Okay Riverdale fans?  We’re in for a bumpy night.  We are to believe that our beloved Juggie has seen his last narration on Riverdale and died.  We are to believe Betty killed him with a rock.  Oh wait, Betty was drugged wasn’t she by the prep school five and woke up beside her dead boyfriend?  or what??  Questions, questions and no real answers yet?  Will we find out tonight or will this be a typical Riverdale asking us more questions than giving us answers?

Cute executives–the memory plaque wasn’t that cute.

The Jughead’s Death and Aftermath

Betty gets a phone call and starts crying.  Yale just called and she got Jughead’s spot (well maybe not but that’s what all think).  Later, at Pop’s, Cheryl offers her condolences to Betty and Cheryl wants to spend time with her.  Cheryl goes to Stonewall (and Betty doesn’t want that) with Betty to get Juggie’s personal effects.  Now — wait a minute.  I thought he had already packed.  And why in the world did he leave an opened lollipop in his dresser drawer.  Bret comes up and gloats.  Guess who else is going to Yale — Bret and he seems to threaten Betty.

Later, in Donna’s room, we find FP hunting for Jughead’s personal effects.  What’s this he says as Donna tells him he won’t find anything.  Well, well, FP has found a stick pin that was Jughead’s.  Donna denies, denies, denies and then admits that she lied because she was afraid that Betty would kill them.  FP goes to Riverdale High and arrests Betty, Veronica and Archie. He questions each but their parents are there for them.  Even Hiram with his health scare supports Ronnie (you know that ticked Hermarosa off).  Mary won’t let Archie answer questions and Betty!  Well Alice tells her that she knows Betty did it.  Way to go Alice!  You have such faith in your daughter.  Then FP admits that the blood on the rock was fake and Betty and the gang can go.  How many feel sorry for Betty with a mother like Alice?  I do.

When Donna learns that our three heroes were freed, she panics and goes to Bret and tells him that they have to do something.  She says that Jughead must be alive (wait — didn’t they tell FP they saw Jughead dead with Betty holding a rock).  Oh right, she does admit that she knew it was blood on what they planted.  Early the next morning (or I assume it was morning), Donna calls Betty and is in a panic.  Why we ask?  Because Donna admits to knowing the rock was real and wonders when it was changed.   Why would FP lie?  Oh, and the investigation is going to lead to Betty’s doorstep if it’s the last thing Donna does.  (I’m getting a list of those to eject from this show!)

Betty decides it is time to hold Jughead’s wake and that it should be at the house.  Surprisingly, FP agrees (wonders of wonders).  At the wake, the preppie five show up to try and enter. Sweet Pea (wait wasn’t he being deprogrammed) tries to prevent them from entering but Betty tells him to let them in.  The five sneer at the wake being at the house and see it as further evidence that Jughead isn’t dead.  After FP tries to talk about Juggie and breaks down, Betty finishes the sermon up admitting that Jughead liked crime fiction and Sherlock Holmes in particular.  She read the final story ending as one of Jughead’s favorites.  Donna goes up to talk to Jellybean about Jughead being alive which Betty stops.  Donna sics Bret on the coffin only to get stopped by Sweet Pea.

Okay to make a long story short.  After Donna threatens Betty AGAIN, Betty meets Archie at Pop Tate.  Cheryl is listening in.  After decorating Jughead’s (or was it Betty’s) locker as a tribute to Juggie, Betty runs off in tears.  She is comforted by Archie and she kisses him.  Cheryl watches, snaps a picture and does her civic duty as President of Riverdale High and hits send to the whole school.  While some are surprised, I think Reggie is suspicious because he can’t see those two together.   Cheryl tells Ronnie personally in the bathroom (because that’s what girls do) and Ron confronts Archie and Betty in the student lounge in front of everyone.  They fight and she calls Betty a b*tch and run offs.

