S05.E11: Chapter Eighty-Seven: Strange Bedfellows

[Bort]

In the aftermath of the prison break at Hiram’s jail, Archie leads the charge to round up the remaining convicts on the loose. Tabitha reaches out for Betty’s help when she realizes Jughead is missing. When Penelope re-enters the fold, Cheryl becomes suspicious of her true intentions.

Airdate: 11 August 2021

[SeanC]

The 60s-ish psychedelic musical number while Veronica and the guys have a cheesily stylized brawl with the villains du jour = perfection.

[ruby24]

Did Jughead's message to Betty not prove exactly what he told Jessica about her? How did her playing that show that he wasn't the "blameless victim"? Other than being too hung up on it so many years later. 

it does prove that he's the only person on the show who cares about infidelity. If he's that upset about it that he can never forgive her there's nothing she can say now that would make it okay, esp now that she's actually slept with Archie too. 

Edited August 12, 2021 by ruby24

[PositiveBean]

55 minutes ago, ruby24 said:

Did Jughead's message to Betty not prove exactly what he told Jessica about her? How did her playing that show that he wasn't the "blameless victim"? Other than being too hung up on it so many years later. 

it does prove that he's the only person on the show who cares about infidelity. If he's that upset about it that he can never forgive her there's nothing she can say now that would make it okay, esp now that she's actually slept with Archie too. 

No offense, but I respectfully disagree. I think? Lol!

 
I’d hardly call kissing another boy while in high school a grave infidelity. Sometimes I think people forget they were teenagers when all of this was happening in between murder, countless attempted murders, serial killers, deadly board games, jingle jangle, gangs, homicidal parents, neglectful parents, etc.  A teenager kissing someone else happens and at least she was genuinely remorseful. I’m not excusing it and good for Jughead if he was done with Betty because of it (although emotionally he wasn’t), but for someone to hang on to a teen indiscretion this long says more about that individual than the one he called a duplicitous bitch. 

While she was wrong for what she did, I also find fault with him that he held on to it this aggressively all of these years and people are finding her betrayal as an excuse for his verbal abuse as well as his drinking and using drugs. Nope it couldn’t be that his father was an abusive alcoholic criminal and gang leader and his mother was a neglectful criminal and drug cartel leader. It’s Betty who destroyed him because somehow this teenage girl held his life in her hands and was supposed to be the one to fix him. This teenage girl was evil because she kissed her best friend when she was spiraling thinking her boyfriend was unstable and they may not have a future together. What a monstrous cheater!

This is all a moot point anyway because it’s obvious they’re going to get them back together. The seeds are already being planted regardless of Tabitha and Glen and whatever else they write as a temporary distraction. The only thing I appreciate is that from Roberto’s interviews it sounds like they’re actually going to explore what happened to splinter them so badly, and it sounds like the exes to enemies to friends to lovers trope. Bughead had gotten stale and needed a reboot.
 

If what I suspect is correct I’ll enjoy watching them rebuild that friendship before rebuilding their romantic relationship. Because again, I was bored. I’m also glad they’ve developed a friendship between Betty and Tabitha. To be honest, I think I would’ve preferred a Betty/Tabitha temporary relationship to Jughead/Tabitha. Lili seems to have chemistry with everyone and definitely more with Erin than Cole does. And he just continues to look so odd and rough that it’s off-putting. 

Edited August 12, 2021 by PositiveBean

[the-grey-lady]

6 minutes ago, PositiveBean said:

I’d hardly call kissing another boy while in high school a grave infidelity. Sometimes I think people forget they were teenagers when all of this was happening in between murder, countless attempted murders, serial killers, deadly board games, jingle jangle, gangs, homicidal parents, neglectful parents, etc. 

You make some excellent points. 

Why does no one seem to care that Betty was also traumatized and acting irrationally (both as a teenager and an adult)? I'm sure thinking your boyfriend is dead, being dumped by said boyfriend because he joined a gang and then having to worry constantly about his gang activities, having a serial killer father(!) who killed several of your friends, struggling with self-harm, dealing with your mother's ridiculously outsized expectations, and (later) spending weeks as a captive in yet another serial killer's lair are traumatizing to a person.

