5 big things that didn’t make sense in the Riverdale midseason finale
By Reed Gaudens
Did you catch all of the twists and turns during Riverdale’s midseason finale? Probably not, so let’s unpack the quarantine and Gargoyle King cliffhangers together.
If you can claim that you walked away from Riverdale’s midseason finale without questions, no offense, but you’re a bigger liar than Hiram Lodge. In the game-changing fall finale, there were so many twists and shocking revelations packed into one hour that it’s not off the table to acquire a contact high from fizzle rocks and hallucinate the Gargoyle King.
Our heads are still spinning from meeting Jughead’s mom and learning the truth about Hiram, and we’re not even sure we understood every convoluted detail. Hey, we can’t all be as sharp as Betty. Let’s dig into five big moments that left us with questions in the midseason finale of Riverdale. (Warning: It’s about to get real spoilery in here.)
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1. So, the Gargoyle King is a hallucination?
While stuck inside the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, Betty unlocks a Gargoyle King hack: Without the fizzle rocks, he doesn’t exist. She and Ethel, whom Betty goes to great lengths to exorcise, later force Sister Woodhouse to confess that they created Gryphons & Gargoyles and its king as a tool for children with behavioral issues.
Fizzle rocks helped make the illusion come to life… at least, that’s what Betty seems to think. But they saw that nasty winged creature in the woods and in the hospital and in Hiram’s office. We’re getting mixed signals about the Gargoyle King.
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2. Did Betty actually help those girls?
Speaking of Betty, after helping Ethel free herself from the stronghold of fizzle rocks and the Gargoyle King, they devise a plan to break the rest of the girls out of the Sisters. Step one was locking up Woodhouse and step two was inventing the Gryphon Queen to dupe the brainwashed girls.
But these girls are… high on fizzle rocks and wandering around a town in quarantine. Like that Gabrielle Union meme, I’d like to ask Betty: How did your life change? Did you free those girls to safety, or did you lead them right back into madness with no real plan?
3. Is Fred trapped outside of town, too?
Excuse me for being concerned about the only pure soul left in godforsaken Riverdale. After leading Archie to supposed safety across the Canadian border (with Vegas in tow), Fred would presumably drive back into to town.
But as FP and Jughead, who left Gladys’ well before Archie and Fred, found out, the town has been placed on quarantine thanks to orders from the mayor, the governor, and Hiram. Where is Fred? Will he be okay? Hasn’t he been through enough?!
4. What, exactly, is Hiram responsible for?
Did anyone else feel that the dialogue in Hiram’s scenes was purposefully written in code? Like, Mark Consuelos and Camila Mendes were sparring, but the words didn’t quite register? What we did glean from his various confusing scenes was that Hiram confessed to running fizzle rocks through town and turning Southside High into a drug factory. But it still remains unclear what role he has in the Gryphons & Gargoyles mess and what his “New Order” would entail.
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5. You’ve been quarantined. Now what?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Hemione, under duress from Hiram, makes the phone call that puts Riverdale under quarantine. Superficially, it’s because of the seizure outbreak, but that could be attributed to Hiram’s fizzle rocks frenzy.
What is the truth here, people? The quarantine was shocking, sure, but the episode failed to offer concrete stakes or meaning. Also, did anyone else think Alice said: “Hal is breaking loose” instead of “hell” and have a small heart attack?
Oh, and one more thing. Over the holiday break, never forget that Cheryl tortured her mother with maple syrup.
What did you think of the midseason finale? Let us know in the comments!
Riverdale returns Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 8/7c on The CW.