Need to catch up? Check out our previous Riverdale recap here.
After all the kidnappings in this week’s (particularly bananas) episode of Riverdale, the town’s general store might want to order a fresh supply of duct tape.
At Midge’s funeral — where Cheryl sings a mournful ballad, natch — the whole town is in shock… and Archie is back in what Veronica calls “Death Wish Archie” mode. He’s convinced that the Black Hood’s return means that he and his dad Fred are in danger, and sure enough, as he’s peeking inside a boarded-up house, he spots a hooded figure lurking behind him. He confronts the masked man, who’s quickly joined by two friends who pummel Archie into unconsciousness. But it’s not the Black Hood: It’s our old friend Nick St. Clair!
Nick takes Archie hostage (Kidnapping #1), calling Veronica and demanding a $1 million ransom for his safe return. (He’s still nursing a grudge against Archie, and wants to prove himself to his mobbed-up father.) When Hiram refuses to step in and help — “We risk exposing ourselves,” he tells his mija — Veronica takes matters into her own hands. She steals cash from the family safe, but it’s not enough, so she agrees to meet Nick for “a night together” (ick) to cover the difference. And because Nick is a total psycho, he sets up a webcam so a tied-up Archie can watch on a laptop while Nick and Ronnie get it on.
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Veronica gets dolled up to meet Nick, and he greets her in his hotel suite with Champagne and caviar. But she pulls a trick out of his own playbook: She drops a roofie into his Champagne glass, and by the time an enraged Archie escapes and busts down her hotel door, Nick is passed out on the floor. They tie him up (Kidnapping #2) and turn the tables on him, calling his dad and asking him for a $1 million ransom. And they get it, too! Hiram apologizes to Archie for not helping get him back, but Archie’s sole focus right now is to bring down “the Black Hood, once and for all.” And Hiram promises to help in any way he can — assuming he’s not actually behind this whole Black Hood thing in the first place.
SON DAMAGE | Jughead thinks Midge’s murderer could be a copycat killer, and instantly sets his sights on Chic. He theorizes that Chic and Mr. Svenson could’ve crossed paths at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, so he and Betty head there to look at Chic’s file. But in the file, they find a photo of… not Chic. So did Chic steal the real “Charles Smith’s” identity? They confront Chic, telling Alice that he’s an imposter, and Chic’s totally normal reaction is to pick up a knife, slashing Alice on the arm before Betty knocks him out cold. When he wakes up, Betty and Jughead have tied him up in the garage. (Kidnapping #3!)
Chic admits he’s not really Alice’s son: He met Charles at that seedy flophouse, but he says the kid died of a jingle-jangle overdose after he knocked on Alice’s door and she slammed it in his face. Alice falls into a guilt spiral, sobbing and blaming herself for her son’s death, but Betty and Jughead don’t trust Chic — as they shouldn’t! — and go to the flophouse to investigate further. A resident there tells them Charles didn’t have a drug problem, but she did hear a lot of “nasty fights” coming from his room… and she also saw Chic dispose of some bloody sheets and pillows.
And just like that, Betty’s phone rings with that annoying “Lollipop” ringtone. Yep, it’s the Black Hood, and he tells Betty they made a mistake letting Chic into their lives: “That man has murdered before.” That gives Betty an idea: As Alice brings Hal up to speed, Betty grabs Miss Grundy’s gun (!!) and takes Chic out to a snow-covered graveyard, demanding the truth about Charles. He admits it: He killed him. And then a hooded figure appears: “It’s your very own Angel of Death,” Betty tells Chic as he runs (futilely) for his life with the Black Hood chasing behind. When Betty gets back home, though, Alice tells her Hal is gone because “he went looking for you.” So the Black Hood… is actually the Black Hal?
Yearbook Notes:
* With the Black Hood back on the prowl, Sheriff Keller faced fresh calls for his resignation, with Cheryl penning a particularly critical op-ed (at Hermione’s request). The sheriff told Kevin he’s been asked to step down by the deputy mayor, and only Fred getting elected could help save his job. He also mentioned an outsider could be brought in as Riverdale’s new sheriff. Hmmm… a Season 3 cast addition, perhaps?
* We didn’t actually see Chic die, did we? Yeah, I’m betting we’ll see that creepy smile of his again somewhere down the line. And anyone else think Charles maybe isn’t really dead, either?
* Did we ever see Cheryl and Midge interact at all before she died? Just wondering why she’s so broken up about her death. I didn’t even realize Midge was a River Vixen, to be honest.
* Yes, Alice finally confessed to the worst-kept secret in Riverdale: F.P. is the father of Chic Charles. Now when are these two crazy Serpents gonna get together already?
Got thoughts on tonight’s Riverdale? Grab a booth in the comments below.
Yasssss about Alice and FP.
This whole episode had me screaming at the TV!
Hal is the Black Hood?
Where was he when Betty returned home from the ’meeting’ with Black Hood and Chick? I think they both have blue eyes..
Too obivous, probably just a red herring, there is still a few episodes left before the finale, it will probably be revealed in the second last episode before the finale.
Well I think I remember in one episode seeing message in a cheerleading outfit but then again depending on the week for a week I can’t rememberif Betty and Veronica are still cheerleaders one week they seem to be cheerleading the next They aren’t like this week they weren’t dressed in black cheerleading outfits like the rest of the vixens at the funeral By the way what high school has black cheerleading outfits on standby for funerals
Found that should’ve said I remember seeing midge in a cheerleading outfit
Did I Blink and miss it or was Moose not even at Midges funeral
He was definitely there.