And if she was so diabolical, why did he invite her to the book launch at all and why was he so upset when she didn't show?

[Chaos Theory]

I think the big  issue with the “Jughead is angry at Betty” thing has a lot to do with fanbase.  This show has the same problem Pretty Little Liars did.   It writes too much into its fan base and Cole Sprouse is a fan favorite among teen girls so if Betty hurt Jughead then she has an army of Cole Sprouse fans wanting to see Betty die a painful and horrible death.    Kissing Archie as a teenager and breaking Jughead’s heart made her more unredeemable then Hiram Lodge ever was.  

So that voicemail was all of his fan’s venting at her.  “What a bitch you are for not wanting to be with Jughead.”

Even if she did cheat on him (which is debatable)  I would give Jughead one good shot at her.   He took it with the book.  And maybe I’ll give him the voicemail too just because it was in same period of time.   But if the show continues with the “Jughead is angry at Betty and has every right to be…that bitch”  then it will get old real quick.

 

Edited August 12, 2021 by Chaos Theory

[thuganomics85]

Man, you know it's been a while since I forgot about half the stuff that happened (despite a helpful previously segment.)  Hell, I couldn't remember why Jughead felt like Betty "cheated on him" until it was brought up here!

Continue to love how it's the almost normal stuff that baffles this crew.  Like Veronica's "What the hell just happened?!" line when her store got robbed seeming to have more confusion and bafflement than all the other crazy shit she's dealt with.  I mean, getting robbed probably won't even crack the top ten of dangerous experiences she (and the rest) hav dealt with.

Of course Penelope Blossom was up for parole anyway, so apparently the justice system's response to her breaking out with the rest of the prisoners was "Meh, don't want to deal with the hassle here."  And now she's formed some kind of religious cult that invokes Jason and some shit.  Which Cheryl is already falling for.  Sigh.  Nathalie Boltt was having the time of her life devouring on the scenery here.

Frank now is also pardoned more or less which is not really believable, but if this means more Ryan Robbins, I won't quibble over it.

It was almost cute watching Governor Dooley try to intimate Hiram.  If anything, I'm impressed that Hiram didn't just start laughing on the spot.  Silly governor: only a certain group of teenagers/young adults can mess with Hiram!  Everyone else is doomed to fall at his hands!

Don't you just hate it when your ex goes missing while high, so you ask his other ex for help finding him, only for her to get you high on those same drugs so that she can take his manuscript?!

Fun seeing Adrian Hough; someone I've seen in a lot of stuff (Legends of Tomorrow, Supernatural); as Doc.

As I find myself saying anytime Riverdale comes back, I can't wait to see where this batshit insanity goes next!

[rmontro]

Wow, only six replies so far.  Maybe Riverdale is in decline.

 

15 hours ago, PositiveBean said:

This is all a moot point anyway because it’s obvious they’re going to get them back together. The seeds are already being planted regardless of Tabitha and Glen and whatever else they write as a temporary distraction.

You may be right, but I don't really see them getting back together.  But if they're not, what was the point of playing that phone message?  Just to show that Jughead has been in a bad head space?  You can see Archie and Veronica headed back together, but I'm not sure I see that with Betty and Jughead, maybe because of the actors' real life break up.  

And after all that time apart, there was no rekindling between them.  But there was rekindling with Betty and Archie.  I do think her kiss was a big betrayal, and a large part of that is who it was with.  Sure, they were just high school students, but they all acted like adults.  Maybe he shouldn't have been so hung up on it after all that time.

These writers must stay awake at night thinking up crazy plotlines for this show.  Cheryl's mom starts a quasi-religion based around her dead son Jason?  And now I guess Cheryl is all in after seeing a red bird after looking at her brother's bones that she keeps in a box.

Archie with the Superman punch!

[SourK]

I almost didn't realize this was back on.

Gosh. I liked how Smithers tried to tell Veronica it was The Purge and she was like, "No, no, wait. I have to explain my recurring plot point to you first. See, I have this ugly rock..."

I was mildly interested in the development where Jughead got high and apparently the lies he told the preppies started to come true... and then it somehow turned out that that lie was true the whole time, and the same homeless man who saved him as a child saved him again, and Jughead was like, "Thanks, I'll visit you some time." Maybe help him not be homeless, Jughead. Maybe ask your rich, powerful friends.

