S05.E06: Chapter Eighty-Two: Back to School

[AnimeMania]

BULLDOG PRIDE — Archie (KJ Apa), Betty (Lili Reinhart), Veronica (Camila Mendes) and Jughead (Cole Sprouse) prepare for their first day as Riverdale High’s newest teachers. Veronica introduces her husband Chad (guest star Chris Mason) to the group after he shows up unexpectedly in Riverdale. After realizing they are out of funds, Archie and Toni (Vanessa Morgan) turn to Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) for help restarting the football and cheer teams. Finally, Betty, Kevin (Casey Cott) and Alice (Mädchen Amick) follow a lead after learning that Polly (guest star Tiera Skovbye) may be in trouble. Mark Consuelos, Charles Melton and Drew Ray Tanner also star.

Gabriel Correa directed the episode written by Ariana Jackson

Original airdate: 2/24/2021.

 

Was that a Doritos commercial?

[ruby24]

Ok, I don't like that they've turned Reggie into someone who'e just pure evil all of a sudden. Didn't Archie and him declare they were "bros for life" last season? Now he's literally trying to murder him? Really? That's fucked up.

[Chaos Theory]

Well it didn’t take douche bag Chad long to align himself with supervillain Hiram (even if just a little) and put his marriage with Veronica on borrowed time.   Sorry BArchie fans but it’s not gonna be long before Veronica is going to run to Archie for  comfort and Betty to Jughead for help finding her sister.   

Quote

Ok, I don't like that they've turned Reggie into someone who'e just pure evil all of a sudden. Didn't Archie and him declare they were "bros for life" last season? Now he's literally trying to murder him? Really? That's fucked up.

Cain and Abel?  

 

Edited February 25, 2021 by Chaos Theory

[Diapason Untuned]

Jughead's travails as a high school Lit teacher are probably the most realistic thing this show has ever done. Having to get a second job, your students seeing you at said second job, plus the fact that he's transformed into the kind of teacher he'd have made fun of back in the day...

I really feel sorry for Veronica. She still falling into the same pit as Hermione. Chad pretends well, but the fact that he was talking to Hiram behind her back is a huge red flag. I must say, Archie's nonchalant "You're still here" at Chad had me howling.

Speaking of red flags, Jughead, you lived through G and G remember, this Mothmen business should have you running for the hills.

Guess we're back on the Cheryl/Toni train now. It's so fitting that all it took to draw Cheryl out of hiding was Toni taking over her highschool cheerleading team.

They used the epic highs and lows of high school football line! These writers must be having som much fun writing this show 😆

Ms. Bell being a triple spy is hilarious.

8 hours ago, ruby24 said:

Ok, I don't like that they've turned Reggie into someone who'e just pure evil all of a sudden. Didn't Archie and him declare they were "bros for life" last season? Now he's literally trying to murder him? Really? That's fucked up.

Just wait for it, we'll soon hear how he went evil because his friends abandoned him and left Riverdale.

 

 

Edited February 25, 2021 by Diapason Untuned

[tennisgurl]

I wonder if we are going to find out why Reggie went dark side, I thought it was kind of weird that Archie wasn't like "dude, what the hell?" when he went to see him. Reggie was always kind of the token jerk (well, the jerk we were supposed to think was a jerk) of the larger group, but trying to murder Archie and Jughead and becoming Hiram's lackey seems like a big escalation. 

Did I miss that Veronica's husbands last name is Gecko? We get it show, the guys evil, why don't you just give him horns and fangs? Him chatting with Hiram is a massive red flag, I wish she would just ditch him and get it over with. Of course Veronica jumps into the "hot teacher" position at school right away, walking down the hallway like its a catwalk. Considering how poor Riverdale is now, will they be able to keep a high class jewelry store in business? 

Jughead's first day teaching is probably the most realistic plot that he has had in ages. Students who cant even pretend to care about his class, awkwardly running into his students at his side job, teaching from the dull as dirt syllabus. Of course there is also his new book and a new mystery, a Mothman that gives you cancer. Does this mean that Riverdale is in the Virginia area? When are we getting an episode called some variation of The Mothman Prophesies? I like Pop's granddaughter, she and Jughead seem to have decent chemistry. 

I don't like that Archie and Betty are sneaking around. Even if both of them are single now (and I guess Betty's FBI guy is just a friend) it just feels tawdry, like they know they should be hiding this. I do like what they are doing with Archie alright, he is in the plot that is the closest to feeling real. Why does it seem like Toni is in charge of the school budget, isn't she a counselor? And if she is in charge of the budget, isn't it a conflict of interest if she choses to give the money to the extracurricular that she happens to be in charge of? We also seem to be heading back towards Cheryl/Toni so Toni better enjoy having her own plots now while she still can. 

