The Riverdale Cast Has Finally Explained The Name ‘Jingle Jangle’

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There’s a lot of weird shit that goes down on Riverdale, but naming this season’s high-profile, drug-of-the-moment, “Jingle Jangle” takes the cake.

*Spoilers ahead btw*

Season two has been a rollercoaster so far between this ‘Black Hood’ serial killer situation, Archie with a gun, the sexual assault plot line and Bughead breaking up and getting back together. There’s just been a lot to take in. So naming this super-dangerous illicit drug “Jingle Jangle” is great comic relief.

The drug also looks like some kind of fun sherbert when it’s consumed in those little colourful straws, which fits nicely with the cute name. But it ain’t all fun and games kids, this drug is bad news!!! Don’t be fooled by the name!!!

The Riverdale cast recently admitted to TVLine that when they were first introduced to “Jingle Jangle” they had trouble keeping a straight face. Fair enough. Cole Sprouse’s comments pretty much sum it up:

“Can you imagine having to say ‘Jingle Jangle’ on screen over and over again? I think we didn’t stop laughing for the first four episodes”.

I’m sure it was almost as hard as Veronica (AKA Camila Mendes) having to say “Daddy” about a million times per scene with a straight face. Forever impressed.

Marisol Nichols (AKA V’s weirdly evil mum Hermione) also spilled that she was a little bemused by the drug’s name at first

“My reaction was ‘Jingle Jangle? Jingle Jangle?’ Alright”.

So what’s the story behind this weird-ass name??? Where did “Jingle Jangle” come from??? Apparently the cast had the same question and when Sprouse asked showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa they found that it was, of course, yet another Archie-related pop-culture reference snuck into the show.

“He sent us… this classic, twisty, 70s, drug-trippy ‘Jingle Jangle’ song, and then it all made sense,” said Sprouse.

Turns out that “Jingle Jangle” is the name of a 1969 song by…of course… The Archies. It’s a real psychedelic track so everything’s coming together now, though I reckon it’s still hard to take the drug seriously with a name like that.

Here’s the track from which “Jingle Jangle” was born, have a listen and pray for the Riverdale cast that they can resist the sweet trap of the dangerous street drug.

Header via Netflix.