On this week’s Riverdale, Jughead dueled with Brett, Betty teamed up with her mother, Alice, to expose Brett for illegally recording people having sex, and Archie thwarted yet another murderer in town, but Riverdale’s spin-off, Katy Keene, which debuted tonight, had no outrageous storylines.

Compared to its sister show, Katy Keene was almost too normal with its hard-to-pronounce fashion designers, glitz, glamour, dreams, and drag.

For those tuning into the series because you wanted it to resemble Riverdale, you– may have been turned off, but those who came for some delightful escapism about following your dreams were likely sold on the message.

It’s hard to believe the series exists under the Archie Comics umbrella because this series exuded “The Devil Wears Prada” mixed with “Gossip Girl” vibes but without all the cattiness and well, gossip.

Katy Keene has arrived at the perfect time when society needs to be reminded that it’s okay to have a dream and even better to follow through on one.

Lucy Hale’s Keene is an optimistic, doe-eyed, aspiring designer who has been selling herself short by trying to fit into a personal shopper position at Lacy’s (you know, like Macy’s)!

Despite being exceptionally good at her job, her Miranda Priestly/ evil-step-mother-like-boss isn’t impressed with the enthusiasm or that she has other interests outside of the department store.

Katy is devasted that she’s passed up for a promotion at first, but it turns out to be a blessing in disguise because she would be accepting a position that doesn’t prioritize helping her tap into her greatness.

Katy Keene — “Pilot” — Image Number: KK101e_2016rd2.jpg Ð Pictured: Lucy Hale as Katy Keene — Photo: Barbara Nitke/The CW — © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved

Her position with Francois, her fairy-god-mother is a saving grace proving that sometimes, we all need a little push in the right direction and the courage to take a chance.

Most of the characters start off seemingly getting their heart’s desire and quickly learning that a dream isn’t a destination, it’s a journey.

Josie arrives in New York from Riverdale, the murder capital of the world that she somehow survived and escaped, to pursue a music career.

Less than 24 hours after her arrival, she’s met a hunky guy from a record label who thinks she what it takes and wants to sign her. Furthermore, we find out that he’s basically royalty in NYC (think: Rockefeller).

It’s enough to make you say “yeah right” and roll your eyes until they risk popping out of your head, so it’s a good thing that Katy Keene establishes early on that this is too good to be true… sort of.

Alexander was honest about who he was, and he does truly believe in Josie, but the label his family owns isn’t convinced and they “pass” on giving her a record deal.

As they should. This is a city crawling with talent — everyone here has a dream, talent, and ambition to boot, so what makes Josie stand out?

The fact that she made it out of Riverdale alive is impressive, but she needs to get a little dirty; she’s too green now, she’s naive, optimistic, impressionable, and she needs more edge to make it as an artist.

Every success story has humble beginnings and struggles for a reason, and Josie needs that.

Then there’s Jorge aka Ginger Lopez who was told he’s “too gay for Broadway” as if that’s a thing.

Jorge teaches a lesson of perseverance and picking yourself back up after your pushed down over and over (and over) again.

People don’t like things that are different — it’s scary to them because they can’t understand it, and sadly, that’s the world we live in.

People like Jorge don’t get opportunities because of the way they look, speak, or move, but this show is also proof that our landscape is changing and the new generations are welcoming, loving, accepting, and encouraging.

Jorge is equally as great as himself and as Ginger, and we know they will eventually find their place in Broadway, it’ll just take some time.

Pepper is big-time and knows everyone whose anyone, but for now, it’s only talk as we’ve seen her hanging out with Katy, Josie, and Jorge for most of the episode. It’s not unbelievable that someone who does a handful of gigs would have friends who are just scratching the surface of their dreams, but it’s unlikely she’d be spending all her time with them.

There’s also an aura that reminds me of Tahani in The Good Place with all the name-dropping.

For a pilot episode, Katy Keene was chock-full of wisdom, character introduction, and major moments with the biggest coming on towards the end of the episode as KO proposes to Katy.

While all signs pointed to Katy being head-over-heels for KO, it doesn’t look like she’s sure of whether or not she wants to marry him.

There was a look of shock and excitement on her face, sure, but there was also uncertainty, and it’s a little worrisome.

However, the moment may have come too soon in the episode because the outcome bears no emotional weight for the audience.

We just met Katy and KO, and we only know what Katy has told us about their relationship, which isn’t much.

We like KO, but if he wasn’t around, we wouldn’t miss him because we’re not invested in his character yet.

It’s almost strange that the series decided to pull out the big guns so quickly, but maybe it’s purposeful.

Maybe the series wants us to know that we’ll never expect what’s coming next. If they can’t bring in all the craziness of Riverdale, at least they can bring in shocking twists that we never see coming.

In that regard, it’s established its tone and its purpose effectively.

Other Thoughts

• Josie made a comment that made it seem like they weren’t in high school anymore. Is the series set in the future?
• And if so, why isn’t Veronica a part of it since she said she was accepted to Bradford College in New York.
• Another indication that the show is set in the future is the death of Katy’s mother. On the Riverdale episode, she said her mom was gravely ill, but in the pilot, it seems like she’s passed.
• Considering Riverdale does flash-forwards, maybe the shows will catch up to each other by the end of the season?
• Errol the Prince and his “commoner” girlfriend are totally going to be Katy’s first clients, right?

The most exciting part about Katy Keene is that it allows for Riverdale crossovers. I’m always excited to see characters from Riverdale function in the real world.

What did you think of the Katy Keene premiere?