Riverdale season 3, episode 3 recap: Anything goes at Veronica’s speakeasy

What’s more ill-fated: Veronica’s civil war with Hiram or Archie’s planned escape from jail? Here’s the five most shocking moments from the latest Riverdale.

What does Veronica’s speakeasy opening and Archie’s role in his juvie fight club have in common? They’re both trains headed on a collision course. Riverdale rolls out the red carpet for Veronica’s debut as a business owner with the opening of Le Bonne Nuit, a speakeasy underneath Pop’s that’s destined to clash with Hiram’s sabotage. Also, Archie fights for his life in prison while Bughead makes headway in the Gargoyle King investigation. Are these all losing battles?

Let’s dig into the five most shocking moments from the latest jaw-dropping season 3 episode of Riverdale. (Warning: It’s about to get real spoilery in here.)

1. Opening a speakeasy isn’t so easy.

Following some light pushing from Betty, Veronica finally decides to open her speakeasy even though she intended to wait for Archie to attend opening night. Well, that’s not happening any time soon. The opening night festivities take shape rather quickly, but it’s not without its speed bumps. First, Veronica receives a visit from Penny Peabody, who offers the Ghoulies’ “services.”

Next, she’s saddled with dozens of boxes of jingle jangle and an unexpected walk through from Sheriff Minetta. With Cheryl and Toni’s intel on the Ghoulies’ drug lab at the Whyte Wyrm, V gathers blackmail on the culprit: her father. She might not realize it, but she’s playing a game much more dangerous than Griffins and Gargoyles.

2. Betty (unsuccessfully) infiltrates The Farm.

Betty puts the old saying, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” to practice when The Farm comes to Riverdale High. She learns from Ethel that Evelyn Evernever has opened a youth-skewing chapter at school (sounds like a great idea) and approaches Evelyn about joining. But when she walks into her house, she stumbles into her de facto initiation.

Betty plays along until she hears that Alice told the group all about disposing of the Shady Man’s body. Unfortunately, Alice trusts The Farm more than Betty and won’t divulge her knowledge of the Gargoyle King.

3. Jughead plays Griffons and Gargoyles with Ethel.

While Betty takes The Farm by storm, Jughead heads in a different direction, right into the belly of the beast: Dilton’s Griffins and Gargoyles headquarters. Somehow, Jug convinces a defiant Ethel to let him sneak a peek at the game’s rulebook — a.k.a “scripture” — but he must first play a round. The game culminates in the hellcaster (Jughead) flipping a coin for two chalices. He chose the right one and gets blue lips and the rulebook. But Ethel hastily chugs the deadly chalice and ends up chained to a hospital bed. She’s not too discouraged since the new hellcaster proved himself.

4. Archie learns the first rule of fight club.

Before diving into Archie’s latest adventures behind bars, let’s just ask a quick question: When is this storyline ending? Amount to something or move on, please. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, Archie sits in solitary confinement until he accepts his post as the new Mad Dog.

Apparently, this means that he must engage in performative fistfights for the warden. He ends his first fight with one punch, but the warden requests a bloodier battle. When Archie delivers, he’s rewarded with perks and a bottle of Lodge-label liquor. That’s when he realizes who put him behind bars and resolves to escape.

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5. The Gargoyle King isn’t dead yet.

Jughead hides the rulebook in his home, but FP and Alice track it down and confront him and Betty. FP says that the game is evil without elaborating further about how he knows this, and Alice doesn’t care to answer any questions either.

Instead, FP decides to toss the only copy of the rulebook, the only chance Bughead has to understand this deadly game, into the fire. But that wasn’t the only copy. One was placed into the locker of every student at Riverdale High, and so begins the rise of the latest creepy craze.

Odds & Ends:

• Josie’s performance of “Anything Goes” might be the best musical number the series has ever done? At least, it made more sense than last week’s performance of “Jailhouse Rock.”
• Veronica allowed Hiram into Le Bonne Nuit. Didn’t she watch Buffy? Doesn’t she know that once you invite a vampire inside they can come in at their leisure?!
• Betty hypothesizes a connection between The Farm and the Gargoyle King, which pretty much confirms that there isn’t one. There’s no way not-yet-seen Edgar Evernever, as ominous as he seems, will also be the demon.
• What does the Gargoyle King in the mirror of Ethel’s hospital room mean? Is it a figment of her imagination, or was it the figure Bughead saw in the woods?

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

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