And what about the preppies.  Well, Donna has visited Betty and accused her of trying to set them up.  She’s going to be watching and following Betty.  Betty won’t know when.  Oh, come on Donna.  You are not that good at spying.  Betty leads Donna to the bunker and goes down the steps with a burger and drink.  Donna burst in only to find Betty and Archie in a romantic lip lock.  She goes back and tells Bret she knows that Betty is setting them up. Why else would there have been three milkshakes. Bret tries to get her to relax.  He remind her that they killed Jughead and Donna slaps the fire out of Bret.  She’s the mastermind and he’s not to forget it.  Something is wrong and she knows Jughead is alive.

And Now for the Rest of the Story — as told to Alice!

Alice has decided to make a documentary entitled “Murder in a Small Town” or something like that about Jughead’s death.  She interviews Cheryl’s grandmother who tells her that Riverdale is bathed in blood.  Should we take time to count all those who have died?  No, it would take too long.

We should have gotten suspicious during the interviews and the selection of people Alice showed.  FP basically just states the facts and adds the rock part to the story.  Pop Tate echoes the blood angle while Cheryl and Toni don’t know what to say and don’t seem to be in mourning.  (And we learn they’re not even on the reveal but I get ahead of myself.)  After Donna story that Jughead is alive starts making the rounds, Kevin relates how Jughead helped him with English.  And my Mark Twain reference from a few weeks ago shows up with Kevin remembering that Jughead talked about how cool it would be to attend your own funeral. Reggie is upset because he doesn’t think that Betty and Archie are an item.  If so, he’s sure Ronnie would be back with him (my edit here folks).  Besides Reggie is upset.  If Juggie is alive and faking his death, he’s pulled the ultimate senior prank.  That was supposed to be Reggie’s job.

So what is the big reveal?  What I’ve been saying for weeks.  Jughead is alive and Alice takes her documentary in a new direction on why this is being done.  She tells us it is the story of friendship and the conspiracy to do what is right (my version there folks).  Betty has given her mom an interview and laid everything out but we don’t learn it immediately.  It seems that all that has been going on is an act.  FP, Mary, Jellybean and now Alice have known the truth.  Archie and Ronnie’s fight over the kiss was a setup (and Cheryl didn’t even know she was being used).   Ronnie trusts Archie and Betty because they are her best friends.  In the bunker, Jughead was there the whole time and it was faked because Betty knew Donna was following her.

The ultimate goal was to prove what the prep school has done and catch them (again in my words).  Betty, Archie and Ronnie had found Juggie unconcious but his beenie had protected his head.  Betty, in need of something to do for stress, had learned to knit and made him a new one which she gave during the reveal.  All was set in motion to make Donna doubt herself (and us to find out just how culpable the prep five are  and to get frustrated).  When Alice talks to the three and asks why they went to the extremes they did, Betty tells Alice that they knew the preppies were setting her up for blame.  If the preppies found out that he was alive, they would scramble and do anything to protect their little preppie hides.   Betty tells Alice that Donna and the group are fracturing (which is shown by Donna slapping Bret).

And the Aftermath that is still to come:

As the show goes off (with no previews — Roberto, I’m mad), we learn that Ronnie set Hermarosa to do some spying.  Hermarosa has gotten some goods on the preppies and it turns out that the report reveals something about Donna.  Anyone want to take a guess?  If I am right, she’s the sister of Evelyn.  How else could she have gotten into prison to see her except as being a relative?

And as a side note we find out something else about Hermarosa.  She wants Ronnie’s place.  Why else would she break in while Archie and Ronnie are having a moment, give Ronnie a passport with the blonde identity and plane ticket, and actually find out dirt thinking it is for another purpose.

My one hope for Archie is that teens come back to his community center.

Now my questions to you are as follows:

What type of drugs does Donna have access to and how?

What will she do next week when she sees Jughead alive?

And why did you cut to Nancy Drew with the scene making me think we were getting another half hour of Riverdale?