Screengrab
Riverdale borrowed another classic movie (and book) title for this week’s episode “The Outsiders,” which focused on a rivalry between a gang of greasers and the Socs, a group of wealthy kids from the other side of town. Obviously the Socs here are Archie and his friends (though none of them save for Veronica is anything near wealthy) and the Southside Serpents headed by Jughead’s father FP. Of course there is also the rivalry between the Coopers and the Blossoms as they fight for the right to raise Polly’s baby. But bad decisions all around put a lot of our characters in some sort of jeopardy.
With Polly seeking asylum with the Lodges, Veronica decided that they should throw her a baby shower and she could invite whomever she wanted. Of course she wanted her mother to be there … and the Blossoms. No one thought putting them in the same room together was a good idea, but Polly insisted. Betty had to work hard to convince their mother to attend, and everything seemed cordial until the Blossoms arrived, and Alice and Penelope got into a fight that stopped short of fisticuffs. Grandma Blossom also performed a little parlor trick with a crystal and told Polly she was having twins, one of each!
Screengrab
But what really came out of this whole ordeal was a shocking revelation from Polly — her father had offered to take her to a doctor and pay for a procedure to help her correct her “mistake” … without his wife’s knowledge. This news set Alice off into a rage, storming home and confronting her husband, revealing that he had done the same thing with her (and she apparently went along with it, so Betty and Polly could have had an older sibling). Ordering him out of their home, Alice dropped a little aside that could be a huge clue, or just another red herring, when she told him not to cross her any more than he already had because he knows what she’s capable of. Was she suggesting she could actually have murdered someone? When she first stormed into his man cave, there was an almost subtle action on her part where one of her hands went immediately to her husband’s throat. It seems we’re being set up to really believe Alice killed Jason, but I’m still thinking it’s a distraction, especially with some of the other revelations concerning the Serpents.
Even though we haven’t seen him since Kevin’s encounter at the drive-in, the young Serpent is apparently now Kevin’s boyfriend. At least that’s what Kevin thinks. More on that in a moment. With Fred Andrews’ company on the line after Clifford Blossom hired all of his crew away just as demolition work was to start on the drive-in property, and then when Archie and his friends pitched in to help get the job started and some thugs turned up to destroy some equipment, Archie immediately assumed it was the handiwork of the Serpents.
Jughead felt otherwise, but Kevin’s boyfriend got them all into a dive bar on the Serpents’ turf. Looking for the two who destroyed the equipment and beat up Moose pretty badly, Archie could not contain himself, getting into a melee in the bar that was quickly broken up by FP, shocking Archie in the process. He had no idea Jughead’s dad was a Serpent and that newly revealed news had a ripple effect across the group’s friendship with Jughead. But, while it may have caused some issues for Archie and Jughead, FP had called Fred the moment he saw Archie enter the bar, and Fred was right there when Archie was escorted out, ready to lay down the law. But Archie slipped away while Fred was talking with FP, and it seems the two men were getting back on some friendly ground again with FP offering to see if he could find out who busted up the equipment and even offered to lend a hand on the job if Fred wanted it.
Screengrab
But while everything seemed on the up and up, there was a lot more to the Serpents than met the eye. Polly told Betty and Jughead that Jason was doing the drug run for the Serpents to earn money so they could leave. He wasn’t really a dealer, it was just this one time. Juggy and Betty confronted FP, and he basically admitted the story was true. He had assumed since Jason never arrived at the drop off that he had run off with the product, until the news of his death was released. After the talk, Jughead believed his father was innocent of killing Jason and Betty … well, Betty said she believed Jughead.
But FP had more up his sleeve. Kevin’s “boyfriend” is apparently just using Kevin to get inside information on the police investigation on behalf of FP, and FP is going to use Jason’s jacket as insurance, giving the garment to the boy who seems to feel a bit guilty of using Kevin because Kevin actually likes him. This certainly complicates things because we have to ask ourselves if this guy is actually gay, and if he is will he turn on FP to protect Kevin, or will he just end up shattering Kevin’s heart in the end? I worry about Kevin’s longevity on the show since his portrayer Casey Cott is not listed as a series regular in the opening credits. Odd for someone who has appeared in pretty much every episode at some point.
In the end, however, Jughead, Archie and Betty all resolved their feelings about Jughead’s dishonesty about his father and everyone is on solid ground again (but again, no Reggie this week). But what of Polly? The poor girl is torn between where she wants and needs to be. After the shower and the revelation about their father, Betty assures Polly that their mother wants her and the baby to come home now that Hal has been evicted from his home. But the Blossoms have an offer on the table as well, promising Polly anything her heart desires. Yes, they can buy her anything but they don’t love her, they just want that baby. Alice, on the other hand, has had a huge change of heart but … Polly chooses to go live with the Blossoms, shattering the hearts of Alice and Betty. But will she be any better of there than she was at the home for wayward girls?
Odd and Ends
- Did anyone notice that Archie’s hair was not as red as it’s been since the show started? It was a more auburn color this week. Perhaps they’re trying to subtly tone it down a bit.
- For the first time, the show mentioned a real city outside of the Archie-verse, Montreal. Saying the city was “up north” could place Riverdale possibly in upstate New York or Vermont. Considering the town was built on maple syrup, I’d like to think the show is set in Vermont.
- FP revealed to Hermione that it looks like her husband is behind the sabotage of Fred’s business possibly for her little infidelities. But who could have told him? Is Ronnie a snitch?
- Fan theories and some subtle imagery suggest Riverdale may take a turn into the supernatural with the introduction of Sabrina as her hometown Greendale has been mentioned a few times. There may also be zombies. The show’s creator, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, hinted at such, and we have seen a vision of an undead Jason — and a bullet to the brain is the only way to kill a zombie — and he also happens to be the writer of the comic Afterlife with Archie.
What did you think of this week’s episode? Did Polly make a bad decision? Could Alice be a killer? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Share this post
