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Oh absolutely. I knew she would be alive. Setting aside the actual contents of the show and all the clues/theories, that plot point is too big to ignore from the books and I was just waiting for it to come to life in the show. The show wouldn’t stop getting renewed and we were in season 4, and it still wasn’t confirmed if she was alive or not, and the show’s ratings weren’t slowing down any time soon - I just knew that they need to bring Ali alive if they’re going to keep the show fresh. And then there were all the clues in the show itself which gave me further confidence that it would happen, so.. yeah, that was one of the things I was “waiting” to happen, rather than “wonder” if it would happen. I think most of the fandom was the same, everyone was just waiting for it.

Gonna keep this one real simple: I hated the episode. I was bored from beginning to end, and I thought this was one of the worst of the series. It was a full on filler episode, where nothing happened until the final minute where the (admittedly shocking) affair was revealed. A good final minute doesn’t make up for a boring whole episode, in my opinion.

The episode was kind of broken up into three sections, almost literally, as we had dividers by titles throughout. Archie and Jughead’s adventure was visually amazing - I thought the production was actually amazing as they successfully created eery, mysterious, unsafe and dangerous vibes. I particularly loved that scene where Archie was starring at the deer. That was creepy and gave me supernatural vibes but it was very grounded, in that it didn’t have to be supernatural. But looking beyond visually and in terms of what actually happened: I was bored. We learnt that Penny, a character we shouldn’t care about, is a good black mailer. Woop-di-do.

Josie’s story had me on my phone the whole time, I could barely even watch it. Was I one of the few who knew that was a nightmare when the Black Hood sliced her throat? I didn’t even react for some reason.

Betty and Veronica’s story was by far the best as we dived into a juicy story of Sherif Keller being the Black Hood, but, some of their decisions were untrue to the characters and the writing was so annoying. For example, as soon as Betty pulled out that Black Hood from the Sherif’s office, my mind instantly went to that mask being the one from the prank played on Archie. It seems Archie didn’t tell Betty about this prank because Betty would be smart enough to pick up on that, in my opinion. This is what I mean by untrue to the characters - assuming Betty did know about the prank, she’s smart enough to detect that the Sherif has a running record of anything and everything related to this investigation, and secondly, that prank is something Archie would’ve told Betty (best friends) about so she SHOULD have known about it.

Also, in terms of the writing, I can’t believe the Sherif was okay with Veronica snooping around his basement because she was “looking for juice”. Massive eye-roll to the writers. I also can’t believe that Archie happened to know that Jughead would be in THAT diner. As far as Archie was concerned, Jughead had hit the road with that creepy guy; what made Archie stop in THAT diner at THAT exact perfect moment before the waiter called the cops? Yet another eye-roll of frustration.

Unfortunately this one wont be live as I watched the episode at a friend’s house - I didn’t want to be aggressively typing away at my phone while everyone else is watching peacefully with popcorn! I’ll do my best to recall the episode from memory.

* Jughead said something like “we often wear masks to cover who we really are” and my mind went to PLL lol

* I did think it was a cop out that the Black Hood spared Nick’s life, because simply seeing Betty in that vulnerable state was enough for the Black Hood. I wanted to see this show go there, with a ruthless killer. Don’t get me wrong - the BH is totally ruthless - but, just one more murder, at Betty’s demand, would’ve been the icing on the cake for me.

* I haven’t seen anyone’s theories yet but are we assuming that the Lodges are behind Nick’s car crash, since Hiram said check-mate after Veronica came clean of Nick trying to rape her too? I mean, Hermione didn’t even look the slightest bit shocked or upset when she found out they would take months to recover…

* Penelope pissed me off by accepting money to stay quiet on the rape. Thankfully she came through at the end. Madelaine was AMAZING in that scene.

* Cheryl at the drag race. My spirit animal.

* Archie actually shocked me when he revealed he called the cops to the race! That was so smart. That was actually a great mini plot twist.

* I actually thought they weren’t going to tell us the name of the Sugarman! With the way it played out, everyone was talking about him but there was no name… I thought they were going to drag it on into the next episode. Thankfully, we saw. Robert Phillips!! I was kind of surprised, kind of not. I knew it wasn’t going to be some random guy off the streets. It had to be someone we know, and he fit the profile of being someone who we know but don’t know enough to care about that they get killed… THAT ENDING! Wow, savage. But I still wanna know how the Black Hood managed to not only get through security at a prison… but also WITH A GUN?? That’s some next level PLL A shit right there.

