RIVERDALE: (S3E6) “Chapter Forty-One: Manhunter”: A Search For One Is Truly The Search For Many

Things are really starting to heat-up on Riverdale this season! With Archie (K. J. Apa) hidden from authorities, a potential murderer on the loose and the veil between reality and the supernatural seemingly thinning, there was a lot to take in throughout “Manhunter.”

Last episode, we saw the undeniable parallelism between Gryphons & Gargoyles and real life when a  game commenced in a bunker below matched up to the jailbreak of Archie Andrews. In its wake, our “Red Paladin” lay wounded but out of the clutches of Warden Norton (William MacDonald), while Jughead’s (Cole Sprouse) mission to ascend took a startling turn in the woods.

“Manhunt”

It was immediately apparent that the episode’s title was the foreshadowing of the manhunt of Archie Andrews. Yet, as the episode continued, it appears he is not the only one one being hunted. As the storyline progresses, we find that Archie truly was not the central aspect of the hunt, only a literal representation to a final means.

Riverdale has a habit of promoting an upcoming storyline, only to flip it on its head, bringing greater depth and unpredictability to the episodes that are to come. While Archie was the literal manhunt, there was also the manhunt for The Midnight Club killer underway, the manhunt for the one to be sacrificed, a manhunt for a betraying Serpent, a manhunt for false accusers and a manhunt for the truth. Oh! Lest we forget the manhunt for the Gargoyle King himself.

Each brought more questions than answers, yet thrusted many of our beloved characters into directions and consequences that they will have to face alone in coming episodes.

Man on the Run

Thankfully, it appears “Manhunter” has marked the end of the Archie Andrews jailhouse blues. Having escaped last week, it was important for the writers to conclude this storyline, reshaping his direction as they had already begun to do with his involuntary participation in G&G. Though the direction we are left with, as the credits begin to role, will leave viewers wondering if Archie truly left his jail cell, or has created a new one of his own.

Before we reach our gut-wrenching, hair-raising conclusion of the night, Archie embarks on a mission to find his accusers in the mines of Shadow Lake – convinced that by finding them, he will have the means to prove his innocence. Yet, as Kevin (played by Casey Cott – who thankfully was given more screen time this week) and Archie make their way through the forest in search of the mine’s entrance, they find they are not the only ones looking for the young men. Sheriff Minetta (Henderson Wade) is on his own manhunt, yet his prey are sitting ducks, safe in their false sense of security. Finding they are too late, Archie plummets into self defeat, accusing himself of being the cause of everything that has happened to these young men and the pain he had put his friends and family. In this moment, Archie has become lost, his manhunt turning to any means of redemption ignited.

Yet, he was not the only one on the run tonight. Having been released after ascending and stabbing Archie, Joaquin (Rob Raco) was also being sought after by the Serpents. With the necessity for him to pay for his betrayal, as well as his potential in-depth Intel regarding G & G, Joaquin was an asset Jughead and the Serpents were desperate to get back. Though what they do discover will leave viewers with many, many more questions – and very few answers. With Jughead back into the persona of a Serpent King, rather than game master, the hunt for Joaquin does not last long. Nervous and looking worse for wear, Jughead demands to know why Joaquin would betray Archie. With horror, Joaquin reveals that Archie was meant to die, he needed to die – he was the sacrifice.

Viewers will barely have time to wrap their head around Archie being a “sacrifice” as Veronica (Camila Mendes) brings her own manhunt to a close – providing false hope to viewers surrounding the future of Archie Andrews. With Archie keeping low to elude authorities, Veronica begins to dive back into Archie’s case, looking for anything she can that could overturn his conviction. Desperate for anything, and with time feeling like sand in an hour glass, Veronica notices that the interviews with the boys hiding in Shadow Lake had been edited – evidence that if proven, would instantly set Archie free. Finding what she needs on a file, strangely marked with a G&G runic resembling the sacrifice branded on Archie, Veronica finds what she needs, freeing Archie – and sacrificing her parents and Sheriff Minetta in the process.

