"Riverdale" Recap Season 2 Episode 22: Justice for Archie Andrews
Each week, Teen Vogue will be taking you on a journey to Riverdale, a quaint little town hiding some very big secrets.
It’s finale time once again in the town of Riverdale, and that means some plot lines are going to be wrapped up (or are they?) and other ones are going to spin off in totally new directions, presumably to be explored in the show’s third season. Let’s get to it!
First things first: is Jughead alive or dead? It certainly looks like he’s dead, since Veronica, Archie, and Betty are standing in front of a headstone with Jughead’s given name on it (Forsythe Pendleton Jones III, in case you were wondering). Betty cries, begging Jug to come back to her…but of course this is just a dream! They wouldn’t kill off the show’s trusty narrator. Juggy wakes up from this nightmare in a hospital bed. F.P. tells his son that every Serpent came out to fight, but in the end there were too many Ghoulies — the Serpents defected, were arrested, ran away, you name it. Oh, and half the trailer park is burned down AND Fangs is actually alive. The call with news of his death was actually a prank phone call — orchestrated by Hiram, no doubt — to goad the Serpents into a fight. Which they lost. So now it’s time for Jughead to get better and to be there for Betty. Jughead is confused, because he doesn’t know Hal was the Black Hood. On this show, when you’re knocked out for an hour, you miss a WHOLE LOT. Betty shows up at the hospital to tell Jughead she never wants to see her dad again, and she and Juggy can decide to quit they student council race because they’ve got too much other stuff going on. Good decision, kids!
Over at the Andrewses, Veronica is stepping into her new role as Fred’s campaign manager quite nicely. She tells him what her mom is planning and she’s scheduled Fred to appear right on Hermione’s heels everywhere, to remind people they’ve got a choice. Fred is dispirited because everyone is already saying that the Lodge’s guy — Sheriff Minetta — saved the town after the riots (which were…the night before? I think?). But Veronica won’t rest until Fred is elected! She’s even dropping out of the student council race, meaning Archie is running solo! Just then, Betty calls and Veronica and Archie head to the hospital for a core four meeting. Archie fills Jughead in on the copycat Black Hood, and Jug points out that the motive seems political. So maybe Hiram hired someone to attack at Town Hall and Archie’s house? The core four is ready to go all hands on deck to figure this mystery out, and they’re starting with Sheriff Minetta…because Archie has to go to the police station anyway, to identify Hal Cooper. Awk-ward.
Meanwhile, at Thistle House, Attorney McCoy guides Cheryl through signing some paperwork that makes Nana Rose her legal guardian. Cheryl is happy (yay!) and asks to deliver the letter of separation to her mother herself (turns out Penelope and Claudius have been living in one of the barns). As she approached, she sees Hiram meeting with her mother and uncle. They’re clearly strategizing, but before Cheryl can hear anything, her mother comes to the open door, forcing Cheryl to hide in a barrel to avoid detection.
Not hiding? Alice Cooper, whom Betty finds standing on the stoop, disheveled, screaming at the crowd of onlookers who have gathered outside the Black Hood’s house. Betty is concerned, to say the least. Jug offers to ditch school to hang out the next morning (speedy recovery, Jughead), but Betty doesn’t think her mom is up for much company. Later, she visits Fred to apologize (who says she has nothing to apologize for) and she laments how her great detective skills missed what was right in front of her. And speaking of what’s right in front of you, Archie identifies Hal through one-way glass at the police station, and then has a chat with Sheriff Minetta about how there’s totally more than one Black Hood out there. Minetta tries to play the shooter off as a looter, a casualty of riot night, but Archie is adamant that he won’t let this go, and tells Minetta to “make sure [his] boss knows that.”
And now it’s finally time for school! It’s a busy day for the students of RHS: first, Kevin walks in on Moose crying in the bathroom (he’s sad that Midge’s locker got trashed during the riot) and when Kevin comforts him, he kisses Kevin, who first pulls away but then goes in hard for another kiss. Spoiler: this kiss does not come up again for the rest of the episode. Then, Josie and Reggie announce that they’re pulling out of the student council race, too, because Reggie isn’t ready to lead and Josie wants to focus on her music (Pussycat reunion? Please?). So is Archie running unopposed? Nope, Ethel is running as a third party candidate. Then, Jug meets with Sweetpea and Toni to discuss Weatherbee’s latest move — all the SSHS students will now be bussed to a school two hours away, due to “overcrowding” at RHS.