* That was so smart Betty, posting the Sugarman’s identity in the Blue and Gold. Unfortunately, the Black Hood still went and executed his plan, but, Betty DID try and stop it from happening. Good on her for not giving in to the BH’s orders so easily. And Lili was amazing in that final scene where she was talking to the BH on the phone.

* Overall I actually think this was one of the best episodes of the season. I still think the premiere cant be topped but this one was so damn good. The story was just juicy from start to end, including the filler stories. The fact that it’s hard to identify what’s filler and what’s not, means that even the filler stories can stand alone as quality television storytelling. My god this show needs to go on for like 7 seasons and be the next PLL, it really has the potential to go all the way.

I LOVE when shows pick up from the EXACT scene that the last episode finished!

“To set Riverdale on the righteous path again” okay this is telling. He’s saying that the town was messed up BEFORE he came. He did not create the unsafety in Riverdale. Well, he did with the murders, but point being that it was a messed up town BEFORE he even started doing anything. So we need to be looking at the people he has murdered (or attempted)

If that were me… I don’t care what they say, I would tell my parents and the police about the call! Just tell the police and parents to lay low, because if the BH knows that they know, there’ll be trouble. Problem solved?? I’m such a simplistic person haha

I still can’t get over that the head guy of the south-side serpents just looks like a combination of a chubby Cole and a chipmunk lol

Cole has good days and he has bad days. Unfortunately his speech that he’s ready to be a serpent was cringe worthy for me. Sorry Cole

“Do this then you get to ask me anything and I have to answer” - I bet it’ll be “I never said I have to answer truthfully” or something like that. They’re gonna pull a PLL and tease us that we’re getting answers but we won’t.

Holy shit Alice was a south side serpent!!!?!?

HOT DOG!!? from the comics!? Omg!

Awww I actually felt bad for Alice. I feel bad when kids rebel against their parents even when it’s somewhat justified.

Veronica’s boyfriend is way too extra. You can’t flirt when she’s with someone new…

Omg! Betty would know the person under the hood. Then again, in PLL Hanna texted Alex asking if she knows who she is and Alex said yes. PLL was full of annoying “clues” like that but I feel like this genuinely means something in Riverdale. I feel like these writers know where they’re going.

Cole made me cringe before but now in the diner with Betty… amazing

“Did somebody say party” and in walks Cheryl, god I love her

“10 o clock? I’ll be there at 11” HAHAHAHAHA ME

Veronica being friendly with her ex-boyfriend is just the beginning of a cliche CW-esque plot

That. Was. Intense. (Betty vs Veronica) I hate when shows cause arguments between best friends! Hopefully this doesn’t last long. Please don’t be a season-long story. I don’t think it will be because Betty was forced to do it so that truth should come out when we progress with the Black Hood’s story.

1) Lili, love your work. 2) Betty, I respect your courage and that you’re taking one for the team. Ending important relationships because it means no more murders… so much respect.

Wait Hiram and Hal know each other??? Am I forgetting some extreme basics (currently watching at 2am) or is that totally new information?

YAAAAS ALICE!!!! The snakes outfit omg

“I’m gonna go yell at the caterer” Veronica said to her parents then to the caterer she says “can you please top them up?” I love this subtle line. Shows what a different person she has to become when with her parents.

Ok when you spike someone’s drink it doesn’t desolve into the water in 0.01 seconds. Cheryl should’ve noticed

That is fucked up. That’s what it takes to become a serpent? Memorise some rules and cop a near-fatal beating? Just to prove you’re tough? Oh there’s a million other ways to prove toughness.

Character development!! From thinking Cheryl is the enemy to full on protecting her. I love this scene where Veronica saved Cheryl from the creep. He got what he deserved.

Meanwhile Betty is at home crying. Now I’m gonna cry!!!

Something absolutely huge is about to happen now that Betty is going looking for the Black Hood at the abandoned house. Ok putting my phone down for now

“To show you that we are the same” I swear to god don’t pull a fucking twin

But in all seriousness… can we confirm that the Black Hood is Betty’s brother??