Its amazing that Polly has even made it this far, she is always first in line for whatever the latest Riverdale weirdness is. 

[thuganomics85]

Jughead having to work two jobs despite being a teacher really is almost strangely realistic for this show.  The scene when he meets his students at his other job was kind of reminding me of when that happened to Walter White on Breaking Bad of all things.  Of course, I don't see Jughead suddenly becoming a drug kingpin because of this.  Instead, he is continuing to write his book, which is currently leading him to... a case about disappearing men who claimed to be abducted by "Mothmen", and all die of cancer.  Yep, for Riverdale, that pretty much checks out!

Veronica would totally be the "hot teacher" for the students at Riverdale High (although the entire faculty now might be a contender for the sexiest group of educators ever), complete with even wearing glasses to try and hide it, but honestly, that probably just makes her even hotter for some of the guys.  But no covers from the recent A Star is Born soundtrack can hide the fact that she and Chad together are not working.  Especially since he has chats with Daddy Hiram.  And his last name is Gekko of all things, so I almost wouldn't be surprised if he's related to Gordon from Wall Street.  We'll never know of course, because I imagine it would take an entire season's budget to ever get Michael Douglas to pop in here, heh.

Reggie has always been a jerk, but him fully being down with Hiram's mob-style tactics really feels like a stretch.

Cheryl is into art forgery now?  And it looks like she will be more involved now, due to Toni bringing back the Vixens.  Time for some classic Blossom drama!

Hey, Archie and Betty?  You maybe be adults now and single, but if you are still feeling need to sneak around for your hook-ups, that might be a sign that there are still some issues there.

Episode ends with not one, but two major cliffhangers: Alice, Betty, and Kevin possibly finding Polly's corpse in the swap and Archie and Jughead surrounded by a ring of fire!

[ahpny]

Quote

Did I miss that Veronica's husbands last name is Gecko? We get it show, the guys evil, why don't you just give him horns and fangs? Him chatting with Hiram is a massive red flag, I wish she would just ditch him and get it over with. Of course Veronica jumps into the "hot teacher" position at school right away, walking down the hallway like its a catwalk. Considering how poor Riverdale is now, will they be able to keep a high class jewelry store in business? 

I get that we're supposed to see Veronica's husband as evil, or at least heading there and already pretty sketchy, but Veronica came off as more problematic in a few ways. He's been nothing but accommodating (though seemingly coldly seething about that) while she's been manipulating him in all sorts of ways, and as he fears, probably pinning over Archie. 

[rmontro]

I've disliked Archie from they way he was portrayed from the beginning.  But I have to admit they seem to finally have written him into a solid place where his character works.  He seems to be the one who has taken to teaching most effectively, which is interesting since he's maybe the only one without a degree (can't remember if Toni has one).  

Veronica had an evil father, and now she has an evil husband.  Makes sense, they say girls tend to marry guys like their father.

Edited February 26, 2021 by rmontro

[Diapason Untuned]

2 hours ago, ahpny said:

I get that we're supposed to see Veronica's husband as evil, or at least heading there and already pretty sketchy, but Veronica came off as more problematic in a few ways. He's been nothing but accommodating (though seemingly coldly seething about that) while she's been manipulating him in all sorts of ways, and as he fears, probably pinning over Archie. 

He had her followed and cancelled her credit cards when she went to Riverdale. He's the type where things are great when he makes an effort, but he does real controlling stuff when he doesn't get his way.

[nilyank]

I really don't know why Betty and Archie needed to sneak around. Granted Betty is staying with her mom and the twins, but when she was in high school, she slept every night with her boyfriend in that same house. Meanwhile, Archie has a whole house with his own bedroom.

Supposedly, Betty and Jug broke up years ago and in the interactions that they have shown us so far, they are acting like a pair of adults with no bad feelings between them. No longing looks. And Veronica is currently married so there should be expectation or betrayals if Archie was dating Betty.

 

[rmontro]

9 minutes ago, nilyank said:

Supposedly, Betty and Jug broke up years ago and in the interactions that they have shown us so far, they are acting like a pair of adults with no bad feelings between them. No longing looks.

I've noticed there doesn't seem to be any curiosity or interest being shown between Jughead and Betty.  You'd think there would be something there after not seeing each other for so long, considering how close they once were.  I know people move on in real life, and apparently that's what's happened here.  But it's conspicuous in its absence, you'd think there would be some sort of closure.  And why hasn't Jughead ripped everybody for not showing up for the annual Pops meeting?

