Riverdale: Chapter Seventeen – The Town That Dreaded Sundown

Riverdale: Chapter Seventeen: The Town That Dreaded Sundown | Season 2, Episode 4 | Rating: 9/11 |

War has come to Riverdale. The tension that’s been brewing between the north and the south sides finally broke. It all started when the Southside High Serpents decided they needed Archie’s head on a platter since he was leading some neo-Nazi group. Archie was incredibly stupid and reckless and went into Southside territory hoping to draw out The Black Hood. Instead he ran into some Serpents and brought a gun to their knife fight. It wasn’t the best look for Archie, who was clearly upset about what he had done. Not ones to be dissed, the teen Serpents brought the fight up to the North the following day in what can only be described as an all out war. Veronica finally brought some peace when she shot Archie’s gun into the air, but not before Dilton took a knife to his upper leg. He’s okay but the rest of the town is far from it.

But let’s back it up a minute…

A lot of people are pissed about Archie’s threatening video he made for The Black Hood. This video has some major consequences for Archie. The biggest being that football is disbanded until the Red Circle has disbanded and Archie writes a letter, saying so. If he doesn’t comply, he will face suspension. The rest of the Red Circle decides to bail on the whole thing because football is life, apparently. Even worse is Archie’s dad, Fred, who doesn’t seem to recognize his own son anymore. And can you blame him? Archie had strayed so far from his normal Archie path that this new Archie is beginning to scare me. Even his dad said he was more worried about Archie than the killer on the loose. Ouch. Veronica’s parents aren’t too thrilled about the whole thing and want her to stop dating Archie. Yeah, that’s not likely to happen, though their relationship is strained. Thankfully Archie tells Veronica that the video was basically her dad’s idea and although Hiram plays dumb when Veronica asks him about it, she’s smart enough to figure out the truth.

Meanwhile, Betty gets a package through the mail at school for the Blue and Gold. The letter is from The Black Hood but this time he tells Betty that she inspired him during her speech at Town Hall and he’s doing this all for her. There’s a cipher too and it’s something apparently only she will be able to crack. Oh, and it just happens to say where he will strike next. So, no pressure Betty.

Betty decides to share the cipher with her mother, Alice, but not the letter. She doesn’t want her already extremely worried mother to keep her kenneled at home and away from the action. Betty wants to stay involved because, let’s face it, she kind of is already involved with the whole “crazy guy doing the whole thing for her” thing. Alice goes ahead and publishes the cipher (before showing it to the sheriff) so whole town can try and crack it. She’s totally for freedom of the press, you know? But it’s thanks to the help of Jughead that Betty remembers a Nancy Drew book she used to read when she was younger and using the book, she solves the cipher! The Hood will next strike where it all began, which means Town Hall, which is currently in the middle of a massive debate about what to do about this Black Hood guy. It’s Alice versus Fred and I must say, I prefer Fred’s logic way more than hers. Betty and Jughead rush in and tell everyone to get out because The Black Hood will strike there next. Then the power goes out and it’s hard to tell if it’s due to the massive storm that’s been raging outside or if it’s the Black Hood. The mayor, who was hosting the event, tells everyone to stay in their seat but Betty pulls the fire alarm and everyone seems to get out safely. So was The Black Hood a no show or was this a test for Betty? I guess we have to wait and find out.

Loose Ends

  • Hermione and Hiram seem to be united in being up to no good. Hermione to Hiram, “I told you Fred was going to be a problem.” Hiram replies “the town loves and trusts him, could work in our favor.” What the heck are these two up to?!
  • Veronica decides to stand behind Archie and has a whole bunch of shirts with a red circle on it made for people to wear at school in support of the movement.
  • Archie has his locker searched and the only thing they found was a black hood, which belonged to Reggie. Archie didn’t rat that the hood was Reggie’s, which makes Archie “a top tier loyal badass” in the Book of Reg. The football team is back in The Red Circle and they have Archie’s back during the fight with the teen Serpents.
  • Betty and Kevin have kissed and made up, so to speak. Phew.
  • I like this Toni gal except for the fact that she’s encroaching on Betty’s time with him. Toni and Jughead get a jumpstart on the cipher together. Betty, ever the gracious one, says the three of them can work on it together with Kevin.
  • Betty let’s her hair down! What kind of madness is this?!
  • The whole North vs. South thing is just silly but Betty and Toni go toe-to-toe about it and while Betty says that more drugs and violence is down in the south, Toni points out that the drugs were sold to Northside kids. I’d call it a draw here ladies.
  • At Archie’s darkest hour, he used a fake ID on the edge of town to buy ammo, a holster, and a Kevlar vest. Seriously, who is this guy?!
  • Thankfully, Veronica and Archie walk to Sweetwater River together and toss in the gun. No more guns for Archikins.
  • Betty gets a call from The Black Hood! This guy seems to know her really well. He knew about her Nancy Drew affinity, so childhood friend?

Quotables

“Betty’s ponytail is iconic and beyond reproach” – Kevin

“You’re Betty Cooper. Like Nancy Drew meets The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”- Jughead

“If you let the fear take over and start demonizing each other, that’s when we’re dead” – Fred Andrews