By 
To Riverdale and Back Again
Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW — © 2017 The CW Network. All Rights Reserved
Archie’s “romance” with his predatory music teacher, Ms Grundy was short lived, thank god. Either that was the plan or the writers realized it was a bad idea and by the end of episode 4, she was on her way out of town in her VW Bug eyeing up her next victim.
Archie’s storyline has consisted mostly of him attempting to find a balance between being on the football team and pursuing his music, while bouncing from one make out session to the next. Archie has now kissed 4 women that we know of in the 10 episodes that have aired. Veronica being his most recent conquest. Considering what everyone else in town is dealing with, sometimes Archie is privy to some eye rolls over his “dilemmas”.
Veronica has been coping with the aftermath of her father going to jail and coming to terms with the idea that maybe he wasn’t such a nice guy after all. She butts heads with her mother when Hermione forges her signature on some documents that will allow Fred Andrews Construction to begin demolishing the Drive-In, a secret purchase Hermione made for Hiram after some shady cash transaction with the Mayor. Hermione has an ill-fated romance with former high school crush Fred. He breaks up with her once he finds out she’s been lying about being the real owner of the Drive-In land and even insists on a 20% cut for his troubles.
Betty has been curious about her sister’s whereabouts and since Polly was Jason’s girlfriend, she’s worried her sister may have been involved in the murder. She resumes the school newspaper and enlists Jughead to help her investigate. These kids have done a better job with this investigation than the Sheriff (only on television). They find Polly and attempt to get her out of the convent until their efforts are thwarted by Alice. Polly escapes (jumps from a 2nd story window while pregnant and sustains no injuries- only on TV) and attempts reconciliation with her parents and the Blossoms.
Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW — © 2017 The CW Network. All Rights Reserved
The girls throw her a baby shower that doesn’t go off as planned and Polly ends up deciding to live with the Blossoms. Alice is hurt and Betty is confused, until Polly gets word to Archie that she’s only there because she believes the Blossoms had something to do with Jason’s murder and she’s determined to figure it out.
Betty and Jughead become close while investigating the murder and their feelings become romantic. Betty, in an effort to be the best girlfriend ever, throws Jughead a birthday party which he does not want. Jughead spews some nasty words at her claiming she threw this party for herself, not for him. Betty is obviously hurt, but the two patch things up after Chuck puts the Dark Betty story on blast and FP gives Jughead some relationship advice. Betty shows Jughead the marks on her hands from the self-harm she does to keep herself from letting Dark Betty come forward and they become closer… for the moment.
Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW — © 2017 The CW Network. All Rights Reserved
Kevin has been dating Joaquin, a member of the Southside Serpent gang that FP appears to be a leading member of and Alice is hinted as a former member (?). FP has Joaquin spying on Sheriff Keller to see what exactly he knows. This is all a bit murky and I’m sure some clarity will come as the final episodes unfold.
FP and Joaquin are in possession of Jason’s letterman jacket, the same jacket Betty and Jughead found in Polly and Jason’s getaway car along with a bunch of drugs. When the Sheriff went to investigate the car, it had been torched and the drugs were missing. The obvious conclusion is the Serpents did it, the why is still in question. FP reveals to Betty and Jughead that Jason came to the Serpents for help making some quick cash to get him and his pregnant girlfriend out of town. They gave him the drugs to drop off upstate and then he went missing.
The Blossoms are a whole different kind of crazy and weird. Nana Rose is a gypsy with dementia, Penelope has a weird obsession with Archie because he looks so much like Jason, and Clifford apparently isn’t a redhead. The most recent preview teased a white-haired Clifford in a room full of red wigs; can’t wait to see where that’s going. They’re definitely suspect in terms of Jason’s murder and they seem to hold a lot of clout around town. Sheriff Keller is at their beck and call, Mayor McCoy is nervous for them to find out she gave the Drive-In land to Hiram, and they appear to have it out for everyone in town. Hal Cooper claims Grandpappy Blossom murdered Grandpappy Cooper; there’s a lot of bad blood between the Blossoms and the other families in Riverdale.
So, are you team Bughead? Should Archie & Veronica be a thing? Do you want to know more about Alice’s Southside past? Most importantly, who do you think killed Jason Blossom?
New episodes of Riverdale return April 27, kicking off the final 3 episodes of the season and revealing just whom among our Riverdale residents is responsible for the death of Jason Blossom.
Michele Curran is a freelance writer with a millions thoughts a minute going on in her head; from television, music, movies, and politics to ways she can feasibly board a plane to the Caribbean and sell t-shirts on the beach. Broadway frequenter. Soap lover. TV aficionado. Sports masochist. Proud New Yorker. You can find her musings at firesidewithmimi.wordpress.com and follow her on twitter @mimic1019
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