[Affogato]

4 hours ago, rmontro said:

I've noticed there doesn't seem to be any curiosity or interest being shown between Jughead and Betty.  You'd think there would be something there after not seeing each other for so long, considering how close they once were.  I know people move on in real life, and apparently that's what's happened here.  But it's conspicuous in its absence, you'd think there would be some sort of closure.  And why hasn't Jughead ripped everybody for not showing up for the annual Pops meeting?

Yes some characters haven’t had the moments together you would expect. Bad writing on Jughead’s part.

[Affogato]

13 hours ago, ahpny said:

I get that we're supposed to see Veronica's husband as evil, or at least heading there and already pretty sketchy, but Veronica came off as more problematic in a few ways. He's been nothing but accommodating (though seemingly coldly seething about that) while she's been manipulating him in all sorts of ways, and as he fears, probably pinning over Archie. 

Chad is gaslighting her.
 

 

 

[SourK]

Cool, so the donation Cheryl made to the school was a one-time thing, and they're not charging tuition. That's a solid plan that's gonna turn out really well.

On 2/25/2021 at 12:32 AM, AnimeMania said:

Was that a Doritos commercial?

I thought it was so cute that they split a Subway meal deal together, and then Hiram held up the Doritos bag for product placement and I LOL'd.

[KiraliaShiba]

I'm actually kind of upset that they had Betty and Jughead break up.  I thought they brought out the best in each other.  Their relationship seemed real genuine and even though this is a TV show, they made the viewer feel as though they were meant to be together.  I also thought with her training to be an FBI Agent and he a writer, they would work well with each other like they always had.  (Jughead could write about her cases)  Betty hooking up with Archie now doesn't fit, IMO.  It's almost like the writers had to get them together at some point because of how the series started out with Betty being "in love" with Archie since they were kids.  I'm kind of hesitant going forward with this show.

[rmontro]

10 hours ago, Affogato said:

Yes some characters haven’t had the moments together you would expect. Bad writing on Jughead’s part.

Well, Betty and Jughead did have that scene where they were walking along and talking "Hey, we drifted apart".  "Yeah".

Whew, glad that's settled.  Super easy, barely an inconvenience.

It kind of bugged me that Archie only picked 11 students for his football team.  What happens if/when someone gets injured?

 

9 hours ago, SourK said:

I thought it was so cute that they split a Subway meal deal together, and then Hiram held up the Doritos bag for product placement and I LOL'd.

Hiram doesn't strike me as the type to snack on Doritos.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 2/26/2021 at 3:08 PM, rmontro said:

It kind of bugged me that Archie only picked 11 students for his football team.  What happens if/when someone gets injured?

I mean, there are only supposed to be like 100 students total at the school, right? So getting 10 percent of the student body to sign up and probably 20 percent of the male student body is already pretty ambitious. 

Besides, it's Riverdale. What are the chances a student will get injured on the field compared to the chances they get chomped on by a bear or stalked by a serial killer?

[methodwriter85]

I really, really hope they know better than to try and set up Veronica in some "Hot for Teacher" storyline. Miss Grunwald only worked because the show got rid of her immediately, and also let us know she was a sleaze.

Although I could see them having a student accuse Veronica of trying to get with them, in retaliation from her rejecting their advances.

Chris Mason is hot, but man he does not work for this show. That might be the point.

Edited March 2, 2021 by methodwriter85

[MaggieG]

On 2/26/2021 at 12:18 AM, nilyank said:

I really don't know why Betty and Archie needed to sneak around. Granted Betty is staying with her mom and the twins, but when she was in high school, she slept every night with her boyfriend in that same house. Meanwhile, Archie has a whole house with his own bedroom.

Supposedly, Betty and Jug broke up years ago and in the interactions that they have shown us so far, they are acting like a pair of adults with no bad feelings between them. No longing looks. And Veronica is currently married so there should be expectation or betrayals if Archie was dating Betty.

 

Yeah, Archie does have the house to himself but Jug is living there too so it might be awkward for Archie and Betty to get it on while Jug is in the next room.

 

On 2/26/2021 at 12:31 AM, rmontro said:

I've noticed there doesn't seem to be any curiosity or interest being shown between Jughead and Betty.  You'd think there would be something there after not seeing each other for so long, considering how close they once were.  I know people move on in real life, and apparently that's what's happened here.  But it's conspicuous in its absence, you'd think there would be some sort of closure.  And why hasn't Jughead ripped everybody for not showing up for the annual Pops meeting?

I noticed the same thing. When Jug was talking about investigating the Mothman, Tabitha said she would help. Normally it would be Betty helping him. But it makes sense that since they broke up, they wouldn't be hanging out that much. Plus Betty is busy trying to track down Polly. I also wonder since Cole and Lilli broke up, maybe the showrunners are having them do less scenes together?

