Riverdale season 2, episode 15 recap: Revenge of the Lodges

What does Hiram have planned for Riverdale? The truth finally comes out, and it pressures the town to hand a position of power to an unlikely candidate.

Riverdale promised that there would be blood, and though it’s metaphorical, the latest episode splattered blood every which way. After weeks of mounting tension between the Lodge family and the town (read: Jughead), the truth about Hiram and Hermione’s shady business dealings come to glorious light, but is there time to hinder the efforts to own Riverdale?

In the latest episode, Jughead doesn’t quit until he follows the trail of secrets all the way to the facts, and Hiram’s plans for the town aren’t what you would expect. Meanwhile, Cheryl receives a haunting visit from a mysterious new — yet familiar — character, and Betty gets to the bottom of Chic’s real identity thanks to some expert catfishing. 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.)

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1. Time’s up on the Lodges.

Sorry, Hiram Lodge, but your secret has been revealed. Let’s cut to the chase here: The supposed “SoDale Project” he’s been keeping under wraps all season involves turning South Side high into a private, for-profit prison and building new housing for its employees. I can’t think of any reason why he wouldn’t want to share these plans. None at all.

He believes that this facility will make the town safer (he was one breath away from saying “great again,” I swear), but a slammer is a hard sell. Ahead of the information leak via Jughead’s tenacity, small secrets leaked as well. Jughead uncovered Hiram’s purchases of Pop’s, which nearly solidifies the Lodges’ ownership of the entire town.

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2. Everybody wants to rule Riverdale.

The Lodges eat scandals for breakfast, so running through a torrential downpour of negative PR is like Sunday brunch for them. First, Hiram and Hermione try to convince Fred Andrews to run for town mayor, which would keep one of their pawns on the board. But Archie denies Veronica’s pressure and talks Fred down from the Lodge ledge. Then word that Jughead knows Hiram bought Pop’s gets back to him, and Veronica takes the fall for Archie’s loose lips. Somehow, they outrun the rumor mill and control the special election. Guess who’s mayor? Hermione Lodge. How convenient.

3. A ghost from the past haunts Cheryl.

In this scenario, ghost is both literal and figurative. Although Cheryl revels in her budding relationship with Toni, her mother exists to be a hurricane of negativity. She’s no ray of sunshine when Cheryl tells her Toni will be joining the family at the reading of Clifford’s recently unearthed will, but is she ever?

During the reading, it’s announced that half of Clifford’s fortune will be disseminated to those who can prove they have Blossom blood (a.k.a. the Coopers) while the other half will go to Cheryl. But who should walk in but Clifford! Just kidding, it’s his long lost twin Claudius, and guess what? He and Penelope have their sights set on taking Cheryl down. Sure, why not?

4. Betty catfishes the truth out of Chic.

Still sleeping with one eye open re: Chic, Betty takes her mission one step further by asking Kevin to catfish him. With Betty on the other side of the computer, Kevin asks Chic pointed questions during a (fully clothed) webcam session, but Chic sniffs out something fishy. Betty had been trying to learn about her brother’s past since he refused a blood test for the Blossom will because “needles trigger him.” Ultimately, Betty sends some bloody floss in for testing and discovers Chic isn’t who he says he is. What could this mean?

5. Hold up… Is Riverdale a political allegory?

I don’t want to give this teen thriller too much credit here, but humor me. Might Riverdale be smarter than we realize? Once Hermione accepted the role as mayor, I started to see the signs of political allegory unravel. A wealthy, business-minded family rolls in and proceeds to claim the highest seat of power and tear apart the town’s sanity bit by bit. Does that remind you of any particular family? How about when I use this word to describe Veronica: complicit. Thankfully, it’s subtle and probably isn’t conscious, but it’s never good news when the current president’s administration is reminiscent of a teen soap opera.

Next: Andy Cohen to guest star as himself on Riverdale: How does he know the Lodges?

Odds & ends:

• Before Polly left town, I had theorized that she could be Black Hood. I stand by the foundation of that theory, but I’m not sure it’s true. Even though her random albeit short-lived return home reads sketchy, it only made Chic seem more suspicious. Why is he taking her twins on walks by the river and cutting Polly out of pictures?
• Correct me if I’m wrong, but Smithers was Deep Throat, right?
• Archie pledges his allegiance to Hiram with a BLOOD OATH. Why, oh, why does Archie still think this is a good idea? Follow up: Why is this show like this?
• Hal wants a divorce and Alice wants money. This should get ugly.
• “No more blood, no more madness, no more horror.” Cheryl is obviously the leader this town needs but doesn’t deserve.
• Black Hood count: One casual, inconsequential mention.

What did you think of the latest episode? Let us know in the comments!

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.