RIVERDALE (S3E21) “Chapter Fifty-Six: The Dark Secret of Harvest House”: Intense Episode Prepares For Epic Finale

We are one episode away from the season 3 finale of Riverdale, and what a finale it is shaping up to be. Finally bringing The Farm onto the scene in Riverdale, as well as introducing the Gargoyle King, Riverdale has been building, through its ups and downs this season, to one intense season conclusion – or cliffhanger. With the reintroduction of the Black Hood in “The Prom”, the faces of evil are swarming down on Riverdale – and they are not going down without a fight.

And fight they do…

The familial ties that bond were finally broken after Veronica (Camila Mendes) learned that her father never truly gave her the deed to Pop’s Dinner, making everything she has worked towards this entire season a lie. It is the lies from those closest that cut the deepest. Yet, everyone has their breaking point and this was Veronica’s. As they danced in “The Prom”, Veronica asked for Archie’s (K J Apa) help to finally take her father down, to finally end his grip on Riverdale. More than happy to oblige, and slowly falling head over heels for Veronica again, Archie agreed.

The only thing that can keep Hiram (Mark Consueloes) away from Riverdale is incarceration, and with the help of Archie’s mother (Molly Ringwald) and the FBI, Veronica might be in a bit of luck. While the underage drinking and the docking of books in the La Bonne Nuit isn’t enough to catch Hiram, since he owns the deed he owns the liability, instead they would need to catch him in a present crime – one worthy of a mobster.

With a scheme to set him up, laying a trap he cannot resist, Archie challenges Hiram to a boxing match, one that lays the ownership of Riverdale on the line. If Hiram wants to purchase the town, he will have to go through Archie first. Unable to resist the challenge, and a chance to solidify his strength following his shooting earlier this season, Hiram accepts. Veronica throws in the hook-line-and-sinker, the chance for money to be made beating on the match through the La Bonne Nuit – a high stakes illegal boxing match, bets made illegally within a hidden casino.

This is not the first time Hiram has been caught off guard, but as we have been waiting for this one particular moment, and with the way it goes down, this is sure to satisfy all fans of the series. Though, with one big bad seemingly out of the picture – what is left for Archie and Veronica in the finale? They have had little to do with either the Black Hood, or especially the Gargoyle King, so what is their season 3 endgame? And with Reggie beating Archie “to the punch”, where does that leave our young lovers?

Save the Princess… again

Jughead (Cole Sprouse) should have been the valiant knight rather than the Hellcaster – lately all he seems to be doing is saving the princess. While his own princess has immersed herself within The Farm to uncover them from the inside out, Jughead is on a mission to find any connection he can between the Blackhood and the Gargoyle King – who revealed themselves to be partners in crime at the end of “The Prom” (also both sharing a desire for Betty, whether that be dead or alive). His quest, as he calls it, takes him from one person to the next, trying to undercover where the letter Betty received during the Prom came from. All routes lead back to Ricky (Nico Bustamante), whose obsession and desire to become worthy of the game has reached new levels. Moments from ascending, Jughead saves the young boy, though at the risk of losing his own life.

Running for his life, he stumbles across Ethel (Shannon Purser), who has returned to the true Gargoyle King once again giving herself to the game and all that it requests. While Jughead tries to wrap his head around her decisions and the power of the game, Ethel cries for him to save her, that by failing her quest she is afraid the Gargoyle King will kill her. A confrontation with the Black Hood moments later within the bus Jug and F.P (Skeet Ulrich) had searched last week proves that lives are on the line. Jughead does save her and the boys, to Ethel’s relief, and is given a reward by the princess for his troubles – the name of the man behind the Gargoyle King. With only one way to confirm, the dedication to the truth and the means to find it would make Dr. Curdle Junior proud.

Though as the episode wraps and I attempt to wrap my head around the insanity that just ensued, I find myself wondering whether this could this be another trick? Could the Gargoyle King be using Ethel to get to Jughead? The boys were wary of the Hellcaster, as if they were told he should be avoided. Avoided because he could unravel everything the Gargoyle King has built up, or because of something more. The Gargoyle King did save him in “Fear the Reaper”, making it seem as though there was a bond between them Jughead is unaware of or that there is a different path in the future for the Hellcaster. Needless to say, I think the Gargoyle King is far from done with Jughead.

Over Her Head

Betty (Lili Reinhart) is always one step ahead, always ducking out of situations, her quick thinking and wit her biggest ally – yet this time she may have gotten herself in too deep. Following the events of “The Prom”, Betty had decided that is was best to stay at The Farm where she was promised safety. Yet what she found was abuse and brainwashing, her mind hypnotized and altered to believe Dark Betty was her true nature – a side viewers were told the writers and Lili Reinhart were done with (though it was intriguing to see her return). What initially seems like an internal awakening, unfolds into a manipulative trance like abuse that alters the mind, allowing The Farm to “heal your pain”. But to what end?

As always, Betty pushes forward, determined to find whatever proof she can of The Farm’s hypnosis and the reason for its use. After a season long of turning up dead ends, Betty quickly finds the drive behind The Farm – money. As pieces slowly begin to come together in her mind – Kevin’s (Casey Cott) large incision in his back, Evelyn (Zoé de Grand’Maison) on dialysis, the hypnosis – Betty discovers The Farm is just that – a farm cultivating people to harvest their organs. While she is able to get Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) and Toni (Vanessa Morgan) to see reason (Cheryl sacrificing herself so Toni can get to safety), she finds that not all her friends are so easily swayed back to reality.

There has been a curious concern as to why The Farm wanted Betty so badly. They were set on welcoming her into The Farm at the end of “Fear the Reaper”, promising her shelter at the end of “The Prom”. Their desire for Betty must have something to do with her blood type, the price tag that goes along with the organs she carries. With her in their clutches, and her friends unaware of her dire situation, Betty may have finally gotten into one predicament she cannot get out of on her own.

Conclusion: Summer Approaches

If you are not chomping at the bit following the conclusion of “The Dark Secret of Harvest House”, then nothing will get you. This was one of the most intense and satisfying episodes of the season. While there may have been some complaints and lackluster episodes along the way, they were what the show needed to get to this point. I just hope with the finale, they can bring it across the finish line.