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The target audience for Riverdale is much younger than myself, so it’s unlikely they have any clue what this week’s episode was referencing. But when I was a kid in the 1970s, Rod Serling hosted an anthology series (post-The Twilight Zone) called Night Gallery in which he presented a painting that introduced one of the stories for the week. And that is exactly what this week’s episode did as Cheryl fulfilled her agreement with Minerva to make up for the forged pieces of art she tried to pass off on her earlier in the season. It was neat how each segment was self-contained so there was a beginning, middle and end (sort of) to each tale.
Archie
The first painting featured a shirtless Archie in a mine, of all places, but it makes sense as the story unfolds. After finally being able to get help for his PTSD — or so he thinks — Archie, Eric and Uncle Frank are approached by Cheryl, who is the last person in town to learn about the huge vein of palladium running through the mines under her maple groves, so she wants to hire Archie’s construction company to dig it out before Hiram can get his hands on it. Archie points out that he knows nothing about mining, and Cheryl reminds him of everything else he’s done from being a firefighter to a school teacher with no formal training so he can probably handle a mine. And Frank actually has some experience so it shouldn’t be too hard to open the place up with Reggie, Kevin and Fangs also on the crew.
Archie wanted to go through his therapy drug-free, but after having a horrifying flashback to the war, and after Eric seemed to be having results with his medication, Archie opted to get a prescription since he had a crew depending on him. But after taking one pill, Archie had another severe reaction while in the mine, at one point seeing Eric has a ‘mothman’ (thanks for Fangs’ little campfire story), and then believing his doctor was experimenting on him and Eric, bursting into her office and accusing her of working for Hiram … whom she’s never heard of. Asked to stay above ground for the crew’s safety, Archie agreed but heard yelling coming from the mine. Unsure if he was hearing things, Archie rushed in again to find Fangs and Kevin completely freaked out, and Eric trying to choke out Frank, saying he was the Devil. Archie got Frank out of Eric’s clutches but he ended up being choked out himself until he punched Eric and knocked his lights out. It was discovered the mines were filled with carbon monoxide and that was causing the hallucinations, including Archie’s so he went back to the doctor and tried to apologize and explain himself but he admitted he’s not just seeing his fallen officer anymore, he’s seeing all of them. And they were all there in the office. The doctor said she’s too frightened to be alone with Archie and that he really needs more help than she can provide. It was a chilling sight, but this is the one story that was short and didn’t feel like it had a real ending.
Betty
The next painting featured a bloody Betty with a chainsaw, and Cheryl’s tale picked up after Betty and Tabitha caught the man they think is the Highway Killer. Betty advised Tabitha to let her handle this alone to keep her out of any legal jeopardy, so Betty had to go this one alone. While I assumed Betty would take the trucker to the bunker — because what is more private than that? — she actually took him to the high school’s auto shop. It’s a long weekend so no one is around. She tried questioning him to no avail, then she brought photos of the missing women to try to get a reaction, but he was too clever to fall for her tricks. Her next step was to try and humanize the victims by getting Alice to play the grieving mother, which she readily agreed to, showing him pictures and talking about her daughter, and even seeming to make the trucker feel badly. But again it was all an act, and when he said Polly squealed like a pig when he slit her throat, Alice jumped up and got in a few good punches to the guy’s face.
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Since that tactic didn’t work, Alice asked Betty to kill the guy. Just kill him. It would make her feel better knowing Polly’s killer is dead and other girls won’t suffer the fate of those before them. Betty said she had one more trick up her sleeve, and she told the trucker she wasn’t going to kill him … she wanted him to suffer, telling him first she’d chainsaw his feet off at the ankles, cauterize the wounds then for for his legs up to his knees, cauterize and move up and by the time she got to his arms, he may die of a heart attack but she felt he was stronger than that. All of this was basically the same thing the Trash Bag Killer said to Betty when he had her imprisoned in his pit. The trucker seemed scared for a moment, perfectly described Polly, her tattoo, and the name she used while tricking … and then said he had no idea who she was. That set off Betty who went to get the chainsaw, but by the time she got back the trucker had bitten off his own tongue, swallowed it and choked to death. Telling Alice what had happened, the both felt some relief that he was dead but Betty doesn’t think the killings are over. Something he said to her makes her think there is a kind of ‘family’ out there working together.
Jughead
Jughead’s story goes back to when he first left Riverdale seven years ago for Iowa, and how a year later he got an agent — and called Betty at college to tell her the good news. What he didn’t tell her was that he moved to New York to become a real writer, and then suffered a bad case of writer’s block. But thanks to those maple mushrooms courtesy of his girlfriend Jessica, he was able to churn out 200 pages that his agent thought was … going to be a blockbuster. Setting up a book release party, Jughead invited Betty who promised to come but at the last minute she texted him and said she couldn’t make it. And that was the genesis of that toxic voice message he left her. He was drunk and stoned out of his mind and just pissed that she didn’t come, reminding her how selfish and hurtful she’d been by hooking up with Archie. And then he fell into a sinkhole, waking up in the sewers, wandering around, deciding he liked it there, setting up a little spot for him to sleep.
Jughead is relating his story to an addicts support group, so they are stunned by what he’s telling them, not really sure what’s real and what isn’t especially when he gets to the part about being awakened by the Rat King, a creature whose domain Jughead had invaded. But Juggie regaled the King with his story (luckily he had a copy of his book with him), and the Rat King decided Jughead could stay and keep him entertained with more tales. A sleeping Jughead was once again awakened, but this time by … Betty. Actually a vision of Betty who told him the tunnels he was in were about to be flooded and if he didn’t leave he’d drown. Leading them both out of the tunnel, Jughead made his way back to the street but the next thing he remembered was waking up in the hospital. Turns out he was infected with rabies. There was no Rat King. When Jughead first fell into the sink hole, he regained consciousness covered in rats, afraid to open his mouth and scream because he thought they’d try to go into his mouth. And all of this is why he’s now trying to get sober. But it also sounds like he genuinely wants to repair his relationship with Betty, if that’s even possible.
Having told her tales — and now we are left to wonder if these stories she’s told are now canon or just flights of whimsy to explain her paintings — Cheryl unveiled one last painting of she and Minerva as Psyche and Cupid. Minerva is further impressed by its beauty, and Cherly admits showing the artwork was not the only reason she summoned her ex. But Minerva is leaving the country, in the morning, but Cheryl shows her that they can still enjoy the night.
So, has Archie and his crew actually gone to work for Cheryl in the mines? Did Betty’s trucker actually off himself? Did Jughead really suffer from a case of rabies and hopes to reconcile with Betty? We shall have to wait and see, but next week Josie and the Pussycats return! For now, let’s give a tip of the hat to Mädchen Amick for her skills in directing a very differently constructed episode. Brava!
Riverdale airs Wednesdays 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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