RIVERDALE “Chapter Fifty-Two: The Raid (S3E17): The Suffocating Feeling Of Time Closing In

It appears we have come full circle, returning to the same spot where we began earlier this season. A gruesome find in the woods. A ritualistic sacrifice, one made by others or by the individual laid slain in front of a makeshift gargoyle sculpture. As Riverdale‘s “The Raid” ends, one may find themselves questioning the progression of the season, and the supposed growth many had made this year. Has there truly been any? Or have our characters just been going around in circles all season? One thing is for certain, something is about to change.

The Definition and Dissolution of Family

Veronica’s (Camila Mendes) incessant drive to save the unity of her family seems futile, and somewhat out of place – even Hiram (Marc Consuelos) questions her push to keep him and his wife Hermione (Marisol Nichols) together. “I thought you would be happy,” he states, clearly confused. As many viewers remember, Veronica had been on the fence in regards to her father throughout the entire series, his dealings and the effect it was having on his family. Many times, she has asked her mother why she’s didn’t leave her father, herself moving out of the Pembrook, moving into the La Bonne Nuit. Yet, as the episode and Veronica will drive hard, family is the most important thing. At least that is what she was taught.

As viewers watch her struggle to grapple with the reality of change, fighting for a glimpse of solidarity in a fractured marriage, we may find ourselves looking at the entirety of Riverdale and its cast. This town, a family in and of itself, has been fractured for sometime, irrevocably broken. While its members struggle to find their way back to one another, there are forces driving them apart, distracting them from what really matters – family. As I have mentioned many times throughout this season, Veronica has long become separated from the quartet that was herself, Betty (Lili Reinhart), Archie (K J Apa) and Jughead (Cole Sprouse). Maybe with her ideals changed, she can find her way back to the family that has always been there for her.

Mad Dog Returns

The return of Mad Dog (Eli Goree) this week also ushered in the return of the beloved Archie Andrews that had seemed lost to us throughout the season. With Mad Dg’s return, so too did the opportunity for Archie to take up his valiant demeanor and strive for what is right – and good. There was no black hood to threaten the guards, no fight to the death in the ring – only a need to help those suffering and a need to repay a favor. This week, Archie Andrews used tact instead of brute force to bring justice and safety to those he has fought along side while in juvenile detention, extending his newly obtained boxing gym as a safe haven for them to find refugee until they found what they needed to move on.

While the idea of Hiram just “giving ” Archie a gym is still unsettling in itself, it played little more than a safe haven this episode, and a backdrop to the lack of opportunities Archie, and society, can give to these former convicts. Though not a central focus, the gym also provides opportunity within the story for future episodes. With Elio (Julian Haig) luring boxers away for a “better” chance at achieving success, it seems the gym may continue the battle ground Archie had already fought on, a challenge in the wings ready to swoop in to make a claim his land.

Mother against Son

Gladys (Gina Gershon) picked the wrong town to take over if she thought her son and his gang would lie down and allow all that her arrival entails. As she works, rather efficiently, to resurrect the drug trade within Riverdale, utilizing the gargoyles for distribution, she is met with opposition as Jughead and the Serpents build off from burning the trailer lab to taking down each and every corner run with “candy”. Though as deputies in training, each time they go up against Gladys, they not only risk exposing what Jug hopes to keep from his father, but loosing their new mission and opportunities.

When the gang interferes with an undercover bust run by the FP (Skeet Ulrich), Jughead is faced with his moment of no return. Either tell his father so he understands the intentions behind his actions, or continue his secret operation, slowly picking away at Gladys’ illicit dealings. Well, as this is Riverdale and the teens within it, it is safe to deduce that they choose to keep the knowledge from FP, not only pushing forward in secret but attempting an ambush on Gladys’ ground zero. Yet, the Serpents are far from prepared to take on Riverdale‘s newest big bad, finding fists and bats children’s play against what is coming. This is Riverdale after all, and when the ball finally drops, it is unlikely everyone will still be standing tall.

Welcome to the Farm

Cults have one advantage over those they prey on, they are definitely sneaky. You go in with a mole, and you leave with a devote follower. At least this is what happens to Betty, her curiosity getting the better of her would be undercover informant Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch). Having been denied her own admittance into the farm, Betty enlists the help of her cousin, having seen Evelyn (Zoé de Grand Maison) entice her at the cast party. Suited up and ready to uncover the truth, Betty was prepared for everything, except Cheryl’s greatest desire – which The Farm is able to provide. As Edgar (Chad Michael Murray) conducts Cheryl’s interview, you see her falling under his spell, his words seducing her vulnerability into submission. Any chance of Cheryl clinging to the world outside of the occult is quickly snuffed out as she is taken to a room where she is shown illuminating wonders she can not turn her back on.

As Betty discovers, sometimes it is best to do things yourself, her plan to sneak into the Sisters of Quiet Mercy to locate the interview tapes of her sister Polly and mother – preventing The Farm from having any leverage over them. What she didn’t expect was that by retrieving the tapes, she would find the answers to her most troubling question – why join The Farm? With her realization, she truthfully and open heartedly, with no opposition or judgement, asks if she can meet Edgar herself. Obliging her request, Betty finds herself face to face with the leader of the occult, a breadth of answers available to her for the first time. Personally, my questions regarding The Farm have been put on the back burner, only one screaming loudly as I recall Betty holding her head over the candle flame, mimicking what she had seen Kevin do – have we lost Betty?

Conclusion

There are so many questions to be answered as we start down the homestretch to the season finale. As the heat and intensity of the season heats up, finally regaining its legs after a slightly rocky season, there is a suffocating feeling of time closing in. A feeling there is a bomb to drop – one that will leave us hanging until the series returns next season.