Sweetpea: He blames us for trashing the school on riot night.
Jughead: Well to be fair, Sweetpea — you did.
This exchange made me LOL. But Juggy is out of ideas, and says he can’t keep fighting for a gang that doesn’t exist. Toni brings up all the Serpents at the Wyrm (as well as herself and Sweetpea, Serpents who are standing right in front of Jug). Jug is like…what Serpents at the Wyrm?
But before we find out: Cheryl tells Veronica what she saw at Thistle House Barn #4 last night, and Veronica seemingly skips out on school to confront Hiram and Hermione about it right away. Hiram hand-waves it all by saying he’s looking to get into the maple syrup business, but V counters with “or maybe you hired Claudius to be the fake Black Hood and shoot at mom during the debate?” Hermione looks shocked (and still on Team Hiram?) and Hiram gaslights his daughter and her wild imagination. Veronica tells her father that no one in the room can deny that he would put Hermione in the crosshairs to pursue some “personal political agenda.” Hermione, all of a sudden, looks panicked. Took you long enough, Hermione!
OK, now we’re at the Wyrm, and so is Juggy, and so are a bunch of Serpents — because they’re living there. Why did F.P. lie, and why, when Jughead gets home to ask him that, is he drinking again? Oh, because Hiram just fired him from Pop’s. Cool. Anyway, F.P. wants to get out — to Toledo, with Jug’s mom and sister.
Meanwhile, Archie and Veronica pay Betty a visit and ask her to come back to school. B wonders how she could face her peers after what her father did to them and their loved ones. She hates her dad, and her friends hug her, and it is sweet but sad.
The finale is really moving at rapid fire pace from scene to scene here, so excuse all the transitions, dear readers. At Andrews Construction HQ, Sierra McCoy exposits for us that the South Side vote is key for Fred, and Sheriff Minetta calls Fred and Archie down to the station to tell them that the Black Hood II was Tall Boy, and oh now he’s dead. Bye, Tall Boy! Across town, Polly and the twins are home and Polly wants her mom and Betty to visit Hal so they can get going on forgiving him — because without forgiveness, they’ll become just like him, full of hate. This is something she learned on the farm, BTW. Alice considers seeing Hal to tell him off, but Betty is not into it. But you know who is finally having a change of heart? Hermione Lodge! She pays Ronnie a visit in her bedroom and admits that it’s conceivable Hiram set up the whole Town Hall shooting. So she wants Veronica to have a contingency plan in place in the form of leverage on her father. And that leverage? The Whyte Wyrm, which Hiram is currently trying to purchase as the one piece of South Side land he’s yet to snap up. In order to beat him to the chase, V once again employs Sierra to get back the $1 million Hiram “plundered” from her. Sierra and Veronica’s ploy? If Hiram doesn’t release the money, she’ll start telling all his secrets…and right before Election Day, too. October surprise, indeed.
Archie and Jug are hanging out at Juggy’s while they muse about Tall Boy working for Hiram and now, because he’s dead, never being able to implicate Hiram. Jughead is pretty sure Hiram is going to win in the end. As they’re eating cereal (or ice cream?) Cheryl bursts in with some news, courtesy of her mother, who finally read the separation paperwork and BTW, thinks that she, the woman who sent her daughter to gay conversion therapy, is a better guardian than Nana Rose. What!!! Anyway, Minetta is raiding the Wyrm tonight. Cheryl already gave Toni a head's up, but now she takes Jughead and Archie to the bar, where they lead everyone out and to asylum on the North Side — at Archie’s house. The next morning, Fred makes everyone breakfast! Including bacon! And F.P. is impressed! But Archie’s not finished helping…
…he’s got a protest to mount! Everyone at school is wearing Serpents jackets that morning to protest Weatherbee kicking the SSHS students out. Archie makes a speech about discrimination and how he’s totally willing to be expelled for this cause. Weatherbee eventually stands down (though the kids may want to get it in writing?) and Toni compliments how Cheryl looks in a Serpent jacket, which seems like maybe it’s a hint. Veronica, meanwhile, pulls Jug aside to fill him in on her dad’s Wyrm plan, and how she was going to buy the place but now has an even better plan — but Jug will have to trust her. Think he can do it?! I think he can!!! And it looks like he does, because Hiram later walks into an empty Wyrm to find Veronica, ready and waiting. She tells her father that she’s willing to trade him: the Wyrm (which she did just buy) for Pop’s, the one place she and her friends can call their own. He agrees to the deal if and only if this is the last thing she’ll get from him — no trust fund, credit cards, allowance, seat on the board, vote, legacy. Veronica hesitates but ultimately agrees. She doesn’t want his blood money anyway.
