5 sketchy things that happened in Riverdale season 2, episode 10
By Reed Gaudens
Riverdale returns with a new year of drama, including the long-awaited arrival of Betty’s long-lost brother. Here are five sketchy moments that’ll spark your intrigue.
They say the more things change, the more they stay the same. But the changes shaking up Riverdale have the titular town looking like a shell of its former self — in ways good and not so good. First of all, the haunting of Black Hood has subsided (for the time being, but we’ll get there). But a Southside shakeup brings the town-wide turf war brimming to the surface in the chaos-laden halls of Riverdale Hall.
As if the fallout from the Black Hood disaster hadn’t been enough trauma to unload during winter break, the youth of Riverdale return to a world of teen angst hurt in 2018. You know how it goes: New year, same Riverdale. In the drama’s first episode of the year, Archie navigates the choppy waters in the middle of the latest Lodge industries drama, aided by none other than Cheryl and her expert-level means of blackmail. Elsewhere, Jughead stands up for the Serpents when they’re forced to conform to the Riverdale High norm, and Betty seeks out her mysterious if not incredibly creepy long-lost brother Chic (guest star Hart Denton). If you’ve been watching along with us, then you know we’ve had our suspicions about the other Cooper, and they might have been justified. Let’s dig into the five most shocking developments from the latest jaw-dropping episode of Riverdale. (Warning: It’s about to get real spoilery in here.)
1. The Serpents invade Riverdale High.
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Due to super thin reasoning, Mayor McCoy shuts down Southside High and integrates its students among the town’s remaining high schools. But behind closed doors, the reasoning isn’t as thin. Southside High’s closure has everything to do with the Lodges and their greedy schemes with the SoDale project. Hiram has Mayor McCoy in his back pocket, which won’t be a good look when the you-know-what hits the fan. Anyway, Jughead and his nearest and dearest Serpents transfer to Riverdale High, but it’s not quite the homecoming either side expected.
2. Jughead won’t shed his skin.
Although Veronica rolls out the welcome wagon for her new Southside peers, Cheryl and Reggie embark on an agenda of bitterness and prejudice. Words are exchanged, snakes are painted on the school seal, and threats of suspension are thrown down by Principal Weatherbee. For his sake, Jughead’s misplaced pride for a gang he’s been part of for, like, five minutes earns him a temporary suspension for refusing to remove his Serpents jacket. Jug later concedes to the new gang-less dress code, but he reinstates his revolution when unofficial uniforms are enforced for Serpents.
3. Archie teams up with the FBI. (For real.)
Sometimes I think Riverdale trolls us with Archie because they have pulled some rather heinous tricks on our boy. But connecting him with the FBI? That’s just plain weird. (You know you’d watch six full seasons of a USA show where Archie works as an informant for the FBI like White Collar, though.) Agent Adams had been tracking Archie and his connection to Hiram, whom Adams suspects has been up to no good (see: organized crime) in Riverdale.
Archie initially denies these claims, but our guy puts all of the pieces together and becomes a believer. He worries about his father getting in too deep with the Lodges and the deal he struck to repay his medical bills, but once Archie discovers Hiram could have had a motive to call for Nick St. Clair’s convenient accident, Archie goes full undercover. Fingers crossed Archie did some elementary level googling before trusting Riverdale native Agent Adams…
4. Cheryl blackmails Archie with that kiss.
Did you forget Archie and Betty shared a heat-of-the moment smooch before catching Black Hood? Well, our resident messy queen who lives for chaos sure didn’t. Cheryl tries to coerce Archie into bringing Veronica over to the anti-Serpents side with a little blackmail, which Archie ends up using to his favor. Kindred spirits thanks to their hair color, Archie and Cheryl share a special bond that can ultimately be boiled down to justice. Archie pays Nick St. Clair a visit to score Cheryl a reparation check and press for information about Hiram. Oh, and to punch the living daylights out of him.
5. Batten down the hatches, it’s Chic Cooper!
By the end of the Black Hood arc, we were pointing fingers at everyone, including Polly Cooper. It’s a strange theory, but you don’t have to reach too far to craft a motive for her. Nonetheless, it’s not a shock when Betty nearly pepper sprays her sister in a fit of fright. Betty learns that Polly had the twins, Juniper and Dagwood, but has zero intention of returning home. Nice alibi, Polly. Naturally, Betty decides to track down her long-lost brother as a means to ease her mother’s inevitable grief. Smart!
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She and Alice eventually track down Charles Smith, Chic for short, at a seedy motel where he works in “fantasy fulfillment.” Even though he’s had the Coopers’ address since he turned 18, he wants nothing to do with them — at least, that’s what he wants them to think. Betty returns to the motel to have a chat but finds Chic engaged in a violent brawl. She brings him home, and it reads like Buffy inviting Spike into her house for the first time. Chic watches Betty sleep, which makes it all the more interesting that Archie asks Agent Adams if he thinks they caught the right Black Hood. Spoiler: They did not.
Next: Riverdale unmasks Black Hood, but did the gang catch the right killer?
Odds & Ends:
- Cheryl referring to Veronica as Eva Perón and Veronica bemoaning the toxic masculinity pervading passing period are everything that I watch Riverdale for.
- Don’t think I didn’t notice the sparks flying between Kevin and Fangs Fogarty. If Kevin hadn’t been burned by a Serpent in the past, I’d be more willing to let this ship set sail. But for now, we’re going to test the winds and wait it out. Fogarty is super cute, though.
- Okay, so Ronnie being cool about Archie’s kiss with Betty will come back to bite them later, right? Yes, he was honest, and she respected his honesty, but we haven’t seen the last of this fight, no way, no how. If anything, she’s got some ammo for a rainy day.
- No judgment, but Penelope Blossom preferring her new line of sex work to Cheryl’s savvy extortion is truly wild. Still truly to locate my chill.
- There’s 100% way more to Chic Cooper than meets the eye, and I’m thrilled to go on this ride. Let’s just say I won’t be shocked if he owns any black outerwear.
Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
What did you think of the latest episode? Let us know in the comments!