Riverdale goes wild in its penultimate episode, The Dark Secret of Harvest House. And that includes learning Edgar Evernever’s true intentions. In the penultimate episode of the season for Riverdale, not only did we learn the truth about The Farm, but we learned more about the Black Hood and the Gargoyle King. And that’s not all, we also had the ultimate boxing match between Hiram and Archie on our hands. “Chapter Fifty-Six: The Dark Secret of Harvest House” was a wild ride from beginning to end, and even as the episode felt like as much of a mess as the rest of the season, it was also the kind of ride we didn’t want to get off of. With three major plots happening this week on Riverdale, it felt like we were finally getting some answers after a season of weirdness that at times left us scratching our heads. Ultimately, the biggest story of the night has to be the reveal that The Farm and Edgar Evernever are harvesting organs. This means that while we have been calling this a cult all this time, the reality is a bit different. It actually changes things a bit knowing that Edgar is more than just some oddly compelling leader of a cult, because it gives him more of a purpose. Even if this purpose is more sinister, it’s still more of a storyline than a cult leader convincing people to follow him just because he wants to be worshipped. The problem is that even though Betty was able to learn the truth about The Farm, it ultimately did nothing to save her from ending up strapped down to an operating table. And sadly it is because of Fangs and Kevin, who are firmly on the side of Edgar at this point that Betty ends up at the end of a scalpel. These two have definitely imbibed on the Kool-Aid, but hopefully they can be saved and redeemed at some point. Riverdale — “Chapter Fifty-Six: The Dark Secret of Harvest House” — Image Number: RVD321b_0228.jpg — Pictured (L-R): KJ Apa as Archie and Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge — Photo: Colin Bentley/The CW — ÃÂ© 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved. For the second major storyline, we got to see Veronica, with the help of Archie and Reggie, take down Hiram Lodge. Here’s the thing, we don’t expect much out of Archie at times, but in this case, he knew exactly what to do – challenge Hiram to a boxing match with an ultimate winner. The thing is that this boxing match was between a grown man and a teenager, and not someone over 18 either, but a 17-year-old boy, making this fight a mess in a lot of ways. But, as well saw, this fight was just a distraction. This was a chance to let the law do its job and bring down Hiram, which is why seeing F.P. Jones tell him that he is under arrest was actually rather satisfying. With the FBI there to help take down Hiram, it was a win for Riverdale in a lot of ways. Of course, we have to wonder how long he will actually be down and out, but for now we count this one a win for the good guys. Finally, the third major story of the night was Jughead taking on not only the Gargoyle King but also the Black Hood. At this point, you can tell that Jughead is over this madness and he isn’t alone. But, the problem is that he seems to be the only one able or willing to do anything. However, he is going up against serial killers, which is not exactly something a teenager should be doing. And the fact that the Black Hood, a.k.a. Hal Cooper, is back is definitely not good news, especially in light of the shocking news that the Gargoyle King is none other than Jason Blossom. Now, I am not sure if this reveal is accurate or not, but if it is, then we have a lot of recently deceased characters popping up as killers. And really, it wouldn’t even be remotely surprising if Jason is the Gargoyle King after everything else that has happened. But now I can’t imagine how this will impact Cheryl if it’s true. Of course, we still have to save Cheryl from the Farm too, so that’s not exactly helping things. Riverdale gave us a lot leading into their season finale and we wouldn’t have it any other way. It was nice to finally get some answers, even if they were as insane as the rest of the season has been. Hopefully the final episode of the season resolves more than just the two serial killers stories, but also the Farm and their madness. It would be nice to go into the fourth season with a different set of problems than what has been haunting Riverdale this year. Tell us what you think of this episode of Riverdale in the comments and let us know how you think they will wrap up this season.<doc-sep>Here we are, folks, one week away from Riverdale’s Season Three finale. And what have we learned this season? There was a roleplaying tabletop game invented by traumatized children to cope with their trauma that was then co-opted by a bunch of evil nuns and used to manipulate them… and then co-opted again by drug kingpins as a way to peddle coked-up pop rocks. There was a costumed serial killer using the game to control the town. This is in addition, of course, to the other town serial killer, Betty Cooper’s father, who is on the loose again and now has a hooked hand because he needed to trick people into thinking he was dead before returning to terrorize everyone… as part of a lifelong moralistic mission to cleanse impurity? There was a very convenient underground bunker that served many purposes. There was a never-ending death match between an adult man (Hiram Lodge) and his teen daughter’s teen boyfriend (Archie Andrews). There was a cult that came into town