RIVERDALE: “Chapter Forty-Eight: Bizarrodale (S3 E12): The King Returns As A New Threat Arrives

While Riverdale‘s “Bizzarodale” felt more like a stalemate rather than a progression of story, by the end, a new tumultuous future presented itself to viewers. Now do not get me wrong, this episode was not boring, not a filler to endure, rather a chance to conclude outstanding ties, as well as give characters we have not seen in some time the chance to find development and utility for future storylines. The inclusion of the series’ side liners was the perfect break from the potential redundancy of those who typically do not remain on the bench.

Jughead (Cole Sprouse) and Betty (Lili Reinhart) are barely in “Bizzarodale”, honestly I think Betty gets a scene, and Jughead only appears within the episode at the very end as the future bad of Riverdale who makes a quiet, yet grand appearance. Archie (KJ Apa) has his moments, his character slowly being re-interwoven into the town, his relationship with Josie (Ashleigh Murray) growing from support to a potential new love interest for fans of the show to ship.

Out of the four, this was an episode for Veronica (Camila Mendes) to finally have the limelight, as well as some other fan favorites who may have been gone, but we’ve certainly never forgotten.

Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch), Toni (Vanessa Morgan), Kevin (Casey Cott) and Moose (Cody Kearsley) each had their time to shine in this latest episode of Riverdale. We have been in and out of their story lines throughout the season, and “Bizzarodale” finally gave them the space to grow, not only as characters but with each other.

Cheryl and Toni have been mostly MIA from the series since they were dismissed from the Serpents for disobeying orders laid out by Jughead. While it may seem they are both okay with it, Toni is quietly grieving the loss of her family, the gang she was born into and brought up by. When Cheryl outs Moose, forcing him out of the closet, it is the last strike, breaking down the walls Toni had put up around her.

Cheryl, who many times is irrational, acts without thinking and is a bit narcissistic, if forced to watch her partner break down in front of her – forced to examine the ill-fated decisions she has made as of late. From this moment on, Cheryl follows her own steps to try and achieve an absolution, to prove to Toni she is her world – even going as far as creating their own gang, the Pretty Poisons (Pretty by day, poison by night!).

Moose and Kevin had their moment as well to examine their relationship and find the path to move forward. After Cheryl outs Moose over the school’s intercom, as well as following an ultimatum by Kevin, he finds the strength and support to come out to his father (the head of the ROTC), taking his relationship with Kevin out into the open. Happiness finally seems a possibility for them – but this is Riverdale after all.

The King lives! Yes, we know Tall Boy (Scott McNeil) was utilizing the clever get up of the Gargoyle King for his drug operations, but it seems he is not the only one who is able to harness the power of the King and the game. As the parents of Riverdale are putting the past behind them, their happiness awakens the devil, each receiving a letter that they must return and finish Ascension Night or their children will suffer the ultimate price. Of course, they all agree to it.

Yet, as they sneak through the school window as they once did in their adolescence, it feels the same, but with a greater knowledge than before. Drinking the antidote for cyanide, they inoculate themselves and set out to find the chalices. What they find instead is the understanding that they truly will never be ahead of the game – or its players.

To their horror, they find they have been played, their call to return to Ascension Night a distraction, a play to lure them away from their children. The panic that quickly sets in culminates into a brilliant montage, the editing of each phone call heightening the intensity of every possibility and the vulnerability their teenagers truly possess.

While it seems that the Gargoyle King has run out of steam, the writers of the series seem determined to keep it alive – or at least a possibility in the future. As Jughead points out, they still do not know who the original Gargoyle King was when his father was in high school. To further the understanding that it is never over, FP Jones (Skeet Ulrich) comments on how every time they take one Gargoyle King down, another rises.

Looking through this viewpoint, the Gargoyle King is not an overused storyline, however, instead a representation of evil and the constant battle of good. You defeat one evil, yet another evil is always waiting in the wings, ready to spring when the time is right. No sooner are FP’s words out does this understanding come to fruition…

A Heist

It has been sometime now since Veronica has been a central focus of an episode. Where Jughead, Betty and Archie have each gotten vital time in the limelight this season, Veronica has felt pushed to the side. It was nice to see her (and Reggie!) not only remain in focus, but interwoven into a future storyline that gives hope they will not shrink back into the dark.

Determined to end her father’s reign as the local drug lord, and prevent her mother from selling the remains, Veronica and Reggie (Charles Melton) had burned all the drugs and equipment from Hiram’s (Mark Consuelos) lab at the end of the last episode. To their dismay, however, they find that not only have they now placed themselves and the Lodge family in a precarious position, Veronica and Reggie will now have to gather the money required to pay back the buyer of the lab – a sum neither has the funds to back up. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

In it together in both love and life, Reggie and Veronica plan to rob the local auto shop Reggie’s father owns. He figures it is his future legacy he is borrowing from, and he is the best to organize the job, as he knows his father’s business and security. Reggie, unfortunately, is a better bartender than robber, underestimating the shop’s guards, getting shot during the heist and exploding a dye pack after bringing the money back to the Le Bonne Nuit. If there was any moment Veronica and Reggie may be over their heads, this would be it. Strangely, honesty is the best policy. As they arrive at the rendezvous with only a portion of what they owe, they are not only surprised to find the understanding of the mystery buyer but also their identity as well.

Gladys Jones (Gina Gershon) has finally made her return to Riverdale and to our TV screens. While we knew her arrival was in the cards, many may never have expected it to be this way. The mystery buyer, viewers are instantly given a peek into who the real Gladys is and a brief insight into why she has chosen now to be her timed arrival in Riverdale. Hiram may have been defeated, but it seems Jughead’s mother has sprung from her place of waiting to seize the opportunity to replace him. As mentioned earlier, you take down one Gargoyle King, another rises. The parallelism of the game and real life continues.

So Where Do We Go From Here

Riverdale has been on a brief break, and when they return on Wednesday, February 27, a new chapter seems ready to launch into action. There was never any doubt that Jughead’s mother would return, yet, maybe not in this capacity. She has scouted out the town and its crumbling situation and she is ready to strike. Couple this with the impending arrival of The Farm in their new headquarters at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, Hal’s growing relationship with his daughter, a potential return of Hiram Lodge and it seems Riverdale is set up for an epic remainder of the season.