Singling Out A Murderer

With an excess amount of manhunts simultaneously presenting themselves within an hour installment – viewers are never allowed to forget the looming terror that lurks through the dice, cards and streets of Riverdale. With the information proved to him by Joaquin, Jughead accuses Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) of being the Gargoyle King – which he seems to be both offended and amused by at the same time. It makes sense, as everything Hiram has said will come to pass has, but it just seems too obvious, too simple – though his decision to have the Shadow Lake boys executed upon Jug’s departure seems to speak otherwise.

Meanwhile, Betty (Lili Reinhardt) unrelentingly pushed forward in her investigation to find who the murderer in The Midnight Club may be. Gathering all the parents who had played years back, Betty pleads with them to come forth with any information they may have from that night – any little piece that may solve this latest mystery. Maybe then, the terror lurking throughout Riverdale will finally come to an end. With disgust, Dillon Doyle (father of Dillon), now deceased, is blamed for the murder of Principal Featherhead, disbanding the group and leaving many to once again close themselves off from the conversation.

Though someone’s feathers were ruffled as Betty and her mother are later attacked within their home, the Gargoyle King appearing in their living room and a threat of death left for them in their rooms. Side note: This was the best scene of the night! As F.P Jones (Skeet Ulrich) jumps in through the bedroom window to save them (which was a nice callback to Scream by the way!), the ordeal proves to be too much for Alice (Mädchen Amick) as she decides the safest course of action is to seclude herself at the farm with Polly – and send Betty away to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. With each season, this is becoming the Arkham Asylum of Riverdale – and everyone has been there.

I, like Betty, have begun my own investigation, taking notes and looking into the lives of the characters surrounding Riverdale. I would like to posit a possibility, lurking ominously within the background, a potential character that has the means and history to be our Gargoyle King, quietly introduced yet finding more of an importance with each episode. While Edgar seems to still be a potential, what about the coroner?

Earlier in the season, when Betty and Jug paid off the coroner to look at Dilton Doley’s body, they were surprised to find that it was the coroner’s son who was running the morgue. Mentioning he had taken over for his father after he had passed away suddenly, the story moves on without much regard for the father’s passing. But what if the coroner’s father had been the original Gargoyle King? When Betty went to look into the death of Dilton Doley’s father, the new coroner had mentioned that Betty could not take the file, as it was from his father’s “personal” collection. Why would he have covered up the true nature of Dillon Doley’s death, hiding the file away in his own “personal” collection? Could there be more files, one on each individual within the town?

With his sudden passing, the son, young and able, could have taken over for his father beyond the morgue, becoming the new Gargoyle King. It is plausible this sudden return and heightened exposure of the game could come because of a new leader, a new Gargoyle King.

Is it possible that the game has been going on for quite some time, that no one ever truly stops playing the game. Could there be an awareness throughout the town, a hidden secret that they know but will not share? Either way, someone is leading this group, whoever its members, and I have a sneaky suspicion that the coroner and his father are more immersed within the game than just through body cavities.

Conclusion: Game Pieces Moving for a Checkmate?

As “Manhunter” reached its final moments, there is a strong sense that true danger is about to rear its ugly head. With the group disbanded, the idea of strength in numbers has been eliminated. It seems that Hiram Lodge’s plans from the season 2 finale have truly come to pass – first taking care of Archie, then separating the tight knit group of friends who threatened Hiram’s demise. With Betty at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, Jughead and Archie out of town, and Veronica alone to deal with the fallout of her recent attack on her father, each will have to find the strength to stand alone.

Yet, as the realization that Hiram Lodge may still have won in the long run sinks in, a new realization takes form – quite literally on the canvases of the students at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. The Gargoyle King’s reach is further and deeper than anyone could have imagined.