called the Farm, luring broken people in with promises of safety and community. It turned out to be a literal …organ farm… led by Chad Michael Murray. There was a bear attack. There were so many gangs. Gangs birthed new gangs. You have the Ghoulies, the gang that deals fizzle rocks and plays G&G and revels in chaos. You have the Jughead Jones-led Serpents, who are deputized now, so they are the literal cops. You have the Gargoyles, who are the Ghoulies in costume /slash/ Hiram’s henchmen? You have the Pretty Poisons, who are lesbians in leather. There was an underground fight club. There was an underground speakeasy run by teens. There was an underground brothel. What have we learned this season? That there truly are no limits to Riverdale’s absurd fever dream of a narrative. Every time the show pushes itself to the outermost limits of rationality, it somehow goes even farther. Am I mad about it? Most of the time, no! It’s only when character inconsistencies happen that I can’t quite swallow the chaos. But a bow-wielding lesbian, two serial killers in cahoots, a dangerous cult, and teen detectives? Hell, yes. Sign me up. Season Three has perhaps been an exercise in just how far Riverdale can go, and if you had to jump off this train, I don’t necessarily blame you. But there’s still a lot to love about this show, and distinctly queer camp is increasingly part of its very DNA. Riverdale is the gothic-glam horror soap that just keeps on outdoing itself. In this penultimate episode of the season, we learn about the true nature of the Farm. Edgar uses hypnosis to break down his followers, to trick them into seeing things, like when Betty sees her sister Polly and thinks it’s her darker half. We also learn that Jason Blossom is the Gargoyle King? That’s the latest bit of intel Jughead digs up, and then he literally digs up an empty grave where Jason’s body is supposed to be. Thanks, I hate it. Jason’s death is literally the entire hook of the first season of this show on a plot and emotional level. Now, I have watched genre television for long enough to know that people come back from the dead (or never really died in the first place) all the time. It’s the surest way to cataclysmically shock viewers (and characters!). Sometimes, it works (hello, Alias). Other times, it’s a cheap stunt that loses steam quickly and also retroactively sucks some of the stakes out of what their death really means for the show and its characters. Season One of Riverdale is still a perfect vessel of teen drama (though not nearly as gay as it would later become). I don’t necessarily think that the possibility that Jason is alive completely undoes that, but it is the kind of twist that just seems to be for twist’s sake. Jason is only an interesting Gargoyle King insofar as it’s technically unexpected. Archie Andrews continues to seemingly exist on just a different show entirely, and that schism in particular has made the back half of this season frustrating to watch. He teams up with Veronica to finally bring down Hiram once and for all, which leads to an absurd – and frankly very good sequence – of Hiram and Archie in the boxing ring while Veronica literally sings “Daddy Lessons.” It’s these on-the-nose, over-the-top Riverdale moments that I live for. There are, truly, several incredible sequences throughout the episode, like the very classic horror scene of the Black Hood attacking Jughead, Evelyn, and the little boy in the bus. But the standout moment, unsurprisingly, comes at the end of the episode, when Betty, Cheryl, and Toni team up to break the fuck out of the Farm. It reminisces of when Toni had to break Cheryl out of the Sisters Of Quiet Mercy, but is somehow even more terrifying this time. Cheryl doesn’t make it out, begs Toni to leave her behind so she can save herself. It’s brutal, and Vanessa Morgan and Madelaine Petsch finally get to do something weightier than their scenes in the rest of the episode. Cheryl and Betty end up left behind, prisoners of the Farm and about to be poked and prodded. The tapestry of horror tropes and subgenres employed throughout the penultimate episode are dizzying, and yet it works. A hook-handed masked serial killer, mysterious medical experimentation, hypnosis hallucinations, sisters tormenting sisters, and increasingly murderous game with life-or-death consequences – it’s a hodgepodge of horror, dressed up in campy, gory, stylized aesthetics that make for great visual storytelling. Yes, Riverdale is a disaster, but it’s a beautiful one.<doc-sep>Chapter Thirteen: The Sweet Hereafter Riverdale S 3 E 20 type TV Show network The CW Maureen Lee Lenker here, filling in for regular Riverdale recapper (say that three times fast) Sam Highfill. And I’m sorry to report that I hate Archie’s boxing obsession just as much as my esteemed EW colleague. Somehow there is more boxing than ever this week (Sam, did you know something I didn’t?). To the degree that there might be more shirtlessness in this single episode of Riverdale than has ever appeared in the series in total, which is really saying something. So, let’s start with that asinine boxing plot no one asked for. Archie’s mom, Mary, is home for a spell while Fred is out of town (last week was Luke Perry’s final scene on the show). And this is our official plea for Molly Ringwald to join the show more regularly now that Perry is no longer with us. It’s her turn to dispense wisdom — which is in essence, STOP BOXING. See Archie, even your mom asks this of you. As Archie’s new