We are officially at the halfway point for the final season of Riverdale, and this week’s episode saw Jughead and Tabitha team up once again to not only try to dig deeper into Brad Rayberry’s death but to give closure to someone close to him. Meanwhile, Archie and Reggie are obsessing over cars, which doesn’t bode well for Betty and Veronica, and Cheryl tries to spend more time with Toni as Fangs’ rockstar dreams come true.
Keep reading to find out what happened in “Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Seven: American Graffiti.”
Getting Closure
At Pop’s, Sheriff Keller is recruiting Jughead to help with Rayberry’s death, but more so trying to get in contact with the late author’s family. Jughead mentions Rayberry might have had a wife, but he was pretty tight-lipped about his marriage. He thinks he could have filled out forms at Pep Comics and offers to take a look.
Jughead tells Fieldstone about Rayberry and wonders about his wife. Fieldstone knows nothing but says Rayberry wanted to send half his salary to a small town in South Carolina. He suggests she lives down there.
Jughead tells Tabitha about Rayberry and the P.O. box in South Carolina, and the two don’t necessarily believe he was planning on killing himself. “Honest to gosh,” he is tempted to sneak into Rayberry’s apartment and figure out who the P.O. box belongs to and to try and find evidence that he didn’t kill himself — that he was the victim of foul play. Tabitha offers to help.
Jughead and Tabitha are searching all over Rayberry’s apartment, and Tabitha comes across the photo of a woman with “June, 1948” written on the back. Tabitha also found love letters addressed to Brad Rayberry from someone named June Simpson, writing to him from South Carolina. Jughead looks through the address book and finds June’s name, and Tabitha says they have to call her since she probably hasn’t heard.
Jughead calls June, tells her the news about Rayberry, and tells her who he is. She says that she’ll be there as quickly as she can as she’s holding back tears.
Tabitha has read through Rayberry and June’s letters, telling Jughead they got married in New York and moved to South Carolina to start a family, but there was an incident, and their lives were threatened. White thugs threw a brick through a window and burned a cross in the yard, but the cops wanted to arrest them, not the thugs. The Rayberrys were terrified, and Brad left and settled in Seaside. They planned to save up enough money to make sure June’s family was safe and move to Paris.
Jughead and Tabitha meet with June, who has the last letter that Rayberry sent. In it, he said he wanted his novel published, and if the deal went through, they’d have the money to buy her parents a place in the city and move to Paris. It doesn’t sound like he was planning on taking his life. If he didn’t take his own life, that means that someone else was responsible, but they don’t have an idea who. June won’t stop Jughead from looking into his death.
As she leaves, June tells Jughead and Tabitha that she’s going to try to get Rayberry’s novel published and hopes that Jughead will continue adapting his stories. Jughead would be honored and says he will also talk to Mr. Fieldstone about a tribute issue, with the proceeds going towards her and her family. June tells the two to take care of each other and leaves.
Tabitha tells Jughead she’s been thinking about going back on the tour, as meeting June and reading her letters was a reminder. Jughead reminds her she was fighting for people to be free and live their lives, and to love who they want to love.
“There’s nothing more meaningful than that.”
As Jughead is still going through stuff in Rayberry’s apartment, one of his neighbors, Mrs. Martin, comes over to ask for milk from his fridge. The fridge is empty, which surprises Mrs. Martin since she heard the milkman making an unusually late delivery. She didn’t see him, but she did hear him.
Car Obsession
Frank gives Archie back the keys to his car after hearing that his grade-point average is up, and Reggie expresses his admiration for Archie’s hot rod, who tells him that his dad and he rebuilt it together and finished it right before he went off to the war. Reggie keeps asking questions about the car, and Archie suggests they play hooky so he can see what it’s all about.
As Betty and Veronica are talking about being strong, independent women who don’t need boys to tie them down, Archie and Reggie pull up to school in the hot rod, and they can’t help but to stare at them. Later, Veronica talks to Reggie about not making their date at the Babylonium and wonders if she can have another chance. Reggie doesn’t really want to chase but seems to give in to Veronica anyway.
Reggie asks Archie to borrow his car for his date with Veronica; he promises he’ll be real careful. Archie gives in as long as Reggie looks after her.
With Uncle Frank easing up on Archie, Betty asks him out, and Archie happily obliges, but he lent his car to Reggie. Betty figures they can take the bus or walk, so Archie agrees on walking, saying it “sounds romantic.”