I guess the long-term plan is for Betty to save Jughead from the Trashbag Killer, and then that's how they get back together? I don't know. When Tabitha said, "I know we haven't found Jughead yet, but..." I fully expected her to say they should stop looking, and I would have supported that.

[AnimeMania]

So it is ok to drug a FBI agent without her knowledge?

Said FBI agent has no fear of repercussions from taking illegal drugs?

Was the show suggesting that religious fervor is similar to taking drugs?

Why is Archie leading Veronica on when he is still sleeping with Betty?

[ZootSuitWyatt]

3 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

 

Why is Archie leading Veronica on when he is still sleeping with Betty?

I remember very little from the first half of the season but I think Archie and Betty are not sleeping together anymore. 

[tvwatchergordis]

This was a mess of an episode an I couldn't help and laugh out loud a couple of times when I'm sure I wasn't meant to. 

Archie and Veronica- What a mess! These two change their mind about their relationship more than I eat a day. I also feel like Veronica sees Archie as a possession more than a human. Archie has no respect for Veronica if he did he would pick her up and throw her away everytime he wanted to. While running back to Betty every time he gets bored with Ronnie. Yeah can't root for this.

Betty and Jughead- So toxic. He's still holing the grudge of her cheating on him 7years later. I'm not saying she is exempt for cheating but if it hurts him so much just move on. Betty really doesn't care what happens to Jug or how he feels. She's only helping Tabitha because Tabitha sorta guilted her into it. Hm and again this is root worthy? I don't think so.

The Archie hero squad was ridiculous this entire episode. LMAO about Archie caring more about stopping the criminals than his break-up with Veronica. Cold Archie, cold. 

Zoned out on the Cheryl and her mumsie scenes so have no ieaa what that plot was. 

Just my opinion but this show gets worse and worse as it goes on more. Yet here I am watching. Definitely my guilty pleasure. 

[secnarf]

Just watched the episode and I....don't quite know what happened.

Honestly it can't quite keep my interest anymore and is so far-fetched. Also not really loving the transition out of high school and into adulthood. I was along for the ride, but I can't actually keep track of all the storylines, nor do I really care enough to.

I feel like the writers are just continually writing themselves into corners, with no actual overarching plot or end point in sight, and then things just get more and more convoluted as they come up with new crazy ways to try to write themselves out of these situations.

[PositiveBean]

5 hours ago, rmontro said:

Wow, only six replies so far.  Maybe Riverdale is in decline.

 

You may be right, but I don't really see them getting back together.  But if they're not, what was the point of playing that phone message?  Just to show that Jughead has been in a bad head space?  You can see Archie and Veronica headed back together, but I'm not sure I see that with Betty and Jughead, maybe because of the actors' real life break up. 

This show has certainly gone past its expiration date! It doesn’t have the audience it used to. 

They’re definitely getting Bughead back together. They’re still the most popular couple on the show and Cole and Lili are their most popular actors regardless of what their offscreen relationship is now. Yes their break up has been messy and anyone with eyes can see that Cole has significantly declined this past year and has displayed bizarre behavior on social media, but Bughead still gets the most media hits on a show that was built into a powerhouse on social media. I can see the show giving them a break both for the audience and the actors, but no way they’re keeping them apart permanently.

Edited August 13, 2021 by PositiveBean

[tennisgurl]

This show doesn't need a drug trip musical montage, this whole show is a drug trip musical montage. Every time I watch it, I feel like its some kind of half remembered blur that featured a lot of loud music, bright lights, and where people kept talking but nobody ever made sense. "There was...like...this redhead and she was singing...and a bird, and then some pretty lights...and a rock, then I think people falling out of the sky...maybe..."  Its been so much long and so much is always going on that I honestly needed to go to the Wicki to remember everything that happened in the previous episodes and who all of these escaped inmates were. There have been a LOT of crazies on this show, its tough to remember all of them.

Of all of the shows gratuitous musical numbers, this one might be the most gratuitous yet, and unlike some of the other numbers it wasn't even really happening as an in universe performance, it was just there to be weird and crazy, not even jumping the moon from stupid to awesome like this show does when its actually being entertaining. I guess the Blossoms are forming a cult now because...we haven't had a cult in a few seasons and Cheryl needed something to do I guess. 

