Josie and the Pussycats have now left Riverdale following last week’s musical reunion, and the town is now being haunted by its past. After Archie’s former general gets an honor, Archie’s past in the army is brought to light. Veronica tries to get Pearls and Posh some money after Chad tips someone off, Jughead goes on an apology tour and submits his manuscript and Cheryl and Kevin take the ministry to a whole new level.
Keep reading to find out what happened in this week’s Riverdale, “Chapter Ninety-Two: Band of Brothers.”
“Our old pal turned superstar Josie McCoy had come and gone, leaving us all to our haunted existences.”
Archie’s Uphill Battle
Archie is still being haunted by the death of his platoon members and it doesn’t make it better that General Taylor is retiring with full honors and a 21-gun salute. Eric tells Archie to let it go and move on.
“Like Hell.”
He opens up to Uncle Frank about what happened out on that field, they were ordered into a fire zone to deliver medical supplies to civilians. That mission was a coverup as General Taylor was determined to take down a warlord controlling that region. His platoon got caught in some trenches, they needed air support. Someone had to go higher up so Archie went. He thought he was protecting them, but when he got back, everyone was dead. Bingo was still alive but he died before the helicopter arrived, and Eric lost his leg. Now, General Taylor is walking away with honors. Archie tells Uncle Frank it’s a war worth fighting. He’s going to take Taylor down.
Archie meets with General Taylor to confront him, asking him to stand down and retire quietly. “Soldier to soldier?” Taylor tells Archie he’s just a kid from some “podunk town” who joined the military on a whim. Archie doesn’t understand the Army or how it works and he certainly doesn’t know what it means to be a real soldier. General Taylor tells Archie not to cross him, or he’ll regret it. If General Taylor doesn’t stand down, Archie threatens he’ll demand a military tribunal. Taylor, though, says he’ll highlight how Sergeant Andrews went rogue and led his platoon into an ambush.
“It’s my word against yours.”
Archie won’t bury the truth any longer, regardless of the consequence. He later wants to take General Taylor down and go to trial but Eric’s not so sure of that. It would reopen a lot of wounds. Archie won’t go after the General unless he has the support and approval of the platoon’s families. Eric gives in.
After standing up with the military tribunal, Archie receives news Eric is not guilty of any wrongdoing and remains in good standing with the US Army. As for General Taylor, his actions were determined to be reckless and of poor judgement. He was driven by his own self interests and he’s being discharged without honors. It’s over.
Pearls and Posh and Palladium
Veronica, too, is haunted by Chad. But at the rate that Pearls and Posh is going, she’ll have all their investors’ accounts restored in a month. She and Reggie seem to be doing pretty well with Pearls and Posh, that is until they get a call from an agent with the SEC, wanting to review the store’s finances and books to ensure that Pearls and Posh isn’t engaged in any financial malfeasance. Veronica figures it had to have been Chad who tipped them off. Chad wants Veronica to ask for his help so he can balance their books before the SEC reviews them. Veronica brings up that if they got their hands on Hiram’s stash of palladium, they can sell it and finish repaying what Chad stole.
Thanks to Hermosa, Veronica and Reggie find out where Hiram is stashing the palladium. Veronica suggests making the palladium into Spanish doubloons so it’s new and unrecognizable. Then she’ll host an auction with Cheryl’s help.
Veronica successfully sells the doubloons for $300,000 at the auction, much to her father’s dismay as he tried to buy them as well. After the auction, Hiram tells Veronica it was almost as if she wanted to sell for less just so he wouldn’t get the palladium. But it would be so petty and ridiculous of her, and it’s exactly what she did. Veronica tells Hiram to not crash her auction next time.
Veronica gets a video call from Chad who got wind of her auction. He’s double checking with Veronica to see if she’s sure she doesn’t want in on his “amazing deal,” as Hiram is also working with him. She tells him she killed it at her auction. So much so all of his swindled investors are paid in full. Just in time for the SEC. Chad tells Veronica they’re celebrating at Hiram’s HQ and that she should swing by. Veronica takes him up on that offer.
