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Riverdale returns after a short break with the inevitable musical episode. Of any series that has ever done a musical episode, it makes the most sense for Riverdale since high schools are known for their musical productions. Add to that the musical background of the series (and comic books and animated shows) with Archie, Veronica and Josie and the Pussycats demonstrating their vocal skills, not to mention Betty, and it just had to happen sooner or later and the producers chose sooner. But would a high school really sign off on a production of Carrie? And for those not up on their Broadway musicals, Carrie is indeed a real show, a notorious Broadway bomb (which starred Betty Buckley, the sympathetic gym teacher in the movie, as Carrie’s mom) which has been retooled a few times in an attempt to make it a success. The show does have a devoted cult following but it’s not very mainstream.
That aside, it was actually a clever choice for the show because it does center around a group of high school students, and each of our main cast perfectly fit the ‘types’ of the source material (going back to Stephen King’s novel and the classic Brian DePalma movie). Archie is the ‘boy next door,’ Betty is the ‘good girl,’ Veronica is the ‘bad girl,’ Cheryl cast herself as Carrie, and even Alice got in on the act as Carrie’s mother (because director Kevin felt nothing was more amateur than non-age appropriate casting … which doesn’t explain why he cast Josie as the gym teacher). But the show also brought out everyone’s demons … not to mention the possible return of the Black Hood (told’ya that story wasn’t over with). The show’s musical score was also used to good effect to illuminate the characters and the citizens of Riverdale portraying them.
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But the show seemed doomed from the start. A few members of the cast weren’t too happy about Cheryl casting herself as the star … but come on, who else could play Carrie? And she proved she had the pipes for the part when it became obvious there was a lot of negativity being slung at her (namely by Ethel). But Cheryl’s time in the spotlight was short-lived as her mother notified Principal Weatherbee that she was not granting her permission to appear in the show. Especially not one that includes matricide as a plot point. That hits a little too close to home for Penelope, considering what she’s put Cheryl through recently. Don’t want to give the girl any ideas, right?
But, before she was pulled from the show, Cheryl had to perform a duet with Josie, who is still a bit freaked out and angry about that heart she realized was from Cheryl and not the Black Hood. Cheryl, however, felt it impossible to sing a song of friendship with someone who hated her but a heartfelt apology and some spot on lyrics seems to have healed that rift between the girls. Like Cheryl explained, she’d been dealing with some really dark issues so Josie let it go and the two embraced at the end of the performance. Awwww. Things weren’t so rosy for Penelope and Cheryl though. On opening night, Cheryl went full Carrie, donning the simple prom dress and covering herself in ‘blood’ to deliver a warning to her mother. Cheryl warned her to not touch a hair on her Nana’s head and that she demanded Penelope and Uncle Claudius leave Thistle House because she burned down Thorn Hill and wouldn’t hesitate to do the same if they stayed, preferable with them in the house. I don’t think we’ve ever seen Penelope as scared as she was at that moment. And a few minutes later Cheryl was all cleaned up and watching the show from the wings with Kevin, Jughead and the rest of the cast while Alice did her big number.
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The show’s characters really illuminated the characters of Betty and Veronica as well. Veronica played Chris, the story’s bad girl who loved to torment Carrie. The character made Betty see Veronica for who she really is, an affluent snob who uses her family’s station in life to get what she wants (Betty played the sympathetic role of Sue … but she certainly has her own demons). All of that was only brought to the forefront by Chris’ big number, and it completely set Betty off, which made things all the more awkward for Archie because he’s now caught between his best friend and his girlfriend … but after a talking to by Archie, Betty realized how harsh she was being and went to apologize … and Veronica admitted that Betty was right about her, but Betty said her perception of V was off base and now these two are friends again as well. Yay! Not only that but Chuck, who had been trying to rehabilitate his image after that encounter with Dark Betty and maple syrup, worked hard on the show (he played Ronnie’s boyfriend) and was welcomed into the fold.