manager (because she knows so much about professional boxing), Veronica has an application for a Regional Classic fight — it just needs his parents’ signature. Oh, and also, Veronica wants to update Archie’s gym because it’s a little too Southside for her tastes and she has the money to invest (read: cash to burn). Because apparently La Bonne Nuit and Pop’s have been raking in cash post paying off Hiram and Gladys – mmmkay, sure. Archie’s request for his mom to sign the application form is met with a lecture about boxing being more brutal than football, which prompts him to reveal he’s been considering going pro. NO, ARCHIE, SAY IT AIN’T SO. Archie forges his mom’s signature. But his mom is also one of the only supportive parents in Riverdale and calls in an old college friend who is now a recruiter for the Naval Academy. Mary wants Archie to consider boxing in college with a scholarship, rather than going pro. But the five years of mandatory military service post-graduation would cut into Archie’s prime boxing years — so he’s not thrilled with the idea. Still, he hates to disappoint his mom and agrees to an exhibition match with Fangs to show off his skills. Naturally, Archie’s tournament gets moved, which means he has to agree to do both that fight and his exhibition the same night. And oh yeah, he’s six pounds over his weight class and only has a week to lose it. Cue the only good thing this boxing storyline has ever produced — an “Eye of the Tiger” training montage with Archie and Mad Dog. I know, I can’t believe this show is real either. After his first fight, which he loses, Archie is hurting — and Veronica wants him to cancel the second one. Because oh yeah, it’s A REALLY STUPID IDEA. She tries to tell his mom he’s not feeling well, but he insists and makes a fool of himself, tripping on the ropes and passing out before the fight even begins. Like the non-emotionally crippled parent she is, Mary tends to Archie and they have a good old-fashioned Andrews family heart-to-heart. Archie is still set on going pro, but she wants him to consider his future beyond being 17. Later though, she relents and says she wants to support his dreams. No, Mary, don’t do it! Lay down the law and make him quit! Oh, and she’s going to stay in Riverdale a little longer while Fred’s away (sob). Meanwhile back at the former Cooper residence, Jughead and Jellybean are adjusting to life without Gladys. But Jellybean is really more concerned with why she can’t keep playing Gryphons and Gargoyles — she has a final quest, to find the Gargoyle King’s Gospel. FP, who is still sheriff despite robbing Pop’s last week, calls Jug and tells him to come down to Junkyard Steve’s. There he’s found a burned-out school bus, which apparently became the new home base of the Gargoyles. While searching it, Jug finds a book that literally says “The Gospel of the Gargoyle King” on the cover (you don’t think that’s maybe too easy Jug?) and stashes it without showing his dad. Which brings us to Betty, who is understandably freaking out about her dad’s accident. But it’s not grief for her dear departed father; no, it’s fear that this was all a grand escape plot. She’s determined to see his body with her own eyes and drives to the scene of the crash with Veronica. FP insists no one survived. There were five inmates and a driver, and that’s the number of charred heads they found. But Betty’s not convinced. She goes to the Farm to warn Alice that Hal might be on the loose again, but Alice wants her to stop indulging in delusions. Betty is perturbed to see her mom got a tattoo — guess she never knew about her Serpent Ink on her thigh?! Instead of an engagement ring, Edgar got her a tattoo. Aww, how romantic…. Betty is going full conspiracy theory on the accident, telling Jughead her father used her and this transfer request to escape. She’s so worried that she’s back to target practice at the shooting range. But it seems she need not worry — Dr. Curdle Jr. calls to tell her the DNA on a hand they found matched her father’s DNA and fingerprints. Still, she’s back on the girl detective track with her best crime-solving partner, Jughead. Jughead tells her about the gospel and starts reading from it, compelled by its mystical descriptions. Betty reminds him the Gargoyle King is flesh and blood, which means he too can die. In short, she won’t rest until this is done. Bughead goes to the coroner to assess Kurtz’s body, and they note that he has the same symbols tattooed on his back that others had carved into them. They go to a tattoo parlor for answers, and the guy tells them Kurtz simply showed him a photo of the design and paid cash. Just like the first guy a year ago. It turns out a man, who wouldn’t allow his picture to be taken, requested the same tattoo – Betty immediately asks if he was a sandy-haired, blue-eyed, weirdly magnetic man, just like our favorite cult leader. Getting deep into the weeds, Betty spirals thinking Edgar must be the man with the tattoo. The timing aligns with when the Farm first came to town. Not to mention, her mom just got a tattoo. Because getting tattoos is inherently suspicious — even though Archie and Jughead both have them. K, Betty. Jughead isn’t convinced because Edgar wasn’t in Riverdale during the time of the Midnight Club and Ascension Night. But Alice gave testimony about the Midnight Club, so it’s possible he took on the Gargoyle King persona, namely because they’re both “really, really creepy.” I’ve heard worse arguments. Betty and Jughead waste