S05.E15: Chapter Ninety-One: The Return of the Pussycats

[Bort]

After going MIA during the middle of her world tour, mega-star Josie McCoy returns to Riverdale unexpectedly. But it's not until she reunites with her former bandmates Valerie and Melody, that she opens up about the real reason why she's back. Veronica gets creative after a surprise visit from her old friend Alexandra Cabot. Toni steps in to help Tabitha and Veronica land a deal.

Airdate: 8 Sep 2021

[Diapason Untuned]

A great episode, with Josie calling out in everyone in Riverdale for their shit being a particular highlight. I especially liked how she just straight up told Hiram he was a little bitch. He deserved that. I had completely forgotten about Jughead robbing Pops or Cheryl sending Josie a pig's heart (why?) but it's good that Josie didn't let that slip on by.

I howled when Betty was all "Let's save Riverdale together!" and Josie just replied that they didn't even talk in school slow your roll.

Seeing the Pussycats reunite was amazing. It's so weird to see young adults on this show who actually have their lives together, not the spiralling mess of the Core Four.

I would really love to see a show where Josie and the Pussycats tour the nation, and get involved with weird voodoo stuff. Please make it happen, CW!

[TheView]

This episode felt like a backdoor pilot 

[Chicago Redshirt]

2 hours ago, Diapason Untuned said:

A great episode, with Josie calling out in everyone in Riverdale for their shit being a particular highlight. I especially liked how she just straight up told Hiram he was a little bitch. He deserved that. I had completely forgotten about Jughead robbing Pops or Cheryl sending Josie a pig's heart (why?) but it's good that Josie didn't let that slip on by.

Cheryl had a crush on Josie and was sending her stuff as a secret admirer. Nothing says love like a pig's heart!

[thuganomics85]

Josie:  "Can the attitude, Jughead!  I still remember when you robbed Pops!"

Jughead:  "Oh, right, I did do that!  To be fair, you should really hear about all the other shit I've done or have been involved in that would make that whole thing seem quaint..."

 

Definitely felt like a backdoor pilot (especially the whole possible murder reveal at the end), but it was still a fun way to bring Josie, Melody, and Valerie for a bit, and kind of finally give them a moment to shine, since they never seem to give Josie and the Pussycats their due.  In particular, Josie calling out the gang definitely felt like at least someone in the writers' room knew Josie/they were done dirty and finally addressed it (yeah, I remember when you got all creepy on Josie, Cheryl!")  Did find it interesting that they all seemed more forgiving with Archie despite some of his poor behavior (didn't he date both Josie and Valerie and ended things on a sour note?  Can't remember), but in his defense, he seemed to be the only that showed any humility with them, and wasn't acting fake or like he just wanted something from Josie.

I'm guessing the Alexandra character was another character from the departed Katy Keene spin-off.

Hiram can now add "Being called a bitch by a famous popstar" to the list of reasons why his gangster cred is very flimsy.

Cool seeing Robin Givens again.  And she got to direct this episode too which is nice.

Toni finally returns and is here to finally give birth at the most obvious time possible!

Hey, Sweet Pea!

A small thing, but I found it refreshing that even though Valerie wasn't ready for marriage, her boyfriend was understanding and still wants to be with her.  Usually that always leads to angst or drama, so that was a nice change of pace.

Now I'm wondering if they would actually bring back Chuck for an episode, although part of me just hopes if they do, they basically make him exactly like Jordan Calloway's Painkiller from Black Lightning!

 

[ruby24]

So is Josie's mom not married to Kevin's dad anymore? Has that been addressed?

[Lady Calypso]

I actually REALLY loved this episode. I know it was pure filler, I know it was probably setting up a spinoff, but I am ALL in if it does happen. This was a fun episode to watch. I always skip the musical episodes, but if THIS is how they're like typically, then I've been missing out (I know they aren't lol). 

This episode felt like a season 1 episode, back when the show was still grounded in reality. This episode had normal (for the most part) characters with normal problems. Until the end, at least. And getting to see the Pussycats reunited, AND have Melody get actual lines and see Val perform again? It was such a treat. The Pussycats were mistreated once season 2 started and it was such a shame, so I'm glad they corrected it here. 

Plus, having the typical main characters take a backseat while the more neglected characters (Veronica included!) get to shine? Not to mention, the POC characters, especially the black women, getting to take the spotlight? Beautiful. 

Melody and her girlfriend were a solid storyline, and I loved Val and her boyfriend deciding that marriage wasn't for them. If there is a spinoff, please not only let him stay, but let him NEVER change his mind about getting married and trying to change HER mind. Him being so accepting of no marriage in their future means absolutely everything. 

And Josie, poor Josie. I feel bad that her dad suddenly died and she never got to say goodbye. But the idea of her going to tour in small towns to honour him works very, very well. And hi Sweet Pea! 

