A fog is rolling into town in this week’s Riverdale, and it will bring about some harsh feelings and plans for the future. As Jughead and Tabitha get ready for the incoming apocalypse, Percival’s mission takes a different turn. Meanwhile, the custody battle over Baby Anthony turns ugly as Kevin is visited by a past love, Cheryl’s own past love comes back in the form of letters, and Betty and Archie’s future may include a little bundle of joy.
Keep reading to find out what happened in “Chapter One Hundred and Seven: In the Fog.”
The Incoming Apocalypse
Following the events of the last episode, Betty, Archie, Jughead, and Tabitha come together to come up with a plan to stop the apocalypse brought on by Percival. Archie suggests they stage a coup to knock Percival off. Then they take over. Needing public support from their friends and other residents, the four plan to host a meeting at Pop’s that night. Unfortunately, Alice overhears and tells Percival.
Alice tells Percival about an incoming fog that is known as “The Wrath of God.” She suggests they use it to stop the meeting from happening and give Percival time to make his next move. And that’s exactly what happens. Alice does a weather report on RIVW about the fog and that the town council has instituted a curfew for all citizens after sundown to stay home until the fog clears.
“The fog is coming.”
The Fog
Thanks to the fog and Alice’s warnings, no one shows up to Pop’s for the meeting. But plenty of characters spend their time doing other things while trapped in their homes or respective businesses.
Concerned Parents
Toni meets with Kevin to air out anything between them. She asks him to come over for dinner before the meeting so they can talk about Baby Anthony’s future. Kevin still doesn’t like that she and Fangs are Serpents, as he doesn’t think they can provide a safe environment for Baby Anthony. However, Toni brings up something else that may not be good for the baby.
Toni mentions Kevin’s compulsive cruising. He’s addicted to putting himself in risky sexual situations that often end in violence.
“So I’m not really sure you’re the person that should be arbitrating the future of our son.”
Past Consequences
As Kevin gets ready to meet with Toni and Fangs, he thinks back to past sexual relationships. Just as he’s about to leave the school, old boyfriend Moose arrives in the lounge. He’s Riverdale High’s new P.E. teacher. Due to the fog, Kevin has no excuse to leave and agrees to wait for it to lift and catch up. But only for 30 minutes.
The former boyfriends catch up on the last several years, and things have come full circle for them, meeting back at Riverdale High. Moose admits he’s always regretted bailing on him after his dad dressed up like the Gargoyle King the first time they had sex together. There is still some unfinished business between them. Moose kisses him and apologizes, but Kevin was feeling it too. He texts Toni and Fangs to raincheck the meeting.
Kevin leaves the lounge after “catching up” with Moose to freshen up. The hallway is looking eerily foggy and red, as is the restroom. And that’s not the only creepy thing about it, as Kevin sees the reflection of the Gargoyle King in the mirror. Kevin wakes up in the lounge, sweaty and out of breath. Moose comforts him, and Kevin looks out into the eerily red and foggy hallway.
The Future of the Serpents
Before Kevin comes over, Toni and Fangs talk about the future of the Serpents, in case Kevin asks. Fangs wants Anthony to be raised the same way they were. Old-school Serpent style. He wants Anthony to be able to defend himself and fight when he needs to fight. Fangs doesn’t want him to get killed by a Ghoulie. Toni reminds him that all the Ghoulies were killed by cops. Baby Anthony would be in constant danger from cops if he turned into a gang member. Fangs mentions that he’s going to have the same kind of harassment as a political activist.
Toni suggests they don’t focus on the Serpents when Kevin comes over. Instead, they appeal to him as a compassionate human being. And tell him they want to avoid an expensive, drawn-out legal battle.
After getting the text from Kevin, Fangs’ mind changes. He doesn’t like that Kevin bails on people, pointing out that he bailed on their marriage, and now he’s bailing on them as a family. Toni tells him that they’re trying to make nice for Anthony’s sake. She promises it will be settled soon. If Kevin doesn’t want to settle this, they will in court.
An Open Concept
Once the fog has dissipated in the morning, Kevin calls Fangs to tell him that after a night of reflection and taking stock, he wants to rethink joint custody. He’d be open to it. Unfortunately, Fangs also had an epiphany. He doesn’t want to be half a dad. He wants his son to be raised with integrity that he’s not sure Kevin possesses. He brings up Percival, but Kevin says that’s not fair. Fangs tells his ex he’ll see him in court.
“Until then, watch your back.”
