Riverdale Episode 2: A Touch of Evil. Second Time the Charm

It's no secret that I kind of hated the pilot to Riverdale. Despite its best intentions, my only positive takeaway was that Betty and Veronica were two kind of awesome gems in an otherwise drab river of shit plotlines, overly broody characters and a kind of screwy murder mystery tying all the lousiness together. What a change a second episode makes!
Episode 2: A Touch of Evil is what the pilot should have been if the writers were intending to draw people to its original premise. Archie finally comes out in his own, becoming a somewhat loveable dunderhead (especially with his love life) who, despite being kind of an asshole (he keeps waffling on his girlfriends) always does the right thing when it counts the most. Jughead (Cole Sprouse), who spent the first episode as little more than a voiceover with an underwhelming intro, stepped out as more than the emo, asexual goth he was portrayed as in the pilot and finally became the "Archie's Best Friend" archetype he was meant to be without feeling tacked on for the sake of plot twists. Even Cheryl Blossom, the queen bitch in this version of Riverdale, had a little time to shine and gain a little depth. Seriously, where were these writers when the pilot was being filmed? Also, how did this show suddenly go from a drab, Twilight-inspired, teen angsty, cry-fest to a somewhat less drab, well-cast, teen angsty, murder mystery with the occasional spot-on humor (its actually an improvement if you didn't realize that)?
As for bad, why on Earth did the writers make Betty...that? I get they were trying to add friction for the purpose of drama with the whole fallout from the pilot, but isn't Betty supposed to be intelligent in this reimagining? To have a character go from shy but intelligent to irrationally bitchy because of something no one could have prevented (in this case: Cheryl's machinations to torment her) boggles the mind when she started out as one of the few steadfastly strong things about Episode 1. Whatever, it all felt like unnecessary padding to an otherwise well-rounded hour of television and, in defense of the her bitchiness, at least she shook that particular funk off before the credits. You can make mistakes when you properly time out how to fix them, Television.
As for watching it, surprising even me, I actually recommend it this time. Archie no longer feels like an Edward Cullen wannabe (because they added some sunniness for a change), Jughead shucks his Nameless narrator status for a sort of compelling character (who I'm anxious to see if he will capitalize on it) and what worked in the pilot still works here when it finally clicks (Veronica and Betty's friendship is still pretty fun to watch play out).  All in all, good times. Talk about a perfect 180!