Of course Toni gives birth at Pops. I kind of do love that they bypassed the whole labour stuff and just went straight into it. And I love that she named the baby Anthony. I guess, with Kevin/Fangs not together, the baby is...what, Toni and Fangs' responsibility? I'm not sure how that works, but it seems like Toni is going to also care for the baby if she got to name him.

Robin Givens did an excellent job directing. And the songs were all top notch, performed by really talented actresses. And a seriously great episode. This entire back half so far has been excellent and so un-Riverdale-like.

Also, favourite part of the episode? Josie calling Hiram a little bitch.

[MaggieG]

5 hours ago, ruby24 said:

So is Josie's mom not married to Kevin's dad anymore? Has that been addressed?

I was wondering the same thing. It was not mentioned at all. And do Melody and Val still live in Riverdale or somewhere else? And when Sweet Pea showed up, I was wondering where he had been.

[Lady Calypso]

2 minutes ago, MaggieG said:

I was wondering the same thing. It was not mentioned at all. And do Melody and Val still live in Riverdale or somewhere else? And when Sweet Pea showed up, I was wondering where he had been.

I don't think they live in Riverdale, but they certainly live somewhere close enough where they were able to drive back and forth. 

And yeah, it doesn't seem like Sierra and Tom are still married. I should have paid attention to them wearing wedding rings, but it sounds like Sierra moved out of Riverdale years ago and no mention of her marriage to Tom being long distance as a result.

[AAEBoiler]

This show is just giving me whiplash from last week's "Anthology of Horror" to this week's backdoor pilot to next week having Archie back in the trenches in World War 1 again. A few episodes ago Jughead got in a semi that we thought was the Trash Bag killer but then he keeps showing up as if nothing's happened. This season is an absolute mess!

Edited September 9, 2021 by AAEBoiler
I forgot a word

[SourK]

I had mixed feelings about this. I liked the costuming, and that Melody girl is really talented -- and I would watch a spin-off where they solve mysteries on a music tour bus -- but I also sort of felt like this was the producers going, "You get ONE EPISODE about black characters, so you'd better enjoy it." The strangest, most off-putting part was when Toni randomly showed up to join a musical number, seemingly just so it would be three black women. And so she could do product placement for Baby GAP.

Like, not to get super heavy, but ever since Vanessa Morgan rightly called them out last summer, this season has felt like a condescending effort to be inclusive done by someone who has no real idea how to do it. Having everybody stand around and smile approvingly at the Pussycats and Toni and say how great they are doesn't fix the writing problems that left those characters marginalized in the first place.

 

[tennisgurl]

Much like the Hiram origin story episode, this episode really showed that the best way for Riverdale to improve is to almost totally ignore the main characters and the main plot. This episode absolutely screamed backdoor pilot, especially with the mystery of someone murdering Josie's dad, but it actually ended up working out well, as I thought this episode was really good. Again, all we need to do to make this show better is to completely change almost everything about it. This show did Josie and the Pussycats seriously dirty, especially Melody, who I think got more lines in this episode than she ever has in her entire time on the show previously, so I would be supportive of them finally getting their own show and some well deserved spotlight. Its hard not to think about last years drama when the writers were correctly called out on Twitter on how they treat their POC characters during this episode though, it can really come off like the show frantically course correcting in a performative way. I guess its nice that they are finally trying, but it doesn't look great when it took this long and required a public shaming to get them to actually write their POC characters as actual people and not props for white characters. Still, this was a really fun time with a lot of really talented performers doing a lot of great performances, so if a spin-off does happen I am definitely in. I am also in for the show trying to actually do different things now in the seasons back half, like this, Hiram's origin, and the anthology last week.

I am also so in for Madea goes to Riverdale if Tyler Perry ever gets interested in Melody's writing again.

Its funny that they brought in a character from their failed spin-off for their backdoor pilot for a new spin-off, damn it one of them is going to stick eventually. I do like that they have brought back some Katy Keene characters to this show, and that they are sticking with the most interesting ones. If they ever trot Pepper out my eyes might be stuck in a permanent roll. 

Nice seeing Sierra again and I love how she and Josie are always there to comment on the weirdness that is Riverdale, like their "yeah, this seems right" reaction to some guy coming up to ominously tell them that Josie's dads death was no accident. We even got to see Sweet Pea, its a whole festival of characters coming back. 

The musical numbers were all quite good, as all of the performers are really talented, but this season is going way too hard on the musical numbers, especially when they just seem to pop up out of nowhere. This show has always had too many gratuitous musical numbers (because someone on this show really wants this show to be Glee) but at least they used to be mostly in-universe performances, now they are just going full on musical. How is that music happening in Pops while Little Shop of Horrors is being sang? Is it being pipped out of the sound system? Are people told to use their imaginations? I know that I shouldn't be asking questions in Riverdale, but this episode was actually trying to be kind of down to Earth, so I have to ask. 

