Archie is Now a Wrestler in 'Riverdale'
This week's Riverdale featured plenty of tension. Archie's attempt to impress Veronica's father by taking up wrestling backfires in an unexpected way, Toni and Jughead challenge the historical accuracy of a beloved Riverdale tradition, and Chic continues to cause drama for the Coopers.
Here's everything that happened on Season 2, Episode 11 of Riverdale, "The Wrestler":
1) Riverdale is preparing for Picken's Day.
At the start of the episode, we're shown a statue of the founding father of Riverdale, General Augustus Pickens, in a local park. From these opening moments, it's clear this episode is Riverdale's take on the Confederate monument controversy and the civil unrest it often creates.
2) Cheryl petitions to have the day named for her ancestor.
Cheryl tells her class at Riverdale High that her relative, Colonel Barnabas B. Blossom bankrolled General Pickens, and should therefore have the day named after him.
However, we later find out General Blossom wanted ownership of the maple trees on Riverdale land, and conspired to eradicate the indigenous inhabitants of the town. Hundreds of members of the Uktena tribe were slaughtered by Pickens, and Cheryl is devastated when she finds out.
3) The Lodges sponsor Picken's Day in an attempt to bring something positive to Riverdale.
However, their motives are not honorable. The Lodges want to distract Riverdale residents from the town's unrest, especially following the closure of Southside High. The Lodges still plan to buy the land that Southside is based on, but they're attempting to maintain the status quo so no one notices their unscrupulous deeds.
4) There's major tension between the Coopers and Chic.
Chic doesn't want to play happy family, refusing to tell the Coopers about his "work" situation and what he's been doing with his life. Though he's staying with his biological family - for now - Hal is obviously annoyed. Is it possible FP Jones is really Chic's dad?! Whatever the reason, Hal hates Chic - especially because he seems to have replaced Polly.
5) Betty and Chic realize they have a lot in common.
Firstly, Betty and Chic share the same scars - crescent moons on their palms from digging their nails into their hands. But the similarities run much deeper, with Betty telling Chic, "there's a darkness in me that I don't understand. That scares me."
While Chic doesn't want to bond at first, he gradually opens up to his long-lost sister - especially as he realizes they both have the same darkness in them.
6) Archie tries to get closer to Veronica's father.
At the FBI agent's behest, Archie tries to suck up to Hiram Lodge. He joins the wrestling team when he finds out Hiram used to be its star, but the sport doesn't come naturally to him, and he gets beaten repeatedly (including by Veronica's dad himself).
As Hiram tells Archie, unimpressed, "boyfriends, they come and go. But fathers... fathers are forever." Bit creepy, but whatever.
7) Jughead interviews Toni's grandfather.
And he learns the Serpents were started by the remaining members of the Uktena tribe, which resided on the land now known as Riverdale before General Pickens killed them all. When he asks why no one knows this story, Toni explains, "it's the white washing of history." Jughead is appalled and writes a story about real history of Riverdale.
8) Veronica replaces Josie in the Pussycats.
Josie's mom is worried Veronica - who's working closely with her parents on their dark deeds - will have a negative affect on her daughter, and forbids Josie from performing with Veronica at the Picken's Day celebration. In retaliation, Veronica forms Veronica and the Pussycats and sings in front of everyone in town. Josie is, understandably, livid.
9) Jughead organizes a protest at Picken's Day.
The Serpents descend on the Picken's Day event to protest the celebration of a murderer. But Hiram Lodge manages to stop the protest peacefully, and the Serpents find themselves silenced once again.
10) Betty finds out that Chic is a webcam boy.
Kevin recognizes Chic, and eventually realizes it's because Chic is a webcam boy. He tells Betty, who feels bad when Chic complains to her that his old landlord sold his laptop. She finds an old computer and a webcam and leaves them outside his bedroom so he can continue his business. This scores her points with Chic, who realizes she really is a supportive sister, after all...
11) Hal drops a major hint that Chic is not his son.
Even though Betty's mom is fo with Chic by the end of the episode, Hal is not a fan. After finding out about Chic's webcam business, Hal tells his wife, "He has to go, Alice, and you know why."
12) Chic teaches Betty about webcamming.
Betty and Chic bond over the "darkness" in them both, and Chic introduces Betty to the world of webcamming. He tells her it's a way to escape the world, and to earn money. Dark Betty is surely on the horizon.
13) Archie triumphs at wrestling, and Hiram is finally impressed.
Archie wins his first wrestling match, and Hiram finally accepts him into the family - but only once Archie agrees to study business at college instead of music. Hiram asks Archie to work with him at Lodge industries, which Jughead calls, "the criminal apprenticeship of Archie Andrews." Presumably, Archie only agrees so that he can feed information back to the FBI agent.
14) The statue of Pickens is beheaded.
At the end of the episode, Sheriff Keller and the Mayor discover the park statue of General Pickens has been beheaded. Hiram suggests the Serpents should be blamed for this act of vandalism. As Jughead put it, war is now inevitable.
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