no time going to confront Edgar while he’s preaching to his followers. She demands he take off his shirt. See what I mean about all the shirtlessness? And Edgar answers Betty’s gargoyle thirst — but there are no runic symbols on his back. So, either he does a lot of hard to reach make-up work every morning — or he’s not the mysterious blond man who got the tattoo. The centerpiece of the episode comes with the purest of high school rituals, the junior prom. Yes, that’s right, in between running street gangs, investigating serial killers, and running businesses, these kids still have time for prom. Betty asks Jughead; Cheryl and Toni are running for co-prom queen (because as Cheryl says, “no other actions make sense”); and Archie and Veronica decide to go as “friends.” Sure. Cheryl’s dreams of Prom Queen are quickly dashed when Evelyn informs her campaigning for it is forbidden because it goes against the Farm’s strictures of equality. Cheryl pushes back, insisting she wants both. So, Edgar gives her a strict talking to, which boils down to forcing her to choose between seeing Jason and continuing to run for Prom Queen.<doc-sep>
“Riverdale is broken.” Hiram Lodge made this declaration in the penultimate episode of Riverdale’s third season, suggesting the only way to save the town is for him to buy it. The drugs and gangs are a result of his dodgy dealings, and he is the architect of this particular downfall. But does this assertion also apply to the many narrative plates currently spinning on the CW show — or is this the season in which Riverdale deftly balances horror and soap elements, unleashing its full potential? Jason Blossom’s murder was the big mystery that introduced us to the updated world of Archie Andrews. Based on the iconic comics, this Archie had dreams of becoming a musician, his next-door neighbor bestie had a crush on him, and he was sleeping with his teacher. Since that grim discovery in Sweetwater River, there has been much blood spilled in this small town. It's been a long time since anyone could describe this particular destination as having anything related to “pep” — unless you count cheer squads performing at a jailhouse football game. Gang warfare aided by the rampant drug trade, teen vigilantes, a cult, and not one, but two, serial killers are just some of the many everyday antics the teens living in Riverdale have encountered. The list of major incidents in last week’s penultimate episode is enough to raise eyebrows, but wild plotlines are a Riverdale signature. Spoilers for Riverdale ahead. Credit: The CW Archie’s murder trial in the Season 3 premiere was so stylized that it took me five minutes to realize it wasn’t an extended dream sequence. It ended with him taking a plea bargain, landing Archie in the hilariously titled Leopold & Loeb Juvenile Detention Center — the name references two IRL infamous killers . It was here, he found out, that a path to becoming a boxer makes more sense than becoming the next Ed Sheeran. These were not Folsom Prison Blues, as his experience was much more Fight Club due to the illegal betting side business — not to mention the warden who looked like he stepped off the set of Shawshank Redemption. After a daring escape — aided by blonde wig-wearing Veronica and their friends — Archie fled his hometown, and four episodes later he was attacked by a grizzly bear. Just the standard Riverdale shenanigans. The line between ridiculous and ridiculously entertaining isn't always well-defined, but Archie and co. are doing a good job at straddling this (as well as each other). Riverdale has never purported to be an accurate reflection of adolescent life or a regular U.S. town — the weather doesn't even make sense — but with each passing year, the writers manage to outdo themselves for how much these teens (and their parents) endure. In the last episode alone, Betty discovered the cult-like Farm is actually harvesting organs from its members to sell on the black market, Betty’s serial killer father is back wreaking havoc after faking his own death, and Veronica betrayed her father by selling him out to the FBI. The latter plan included Archie boxing against his ex-girlfriend's dad, aka the man who got Archie imprisoned (and attempted to kill him) and who Archie almost murdered. Freud would have a field day with these dynamics. Penultimate episodes tend to have a lot going on, but this is a pretty standard week for Riverdale. Credit: The CW At the start of its first season, Riverdale positioned itself as Twin Peaks meets Veronica Mars, a stylized version of the world we live in in which teens play investigative detectives while also dealing with everyday romantic dramas. Love triangles are still integral — thankfully, teachers are no longer involved — but the danger levels are higher than they have ever been. Veronica is constantly at odds with her father, Archie survived prison but still has plenty of fights ahead of him, Jughead aids his father F.P. Jones in his sheriff work while going up against his criminal mastermind mother, and Cheryl Blossom escaped her mother’s toxic clutches but is now trapped in another nightmare scenario. Betty has spent most of this season trying to save her family and friends from the cult they are embroiled in. Somehow, they still have time for homework, prom, and partaking in the school musical production. College was touched upon in a Cheryl and Toni Topaz storyline, but an extended arc focusing on this next step is unlikely (Gilmore Girls this is not).