So at first I thought that Jughead was tripping so hard that he hallucinated that he was the lead character of his own novel, or that he was maybe bringing his story to life and we were going all magical realism, but actually its just a flashback to something that happened that he wrote about , and him running into the exact same homeless guy years later in the exact same sort of scenario? Or something? I have no idea what his plot was even about honestly, and its not surprising that he seethed about Betty kissing Archie in high school for years and he unloaded all that crap on her as soon as he felt sufficiently slighted again. I know that Betty has made a lot of mistakes in their relationship, but so has Jughead, the two of them are a hot mess and always have been, and we all know that this is just stalling until they reunite yet again. Tabitha and Jughead might have a thing now, but we all know Bughead will rise again, no matter how nasty their offscreen breakup was. 

Meanwhile, Archie gathers up his own posse while planning to almost single handedly rebuild Riverdale High while fighting criminals and repelling off of ceilings, because that's just how he likes to spend his Thursdays. I cant blame him for not wanting to get into the middle of Veronica's soon to be messy divorce from her cartoon villain soon to be ex, but he is being a bit pedantic about signing the divorce papers when its clear that Veronica's marriage is over in every meaningful way. This is the line that shall not be cross? Really? I am really just not excited for Veronica/Archie to be back together, they just do not work as a couple anymore, and they only kind of worked when they were in high school. I really wanted the time jump to actually shake things up, but the show is still sticking to its status quo and its annoying. How is this show both so batshit insane and also so cliché? 

I love how Veronica was so shocked at something as common as a jewelry robbery happening. Yeah, call me when your robbing me dressed up as a giant gargoyle, then I might give you my attention. Also that her rich buyer flew in all the way from Canada in the middle of this mass jailbreak in this literal garbage town that isn't even a town anymore. 

[Quark]

This show is such a crazy hoot and a half.

And I love every minute of it.

[Affogato]

Jughead is with Polly now……

 

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by Affogato

[Diapason Untuned]

On 8/13/2021 at 2:10 PM, tennisgurl said:

Tabitha and Jughead might have a thing now, but we all know Bughead will rise again, no matter how nasty their offscreen breakup was. 

People seem to think this way, but if the two of them are really against it, can it still be done?

 

Quote

I cant blame him for not wanting to get into the middle of Veronica's soon to be messy divorce from her cartoon villain soon to be ex, but he is being a bit pedantic about signing the divorce papers when its clear that Veronica's marriage is over in every meaningful way. This is the line that shall not be cross? Really? 

I thought Archie was cautious about Chad using the infidelity to strengthen his case in court re: the divorce.

[ruby24]

3 hours ago, Diapason Untuned said:

People seem to think this way, but if the two of them are really against it, can it still be done?

Is this actually true? The actors object to their characters getting back together?

This can definitely happen on shows and has affected them before, but I didn't know that was the case here. Do we know this for certain?

[Diapason Untuned]

30 minutes ago, ruby24 said:

Is this actually true? The actors object to their characters getting back together?

This can definitely happen on shows and has affected them before, but I didn't know that was the case here. Do we know this for certain?

I don't know anything for sure, of course, but Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart broke up in real life, so that could be a factor.

[Andromeda]

Infidelity isn't an issue in divorce anymore. But V told A this week that they're waiting for the divorce to be final, which takes 6 months, when last week the deadline was for Chad to sign (and the papers to be filed,  which is when the 6-month countdown begins). Dumb writing.

[LadyChaos]

Its interesting that Veronica seems to be bothered that Archie wants to keep his distance until the divorce is finalized.....I mean its not like she didn't just sleep with her husband again because 'he made her happy one night'

I'm also shocked with Jug taking all these drugs after everything he went through to get drugs off the streets....Its a complete 180 for him...and honestly I'm sick of the tortured writer cliche....it would've been nice to actually see Jug succeed and instead of becoming just like his dad was in the beginning of the series...And that voicemail, over a kiss? Not that the kiss was okay, it was wrong.....but one kiss is not a hookup so he clearly has some issues he needs to deal with.