“YOU CAN PUT YOUR CAPE AWAY ARCHIE” CHERYL YOU LITERALLY SUMMED UP MY FRUSTRATIONS WITH ARCHIE IN ONE QUOTE, I LOVE YOU

Oh Toni. What did you just do

THAT ENDING OMG OMG OMG OMG BETTY WHAT DID YOU DO

No matter how much I hate someone, I can NEVER EVER wish death upon anyone. I guess Betty had to in order to protect her family and okay in that circumstance I would’ve done the same thing but she’s gonna have to LIVE WITH THAT.. knowing she caused someone to die. That’s so intense.

Sorry to keep mentioning PLL but this is how dark A should’ve been. “I’ll kill your sister, your parents, everyone you care about” said the Black Hood. Man that messed me up. That scared me. Genuinely. That final scene took this show to a whole new level of creepiness and I’m here for it! What an ending, omg.

(Live, as in, I was typing as I was watching.)

Honestly Archie, you should’ve thought about the repercussions of that video. Of course you were gonna get kicked off the football team. And thank god the writers didn’t give Archie the line “I have no regrets” because that would be way over-doing the hero thing.

Veronica’s parents want her to stop dating Archie. Unless there’s a way for the Black Hood to actually know that they’re no longer dating, then this wouldn’t achieve the goal of keeping Veronica safe???

I really liked that line about the BH doing the South Side’s work for them!

The actress who plays Alice (forgot her name!) gave an AMAZING performance when telling Betty about how she feels. Alice made some great points about being hard to protect her daughters when they’re not even home to protect, and the delivery… amazing. This show has great lead cast but even the supporting cast like the parents are pretty damn good.

So the Black Hood is doing this for Betty. Ok surely they’re going down the path of the BH being Betty’s long lost brother. That’s the obvious route isn’t it?

Archie is starting to annoy me. Just sign the paper and move on. Stop being a hero, you’re just a frickn high-schooler. You can’t stop a killer with muscles and a baseball bat. I get that they’re just making Archie act this way because we wouldn’t have a show if Archie accepted defeat. I get it. But, I just think it’s so not realistic for a 16 year old to be so determined to catch a killer themselves.

“If it’s your battle it’s mine too” - Veronica. Couple goals

“Yes that’s exactly what I’m doing (buying guns for hunting” - yeah make yourself look more suspicious Archie

Not sure if Veronica was handing out the red circle shirts because she loves Archie or if she just wants to prove an angry point to her dad. Probably the later, since Archie already told her to drop it.

“Blind loyalty is a stupid and dangerous thing” - Hermione. Yup true

Couple goals is Veronica sneaking into school to grab her boyfriend’s gun.

I’m on team Veronica 100%. Archie finds the Black Hood, then what? Exactly like Veronica said… he goes to jail for murder or he misses and he ends up dead. “I don’t care what happens to me” okay the writers need to tone down Archie’s heroism. No 16 year old thinks about killing someone and not caring about being the one to die instead.

FUCK I LOVE YOU ALICE standing up for everyone like that and emphasising that the answer is not to retreat like cowards!

Wow that all escalated so fast. Good timing to work out what the code meant! But at the same time… I think the Black Hood is just playing games with them. That anagram… yeah they worked out what it meant, but it didn’t actually mean anything? What if he wasn’t going to attack again? He’s just sending them on wild goose chases.

Honestly Veronica is the best thing to have happened to Archie. She’s talking so much logic into him. “You’re not a killer” finallyyyyyy it was explicitly said to him.

Personally, no. I know they can pull a PLL, I mean, yeah there’s Alison but there’s also Mona, whose body we saw in the back of a trunk. But I feel like it’s a bit different with Jason. We saw the ACTUAL murder take place. This wasn’t just a body, which could’ve been drugged to appear dead, like Mona. We actually SAW Jason get shot. Unless he was wearing a bulletproof vest and the video was rigged, I think it’s fairly safe to conclude that Jason is dead. But I do really want Riverdale to eventually pull a PLL, by making us think a character is dead but really they’re alive. They were some of PLLs best moments and if done correctly, it’ll be a defining moment for Riverdale.

