Tonight, Riverdale does the monochrome version of the program.  I haven’t seen a current production done in black and white since the 2012 Whedon’s version of Much Ado About Nothing.  Black and white is its own genre of film and sometimes bothers viewers.  I grew up during an age of black and white television and was shocked when my father got us a color set.  It’s also strange that it deals with the Cold War and the nuclear bomb.  The only thing I remember from the drills is to take cover.  Our bomb shelter was a local church about a mile away.  You know we wouldn’t have reached that in time.

My real thoughts is that this is setting the show up for multi-verse or various universes that must come together.  A nuclear blast could do it.  To me, the blast looked more like the Bailey’s Comet blast.  The “bending toward justice” theme will be hard here but we’ll see where it goes.  It’s more likely to start the gang’s memory coming back.  And while some twitter (X) participants are having problems with Ethel’s emergence as a primary player, she is a “B” character in the comics.  It comes down to Rivervale for both Ethel and Dilton.  Hopefully tonight we’ll find out how.

Mysterious Melting Man

Jughead’s story opens at the theater where he’s watching a horror movie.  It appears that half of Riverdale High is there.  He stops Ethel as they leave to discuss how she’s doing.  Ethel has a new boyfriend.  As they stand talking, a man appears and dies in front of all.  Seems he’s not the only one.  Our friendly morgue doctor tells Jughead (after getting a comic) that it was radiation poisoning but Kline took the body before more information could be gathered.  One interesting feature is that the man worked for the Blossom’s Maple Factory – just like Ethel’s dad and Mr. Rayberry.

Later, Jughead asks Ethel about her father’s job for the Blossom family.  Ethel doesn’t want to talk about it as she is moving on with her life.   With Ethel a washout, the surprising one to supply details is Dilton.  Wait!  We get the bunker.  Dilton’s dad built it to protect the family after being given palladium by Ethel’s dad.  Palladium is even more dangerous that the hydrogen and other nuclear bombs. This will be a safe zone for them. And yes, it is the bunker where the third Jughead writes comics.  Later, Jughead approaches Cheryl to ask about the mines and they end up going down into the mines together to take pictures.  (Unfortunately, we don’t get to see the photos!)  Is this for Dilton’s redemption and his bending toward justice?

Shipping Out

Archie’s story is “Shipping Out.”  Frank tells Reggie and Archie he’s got them into a prestigious basketball camp.  Then evil Frank ruins it by asking Archie if he can let his poetry go that long.  Later at school, Archie see Kevin and Clay tying knots.  They’re going out on a cargo ship as Merchant Marines and that makes sense to Archie who decides to go also.  Clay tells him the adventure would offer inspiration for stories.

At dinner, Archie announces his decision and Frank says that makes more sense than going to college to study how to write poetry.  They bicker back and forth, and Mary puts a stop to it.  Later, Frank finds Archie exercising in the garage.  Frank makes his pitch about Archie going into the Army and becoming a hero by protecting democracy.  It would be better than the Merchant Marines because he could join now.  To make it complete, Frank gives Archie his father’s dog tags.  (And Frank goes back to being a jerk!)

The next morning Archie talks to his mom who gives him the true story.  At dinner, Mary goes on the attack and tells Frank to leave Archie alone.  He needs to finish high school and make his own decisions.  To finish it off, Mary throws Fred out (thank goodness).  Fred goes to stay with Sheriff Kline.  Before Fred leaves, he seems to want amends.  Mary lets him come to Sunday dinner. Archie delivers the key line.  Most of the poets he idolizes wrote their poems in the foxholes.  This seems to surprise Frank.

Project Moloch (A Weird Version of the Manhattan Project)

Okay, remember I said that Cliff Blossom was evil. We’ve all known that Penelope was. Cheryl and Julian come home from school to find dad with a visitor from Washington.  He’s delivered an ancient ugly statue which Cliff tells the twins was used in sacrifices?  Okay, I admit I may not have gotten that right.

Cheryl later has a dream and wakes up screaming.  It’s about the nuclear bomb.  She goes downstairs only to overhear a conversation about Project Moloch and the palladium.  It seems that when the bomb goes off, the Blossoms family will survive and be part of the new leaders of survivors. 

First Cheryl then Cheryl and Jughead go down to get proof.  The pictures that Cheryl and Jughead make are sent, via Veronica’s contacts, to Washington.  Cheryl knows what is coming and greets the agents at the door.  (Was that Chick leading them?)  Anyway, the parent Blossoms are led off in handcuffs and the world is saved.

Driver’s Education

Betty’s story deals with birth certificates to get their driver’s license.  After the ladies get their parallel parking drill finished, they now will go get their license.  All applaud Ethel when she does a perfect job (wish I could).  Ethel seems worried though because she doesn’t have her birth certificate.  They’re in the family home,  Ethel, for good reasons, doesn’t want to go there.  Betty agrees to go get the documents but finds much more.  Betty finds bank deposits for the Muggs from her father nd a picture of Hal holding a baby about Betty’s age.

What do you do when you find your parents lying about something?  If you are Betty, you confront them.  Hal gives the story that Ethel’s mom cleaned house for the Coopers.  Betty points out that the checks are current.  Alice stops Hal before more lies.  He got Ethel’s mom pregnant, and Ethel is Betty’s half-sister.  Alice sends Hal out of the room.  She and Betty have a heart to heart.  This is the reason Alice can’t forgive Polly’s choice of career and Betty’s book choice.  Betty asks Alice if she was afraid this would happen to her.  Alice admits it was.  They hold a family meeting and tell Ethel the truth.  Ethel now understands the reason her parents acted the way they did toward her. This is the reason Alice took her in after her parents’ death.  Alice and Hal offer to adopt her but Ethel wants only one thing:  to be happy!

At Pop’s, Ethel tells Alice, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead good-bye.  She and her boyfriend are headed to California.  Alice wants her to stay and worries about what she will do but Veronica has taken care of that.  Veronica has gotten her job as an art illustrator with a film company and a place to live with a friend in a well-known address.  Ethel hugs Veronica with a thank you and Betty and she shares a sisterly hug.  To Jughead, Ethel gives a hug and says “we’ll always have Pep Comics.”  Alice now feels Ethel will be fine.

The Bomb Information

Dilton’s dad, the science teacher, shows a film about what will happen if Riverdale gets hit with a bomb (think Bailey’s Comet).  Later in their gathering, each says what they will do.  Jughead points out the town will be vaporized but Veronica says she’ll go into the mini-city beneath the Pembroke with Jughead. Cheryl will go into the mines (with Toni, of course) while Reggie will go home and climb down the well. Archie would grab Mary and head to the mountains in Colorado, but Clay says that wouldn’t work.  Kevin would get in a refrigerator and Betty thinks that is dumb.

.Ending Narration

Jughead says all the pieces were falling into place and we are back to colorized show.  We get “The End” but is it?  Of course not – two more episodes remain.

Tonight’s show was more like Rod Sterling’s The Twilight Zone and echoed back to Rivervale.  We saw the bunker and it’s history.  More importantly, we may have seen why Alice was the way she was.  Mary is still the angel but Frank and Hal moved backward.  The evil came out and we see the hidden mystery of the palladium.  It was a hard episode to see any “bending to justice” but I think that is seen with the palladium.  And do we know if this really happened at all.  Luckily change is coming. 

Next Week:  We get some memories of high school and the return of our angel of Pop’s, Tabitha.  This stirs Jughead’s memory.  Will the reason to “bend toward justice” become clearer?