Meanwhile, Jughead and Betty are having a totally lighthearted conversation at her house. JK, they’re discussing the nature of evil and whether it can be passed down. Betty is, understandably, worried, but Jughead comforts her by reminding her that she is not evil.
And before we know it, it’s Election Day! For both the town and the school! As everyone votes, Betty visits her father to tell him goodbye and to tell him that he has no more power over her. Hal seems to think differently, yelling after her that she’ll be back, but Betty just keeps walking. She later tells her mom that she wants to go back to school, finally. You go, B! At school, we learn that Archie has won the election and the SSHS kids will remain at RHS for the foreseeable future. The Serpents celebrate down by the river (Fangs is there!), where F.P. gives a retirement speech and crowns his son Serpent King (or whatever it’s called). Jughead is 15! He’s supposed to lead a gang and carry a full class schedule at school and solve mysteries with Betty? How? No one is concerned with all that right now, because Jughead’s first act as Serpent King is to give Cheryl a red leather Serpents jacket and accept her into the fold. So at least he’s getting rid of some of the old initiation traditions in his new leadership role, right? Anyway, #Choni is happy. So is Jug.
Not as happy? Everyone, a few hours later, when we learn that Fred Andrews has lost the mayoral election. Hermione comes over to shake hands on a race well run, and Archie swiftly leaves his house to pay Hiram a surprise visit. He gives Hiram a speech about how he took advantage of Archie after Fred was shot and Archie felt powerless. But Archie knows about Tall Boy, and Andre killing Cassidy at Shadow Lake, and Papa Poutine, and Penny, and the Ghoulies — and he’s going to prove it all someday, and he’ll finally make his bones once and for all. At this, Archie stabs Hiram’s desk with a knife and walks out, and Hiram finally looks a teeny bit nervous.
At Pop’s the core four relaxes with milkshakes and Veronica lets her friends know that the basement of Pop’s used to be a speakeasy and she intends to reopen it, with F.P. as manager. Jughead asks about her father, who she says is probably plotting revenge, and it turns out, he’s doing just that! He’s convened his crew: Claudius, Penelope, Penny, Malachi the Ghoulie, and Sheriff Minetta. He talks of his plans (and mentions that Hermione can’t be privy to certain things now that she’s the mayor): Claudius running drugs through the new prison, the Ghoulies as soldiers and dealers, Penny troubleshooting (and doing a better job than she did when she was supposed to kill Jughead)…and Penelope’s promised brothel? “All in good time.” Claudius asks about Veronica and her meddling friends, and Hiram tells his cohort not to worry: he’s dismantling the glue that holds them together. Hmm…
As the episode winds down, Polly convinces her mom to meet a man from the farm who she thinks can help (Polly is totally in a cult, right?), and Jughead asks Betty to join the Serpents during a romantic night at the Five Seasons. The next day, the Archie inaugural is underway in the gym, but before he can officially become student body president, Sheriff Minetta walks in and arrests him for Cassidy’s murder. Hiram watches from the doorway, looking smug. Wow. While perhaps not as explosive an end as last year’s finale, this is certainly still a problem for Archiekins. Let the war with Hiram begin...next season!
Related: This Is What Happens When You Challenge the Stars of Riverdale to TRUTH OR DARE