I know Cheryl as a blossom her name has pull in Riverdale apparently But really would anyone take an op ad from a high school student seriously enough to ask for the sheriff to resign
So I guess dark and Maddie is the real Buddy she basically gave chick a death sentence And I’m trying to follow the timeline which is sometimes hard to do on the shelf did the black hood call daddy and know about the murder committed in our house before after Alice confessed everything to Hal
My phone hates me that should say I guess dark Betty is the real Betty
For real? You release spoilers before it even airs on the West Coast? You are the problem. Go look in the mirror in shame…
You have control over what you read
What a great ep, finally!!!!!
Holy Spoiler Alert in the Teaser on this article. Thanks for nothing asshole!
Not all of us watch it “live”. Some of us have real jobs and real lives so we PVR it.
Jerk!
Real “Dave” move there
If you feel the need to write online tha tt you have a “real” life it must be because you dont
When would it be okay for them to post articles then? Sometimes things get backed up for a week on my DVR because of my “real” life.
The article’s author is getting paid to write and post these articles and there are probably deadlines that he has to meet. You know, like a real job?
Maybe you should be attending to your “real” life and your “real” job instead of viewing articles online and taking time to comment on them.
What is it with all of the children in Riverdale being vigilantes or junior mobsters first it was R T and the bulldogs as the vigilante squad now Cheryl is now in that her and the Vixens will get rid of the black Hood
The whole absurd kidnapping of R T tonight and then Veronica turning the tables and kidnapping the kidnapper and blackmailing his family while we have Patty and Jürgen had with their own kid nap/hostage victim which Betty eventually turns over to a known murderer At this point the only one left to root for our minor characters like KeVin and Josie is even the good guys on the show have some pretty dark stuff running through them and have committed more than their fair share of crimes
Are y’all aware that your headline comes up as a blatant and very important spoiler in the Google news app? It hadn’t even been two hours since the episode finished airing and I got a huge spoiler with no warning whatsoever. I’ve never had this happen so blatantly and aggressively before and I’m legit gonna have to block news stories from here to avoid this happening again in the future.
Can you not put spoilers in the title? I was browsing news articles and haven’t seen the episode yet >:(
Detroit avenue©®™
Hey. Nice spoiler alert. WTH.
Literally EVERY other article says Black Hood kills [spoiler].
Basic internet etiquette 101.
Um didn’t Betty do a DNA test??
That was only to compare to the Cooper/Blossom bloodline. None of Alice’s dna was involved.
But he still was related to them somehow then(?)
Not really. Alice said something along the lines of “Of course he wouldn’t have Blossom blood. Hal’s not his father. But he’s still my son.” However, there wasn’t any hard evidence given at that time, so while it was implied that Chic was still related to Betty and crew, he didn’t HAVE to be.
And nowhere in that did it say that Chic genetically matched any of the Coopers.
Can this show focus on superficial high school issues?? I’m tired of these killer on the loose plots. And I’m also tired of the focus on the core 4, there’s other characters they could play with. None of them even knew Midge that well, and the whole episode became about them. I’m frustrated with the direction of this show!!
Looks like you’ve changed the article title now, but I definitely saw the spoiler you had it set to before. For something called ‘TVLine’ you should know better than to ruin an episode before it’s even aired.
It looks like next weekBetty tries to set up her Dad to come after her (admitting to being an accomplice to murder). Kind of crappy for FP to just abandon Alice and Betty knowing what he does about Chic and his son. Also are we supposed to assume that Betty and Jughead still don’t know about FP being the father?
I think he just didn’t want Jughead involved (aside from his guilt over Jason’s death).
Great episode. Highlights were Madchen and Lili
I still don’t understand why Archie still wants to prove something to Hiram after all the stunts that he has pulled.
he rgressed in the episode, in the last episode he seemed to move forward away from the grasp of Hiram.
The writers fixed Veronica, Jughead and Betty in this episode, especially Veronica, i loved that she went behind her parent’s backs and gave Nick a taste of his own medicin
But where did Veronica get the rufe she used on nick
I don’t think he really wants to make his bones with hiram. He just told him that to get Hiram to help Archie get the Black Hood.
Midge was cheering with the river vixens last week. But I don’t remember her in previous vixen scenes.
This episode felt like the showrunner found out there were getting cancelled and had to wrap up a bunch of storylines. They very quickly went through (and had no time to react to): Ethel being the one to write the threatening notes last episode, Sheriff Keller being fired, the black hood’s return (calling Betty), Chic being an imposter, FP AND ALICE HAVING A BABY TOGETHER. The last one seemed more like an attempt to please Falice shippers. (And it kinda doesn’t make sense, because wouldn’t FP have suspected it – seeing as he knew Chic’s age and that Chic was Alice’s son)
I don’t know what is happening to Betty. Whatever Chic is, he’s not an animal or the Antichrist. . He doesn’t deserve to be offered up to a lunatic for execution sans trial, sans consideration of all the ameliorating circumstances. Whatever became of what used to be called Christian charity, or whatever you want to label it??
THIS SHOW IS BANANAS AND I LOVE IT!
FP and Alice!!! Seriously this show has tons of cast members and FP is by far my favorite one (besides queen Cheryl) I need more of him.
Is Charles being a red head maybe a sign that Hal actually is the father?