Archie was caught between his dad and Hiram, attempting to keep the gift of the car from Fred by parking it in the garage of the Lodge’s building. Hiram already knew that there was a rift between Archie and Fred (the ‘family values’ candidate whose own family was not standing beside him) and he wanted to keep it that way to help Hermione win the election for mayor. After Fred volunteered to build the sets for the show since business has slowed to a crawl after his break from Lodge Industries, Hiram decided to pay a visit and casually ask Archie how he and Fred liked the car. Fred kept his cool and said he liked it, but once Hiram left, Fred walked out. He was pissed because it was a lavish gift and he knew Hiram was buying Archie’s loyalties, but he really wanted to go with Archie to the junkyard and get ‘an old jalopy’ that the two of them could fix up together. Now, anyone who knows the classic Archie comics knows that Archie did in fact drive an old jalopy and by the end of the episode, Archie had warned Hiram not to try to come between him and his dad — because that was a battle he’d lose every time — and he’d surprised Fred with … an old jalopy that they can work on (since Archie returned the keys to the other car). Fred was nearly moved to tears but it’s uncertain if Hiram was impressed with Archie’s cojones or if his actions had just started another war.
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The show also gave Alice a chance to have a big musical moment as she was supposed to be singing to Carrie about not leaving her, but she ended up directing the entire number to Betty who was watching the rehearsal. Alice was still feeling guilty about throwing Chic out of the house and had been desperately trying to reach him but he’s not returning her calls. Alice, who we last saw paying a visit to FP’s trailer, went to Pop’s to see him again but FP kept brushing her off. She told him they feared their kids would make the same mistakes they had, but here they were making their own mistakes all over again. Knowing how badly she was hurting, Betty arranged for her dad to show up at the house on opening night of the show and even though he brought Alice a bouquet of flowers she’s allergic to (because how after all those years of marriage would he know she was allergic to peonies?), he was very sincere in letting her know he wanted to come home and she seemed to finally break down and agree it was time. But at the night of the show, FP did decide to show up for support and saw Hal talking to Alice, so he left.
Jughead didn’t have much to do this week except document the making of the show (and he’s a better writer than videographer judging by the video footage the episode would cut back and forth to) but he was also Kevin’s confidant when mysterious, ransom-style notes started showing up in Kevin’s locker warning him to recast the role of Carrie (when Cheryl was still the lead). The letters were ‘signed’ The Black Hood, but they really didn’t seem to be coming from someone who is supposed to be dead. And if he’s not dead, why would he care if Cheryl was the star of the show? But with Cheryl out, Kevin announced the show would have a new Carrie — no, not you Ethel –Midge!
With opening night upon Riverdale High, there was the usual flurry of activity backstage as Kevin was frantically trying to get everyone in their places. Jughead, videoc amera in hand, documented everything and there were a few things that left some questions for us all. In Ethel’s dressing room (since when do the background actors get their own dressing rooms?), Jughead found a trash can full of magazines that had been cut up, possibly for use as ransom notes similar to the ones Kevin received. She denied any guilt and said that was all for her ‘vision board.’ Uh huh, sure, whatever you say. Kevin caught his boyfriend (?) Fangs in Midge’s dressing room, seeming to startle them as if something was going on. Fangs claimed he was just giving Midge some last minute pointers. Hmmmm. That only became a bit more suspicious when Moose came blowing past Jughead after he’d been tossed out of Ethel’s dressing room. Why would Moose be so heated? Did he actually catch Midge and Fangs in a compromising position? And Chic showed up too, which unnerved Betty a bit. The coolest part of this entire scene was the use of actual Pino Donaggio music from the Carrie film score.
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But the show is on and we’re at Margaret White’s big number after she’d locked Carrie in the closet and was about to let her out. As she sang, the wall was to rise, releasing Carrie from her prison. But what we got was one of the most gasp-worthy moments of the series as Midge was pinned to the wall by various knives and other implements (just like how Carrie’s mother ends up in the movie) with a message scrawled in blood on the wall warning everyone that those who did not die the first time would die now that the Black Hood is back. Does anyone think that the return of Hal Cooper and the return of the Black Hood are less than coincidental? Could Moose have been that angry to kill Midge? Was Ethel still upset that she didn’t get the lead role?
Just one little note: After the previous episode’s non-movie title, we’re back to an actual movie title that has absolutely nothing to do with the episode. A Night to Remember is a classic movie about the sinking of the Titanic. They could have just gone the easy route and called this one ‘High School Musical’. Perhaps it was meant as a joke because at one point Kevin wonders if he’s directing a trainwreck (he could have easily said ‘a titanic disaster’), but of course with Midge’s demise — and remember, she did nearly die once before at the hands of the Hood — this certainly will be a night that everyone will remember.
What did you think of this episode? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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