I like Tabitha.

[rmontro]

5 hours ago, MaggieG said:

When Jug was talking about investigating the Mothman, Tabitha said she would help. Normally it would be Betty helping him. But it makes sense that since they broke up, they wouldn't be hanging out that much. Plus Betty is busy trying to track down Polly. I also wonder since Cole and Lilli broke up, maybe the showrunners are having them do less scenes together?

I guess that leaves Betty to solve crimes with Archie?  Doesn't feel the same somehow.

[MaggieG]

18 minutes ago, rmontro said:

I guess that leaves Betty to solve crimes with Archie?  Doesn't feel the same somehow.

Archie might be busy explaining the highs and lows of high school football to his new team 😆 Or feuding with Reggie.

[CrazyDog]

When did Archie suddenly become my favorite character? He seems relatively normal and grounded, all in all. 

Loved them all walking into school on the first day.

Polly's phone has the best battery ever.

Chad Gecko? Lol. Was I the only one who was thinking From Dusk Till Dawn? He seems like a powder keg, waiting to go off. I hope they don't go that route with him, though he's obviously a controlling dick. Somehow he's going to end up with all their funds and cutting Veronica off, probably with the help of daddy dearest.

I loved the Subway lunch, lol. But WTF Reggie? Starting Archie's house on fire seems a hard road to come back from. Though will that old Bulldog pride do something?

Jughead and Cheryl are probably my least favorite characters / stories right now. Though I also felt for Jug with the students showing up at Pop's.

I like Tabitha and hope we get more of her pre-Riverdale life. Yet... run, Tabitha!  And get Pop safely away too.

[HeShallBMySquishy]

Aww, Kevin and Fangs at home. I loved the little smile Veronica gave the first time she walked the halls and all the attention she got from the boys. Hiram: "People are sentimental about Riverdale High for reasons that elude me."

Damn, so in addition to more chest-hugging sweaters, Archie has now paired them with tight olive green pants, and I heartily approve.

On 2/25/2021 at 6:44 AM, Diapason Untuned said:

Jughead's travails as a high school Lit teacher are probably the most realistic thing this show has ever done. Having to get a second job, your students seeing you at said second job, plus the fact that he's transformed into the kind of teacher he'd have made fun of back in the day...

Cole really sold that early scene well, and I can't imagine what poor Jughead is feeling, being a published buzz-worthy author, and now handing menus to students he is also currently teaching must be rough.

Every time Reggie's been onscreen this season, all I can focus on is that awful hair.

Loved how Jughead emptied the change from the tip jar as his students passed their quizzes back, right before scene change. And he looks good in short sleeves, let's hope he's ditched that terrible leather jacket permanently as well.

I mentioned Friends last episode thread, and when Chad popped in with flowers and cupcakes, I thought of that show again, of the time Ross not only showed up at Rachel's work when she repeatedly told him not to (and with a picnic basket, no less), he also sent a barbershop quartet (!). Talk about being put on the professional spot.

I loathe people like Cheryl who treat the working class like horseshit: "Now be gone from my sight." I know that's just Cheryl, but as someone who been working class all my life, it pisses me off when people do that.

Now that these characters are 25, it's not as icky seeing them post-coital as it was when they were 16.

Poor Veronica, that scene with her, Chad and Archie, her finding out about her husband and Hiram, and then: "There's this Italian place that your Dad mentioned? Mija's?" Her expressions that scene were spot on.

On 3/2/2021 at 10:13 PM, CrazyDog said:

When did Archie suddenly become my favorite character? He seems relatively normal and grounded, all in all. 

Loved them all walking into school on the first day.

Jughead and Cheryl are probably my least favorite characters / stories right now. Though I also felt for Jug with the students showing up at Pop's.

I like Tabitha and hope we get more of her pre-Riverdale life. Yet... run, Tabitha!  And get Pop safely away too.

Yes to all of this. Archie is really likeable and grounded and I'm not irritated by him. Cheryl can go yesterday, I don't know what the point of her is. I like Tabitha too, and she and Jughead have surprisingly good chemistry. Although it also could be more seeing Jughead with someone, anyone, other than Betty. You go, Ms. Bell! And damn, poor Archie and his house.

[methodwriter85]

On 3/4/2021 at 5:15 PM, HeShallBMySquishy said:

Yes to all of this. Archie is really likeable and grounded and I'm not irritated by him. Cheryl can go yesterday, I don't know what the point of her is. 

I don't get the point, either. High school is done. Unless you work in customer service and have to serve a snotty Karen or pledged a sorority in college, you never have to be subjected to Mean Girl behavior again. The only reason this show is keeping her and Toni on is because they need the diversity points of having an interracial lesbian couple.