RIVERDALE: (S3E5) “Chapter Forty”: A Great Escape With Epic Twist & Turns

After a brief hiatus, Riverdale returned, picking up where the last episode left off, Jughead (Cole Sprouse) and friends immersed within a game of G&G (Gryphons and Gargoyles), Jughead’s introduction now coinciding with his newest role as Game Master. Juxtaposed to the words Game Master Jughead speaks, viewers are brought back into the heart of the jail cell, and Archie’s failed attempt to escape from the prison and Warden Norton (William MacDonald). 

While “The Great Escape” had been promoted as the big jailbreak for Archie Andrews (K.J. Apa), viewers will find it was so much more. As G&G sinks its teeth into its willing players, so too does it to the unwilling town of Riverdale – proving itself a game beyond pieces and dice. 

Riverdale and G&G one in the same

As Betty (Lili Reinhart) descends into the bunker, finding Jughead and crew enthralled within the game at hand, her shock and horror quickly turns to confusion as Jughead reveals to her that he believes the boundaries of the game are actually the town of Riverdale and the players literally the game pieces – the ghoulies and the Serpents are “warring tribes” and you “might as well call us orcs and goblins”. Convinced the only way to figure out who is behind the game, is to become the same level as the Gargoyle King, a step Betty has deduced to be the moment of ascension – and blue lips. 

Leaving Jughead in the bunker, convinced that as long as he is playing the game there he will be safe, Betty leaves to enlist the others into secretly interrogating their parents to see what they know. While Betty finds her investigation rapidly hitting another dead end, Jughead struggles to keep his players in line – and on the board.

The idea of them being one and the same sounds crazy, yet strangely plausible. I like this concept of Riverdale potentially being the game itself as it is not restricted to the supernatural per se, but the reflection of the idea that art imitates life imitating art. Many of the quests they embark on in G&G are written by the game master, lending the game to become more of a craft than was previously designed – art begets life begets art.

Though the unified parallel list of actions in the game and life happening simultaneously still lends to the supernatural – oh and that creepy, too tall for reality Gargoyle King that continues to lurk in the woods (but we will get back to him later). That the game has been off the board for years marries the idea of the supernatural and reality as these new players are itching for immersive quests.

Wardon Norton

Up until tonight’s episode, the entire jailhouse collaboration of Fight Club and Shawshank Redemption had felt old – the story-line failing to impress and falling shy of the quality one would expect from Riverdale. Tonight, however, Riverdale proved the power of letting a character lay low until his presence in a main storyline could be punctured with intense virility.

Having discovered the whereabouts of Archie and the deplorable conditions he was forced to endure for survival (i.e. ultimate fight club), Veronica (Camila Mendes) makes the rash and risky decision to break Archie out of jail. Little does Veronica know how little time Archie truly has left.

Punished for his attempt at escape, Archie is branded by the Warden with a very familiar runic symbol – one looking very much the same symbol that had been found on Dilton Doiley’s (Major Curda) back earlier in the season. Yet, while the Warden seems to find pleasure in punishment, little is found in forgiveness as Archie is given a last meal with the Warden before what is understood to be his last fight. Side note: Anyone else get overly excited, as the Warden picked up a very familiar looking chalice to drink from  – this after confessing to Archie that “no mere mortal controls me”. Does Warden Norton G&G?

The thoughts of G&G are swiftly, yet briefly, pushed aside as Archie prepares for his final fight. As Joaquin (Rob Raco) finishes wrapping his fists for battle, he leans in for a kiss, throwing Archie off guard. As he tries to understand what has just happened, Archie finds it was the distraction before the betrayal as Joaquin drives a shiv into his side (“et tu, Brute?”), apologizing as he confesses to Archie, “Warden said if I do this, I would finally ascend”. At this moment of reveal, the real question now is who is NOT playing Gryphons and Gargoyles. 

Archie is then carried out into ring, injured yet able to fight to his death, his opponent revealed to be his former cellmate – Mad Dog (Eli Goree)! The twists just keep coming. From the moment of Archie’s betrayal to the conclusion of the breakout, Archie’s plight is juxtaposed once again to the new game Jughead is leading in the bunker. With each move the gang makes in the game, it coincides with each obstacle Archie, Veronica and friends face to break Archie free – lending itself proof to Jughead’s theory that Riverdale and the game are one and the same. 

As the tension and ingenuity of the conflict finally resolves, it seems Jughead may not have lost all his sensibilities, and that a new light in the game may put them one step ahead in the tribulations to come. Though I find myself wondering about the Warden’s involvement, as well as the fate of Joaquin, whose escape and steadfast dedication to the game could lead to a potentially horrific conclusion – blue lips and ascension. 

The Red Paladin

While the episode spends a good chunk juxtaposing Jughead’s games with the reality of Archie’s time in Juvie, it presents a new character – the Red Paladin (curiously calling out the color of Archie’s hair?). Jughead had designed his new game the same time Veronica had been devising Archie’s break. When Betty called on Jughead to enlist him in the cause, he became focused on the need to add heart to his game – his game could save Archie. 

As the carefully crafted plans each played out, they coincided perfectly, allowing for the Red Paladin to be saved (as was the goal of both missions) before time ran out. To further validate Jughead’s theory of Riverdale and G&G being the same, The Red Paladin storyline extended beyond the bunker. The first person outside of the players to use that name was the Warden as he cornered Betty and Kevin (Casey Cott) – who had proved the perfect distraction for Archie to disappear. “Where is the Red Paladin?”, he asked the confused teenagers who had never heard that name before. How did the Warden know Archie was Jug’s Red Paladin?

Could The Red Paladin be the warrior for the ages, a valiant and kindhearted knight who could right the kingdom? Archie’s father was the Radiant Knight when he played so it makes sense that the Red Paladin could be an extension. Are there an infinite amount of characters to the game – or when one personification of the character ascends another replaces them?

While the Warden’s involvement comes to a conclusion by episode’s end – thankfully not leaving viewers to speculate whether he is the Gargoyle King or not – it still leaves many questions. Primarily, who is behind the game – both on board and off?

Conclusion: “The Great Escape”

As the episode ended, it seemed as though Jughead was more sensible than we had all thought, that he had not given himself to the game during his search for the truth. Yet, this relief was quickly snuffed out as Jughead came across the Gargoyle King in the woods and appeared to kneel before him. It seems he is lost to the game – with potential ascension on the horizon.

This is the first time I found myself invested in Archie’s prison story this season – the inclusion of him as an element of the game raises the story, bringing in new prospects to the storyline. He is not just a silent member of a fight club looking for his Shawshank break moment, instead, an unwilling player in a much larger game that we have only begun to witness the fringes of. Other characters too that have been lingering around will also be getting their hands dirty as they begin their own journey into the heart of the game, determined to find out what their parents and Betty won’t tell them. Will the separate groups eventually merge as they did for the Midnight Club? And will Betty become her mother, the only “sober” witness to the madness when it all comes to fruition?

What are your thoughts on the latest episode of Riverdale?