RIVERDALE: “Chapter Forty-Six: “The Red Dahlia” (S3 E11): A Town Of Lost Souls

If there is one thing Riverdale does is take risks. Whether you are a fan of the show or not, there is no argument on its ability to push boundaries and expand its storytelling ability. Previously, these risks included a musical episode – one that was received with high fan and critical acclaim – and this season’s throwback episode structured as a homage to the 1985 classic The Breakfast Club. In “The Red Dahlia”, Riverdale once again took a risk, utilizing a cinematic callback to reshape the episode’s structure.

Utilizing noir as an episode composition was brilliant, especially with the subject matter at hand and alongside Jughead’s (Cole Sprouse) weekly monologue, straight down to the lighting, dialogue and costume. As our dynamic quartet each dealt with the consequences of their ill-fated actions and try to unearth a murderers and would be assassins, the noir structure perfectly constructed and pushed forward a seemingly stalemated storyline. Coupled with a Kelly Ripa appearance and the return to form of a beloved character, this was the episode we have been waiting for all season.

Double Investigations

While the episode was reverberating feelings of old in the world of noir, the series itself was drawing back to what makes Jughead and Betty (Lili Reinhart) such successful characters. While each had their own investigations, the show was able to bring them back together, aiding one another (even if only briefly). There had been a divide between these two, even their shared investigations taking them on separate paths, concern for the safety of Archie physically dividing them for some time. It was refreshing to see them back together, the tension of the investigation, heightening the romantic tension between them.

Betty, whose visits with her incarcerated father (Lochlyn Munro) are becoming more regular, was on the case to discover the true cause of death behind Claudius Blossom (Barclay Hope). As bodies are piling up this season, there is a continued link to the Blossoms and their maple farm, as well as the poisonous plant grown there. With Betty on the case, any skeletons they have hiding in the closet will not remain hidden for long. Reviewing the autopsy on Claudius, as well as the one on Cheryl’s (Madelaine Petsch) father (thanks to Dr. Curdle Jr), it turns out they both were poisoned – Mr. Blossom before his apparent “suicide”.

Confronting Penelope Blossom (Nathalie Boltt), both at her home and at the brothel Betty and Jughead discover, Betty finds herself beginning to question the difference between wrong and right, as Penelope reveals she kills only men – those deserving of murder for the harm they cause to others (Claudius was the cause for the seizures throughout Riverdale due to runoff in the local water supply from manufacturing Fizzle Rocks). While her actions were wrong, she was bringing justice to those she felt deserved it. Oh and if Betty ever tells anyone, her involvement in Chip’s death will be revealed.

Jughead continues on with his Serpent King juggling act: trying to find the perfect alibi for Tall Boy’s (Scott McNeil) death, leading the Serpents – and now trying to discover Hiram’s (Mark Consuelos) shooter. As the episode opens, with all its noir glory, Veronica enlists Jughead’s investigation expertise to discover who shot her father. Yet, as Jughead begins to dive deep into the whodunnits, he finds that even with Hiram out of commission, someone is always in the wings waiting to take the reigns.

Discovering first that Hiram had a secret affair with the water inspector (whose hotel room is 311 and this is Season 3, episode 11), played by Kelly Ripa, his investigation quickly descends into the cunning of Hermione Lodge (Marisol Nichols). Placing a tail on her, Jughead discovers not only that Sheriff Minetta is still alive, but that he and Hermione are having an affair, one coupled with a conniving plot to finish off Hiram. If that wasn’t enough, newly minted Sheriff Jones (Skeet Ulrich) is primed to take the fall, as he is Hiram’s shooter – a move to exact revenge for the brutal beating Jughead had taken during riot night. Thankfully for all involved, Hermione is a newcomer to the game and F.P Jones and Jug are able to spin it in their advantage. While his father had been wrong to shoot Hiram, in the the long run it lended itself to the greater good. And like Betty, Jughead finds himself blurring the lines of good and bad, unable to out Hermione for her crimes as she will spill those of his father.

A Lodge is a Lodge

While all the madness of investigations is ensuing, Veronica (Camila Mendes) had her own family to contend with – both the safety of her father and uncovering the motives of her mother. After hiring Jughead to uncover the identity of her father’s shooter, Veronica sets her sights on her mother, trying to uncover what is going on behind the scenes. Things have not been adding up for sometime and she is in need of answers. Yet what she discovers may have her mother our of her good graces for good.

Discovering the reasons behind the quarantine, and the location of the Fizzle Rocks lab, Veronica pleads with her mother to help her destroy it, to make sure her father can no longer do harm to Riverdale. With the intention of selling the lab to a prospective buyer, Hermione informs her daughter she is taking back what Hiram owes them for everything he has put them through. Disgusted, Veronica makes it her own mission to destroy the lab – while stepping up as the head of the family for those who would question her authority and power. We may have a new polished and refined Lodge on our hands.

The Return of Archiekins

Who else is tired of the Archie (KJ Apa) storyline we have been forced to endure the entire season? Well, buckle in because “The Red Dahlia” continues the trend. After revealing to his father his lack of confidence in his college prospects, Archie begins work on one of his father’s constructions sites. Though as luck would have it, a confrontation with the head foreman leads to a fight – which Archie started. Called out by his father (Luke Perry) for his behavior, as well as the whiskey bottle he found in his room, Archie’s downward spiral continues, leading to further trouble at the La Bonne Nuit.

Refusing to leave and acting out, Archie is about to be thrown out until Josie (Ashleigh Murray) intervenes, giving him the wake up call he needs. As the only friend who has taken the time to sit with Archie and genuinely talk with him since his return, she tries to direct him back to his passions, to find something to fight for instead of against. What Archie hears, though, is much different, resolved in his thinking that the only way he can truly move on is by ending Hiram once and for all. This Riverdale revelation marks the end of the Archie we have forcefully gotten used to this season, and opens the door for the former to return. Standing in Hiram’s hospital room, gun drawn, Archie is not the only would be assassin, hiding from an unseen assailant that enters the room. Dressed in a black hood and aiming at Hiram, Archie shoots the unknown masked figure, saving Hiram and effectively bringing Archie’s dark journey to a close. He has finally shot the (well a) man in the black hood, reacting appropriately in the present – something he was unable to do previously. It is an effective way to end this character arc for Archie and open new opportunities for growth and development for the remainder of the season (and the now upcoming season 4).

 Until Next Week…

“The Red Dahlia” was a deep focus on the concept of right and wrong, that there is no clean cut way to define it. While we may have drawn lines in the sand, they are washed away with the tide, a blurred and faded mark left behind. It is an interesting moment in the show where even our heroes are forced to examine not just those around them, but their own actions. No one in Riverdale is innocent, and as Jughead says in the beginning, it is a town of lost souls.