Mama Blossom Is Back
Penelope makes a surprise visit to Thornhill and catches Cheryl up on her travels. After going to the original Sisters of Quiet Mercy, she fully pledged herself to Christ. They gave her one weekend to attend to any unfinished business before she takes her final vows.
“You are my unfinished business, Cheryl.”
Cheryl is reluctant to let her in, considering the times her mother has gaslit her. She gives in and lets her stay for supper. When Penelope fails to show up at supper, Cheryl finds her standing in front of the case holding the Julian doll. She again doesn’t trust her mother, so she takes a candelabra and knocks Penelope out.
An Old Love
When Penelope comes to, she’s strapped down to a chair, surrounded by candles. Cheryl’s making her body temperature rise, knowing what her mother is capable of. She is now the maiden and the dragon, no longer locked away in a tower, but instead, Penelope is going to feel her fiery wrath. Penelope pleads with her daughter, telling her she has something for her. Letters from Heather. Cheryl’s best friend from junior high. Penelope tells her that after she moved away, she wrote to Cheryl every day. She kept them all these years. And she brought them as proof that she has changed.
Cheryl reads the dozens of letters from Heather on her bed, sobbing. She always wondered why she never heard from her. Cheryl asks Penelope if she really hated her that much, why she was so cruel to her. Penelope admits she saw something in Cheryl that she tried to kill within herself. Because she felt like a monster. Penelope apologizes and tells Cheryl she’ll be gone once the fog lifts. But she asks for forgiveness before she leaves.
(It should be noted that Cheryl and Heather’s story is just beginning! Caroline Day was recently cast as Cheryl’s long lost love, meaning that the two could be rekindling the love they’ve desired since junior high.)
Baby Barchie
After sleeping together, Archie and Betty discuss their relationship status, and it comes at a time when Betty is late. Which never happens. While they are usually safe, there was one time it was a spur of the moment. Betty stopped taking her birth control when TBK had her in the well.
After Betty tells Archie about TBK and how he gave her a choice to dismember a body and be free or refuse and suffer the same fate, he tells her she did what she had to in order to survive. Sometimes he wonders what he’s still doing in Riverdale after everything that’s happened. But something always reminds him. The reason why he wants to save the soul of Riverdale and bought his dad’s house. He wants to raise a family there. That’s what he’s fighting for. When they get that pregnancy test from the drugstore, whatever it says, he’s all in. He’s there for her.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
In the morning, after the fog, Archie and Betty get the pregnancy test. Just as the timer goes off and the two of them look at it, the screen cuts to the title card.
Riverdale’s New Mayor
With the fog rescheduling the secret meeting, it also led to another meeting. Alice announces on RIVW that Percival is the new Mayor of Riverdale. The Council of Four, minus Tabitha, met, dissolved itself, and appointed Percival mayor. He collected enough signatures to ratify the Council’s endorsement. Percival wants to be mayor, like Hiram.
“God help us all.”
Jughead figures that mayor isn’t Percival’s ultimate goal. It’s just a stepping stone.
“All hail Dictator Pickens.”
Jughead’s Plan
While waiting for people to show up to the meeting at Pop’s during the fog, Jughead talks to Tabitha about her time travel powers. He was thinking she could stop the bomb from going off at Archie’s house. If it doesn’t go off, he doesn’t lose his hearing, and he really wants to hear sounds again. Tabitha tells him she’s tried. The bomb is a fixed point in time. No matter what she does, it always explodes. She can’t even get Jughead out of the garage. There’s too many variables. Jughead gets it but is understandably disappointed, as is Tabitha.
The Final Battle
Following the announcement of Riverdale’s new mayor, Tabitha admits to Jughead that when she told him she couldn’t stop the bomb from going off under Archie’s bed, she lied. She did stop it, and Jughead didn’t lose his hearing. But he also didn’t develop his ability to read minds, and because of that, Percival won. Nuclear winter in every scenario she played out. In the 1,384 scenarios she saw. Tabitha tells Jughead that all of their powers play a part in the final battle, but his is especially threatening to Percival’s because it’s the closest to his.
That’s not all. When Jughead overheard Tabitha thinking about being afraid to lose someone, she wasn’t thinking about Pop. She was thinking about Jughead. In every scenario, he dies. They only beat Percival twice.
“That’s grim.”
Jughead’s death is fixed, and Tabitha has been wrestling with whether or not to tell him. Jughead comforts her and assures her that they’ll beat him. It’s not the first time Jughead’s been destined to die. He tells Tabitha to not give up hope, because that is what will kill him.
Riverdale airs on The CW on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Stay tuned for our continued coverage on the series, including episodic recaps and more!
