Warner Bros. Television
I’ve been griping about the boring Gargoyle King storyline pretty much all season, but in this week’s episode of Riverdale, they finally made good use of the whole Gargoyle Gang plot in a story that was really heavy in its message … although it almost got glossed over as the episode was rushing to its conclusion.
There was a lot going on this week but the main thrust of the episode as we head into Valentine’s Day — and a two week break before a new episode — was that love is in the air. Cheryl & Toni have learned that they really only have each other to lean on now that they’ve been kicked out of the Serpents, and Penelope has made sure Cheryl does not carry on the family legacy at their college because of her ‘aberrant’ behavior. Tom Keller & Sierra McCoy have finally decided to tie the knot with Kevin and Josie excited to throw them a reception at the speakeasy, and Kevin & Moose are about to finally move forward with their relationship … or not.
Kevin is tired of sneaking around because Moose won’t come out to his strict, military father. He voices his concerns to Cheryl, who proudly proclaims herself the first out class president of Riverdale High. She uses that privilege of power to announce a ‘blind item’ over the school’s PA system that is anything but blind, being very specific about a ‘hunky RROTC cadet’ and his ‘showtunes loving boyfriend’. Kevin and Moose are mortified, and Kevin has to assure Moose he did not put Cheryl up to that. Toni, in response, was furious with Cheryl for basically outing Moose to the entire school (not that anyone seemed to know it was him but the pool of RROTC cadets to showtunes loving students os probably very limited), so Cheryl had to do what she could to make amends to Toni, Kevin and Moose.
The news of Tom & Sierra’s impending nuptials also inflamed the Gargoyle King who sent them and the rest of the Midnight Club notes to gather again at the school and complete the game they started when they were students. If they refused, their kids would pay the consequences. With Hiram still recovering from his gunshot wound, who exactly could have sent these messages? Who could want to destroy the happiness of two members of the Midnight Club? Thinking only of their kids, everyone agrees to meet at the school to find the hidden chalices and complete the game … even if it means one of them will die.
While Cheryl is making amends, Moose tells her the outing actually gave him the courage to come out to his father and it didn’t go as badly as he expected. In fact, it gave him the courage to finally spend the night with Kevin. But where? For some odd reason, Kevin decided to choose the bunker instead of his own bedroom. Perhaps privacy was a concern.
Warner Bros. Television
Back at the school, the Midnight Club has searched high and low to find the chalices to no avail. Then they hear Penelope’s screams and find a goat skull with the message ‘Got you!’ written in blood on a white board. They suddenly realize this was all a wild goose chase and that the Gargoyle King is really targeting their kids. But which ones? Everyone frantically calls their children (and this was the only time we saw Betty this week as she and Jughead were together in her bedroom), and all are safe … except Kevin and Moose.
A group of masked Gargoyles barges into the bunker and takes the pair to the Gargoyle King to drink from the chalices. Kevin, trying to protect Moose, said he would drink first but before he can, an arrow flies past their heads hitting the Gargoyle King. Cheryl and the Midnight Club have arrived in the nick of time. The Gargoyles are unmasked and they are all RROTC members, and when the King is revealed it’s a shock to everyone — Moose’s father.
And this is where the story takes a heavy, heart-wrenching turn. Major Mason had, as a teenager, had a crush on … Tom Keller. An attempt to kiss him was rebuffed, and Mason was sent to The Sisters to ‘be cured.’ Now, seeing Tom and Sierra happy — and remembering how much Kevin looks like young Tom, and now his own son is getting something he could never have — set Mason off. He claimed there was no poison in the chalices, he was just using the Gargoyle King to try to scare Moose straight. In the end, the incident forced Moose to move to Glendale, ending his relationship with Kevin. For now.
That was certainly an interesting story with a solid message, but the resolution happened so quickly it didn’t have the impact it could have. Still, kudos to the Powers That Be for tackling the subject.
Bits & Pieces
- Veronica and Reggie were forced by Hermione to come up with the money she owed the buyer for the destroyed Fizzle Rocks. The amount forced Reggie to don a Gargoyle mask to rob his father’s car dealership … which ended with him getting grazed by a bullet and covered in dye when he opened the bag of money.
- Josie and Sweet Pea are a thing?
- No, Josie and Archie are now a thing after Sweet Pea revealed he was tired of just being a booty call.
- Cheryl successfully blackmailed her mother into ending her interference with her college admission … and pulled a few strings to help Toni get in as well.
- We wanted more Gina Gershon and we’re getting it … but not as we expected. Gladys Jones, it turns out, is the buyer of the Fizzle Rocks. She’s impressed that Veronica and Reggie actually came to the meeting knowing they were short of cash and offered to cut them a deal. But she’s up to more dirty business as she and Jellybean surprise FP and Jughead announcing they’re staying for a while. What FP doesn’t know is that Gladys is using Jellybean (with her full cooperation) to manipulate him to do her bidding. This is certainly a more interesting deelopment than more Gryphons & Gargoyles nonsense!
Riverdale returns Wednesday, February 27 at 8:00 PM.
What did you think of this episode? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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