(Live, as in I typed this as I was watching. That way I can comment on more, because usually I finish the episode and THEN type my comments and by then I’m going off of my memory as to all the finer details of what happened!)

- ok how do I put this without sounding weird… I like that the writers put in lines to push along theorists. Veronica’s line was great: we don’t know for sure that these 3 crimes are connected. Something as little as that goes a long way in making sure theorists are on the same page as the writers, and that us fans aren’t jumping the gun.

- How did they survive that shooting??? That’s so unrealistic. “He had bad aim” is a lame excuse, looked like he had great aim last episode and that it was right in the chest too. They just wanted those characters to live. But anyway doesn’t bother me too much.

- Ummmmm Fred… your son was trying to PROTECT you by suggesting to get a gun and your response was “let the cops handle it”??? There’s nothing wrong with having a gun and never using it, if it’s gonna put your mind at ease that you’re ready for when a repeated murderer comes back to finish the job. Archie was right, sorry Fred.

- Far out I love Hiram. He adds a whole new layer or creepiness to the show. Him meeting his daughter’s friends was creepy, yet it wasn’t supposed to be creepy, which made it a really good scene. It’s his damn motives. We have no idea if he really was involved in Fred’s shooting. Until proven guilty I’m suspicious of him in at least hiring someone to do it. Boring and easy theory but we have to keep it in play.

- I appreciate Archie’s bravery to gather a team of Watch Dogs but… at the same time… that’s putting your own safety at risk. I liked Archie at the beginning of the episode where all he wanted was to defend himself IN CASE something happens, but actually taking deliberate action this time is a bit too dangerous.

- If a teacher at my school ever said “welcome to hell” they’d get fired the next day lol

- “Oh Betty. How little you know of the human psyche” reason #52 why I love Cheryl

- Omggg the fan mail on the Cooper’s doorstep!!! New name: Black Hood. Interesting. I prefer Angel of Death but BH will do.

- Ok so it’s clear that this person is going after people who have sinned in Riverdale. I like this motive. It’s interesting how “innocent” people may not actually be that innocent.

- “I am carrying my cousin’s babies” hahahaha

- “You’re playing with fire I want you to know” - Hermione. Wtf? I don’t get why she’s so persistent on Veronica not rushing her relationship with her father. Hiram probably has something against her and she can’t speak the truth that he really is dangerous.

- Holy shit that scene where Hiram confronts Hermione was CREEPY and so well damn written. Now I’m doubting the above mini theory.

- Kevin!!! Great scene. I didn’t like that Betty told him that he’s better than that. I guess I just assumed that it Betty, the best friend of Kevin, and an intelligent character, would understand what Kevin was going through. But actually I guess that reinforces Kevin’s point since not even his best friends realise how hard it is for him to truly explore his sexuality.

- “Because you like to be ahead of the threat, I understand” said Hiram who then gives Hermione a greasy look. That’ll be important in theories soon.

- So I’m assuming that was like Polly’s official/final exit from the show?

- KEVIN WTF NOOOOO WHAT JUST HAPPENED OMFG WHAT WHAT WHAT

- oh lol

- Should’ve keep watching

- Hiram watching Archie’s video was such a red herring. The video itself had numbers in the top left corner, I think it had like 500 live viewers or whatever. Hiram is just another one of the 500 live viewers because Archie posted it on Facebook or whatever. It’s too easy if that was supposed to be a reveal of sorts, that Hiram is involved in the Black Hood

- Yet again I love this episode! Again they’re going really dark, and by that I mean that they’re really downplaying that this is a high-school story/setting. It took PLL to get to season 5 to really stop putting the girls in their classroom settings because they look stupid sitting in a desk in front of a teacher. Well here, it seems they’ve understood that by season 2 already. Sure we get scenes up and down the corridors of Riverdale High, and some scenes on the grass oval, but that’s it. And I love that.

- why did Archie admit to being close to Grundy? That’ll for sure come back and bite him in the ass when this is all over.

- I don’t get how Veronica can build up the courage to talk to her parents like that. “How about never, does that work for you?” (Or something like that) I know she’s suspicious of their involvement in Fred’s shooting but at least be discrete about it and only think it behind closed doors before they disown you! (Oh and I cringe every time she calls him daddy, not because of Cami’s delivery, but I guess that’s the writers’ way of emphasising they are of upper-class, for severe lack of a better word.)