This episode also reminded me of how much I liked Archie and Josie as a couple, for as short of a time as they were together. They had nice chemistry and they actually acted like real teenagers who were dating, being two of the more comparatively "normal" of the teens. No one joined the mob or a fight club or solved a serial murder, they just played music and hung out, so I was glad to see them still on good terms. They had some nice scenes and Archie was the only one of the gang who actually seemed happy to see Josie just to see Josie, while everyone else was immediately all over her to do stuff for them, and Archie was the only person who didn't get a dragging from Josie when she told the gang to back off.

Speaking of, I could watch Josie drag the gang all day every day, that was very richly deserved. I totally forgot that Jughead robbed Pops or that Cheryl stalked Josie and sent her a pigs heart, there is so much crazy on this show that it can all blur together, but I am glad that Josie remembered. I am also going to need Josie calling Hiram a little bitch on repeat and possibly as my new ringtone. "Betty, did we exchange three words in high school?"

Val and Melody didn't have quite as much to do, but they certainly got more here then they usually did, especially poor forgotten Melody. They both had a lot of nice scenes with their respective partners, and I am glad that Val's boyfriend is cool with not getting married. On the bus now to spin-off land!

Edited September 9, 2021 by tennisgurl

[rmontro]

I thought it was just okay.  Obvious pilot.  Almost a musical episode but not quite.  I liked Hiram's goofy little pajama appearance, he probably gets less respect than any other gangster.  Jughead's back and no one has apparently batted an eye.  I would have zero interest in patronizing a "singing diner".

As much as I like this ridiculous show, it just doesn't have "legs" for me.  Meaning I haven't followed any of the spinoffs.  I didn't watch Katy Keane (is that still on?).  I don't see myself following the Pussycats.  I didn't even watch the Sabrina show on Netflix.

My favorite part of the show was the preview for next week, with Cheryl shouting "I'm the Queen of the Bees!" with two hands full of bee swarmed honeycomb.  Hilarious.

[Diapason Untuned]

8 hours ago, AAEBoiler said:

This show is just giving me whiplash from last week's "Anthology of Horror" to this week's backdoor pilot to next week having Archie back in the trenches in World War 1 again. A few episodes ago Jughead got in a semi that we thought was the Trash Bag killer but then he keeps showing up as if nothing's happened. This season is an absolute mess!

Aside from obvious backdoor pilot-ness of this episode, I get the feeling it was aired out of order.

[bobbyjoe]

Quote

A few episodes ago Jughead got in a semi that we thought was the Trash Bag killer but then he keeps showing up as if nothing's happened. This season is an absolute mess!

Quote

Aside from obvious backdoor pilot-ness of this episode, I get the feeling it was aired out of order.

I thought it was aired out of order too, except the Veronica stuff seems to hinge on the investments she was making in the last couple of episodes which seem to take place after Jughead gets in the truck, and I am really, really, really confused about the chronology.

Maybe they just need to do a Dallas and say this whole season has been a dream because that’s the only way this season makes any sense whatsoever.

That being said, this was one of my favorite episodes because they finally did right by Josie, something neither Riverdale or Katy Keene has really managed before.  I’d watch a Pussycats spin-off in a heartbeat— in fact, I’d like if the camera just kept following that bus off at the end and we got the adventures of Josie and the Pussycats for the rest of the season.

Edited September 10, 2021 by bobbyjoe

[SourK]

19 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

This show has always had too many gratuitous musical numbers (because someone on this show really wants this show to be Glee) but at least they used to be mostly in-universe performances, now they are just going full on musical. How is that music happening in Pops while Little Shop of Horrors is being sang? Is it being pipped out of the sound system? Are people told to use their imaginations?

I would love it if the in-universe explanation for this was just that someone stands on a table and says, "You guys, you guys, you guys -- I'm gonna sing a song, and you need to imagine it's good." And that was, like, the Riverdale way of socializing.

[rmontro]

22 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

How is that music happening in Pops while Little Shop of Horrors is being sang? Is it being pipped out of the sound system? Are people told to use their imaginations?

My guess is a mass hallucination from everyone being on Jingle Jangle.

[allonsyalice]

i havent watched this damn show in a while and i tuned in for this. 

Honestly we deserved a Pussycats spinoff so long ago. 

Kevin getting all of his life from the girls singing Little Shop made my whole week. As did Josie calling Hiram a lil bitch. What a great character. She was wasted on Katy Keene.

[Moxie Cat]

I'll mention a fun little detail that hasn't been yet: Josie's alias at the hotel was "Ms. Newmar." As in Catwoman herself! Love it.

Otherwise, a bizarre episode, tonally- and continuity-wise. I had to double-check the DVR to make sure I hadn't missed an episode when Jughead was just inexplicably back in Riverdale. And when did this show turn into Glee?

[Dobian]

I tuned in for Riverdale and watched an Old Navy commercial.

Since when did this show turn into Glee? (Edit: I see someone beat me to it above.  Great minds think alike!)

Edited September 21, 2021 by Dobian