There’s a scene in the second season of “Riverdale” (stay with me, folks) that could serve as an imperfect metaphor for 2018. The telltale signs of a town in collapse are crammed into 42 bracing minutes: rioting, gun violence, families torn apart, political secrets and sabotage. It all culminates in a face-off between good and evil, with the life of Riverdale High’s golden boy at stake. Archie Andrews frequently delivers his neighbors from perilous scenarios disproportionate to their suburban surroundings, and this time it seems that only he can save himself. Until … three “hot Riverdale dads” arrive on the scene, at once defusing the bloodthirsty tension and captivating the licentious imagination of onlookers. Amid total chaos, the thirst remains real.

And not just thirst for hot guys in general. After the “dad bod” debacle of 2015 and the so-called “dad style” that has been adopted by all genders in recent years, it seems we’ve reached peak “daddy.”

A recent “Saturday Night Live” skit signaled that the word, used affectionately by children, and lustfully by gay men and straight women, had achieved a specific significance in the cultural mainstream: “Any guy can be a father, but it takes a hot, middle-aged guy with a big job to be a daddy,” Kate McKinnon and Matt Damon said in unison, as the hosts of a competition called the Westminster Daddy Show.