Riverdale has moved ahead in time but still is leaving us with questions left over from high school.  In previews, tonight’s episode seems to revolve more around Betty than any of the other characters.  Since they left the high school relation“ships” not to some fans liking, twitter is already talking about whether this episode will bring Bughead (Betty and Jughead back).  I’m uncertain it’s time for that reunion yet, but who am I to know the minds of the writers of Riverdale.

Jughead and His Visions

Really, he has no opening narration.  Instead, he’s concentrating on his writing of the mystery that surrounds him and questioning what’s going on.

Jughead gets his class’s first writing assignment and one has an alien as a cover.  He talks to Mr. Weatherbee about the situation.  The student, Leman, has an alien on his cover.  Mr. Weatherbee tells Jughead that the student is an average student (I hate that term) and has come to school with a black eye.  While Jughead suspects family abuse, Mr. Weatherbee tells Jug that Leman’s parents would not be the type to abuse their son. 

After the next class, Jughead talks to Lowman about trauma.   Leman tells him that it was all fiction but ends up telling his parents about it.  They show up and Mr. Weatherbee moves Leman to another class.  Jughead also gets a warning to never have that type of talk with the student again.

Later, Leman disappears from his home and Mr. Weatherbee calls to see if he is with Jughead.  He’s not but Jughead will get help looking for him.  He calls Betty (who is into her own overboard situation) and she agrees to meet him to search for Leman.  She finds Leman on the route where Polly disappears.  When Jughead takes him home, he learns that Leman had left home one night and disappeared for a week.  He couldn’t remember anything that had happen during that time after being found on the highway.  (Start the X-File theme folks.)

Later, Mr. Weatherbee tells Jughead that Leman’s parents and have decided to leave Riverdale. They want a fresh start so Leman can get out of the situation.

Betty and the Search for (a possible) Dead Polly

Betty’s problems open with her mom, the alcoholic, denying that Polly could be dead.  Evidently they got enough blood from the phone booth for a cross-match.  It could be Polly as the match proves to be the same as Polly’s.  Glenn calls Betty with the news and she tells him off.  And another relationship bites the dust. 

After a discussion with Cheryl about Jason, Betty decides not to follow Cheryl’s advice to tell her mother the truth so Alice can get closure.  Instead, she lies and tells Alice that the blood type wasn’t Polly’s.  This makes Alice happy and gets her back into the support group (and acting like a Stepford wife switch has been turned).  Betty goes by Pop’s to pick up a platter for the support group meeting and tells Jughead everything.   Jughead takes her to meet the man in the swamp with the stories.  Talk about unbelief!  That’s Betty.  Yet, as Jughead points out, this is Riverdale where the weird reigns.  Later at home, Betty gets to thinking and decides she knows what to do.

Let’s call Betty the Riverdale Avenger.  Dressed in black, she starts haunting the highway and stopping girls from hitchhiking.  She even finds the driver from an earlier episode and demands to know what is going on.  She ties him to a tree and almost  kills him but is interrupted by Jughead.  Could an alien be involved?  Betty remembers that Polly described a place that could have been an alien spaceship.  (Okay, let’s move to the Twin Peaks score.) 

I hope that Betty has let that trucker go.  We don’t know because the next thing we know is that Glenn has stuck his nose into Betty’s family.  He has shown up and told Alice the blood type was a match.  This sends Alice over the edge and she’s angry with Betty for lying.  Glenn says he is taking over the case and Betty is upset.  Cue the end of that scene.

Archie and Veronica and the Team

Well, are we surprised that no one shows up for the game?  Let’s face it!  Archie doesn’t have much to work for a squad but he’s giving it his all.  Cheryl doesn’t want her group cheering for no one to hear them.  Well, Veronica steps in.  She interrupts Archie’s pep talk and promises $10,000 to the players if they can win.  She also arranges with Tabitha a pancake supper at Pop Tate’s which gets Cheryl to agree to one more game. 

Unfortunately, one mother doesn’t really want her son playing for the Bulldogs because of college recruiting.  Just as that discussion starts, Slimy Reggie walks in.  Veronica gets Archie and they basically tell Slimy to leave.  Reggie tells them he’s there to get the Bulldogs to drop out of the league because their losing is hurting the league.  Ronnie tells Reggie to forget it and takes matters into her own hands.

Veronica knows only one person could be behind this.  Any guesses?  That’s right!  Hiram evidently owns the league and has the director in his back pocket.  Veronica has a bet for Hiram.  Now, we all know he won’t let that go.  The bet is that if the team scores a point against the Stallions, Hiram must get the league’s director off the Bulldogs’ back.  If the Bulldogs don’t score, they will drop the team.  Hiram jumps on this and agrees. 

Archie learns from the team that his star player has transferred to that Hiram’s Stallions school.  So, they’re down a man and the team is despondent.  During practice, Ronnie shows up.  Not only does she have a pro that all the team knows (I think his name is T-Dog)l, but that pro gives the team a pep talk to end all pep talk.  Ronnie also has a bunch of new players for Archie (and some are girls).

While the Bulldogs are getting their act together, Hiram and Slimy Reggie meet.  Reggie assures Ronnie that he doesn’t have to worry.  Reggie is going to lead the Stallions to victory.  Hiram isn’t having it and he will coach the team.  Slimy Reggie may not be a slimy as I thought.  He tells Hiram that he will be sitting on the Bulldogs side supporting his old alma mater.  Does Reggie has a good side after all.  Only time will tell.

At the game, things look bleak for the Bulldogs and Hiram is happy.  Cheryl and a team have a great cheer that helps the Riverdale town pull for the team.  With a minute left, it looks like the Stallions are winning.  But Archie tells them he’s proud of them, the town is proud of them.  Britta, as quarterback, fakes a play and runs the ball in for a touchdown.  While the Bulldogs didn’t win, they did score.  Score one for the good guys.

Kevin’s Dilemma

Kevin has decided to move out of the apartment he shares with Toni and Fangs.  After Cheryl has tried to bring Fangs and Kevin together again and apologizes for the key game, Kevin and Fangs fight again.  Kevin storms out and he gets his dad to help him pack. 

Kevin later visits a steam room and makes the moves on a guy who is in there.  Problem for Kevin:  The guy is not gay and proceeds to beat him up.  Kevin evidently calls his dad who doctors him up.  They talk and Sheriff Kline tells Kevin that he is worried about Kevin.  Kevini tells dad that he’s not to blame.  Dad has always supported him.  Then Kevin reveals the real story.  While dad accepted him, his mother did not.  She made comments about him while shopping.  Kevin ran into a guy who called him cute which made all the negative comments from mom disappear.  Maybe healing has started as Kevin and dad have a heart to heart hug fest.

Next Week: 

Will someone die?  Who sets a bomb or is the timer for something else?  Has Slimy Reggie realized how bad Hiram is and turned to the good side.  And what will be the mid-season cliff hanger.