If you aren’t watching Riverdale, drop everything, watch the first two seasons and get caught up immediately. The previous two seasons of Riverdale have delivered plenty of scares, laughs and dramatic moments, but this third season of Riverdale is shaping up to be the best yet.
Spoilers for Riverdale S3 E2 to follow. Proceed at your own risk.
Two episodes in, we’ve already seen Archie get locked up, a few characters die (RIP Dilton and Ben), some strong supernatural events and a secret society of Riverdale parents emerge—which leaves me with many questions.
1. What is up with this creepy “Gargoyle King” monster?
In last week’s season premiere, we were introduced to the new…villain?... of this season—the Gargoyle King. Dilton was killed in a ritualistic encounter with this being, and Ben, another scout, was gravely injured, and eventually took his own life. This week, Betty and Jughead were on the case, and it seemed that Dilton, Ben and Ethel had simply been caught up in a role-playing game. But if this Gargoyle King is simply part of a game, why did Betty and Jughead see it in the woods? This ambiguity makes it hard to tell if the Gargoyle King is a supernatural being, or just a Riverdale resident in costume getting an early start on Halloween. Previous seasons of Riverdale have often relied on real-life, albeit slightly exaggerated threats, like the Blossom/Cooper feud and The Black Hood, so this possible turn towards the supernatural is unexpected, but exciting.
2. What is up with these seizures?
We learned this week that Betty’s sudden collapse at the end of S3 E1 was the result of a seizure. This seems reasonable, as Betty has been under a lot of stress. But towards the end of the episode, Ethel also suffers a seizure, which begs the question—are these seizures connected? And if so, what is the common link? A bad batch of Jingle Jangle doesn’t seem likely. Is it something in the water? Or has a sinister spell been cast over Riverdale?
3. Was a prison pep rally really the best idea?
I love that Veronica wants to stand by Archie as he serves his time. And I love that Archie wants to promote comradery in the juvenile detention system. But, given the outcome, was this really a smart idea? Archie’s football game quickly goes downhill, resulting in a riot, and the death of his cellmate Mad Dog. Even though Archie lost his ally and now feels immeasurable guilt about Mad Dog’s death, one good thing came out of this fiasco—the “Jailhouse Rock” musical number. Just like the musical episode of season two, this made absolutely no sense in the broad context of the show, but I LOVED IT!!!!!!
4. What is the “new Mad Dog?”
As Archie is feeling guilty in the final moments of the episode, the warden (supervisor? I don’t know what you would call him) tells Archie that he’s “the new Mad Dog.” But what does this mean? Archie’s going to be sitting in a cell, brooding and issuing ominous warnings to new people? In a clip from next week’s episode, we saw what appears to be Archie near a boxing ring. Is he going to be overseeing some sort of juvie fight club? Or, given his athletic prowess, is he going to become a gym teacher? Only time will tell!
5. Why are all of the Riverdale parents meeting and what did they do?
When groups of Riverdale parents and adults get together, it’s never good. So, at the end of the episode when Fred Andrews, Alice Cooper, Hermione Lodge and company are meeting (in a very shadowy room), it definitely brought up more questions than answers. Phrases like we are “never revisiting that night” are thrown around, as well as potential references to the Gargoyle King. Is the Gargoyle King some spiritual being that was summoned a generation ago and is back for vengeance? Did the Riverdale ‘rents do something bad in their youth, which has caused all of the craziness in Riverdale? Or is this another tie-in with The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina? (I’m not letting this theory go). Either way, a cliffhanger like this will definitely ensure that I will not miss a single episode this season.
I also had some less serious questions, such as…
1. Are Polly’s twins *actually* named Dagwood and Juniper?
2. Is the coroner actually a coroner? Because he looks like a teenager. And should he be letting Jughead take pictures in the morgue?
3. How does Veronica have time to go to school, devote herself to Archie AND run a business? Does she have a time-turner?
4. And how was Veronica able to visit Archie in disguise? Did the guards *really* think she was someone else? Cause I saw right through that wig.
5. Is Kevin really joining the RROTC for Moose? Because he deserves so much better than Moose. Kevin’s a true romantic, and he’s quickly becoming my favorite character.
6. And finally, is it normal for cheerleaders to have pompoms on their sneakers? I don’t know much about cheerleading, but I think decorations on sneakers would be quite cumbersome when doing tricks and stunts. If someone could answer this question for me, I would eternally grateful.
Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