Betty and Archie are on a date at Pop’s, but Archie can barely focus since he’s too worried about Reggie and his car. He assures Betty he’s peachy but keeps hearing other cars outside, too distracted. He tells Betty he’s just wondering where Reggie and Veronica are since there’s no other place to go on a date other than Pop’s. Later that night, Reggie finally comes home, and Archie’s been waiting up for him, scolding him for being so late. Reggie admits he went on the freeway to see what the car could do, and Archie is not happy. He tells Reggie that is the last time he’ll be riding in his car.
At school, Betty talks to Veronica about her date with Archie, and Veronica tells her about Reggie, and both of their boys seemed too preoccupied. Veronica thinks they should double date and brings up a concert in Centerville.
Archie apologizes to Reggie, and Reggie apologizes as well. Standing by the hot rod, Betty and Veronica tell them they are taking them on a double date to dinner and then Fangs’ show in Centerville. However, the double date is not working out as Archie and Reggie are looking through a car catalog while at Pop’s, much to Betty and Veronica’s dismay. They bring up the concert and begin to leave, but not before Archie and Reggie fight over who’s driving.
They don’t get far, though, as the hot rod runs out of gas. Since Pop’s is only five miles away, Archie and Reggie head back on foot. Archie thinks Reggie should talk to Clifford Blossom about getting a car, but Reggie thinks it’s about more than that. They begin fighting each other on the side of the road while also trying to flag down drivers. As Betty and Veronica are waiting in the car, Cheryl, with Toni and Midge, drives up and Toni offers them a ride. They oblige, leaving the guys behind.
While walking back to the car, Reggie admits he didn’t go joyriding after his date with Veronica, but instead went back to Duck Creek to see his parents because he missed them. Archie admits he’s always been homesick after his dad left for Korea. When they get back to the car, they see it abandoned and no one around.
Reggie is fixing up a car in shop class, having named her Bella since he always dreamed of naming a car Bella, and Betty is helping him fix it up.
A Way to Get Closer
Toni, Tabitha, Clay, and two other students are meeting for Riverdale’s Black Athena Literary Club and have some strong discussions. Cheryl watches from the hallway, peeking through the window on the door.
Later, Toni tells Cheryl all about Black Athena and how it’s everything she thought it would be. She finally feels like she’s doing something worthwhile. Cheryl admits she’s missing her and wonders if they can see a movie, but Toni says she needs to finish reading a book that they’re going to be discussing for Black Athena. Cheryl suggests she go to the next meeting, but Toni wants to make sure everyone is comfortable since the club just started and thinks towards the end of the semester would be better when Black Athena is more established.
Kevin is in a romantic bliss with Clay as he tells Cheryl he heard Clay’s latest poetry performance during a meeting at Black Athena since Clay invited him, and the news upsets Cheryl. Later at the Dark Room, Cheryl confronts Toni about Kevin, so Toni asks Cheryl if she wants to come to a meeting. Cheryl happily agrees, and Toni tells her what they’ll be discussing and gives her her copy of the book.
At Black Athena, they discuss Native Son and Clay asks Cheryl if she has anything to add, which she’s hesitant about at first. She gives her opinion on the novel, and a student asks her if it’s the only novel by a Black author she’s read and Cheryl admits it is, but she can’t wait to read more. Clay offers to give her a syllabus of Black authors he thinks everyone should be reading.
Toni is relieved that the meeting went so well with Cheryl and everyone else, and they agree on how nice it was. Cheryl says Black Athena is her club and space. While she was happy she got to see it and be part of it, she thinks she should be part of more public events, but she will still read the books on Clay’s list and discuss them with Toni. Toni asks Cheryl to the concert in Centerville.
Rockstar in the Making
Fangs and Midge subtly meet in the hallway since they can’t really be together, and when the bell rings, they get closer as everyone scatters to their classes. He tells her that he booked a gig in Centerville. While he won’t be headlining, there will be music producers there scouting for talent. Midge is excited and wonders when it is, but he tells her she can’t come. The show is in a rough part of Centerville, and he doesn’t want her to get hurt or for her parents to find out. Fangs has to be a rich and famous musician the next time her parents see him, “or they’ll never jive” with them “getting circled.”
The morning after the concert, Fangs is signing autographs in the halls. He goes to the Blue and Gold office to talk to Midge, who made it to the concert. He tells her she was his lucky charm because he got a business card from a music producer.
The seventh and final season of Riverdale airs on The CW on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Stay tuned for our continued coverage on the series, including episodic recaps and more!
