi's Mansion

      Happy twentieth to Nintendo’s underrated gem, the Gamecube

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 18, 2021
    • Metroid Dread

      Metroid Dread – Post Game analysis and sequel needs

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 29, 2021
    • Mario Headphones

      The SNES Turns 30: A look at some of the system’s best soundtracks

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 22, 2021
    • Metroid Dread Poster

      REVIEW: Metroid Dread reawakens the old gamer in me

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 11, 2021
  • Wrestling
    Featured
    • Wwe Payback 2017 Poster 2

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE Payback 2017

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 30, 2017
      WWE Blogs
    Recent
    • AEW Double or Nothing 2022: CM Punk vs Adam Page

      REVIEW: AEW Double or Nothing 2022 delivered an up-and-down show

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • MJF on AEW Dynamite 17th November 2021

      Getting AEW to the next level…

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 29, 2022
    • Raw 210501: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

      May 21, 2001 – A (forgotten) date that will live in WWE infamy

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 20, 2022
    • WWE WrestleMania 39 Logo

      Your WAY TOO EARLY predictions for WWE WrestleMania 39!

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 20, 2022
    • WWE WrestleMania 38 Poster

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE WRESTLEMANIA 38!

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 30, 2022
    • Wrestlemania 31 Paige Aj Lee 2

      BOOK REVIEW: The Women of WrestleMania is a balanced take on an under-valued slice of history

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 16, 2022
  • Topics
    • site logo
    Latest
    • Riverdale S06E18 Review: Biblical - Spooky chaos!
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04E04 Review: Dear Mama - Emotional?
    • Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex - Contrived?
    • Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K'e - Swoon!
    • REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll
    • REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie
    • Latest Comments

    Riverdale S06E16 Review: Blue Collar – A new evil…

    By Salome G
    | May 30, 2022
    TV Blogs

    Ever since he arrived in town, Percival has seemed pretty infallible. He still hasn’t won the war, but he’s easily taken the lead in multiple battles. This week, though, he–or at least, his judgment–seems to falter a bit.

    Last week, if you’ll recall, Percival tried to lure away Archie’s employees to his project, building the new rail line. He promised them lots of benefits, including higher pay. Unsurprisingly, it worked on many of them, like Fangs.

    Riverdale S06e16: K.J. Apa as Archie Andrews

    This week, though, they find out that Percival and his minions exaggerated how great the job would be. The pay is lower than he promised, for one thing. In this, Team Good–Archie, Tabitha, etc.–realize something that Percival doesn’t seem to.

    That is the fact that dissatisfied workers are more likely to stray. The good guys don’t even have to work that hard to get the rail workers on their side. In fact, it’s pretty easy, especially since Percival makes it so. I mean, not only is he not giving them the compensation he’d indicated, but he’s also charging them for expenses he should cover.

    I’m only surprised that he’s not making them live in a company settlement or paying them only in like, Pickens Papers, a kind of currency that they can spend only in company stores. (Riverdale fact check: I made up the name and existence of Pickens Papers, but the rest is something that happened in real life.) Anyway, once Tabitha shows up with a food truck, selling burgers at a throwback price and she and the gang start whispering “union,” it all just kind of falls into place.

    Well, it’s not a done deal right away. What really tips the scale is hearing a letter from Percival’s great-grandfather, thanks to Cheryl’s family library. The letter was an extremely wild moment for me, personally. You see, when they first started talking about encouraging the workers to unionize, it reminded me of something. I don’t know why I even thought of it, since nothing in their conversation had anything to do with it. What I was thinking about was a specific scene in the documentary Harlan County, USA.

    If you haven’t seen it, then all you need to know right now is that it follows a group of coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, who go on strike. The scene I was thinking of was of activist, singer, and former miner Nimrod Workman describing a conversation he once had with one of his bosses. Workman drove mules, like, the literal animal. His boss told them to be extra careful with the mules, particularly in light of the danger of rock falls. As Workman recalls in the film, he asked the boss what would happen if a rock fell on him. The boss replied, according to Workman, “We can hire another man, but you gotta buy that mule.”

    Why am I suddenly recounting a labor documentary in the middle of a Riverdale episode? Well, it’s because of what Great-Grandpappy Pickens wrote, when his palladium miners went on strike. Among many terrible things, he said, “But I tell you, there is more value in the mules that carry the palladium out of our mines than these so-called men.” Uh, have I watched this show so long that we’ve started to mind-meld?

