The Matchelorette? Riverdale 's 10 most amazing fake brands

Riverdale-Glamazon
Riverdale-Glamazon
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In so many ways, Riverdale is a glorious festival of absurdity. One of the most delightful running gags on Riverdale is the use of almost-but-not-quite-right brand names: Veronica (Camila Mendes) charges up a storm on a shopping website called Glamazon.com, and buys Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) an expensive wallet at Barnaby's. Riverdale's faux-name practice is an homage to the original Archie comics, which used similar wordplay for products and celebrities — as when Bingo Skar of the Bottles visited Riverdale (Issue 155, 1965). After Hal Cooper (Lochlyn Munro) moved out of the house in season 2, episode 12, declaring, "If you need me, I'll be in a Sharebnb by the Register," it was settled: It's time to pick the 10 most amazing fake names on Riverdale.

1. "Five Seasons" 

"It's not the Waldorf nor the Plaza, but the Five Seasons, like all of Riverdale, has its charms." — Veronica Lodge (Season 2, "When a Stranger Calls")

Veronica is clearly underselling this establishment. A true luxury hotel knows that there's no reason to settle for Four Seasons when you can have Five.

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Screen Shot 2018-02-01 at 4.07.11 PM

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2. "Grind'em"

"Why can't you just use Grind'em like every other gay guy?" — Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) to Kevin (Casey Cott) (Season 2, "The Watcher in the Woods")

Of course, Riverdale's answer to Grindr sounds more like a coffee shop than a gay hookup app.

3. "Shankshaw"

"I thought about this a lot when I was in Shankshaw, and I'm done with Serpent life." — FP Jones (Skeet Ulrich) (Season 2, "House of the Devil")

Riverdale is a major Stephen King stan, dropping references to everything from The Green Mile to Full Dark, No Stars. (And, of course, there's the tribute to Carrie: The Musical.) Love that the writers took their obsession one step further, shipping FP off to the bizarro version of Shawshank State Prison.

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Screen Shot 2018-02-01 at 4.22.27 PM

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4. "American Excess" 

"Reporting my American Excess card as stolen? Well played." — Veronica Lodge to mom Hermione (Marisol Nichols) (Season 1, "In a Lonely Place")

Commentary on our culture's addiction to consumerism, and it rhymes with American Express? Well played, indeed.

5. "Bean & Beluga"

"A chocolate-almond croissant from Bean & Beluga." — Veronica Lodge (Season 2, "A Kiss Before Dying")

In my imagination, Riverdale's take on Dean & Deluca will open right next to Grind'em and eventually put them out of business.

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Screen Shot 2018-02-01 at 4.43.04 PM

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6. "Spiffany's" and 7. "Glamergé"

"Hiram, was that a Spiffany's bag I saw coming through the lobby earlier today? It looked about the right size for a Glamergé egg." —Hermione Lodge (Season 2, "Silent Night, Deadly Night")

Like Hermione Lodge would ever slum it by displaying an overpriced, egg-shaped tchotchke from a store with "Spiff" in its name.

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Screen Shot 2018-02-01 at 4.51.38 PM

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8. "Triple C"

"Of course, I don't have a freakin' spare. We're going to have to call Triple C." — Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) (Season 2, "Tales From the Darkside")

Poor, striving Riverdale can't even get quality roadside assistance! Maybe Greendale has Triple A, but Archie and his pals have to call Triple C.

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Screen Shot 2018-02-01 at 4.55.34 PM

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9. "Vanity Flair"

"Betty, come on. An impossible situation is being invited to both the Vanity Flair Oscar party and Elton John's Oscar party on the same night." — Veronica Lodge (Season 1, "The Outsiders")

There's no rhyme or reason as to which real brand names Riverdale uses versus which ones they choose to parody. Why namedrop some real networks (HBO, Netflix), events (the Met Gala), and cultural luminaries (Toni Morrison), but spoof something like Vanity Fair? Then again, why am I looking for order in the chaos that is Riverdale's narrative storytelling?

10. "The Matchelorette"

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Screen Shot 2018-02-01 at 5.11.02 PM

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"Tonight's the season premiere of The Matchelorette and I would love to have my friends over to watch." – Veronica Lodge (Season 2, "The Watcher in the Woods")

God bless Veronica. Just when you think she's a snob, you learn she's a card-carrying member of Bachelor…that is, Matchelor Nation.