During the party, Chad is told that there’s something wrong with the CopterCab stock, it’s crashing. The helicopter crash soon comes to light, as an article was published about it. A partner tells Chad he can’t be part of CopterCab if he crashed a helicopter. Veronica tells Chad he’s scum and in the end he couldn’t pull it off. He can’t land anything.
“You’ll never be an alpha, Chad. You’re a born beta.”
Veronica threatens her father about SoDale and then leaves. She has always been ruthless when it came to business, so never mess with the She Wolf of Wall Street.
Jughead’s Apology Tour
Jughead is now seven days sober and he’s finally ready to head out on an apology tour. At Riverdale High, Weatherbee tells Jughead he’s missed weeks of work and he didn’t arrange for a substitute. Jughead says he was going through some really intense personal stuff. He’s just trying to get his life back together. When he does, Weatherbee says maybe they can have him teach again, but right now Jughead’s on administrative leave.
He gets a call from his agent, Sam, about his manuscript. The publisher is demanding it ASAP. No manuscript, no career. Jughead promises Sam he’ll have pages by the end of the day. He meets with Tabitha at Pop’s, and the two of them apologize for what happened when Jughead went on his trip. Jughead brings up that night, as he recalls writing something that resembled a novel. Tabitha tells him he did write his book that night, Betty gave it to Jessica for her to heal. Jughead, desperate, does the unthinkable. He thinks back to when a fan, who was pursuing writing, gave him her manuscript to give to his agent. Jughead finds the novel in the bunker in a chest, The Rules of Distraction. He grabs a bottle of whiskey.
Jughead reads the manuscript and realizing how good it is, gives Sam a call and tells him he’s finished the novel. He rips the cover off the novel, so no one knows who really wrote it.
While talking with Betty, Sam calls him and tells him the book’s incredible. Jughead caves and tells Sam that he didn’t write it. A grad student named Cora did. Sam drops Jughead as a client. I was afraid that Jughead was going to steal Cora’s work, but the fact that he didn’t and risked his career shows that he’s doing better than expected. Hopefully he’ll be able to pass eight days sober and more.
Cheryl and Kevin’s Miracle
Cheryl and Kevin are still doing the ministry but before they have a chance to sing, Penelope interrupts them, saying Jason commands it. No more singing. Jason was a young man with few words. (Seriously, have we even heard him talk, both before and after life?) Kevin tells Cheryl that she needs to prove that there is no higher authority than her within the ministry. It’s all about showmanship. If Cheryl performs three miracles, she qualifies for sainthood. Kevin may have a trick or two up his sleeve.
“Oh, I hope you have at least three, Brother Kevin. I need my halo and my wings.”
- The first miracle that Cheryl performs is turning water to maple syrup, like how Jesus turned water into wine. Jason granted her the ability.
- It’s time to witness another miracle. Cheryl manifests the collective pain of their congregation, and her hands bleed with the blood of the stigmata. Mimicking the holy wounds of Jason.
- The third miracle involves Cheryl taming bees, yes bees, though Penelope doesn’t believe it so much.
“For I am Cheryl Blossom, Queen of the Bees.”
Kevin asks how she tamed those bees and Cheryl admits that something inside her has shifted. Something powerful, something she can’t explain. But she’s feeling more connected to things than she has in years. What if she is the first-ever living saint? Is Cheryl Marjorie Blossom the holiest of holies? Wouldn’t that be miraculous?
Wait, What?
This week’s Riverdale was definitely something, so sit back, try to relax and read on to see what some of the weirdest moments were in the episode.
- Reggie and Hermosa were a thing, or I guess are a thing? Not something I expected.
- Cheryl and Kevin’s “miracles” are a little questionable, bloody hands and bees? What kind of tricks did Kevin learn from David Copperfield?
- Is Cheryl Blossom a saint?
- Betty admits she is more comfortable studying serial killers than she is socializing with normal people.
- Betty and Tabitha work the Lonely Highway together to try to catch the Trucker Killer.
Like most Riverdale episodes, this week was definitely a lot to take in. And as we’re getting through the final episodes of the season, they’re only going to get even more insane.
Catch Riverdale every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on The CW, streaming free the next day on The CW app!