    Riverdale S06e16: Madelaine Petsch and Erinn Westbrook as Cheryl and Tabitha

    Boy, I sure hope not. Anyway, with that, and the fact that Percival doesn’t even bother to call on an injured employee, the other rail workers vote to strike. Love to see it. I do not, however, love to see Charles again. He’s back because he’s dying of Unspecific Blood Disease. I was just listening to a podcast episode about murderer Marie Hilley, who once faked her death by claiming a similar illness, so I’ll take a cue from the podcast and just call his malady blooditis.

    Anyway, the prison sent him to die at home, surrounded by family and unsupported by prison infirmary funds. The blooditis doesn’t get him, though. We also learn in this episode that Spider-Woman Veronica’s body is acting like a big ol’ filter, flushing out any poisons that enter her system. Betty, wanting to prove to herself that she’s good, convinces Veronica to be a dialysis machine for Charles, which cures the blooditis. Great–now send him back to jail!

    At the same time, Toni and Fangs are too ridiculous for me to talk about this week. I mean, Toni punches Kevin, which should look great at their custody hearing. If it even gets that far, I mean. According to Percival, Kevin isn’t baby Anthony’s father, so I don’t know if he’ll still pursue sole custody.

    Riverdale S06e16: Caroline Day and Madelaine Petsch as Heather and Cheryl

    And speaking of being alone, there’s Jughead’s plight this week. In a stunt that sees him donning Jughead’s famous beanie, an image that oddly made me very uncomfortable, Percival is able to break into Mr. Jones’s brain. He opens a figurative door, in fact, which deluges Jughead in a cacophony of everyone’s thoughts at once. As you can imagine, it’s awful. And it’s seemingly the biggest reason why Percival loses his momentum on the railroad, which is just dumb.

    Anyway, the only way Jughead can escape is by holing up in The World’s Grossest Bunker. Unfortunately, though, that doesn’t stop it. He’s still hearing thoughts, even down there, covered by feet of dirt and what has to be many layers of human detritus. And as the end title comes up, the letter D switches back and forth with a V. Has it always done that, or is Jughead breaking through the River…veil? We’ll find out, maybe, in a couple of weeks, which is when the show returns.

    9/10 – In general, I’m inclined to be more generous now that the show’s on its way out. This episode, though, earned this rating on its own merits, mostly for its labor focus. A little weird for the show, but I like it. I also liked Cheryl’s witch training and Moose’s being the voice of reason, a position that these folks sorely need. 

    Riverdale S06e16: K.J. Apa as Archie Andrews

    Share this article:

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit

    Tags

    Riverdale

    You might also like

    • Riverdale S06E15 Review: Things That Go Bump in the Night – Unexpected allies

      By Salome G
      | May 23, 2022
    • Riverdale S06E14 Review: Venomous – Spider-Woman?

      By Salome G
      | May 16, 2022
    • Riverdale S06E13 Review: Ex-Libris – Percival being Percival

      By Salome G
      | May 10, 2022

    FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

    TV Topics

    Recommended for you

    • Riverdale S06E18 Review: Biblical – Spooky chaos!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04E04 Review: Dear Mama – Emotional?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K’e – Swoon!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex – Contrived?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • REVIEW: Obi-Wan Kenobi had a good season and little else

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 22, 2022
    • Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Episodes 6-7 review (the best and the not-so best)

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 18, 2022
    • The Orville season three review part 1 (episodes 1-2 bring ups and downs)

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 12, 2022
    • Stranger Things S04 Part 1 Review: Almost perfect!

      By Salome G
      | June 5, 2022
    • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Every episode ranked! (Part 5/5)

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • The Flight Attendant S02E08 Review: Backwards and Forwards – A satisfying conclusion

      By Salome G
      | May 27, 2022
    • Star Trek Picard Season 2 (not a review but a rant)

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 10, 2022
    • On a scale of 1 to really messed up, how well does The Boys translate to the small screen?

      By Jason Collins
      | March 15, 2022
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliate Disclosure
    • Cookie Policy and Settings
    • Terms of Use
    • Photo Credits
    • RSS
    All Cult of Whatever articles, logos, illustrations and graphics are copyright CultOfWhatever.com. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2021 CultOfWhatever. All Rights Reserved.
    • facebook
    • twitter