Riverdale’s latest plot, which sees Cheryl Blossom forcefully admitted to gay conversion therapy by her mother, has divided fans.
Since the show’s debut, the cheerleader and self-proclaimed ‘Queen Bee’ at Riverdale High has been to hell and back. Her father murdered her brother Jason, which led to a suicide attempt, and in season two, she was drugged and (almost) sexually assaulted by trouble-making bad boy, Nick St. Clair.
So when Cheryl came out as bisexual and embarked on a romance with Toni Topaz (Vanessa Morgan), fans *finally* thought Cheryl would have a positive plot line, and were excited at the prospect of another LGBTQ romance. But the latest episode saw Cheryl sent off to Sisters of Quiet Mercy to have the gay stripped away by her mother, before she even had the chance to properly explore her sexuality.
Netflix
“Oh you poor child, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” says Sister Woodhouse. She then refers to herself in the third person, telling Cheryl: “Sister Woodhouse is going to help you. Yes, she’s going to rid you of all those naughty demons, the ones making you think such awful, unnatural thoughts.
“Today, you must rest. Tomorrow, the real work – the conversion – begins.
The storyline, and the whole creepy encounter with Sister Woodhouse, has left viewers divided. Many fans are furious that one of the only queer characters has been punished for her sexuality, whilst some believe the show is trying shine a light on conversion therapy.
Take a look at some of the reactions below.
radmuffin: I’m literally SO uneasy about Cheryl being sent to conversion therapy after coming out and… https://t.co/bJh8mKUnZg
— jes (@posiestaylor) March 26, 2018
Since Toni and Cheryl are supposedly not #queerbait, and Cheryl is supposedly queer and has since come out, what do the producers do? Put her in conversion therapy. That's right: the queer character is punished.
— The Bacca That Chews🙊 (@Samantha_Clause) March 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/belikeabbie/status/978118606604161024
just thinking about cheryl having to go through conversion therapy makes me literally bawl my eyes out
— dom -R- (@nowthisisrosie) March 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/nerdy_loren/status/978062024629456896
Making Cheryl have conversion therapy before she’s even had a fucking chance to be gay ugh @CW_Riverdale better make up for this
— Kate (@lanadelreysgold) March 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/irljeangrey/status/977675879265562627
#choni @ everyone who thinks that the Cheryl conversion therapy storyline isn’t that serious and doesn’t need a trigger warning please realize that yes Cheryl is a fictional character but what they’re putting her through is what so many lgbt people faced for years and continue
— maybe im gay (@woefulhoe) March 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/_aliwaters/status/976926685550579713
https://twitter.com/legendslaurmani/status/976633912922398721
https://twitter.com/msmollybruton/status/976928137631191040
So what are your thoughts? Are the writers trying to educate viewers, or are they hellbent on making Cheryl Blossom’s life a misery? Let us know how you feel about the issue in the comments!
The second season of Riverdale airs every Thursday on UK Netflix, and on The CW in the United States.
Related: A major character just came out on Riverdale.
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