- what a twist with Hermione! I didn’t expect her to go on Team-Hiram that quickly. I cant tell if they truly did have Veronica at their best interest when they bought Pops.

- Alice is probs the best journalist ever, and I love it. I love that the parents are playing a big role in this series. In PLL they were just there for emotional support and that’s all but here they are actually important to the story. Good!

- I swear to god, if the gun that Archie got is the gun that was used to shoot his dad, he’ll be accused of killing Grundy (because the crimes are connected) to shut her up about their relationship. And I like his story of getting drugs. It’s for a good reason, to stay awake to protect his dad. Wait until Veronica finds out though…

- Yaaaaaaasss Betty!! Best blackmail ever. I was waiting for her to go to Cheryl. In my head I was thinking that they could get her to lie if they threaten her with the videos. I was waiting for it to happen and it did. These characters are smart!

- that woman that Jug spoke to will come back and haunt him in a later season. I feel like that story is gone for now, but he will definitely have to repay that favour later on. Maybe it’ll be a bigger mystery of season 3.

- Another thing I was waiting for, and actually did happen: someone to call Cheryl Poison Ivy! Girl has gone crazy and I love it.

- that ending!! The Angel of Death was sending a message: if I kill 2 random people maybe you’ll stop thinking that I’m only going after people connected to Archie. The AoD probably is going after people connected to Archie but they wanted to send the police and Archie on a wild goose chase down the wrong path of theories. So ruthless. And actually I’m getting PLL vibes with the AoD, a little bit. They almost seem like an A character. (But far more dangerous than Mona as A in season 2.)

- I just realised that I’ve said almost nothing about Jug. Not sure if that’s because he factually was barely in the episode, if I’ve forgotten his roles, or if I just didn’t care. But his passion for reducing his dad’s sentence was admirable and I liked seeing that scared side to him.

- ummm, wow?? The whole episode felt SIGNIFICANTLY more mature. It felt significantly less like a teen drama because of how dark it got.

- KJ was amazing! He was clearly the standout star of this episode. I actually didn’t know he had that talent in him. I was pleasantly surprised at the range of emotions he was able to show.

- that. shower. scene. 😱👌🏽😍

- I LOVE the balance that this show gets between romance and mystery!!! Unlike PLL, this show places mystery as the main focus and the romance is just a side plot that is totally necessary to have in order to fully flesh out the characters. That’s a winning formula in my eyes.

- of course Fred lived, there was no way they’d kill a major character like Fred this early!

- I loved seeing that defensive and protective side to Archie. So honourable. That o-ending scene of him driving his dad was an amazing starter.

- Veronica’s dad!!! Oh wow this is getting good. And the music in that scene was on point. (Production on this show is always very good. They really know how to hit me in the feels.) I LOVED Veronica standing up to her parents! I don’t think that’s very realistic because let’s be real if I accused my parents of shooting someone, they would disown me instantly. But hey, it’s tv. Whatever. I like the family drama.

- CHERYL!!! WTF! So twisted! It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s the angel of death. Well actually it would surprise me. But she’s so twisted. Aaaaand I live for it. That is honestly heartbreaking what she’s doing to her mother.

- if I didn’t know Reggie got re-cast, I probably wouldn’t have noticed hahahaha

- I did not see that ending coming at all!! Who is this Angel of Death omg?? Good riddance Grundy. What an amazing storyline to explore soon!

That sounds amazing.

Top three houses??? 1. Targaryen 2. Stark 3. Tyrell (with Martell a close 4th). 

The two spin offs need to be about Robert’s Rebellion and Aegon’s Landing! Two KEY points in ASoIaF history! Also, I just need to see Rhaegar and ancient dragons. Lots of them.

I slightly disagree. I think the large number of writers certainly wasn’t good - that definitely contributed to the inconsistencies throughout the seasons. It comes across like they all gathered in the writers’ room and said “CeCe is Big A, yes? Remember that, when you’re writing your episodes!” And then they break up to write the in-between episodes, and Joe accidentally deviates from Marlene’s plan, because he forgot, and writes that CeCe spoke to Melissa that night.