Riverdale breaks into song again

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There was a lot of teen angst in the air on this week’s Riverdale, and the parents seemed to get a real eye-opener to just how miserable their kids are as they used the musical adaption of the cult black comedy Heathers as the school’s Spring musical to express their feelings of anger, loneliness, loves lost and found, and just being outcasts in general. A day in the life of a typical teenager. Unlike last year’s presentation of Carrie, no one died during this production … although the ghost of Midge did pop up to haunt both Kevin and Fangs. Could there be something to the both of them seeing her? And what kind of shenanigans are actually going on behind the scenes with The Farm’s participation in this production?

Evelyn, daughter of The Farm’s leader Edgar, seems a little too … eager, especially once Kevin names her co-director of the show, something Betty points out that he’s always done solo. Why now is it ‘too much’ for him to handle on his own? And why is The Farm hosting a cast party — come in costume — while the show is just starting rehearsals? It seemed more than a little obvious that the food and beverages were laced with something but no one seemed to have any ill effects, although a couple of secrets were revealed. Thanks to Sweet Pea, who had been rebuffed by Josie a while back, everyone now knows that she and Archie are a thing (but are they?). That came as a shock to Veronica, and her sudden turnaround about Reggie made him question if it was because of Archie and Josie.

But no, she had other concerns on her mind, namely the stunning news that her parents are separating. Hermione told Ronnie that it was because Hiram knew the truth about her selling his drugs out from under him, but Hiram has a different story to tell. He knows his wife tried to have him killed. Twice. And he believes Veronica knew that, maybe not as a fact, but she certainly had to have a feeling that the attempts on her father’s life weren’t from outside forces. But can forcing her parents to attend the opening of the show together, one last time, make them change their minds … especially after experiencing the message of the show?

On the other side of the scale, Archie and Josie finally have realized that maybe they do belong together, as do Jughead and Betty. Jughead had a pretty great moment this week when he learned someone stole his family’s mobile home (as well as a bunch of pharmaceuticals and drug paraphernalia from the local pharmacy) and then realized it was all his mother’s doing to start up a drug lab. Distraught and heartbroken that this piece of his life is gone and turned into someting awful, by his mother no less, was almost too much for him but Betty was there to help him realize that maybe it was time to just let it go. The duets here on the song ‘Seventeen’ were remarkable with Cole Sprouse showing off a beautiful, strong voice. Of the main cast, he rarely if ever sings on the show, but he has the pipes for sure. And thanks to Betty, he did let it go … by torching the trailer. Something tells me Gladys is not going to be too happy when she finds out what her son has done.

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The ‘Seventeen’ number also gave Toni and Cheryl a second moment in the episode. During the rehearsal for the ‘Candy Store’ number, Cheryl was not cool with Toni being brought in as the show’s choreographer and the two dance battled it out on stage, not disguising their utter contempt for each other. Then Toni had to audacity to wear Cheryl’s signature red to school in a skin-tight, head-to-toe outfit that sent her former flame into a rage, demanding that Toni find herself another school far away from Riverdale High. But Toni was actually the sensible one, understanding the rage they felt was the deep passion they had for each other. The song skillfully cut between #CHONI and #Bughead, bonding the lovebirds once and for all (so Riverdale Powers That Be — be warned now and don’t do anything to split them up).

There was another pairing, or re-pairing as it were. Evelyn, during an exercise where the cast members unloaded their deepest secrets, took note of the fact that Kevin and Fangs were both having visions of Midge. Betty learned that Evelyn had called a special rehearsal for select cast members at The Farm (or rather the sanctuary of the former school run by the Sisters), so Betty decided to invite herself to see what was going on. There she saw a congregation (and it didn’t look like any of the actual cast members) all dressed in white and wearing what looked like cardboard 3D glasses while Kevin and Fangs knelt before each other with Evelyn performing some sort of ceremony, not a marriage per se but some sort of romantic bonding ritual. Betty is sure there’s something evil afoot, but when she presented her photographic evidence to Principal Weatherbee, he just brushed it off. Yes, Weatherbee is now also fully involved with The Farm … and suddenly this has all become so much more interesting that the Gryphons & Gargoyles nonsense that was thankfully absent from this episode.

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But what is Evelyn and The Farm’s really up to? What is their endgame? The episode ended on a very bizarre note as the musical came to a close and the entire cast reprised ‘Seventeen’ but … no one clapped. Of the parents, we really only saw the Joneses, the Lodges and Penelope Blossom in the audience — neither Alice Cooper or Fred Andrews were seen (and neither actos’ names were in the opening credits, and rumors had the previous episode with Fred’s appearance at FP’s birthday party was Luke Perry’s last scene on the show, but that has not been confirmed) — with Penelope kind of smirking while the others looked on in stunned silence by the power of the song and then …

A lone, slow clap from somewhere in the middle of the crowd. A man in white stands and continues to clap, then more slow clapping as more audience members in white stood. The teens on stage seemed very perplexed as no one else stood or clapped, not even their parents but Evelyn knew exactly who those people were, particularly the first man who stood: ‘I knew my dad would like it.’ Yes, we have finally gotten our first glimpse of The Farm’s leader Edgar, played by Chad Michael Murray. Betty seemed particularly unnerved, as did the other audience members. Of note, the one familiar face in the crowd of Farm members who were clapping — Principal Weatherbee. What this means for the rest of the season remains to be seen, but after fifteen episode of mucking about with the Gargoyle King, the show has suddenly gotten really interesting again.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8:00 PM.

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