‘Riverdale’ Recap: Season 5, Episode 13 “Chapter Eighty-Nine: Reservoir Dogs”

Megan
10 Min Read
Camila Mendes in Riverdale.
Bettina Strauss/The CW

This week’s episode of Riverdale is a lot to take in. In “Chapter Eighty-Nine: Reservoir Dogs,” Archie deals with his PTSD from being in the military. Veronica and Reggie work together to get Pearls and Posh up and running with investors. Meanwhile, Betty and Tabitha work together to catch the Lonely Highway Killer.

Keep reading to see the best moments from the newest episode of Riverdale, “Chapter Eighty-Nine: Reservoir Dogs.”

Military Man

KJ Apa in Riverdale.
The CW

Following high school, Archie went straight to the military and when he returned from deployment seven years later, unwillingly, we didn’t really see much of the aftermath. The episode immediately opens with a flashback to a critical battle as Archie tries to keep his squad alive. In the present, Archie seems to be doing okay, but military buddy Eric is the complete opposite.

After an unsuccessful time down at the VA for therapy, Archie and Eric come home to find Uncle Frank has gotten them a new roommate: A dog. While watching Eric and the new dog, Archie can’t help but think about Bingo, the stray dog his platoon took in who didn’t make it.

After taking care of some business (more on that below), Uncle Frank tells Eric that Archie told him about Bingo. While they were down in the foxhole he had to listen to Bingo howling and dying. Eric mentions that Bingo wasn’t a dog. Uncle Frank tells his nephew he can’t save everyone and all Archie wants to do is save the town.

“I’m trying to save this town, but it is so… corrupt… broken, full of awful, despicable people.”

While they can’t save everyone, they can save the dogs. Eric and Uncle Frank called up some shelters and told them there are some dogs in need of new homes and rehabilitation and love and care. So they set something up down at the El Royale. And the guys’ new rescue also has a new name: Bingo, to honor their fallen comrade. Although all seems fine, Archie has a dream of when he lost Bingo and he wakes up to a call from the VA Hospital. After seeing Bingo in the doorway, he admits he may need help too.

Archie is always one to help someone before he helps himself. Because that’s just who he is. PTSD from the military is a common thing and Archie realizing he’s not as fine as he thinks he is may be the step that he needs to overcome this obstacle. Even though he’s trying to clean up Riverdale, maybe he just needs to clean himself up first. But really, Archie needs to seriously consider his actions because sometimes he just goes too far.

The True She-Wolf of Wall Street

Camila Mendes in Riverdale.
The CW

Veronica Lodge, the She-Wolf of Wall Street is back and better than ever. Now that Reggie is free of Hiram, the two of them team up to get big investors since Veronica needs real cash following Chad’s fraudulent ways. This means becoming the She-Wolf once again, this time of Riverdale, and getting back into aggressive investment banking. However, it’s not exactly working out at first. Reggie offers to work with Veronica since he knows a lot about closing sales.

“I’m a closer.”

Veronica gives Reggie a chance to close one by the time the New York Stock Exchange closes, which isn’t much time. Though Reggie is up to it and he does it. Veronica officially welcomes him to Pearls and Posh. The two of them soon start working around the clock to get investors and they are a powerhouse of a team. However, they run out of names but Reggie offers to get them new leads for a price, especially since those leads are from SoDale. Reggie admits that SoDale doesn’t exist, it’s just a muddy field with no construction. Hiram sold his investors on a vision that will never be built. So they target Hiram’s investors and get them to pull out of SoDale.

The She-Wolf of Wall Street is definitely back.

Now, Veronica has always been quite the businesswoman and with her and Reggie as partners, it looks like she has the power to finally bring her father down. With word out that SoDale is a complete scam, Hiram is going to be biting back, hard, because the kingpin of Riverdale doesn’t go down without a fight, even when it’s against his own daughter.

Entertainment That Lures Potential Serial Killers? I’ve Seen Worse

Erinn Westbrook in Riverdale.
The CW

The Lonely Highway investigation continues, and this time Betty and Alice have some help. At first, it’s just Tabitha who joins, but after getting busted by the FBI and Betty’s ex, Glenn (who I still think is shady), Betty steps it up a notch. She and Tabitha come up with a plan to lure truckers to Pop’s and the Whyte Wyrm. They call in Alice, Veronica, Cheryl, Kevin, and Reggie to put on a show, Coyote Ugly-style, at the Whyte Wyrm and what a show it is.

Kevin and Reggie search the trailers, Alice mans the bar and keeps a lookout and the girls sing and dance their hearts out to distract any and all the truckers who are there. It doesn’t seem to have worked at first since a trucker she and the FBI interviewed seemed harmless. After the show, Betty comes across a trucker who is late to the show but offers to give him another one instead. She gets into his truck, but not before Betty texts Tabitha to tell her to track her.

They make their way down the Lonely Highway and Betty makes small talk with him. The trucker asks if she minds if he stops for a moment so he can stretch his legs and take a leak and Betty obliges. The trucker gets out a knife and makes his way to the passenger side. When he opens the door, Betty opens it on his face and knocks him out. She calls Tabitha but when she gets off the phone, he’s gone. It’s like Texas Chainsaw Massacre as the trucker pulls out a chainsaw and Betty tries to get away. She throws a tool at his head and knocks him down, and Tabitha pulls up. Like father, like daughter?

Now, I am one for trying to find out what happened to Polly and making sure other girls don’t go through the same thing she did. However, is it really the best to lure the serial killer to a popular diner where you may or may not get kidnapped and/or killed? This is Riverdale after all. It’s hard to trust anyone in that town. But then again, Betty and everyone has been doing this since high school so it’s not that surprising, but I still hoped they learned after seven years. One can only hope.

Out of Context Moments

Madelaine Petsch in Riverdale.
The CW

Another week of moments that are just too insane to not mention, that are much better out of context.

  • Cheryl recruits Kevin to her ministry (even though Kevin has already gone through a cult with the Farm?)
  • Kevin finds his ex-boyfriend Fangs hooking up with his other ex-boyfriend Moose.
  • Archie and Uncle Frank’s rescue dog is believed to have been part of a dog fighting-ring.
  • Archie finds the guy responsible for the dog-fighting ring and beats him up.
  • Betty and Tabitha kidnap the Lonely Highway Killer to get information out of him.
  • Kevin becomes a minister for Cheryl and Penelope’s ministry to find new meaning in his life after he gets awarded Teacher of the Year.

Riverdale, the show that just keeps on giving and just keeps on getting weirder.

What were your favorite moments this week? What will Betty and Tabitha do with the Lonely Highway Killer? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and watch Riverdale on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on The CW, streaming free the next day on The CW app! Check out new photos from next week’s episode here, and the promo here.

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By Megan
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Megan has been passionate about writing since she was little and has been passionate about all things pop culture and nerdy since almost as long. Joining Nerds and Beyond in 2019, she also graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Journalism. Megan is constantly binge-watching shows and finding new things to obsess over. 9-1-1 and Marvel currently reign as the top obsessions. You can find her on Twitter @marvels911s if you ever want to discuss some certain firefighters.
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