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This week’s movie inspired title “In a Lonely Place” does mirror the classic film noir plot with a writer being accused of murder. In this case, it’s our dear Jughead who has suddenly become prime suspect number one in the murder of Jason Bloom. But how did Sheriff Keller arrive at such a wild conclusion? He readily admitted that the fingerprints found on Jason’s car, including Betty’s, were not unexpected. But it wasn’t the fingerprints that got Juggie into hot water. Seems he has a police record due an attempt to burn down Riverdale Elementary (“I was playing with matches.”) to some bullying issues with the school’s football team (“Yeah, my name is Jughead.”) … of which Jason Bloom was the quarterback. But, come one, Jughead may have personal issues — he’s living in a supply closet at school, for Pete’s sake — but he’s probably the most upstanding citizen in Riverdale.
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He may not be a killer, but his blooming relationship with Betty is taking a toll. The episode opened with a fantastic dream sequence that had our cast of characters pretty accurately dressed like their classic comic book counterparts (including Veronica, Polly and Jason). Purists probably loved Jughead’s traditional pointed hat and the sweaters with the large letters on them. But the dream, set at the Cooper dinner table, also featured Archie asking his friend why he stabbed him in the back, presumably about dating Betty. Luckily that was all cleared up when Archie and Veronica both noticed how the two were glancing at each other. With Archie’s blessing, Jughead is now free to be open about his relationship with Betty. Not that Mama Cooper is going to be any more thrilled about this than she was with Archie, or Jason Bloom.
But Jughead wasn’t the only suspect this week. With Polly’s daring escape from the home for wayward girls, the Blossoms have automatically declared that she killed Jason and she destroyed the evidence. Now why would she destroy the evidence after telling her sister where to find it? That didn’t seem to matter as both families launched their own manhunt to find the girl. But Alice Cooper had one ace up her sleeve, and she revealed it at a carefully orchestrated press conference on the steps of their church — the reveal that Polly is pregnant with Jason’s child, something the Blossoms did not know, and the news certainly sent a few shock waves through them.
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With that revelation, the Blossoms were suddenly welcoming the Coopers into their family but can any of them be trusted? Betty asked Alice if Polly turned up would she still be welcome to stay at home and have the baby (and what her parents didn’t know what that Polly was hiding in the attic). Alice said she was welcome to stay, but she was not going to keep the baby under any circumstances. Betty thought she was going to reveal Polly’s whereabouts but her mom’s attitude put that idea to rest.
Then the Blossoms offered to offer financial support to Polly and give her a place to stay because the baby was part of their family too. Arrangements were made and the Blossoms were due to pick Polly up at Pop’s, but Cheryl arrived first with the news that she believed her family was not going to take care of Polly and advised her and Betty to run before they arrived. Polly did eventually find shelter when Ronnie and her mom stepped up to help, so Polly should be safe for now as long as no one else learns of her sanctuary.
As an aside, Ronnie and her mom have also buried the hatchet after last week’s betrayal of Hermione forging her daughter’s signature to get Fred Andrews the construction project at the former drive-in, but she also had to promise Ronnie that she would come clean to her husband about the forgery so he didn’t think his daughter betrayed him, and she also had to decide where her relationships with Fred and her husband stood.
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But now that Hermione has things ironed out with Veronica, what about her relationship with South Side Serpents head honcho FP Jones? Things got mighty complicated for her when Fred agreed to rehire FP at his company. Seems the two men have a long history together, including FP being Fred’s original business partner, that went sour due to FP’s reckless behavior (which also led to Jughead’s homeless state — he just doesn’t want to live with his father — and the separation of the family).
After Jughead’s arrest, it was Fred who bailed the boy out by actually lying to the police that he was working for him on the day of Jason’s murder, going so far as to forge time cards and paperwork. FP didn’t show up until his release, which put an even bigger chip on Juggie’s shoulder. But, even after Archie offered to let Jughead stay with him, Juggie went home with his father … briefly.
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Jughead did eventually accept Archie’s invitation to stay at the Andrews home, leaving FP alone with his thoughts, his beers and … Jason Blossom’s jacket in the closet! What?! Could FP be Jason’s killer? Was that who was following Jughead and Betty to the location of the car? Did FP burn the car to hide the evidence? Or was he more interested in the drugs? Could FB have been Jason’s supplier? This startling revelation certainly puts a target squarely on FP Jones.
What did you think of this week’s episode? Is FP Jason’s killer? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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