S01.E12: Chapter Twelve: Anatomy Of A Murder

[Mr. Sparkle]

12 minutes ago, starri said:

Wow. That was a GREAT episode.  

Totally. This show can be made fun of for its melodrama and "over-the-topness," but I really enjoy watching it! 

Edited May 5, 2017 by Superclam

[waving feather]

I am disappointed in the reveal of the killer identity. It was way too obvious from the beginning. But okay.

[tennisgurl]

The reveal that it was Mr. Blossom was pretty obvious (what is it with CW shows like this week being super obvious about their Big Reveals?), but I don't mind because this episode was delightfully batshit insane. I mean, it turns out that Polly and Jason were actually third cousins and having distant incest babies? If Jason was involved in an incestuous relations with anyone, I always assumed it would have been with Cheryl, so what do I know! I mean, third cousins really isn't that big of a deal, but its still something I wouldn't be super thrilled to find out about after the fact. I'm sad the Clifford is dead, I am always up for more Blossom related insanity.

I LOVED Bettys face when she found out that she was actually a Blossom. She looked so grossed out. And how the Coopers took a break from all their issues to be united in being grossed out by the Blossoms. "That baby is full Blossom" "...what the hell is wrong with you people?!?!" I guess the Blossoms are totally cool with the incest train, confirming that they are, in fact, the Targaryen's of Riverdale. Which we already knew, but now have confirmed.

I know Archie isn't a super exciting character, but I like how normal he is in the middle of all the madness, and how he tries to be a good friend to Jughead. Now, I think Jughead can be super pretentious in her angsty lonerness, but it really did suck to be him this week. His dad was in jail for killing someone, and everyone was acting like this was somehow it was his fault, when all he seems to be guilt of is wearing a silly hat in emotionally intense situations. At least now he knows his dad isn't a murderer, even if his dad is still in jail, and his mom apparently isn't that interested in him coming to stay with her. Fred better at least let him move out of the damn garage.

I also feel retroactively really bad for Jason. He had to deal with his creepy parents his whole life, and when he thought he was going to escape with his girlfriend and baby, he got kidnapped, beaten, and finally coldly executed by his own father. That had to have been a pretty awful last thing to see before death.

The true source of evil...MAPLE SYRUP! Or maybe drugs, but I'm focusing on MAPLE SYRUP!

[starri]

Although, would it have killed Kevin and Joaquin to have opened their mouths when they kissed?  I mean, it was a nice kiss, but they didn't even get to use their tongues.

[TheLastKidPicked]

If the actors are not gay in real life, I'm not sure they could have pulled that off.

I'm a "behind the scenes" kind of guy, and think of things like that when I watch TV and movies.

[indiscutable]

5 minutes ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

If the actors are not gay in real life, I'm not sure they could have pulled that off.

I'm a "behind the scenes" kind of guy, and think of things like that when I watch TV and movies.

If they can't pull that off, they're not good actors. 

[MarkHB]

You know, I think they are deliberately yanking our chains as to Riverdale's location at this point.  The second intercity bus we saw at the bus station, as mentioned in the recap, was headed to "San Junipero," which is presumably on the West Coast since not even Florida has much in the way of Spanish names these days.  But the first bus that we saw when Jughead still wanted to go to Toledo (and how cold was that, his mom telling him "no, I don't want you here") was headed for "Mamaroneck", which is in Westchester County on the coast NE of New York City.

Also, Jason's voice still may not have been heard, but we got to see him speaking to someone in one of the flashbacks!  His mouth moved!

[maxineofarc]

I'd forgive so much if it turned out Joaquin is the real criminal mastermind here and he's laughing all the way to Black Mirror. (There is absolutely nothing in the show to support or even suggest this, for the record; it would just amuse me.)
 

[TheLastKidPicked]

Each time Jughead and Archie woke up in bed, did anybody else think

"Oh, Darn.  He's wearing a shirt."

Just me then?  I'll show myself out.

[morakot]

Who put the recording of Jason's murder on the thumbdrive?  How did the thumbdrive get into Jason's pocket (and then into the lining)? Are we to assume that Joaquin or FP decided to put the jacket on and then put the thumb drive into the pocket while clearing up the murder? Why? Why not wear their own jackets and put the thumb drive into those pockets? Was there no concern when they lost track of the incriminating thumb drive that held their blackmail material when it got lost from the pocket of the victim's jacket? It makes NO sense that a random thumb drive in Jason's jacket would hold clues to his murder.

[AzureOwl]

7 minutes ago, morakot said:

Who put the recording of Jason's murder on the thumbdrive?  How did the thumbdrive get into Jason's pocket (and then into the lining)? Are we to assume that Joaquin or FP decided to put the jacket on and then put the thumb drive into the pocket while clearing up the murder? Why? Why not wear their own jackets and put the thumb drive into those pockets? Was there no concern when they lost track of the incriminating thumb drive that held their blackmail material when it got lost from the pocket of the victim's jacket? It makes NO sense that a random thumb drive in Jason's jacket would hold clues to his murder.

FP apparently had a secret camera installed in that basement. The first foreshadowing that there was even a camera was was a shot of FP looking up directly at it during the flashback in Joaquin's story. 

So presumably FP decided to keep the jacket and the thumbdrive together, so as to better keep track of both and then assumed it fell off when it slipped into the lining. 

[morakot]

It was clear that there was a camera and that the thumb drive held a copy of the recording. It was logical that the jacket was being held for blackmail purposes. Putting the thumb drive into the jacket pocket was less logical. Not being worried that the thumb drive was missing was also illogical.

[Lady Calypso]

23 minutes ago, morakot said:

Who put the recording of Jason's murder on the thumbdrive?  How did the thumbdrive get into Jason's pocket (and then into the lining)? Are we to assume that Joaquin or FP decided to put the jacket on and then put the thumb drive into the pocket while clearing up the murder? Why? Why not wear their own jackets and put the thumb drive into those pockets? Was there no concern when they lost track of the incriminating thumb drive that held their blackmail material when it got lost from the pocket of the victim's jacket? It makes NO sense that a random thumb drive in Jason's jacket would hold clues to his murder.

I have a lot of questions about the episode that may never get answered, but I think I understand part of this particular point. FP installed a camera in the basement since he's leader of the Serpents and he's the only one that is allowed down there (and Mustang, I guess?). FP saw Jason's dead body and at some point, took the footage of Jason's murder, saw Clifford murder Jason, and put the evidence onto the thumb drive. FP took Jason's jacket back with him for....whatever reason, and put the thumb drive into the pocket. We do know that the jacket was at FP's before he hid it in the woods, near the Blossom's Maple Syrup billboard. The information missing is when FP/Joaquin hid the jacket in the woods, and why he kept the jacket in the first place. I'll have to rewatch this episode for FP's confession because at least part of it is true. I just need to decipher which parts are true and which are lies. 

Actually, question for anyone who remembers more than I do: Did FP assume that the thumb drive was lost, or did he know that the thumb drive was in the lining? 

[AdorkableSars]

17 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Although I think in this instance Fred could have shown more compassion towards FP, I totally get being tired if he has been with him through mess after mess. 

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I know Archie isn't a super exciting character, but I like how normal he is in the middle of all the madness, and how he tries to be a good friend to Jughead. Now, I think Jughead can be super pretentious in her angsty lonerness, but it really did suck to be him this week. His dad was in jail for killing someone, and everyone was acting like this was somehow it was his fault, when all he seems to be guilt of is wearing a silly hat in emotionally intense situations. At least now he knows his dad isn't a murderer, even if his dad is still in jail, and his mom apparently isn't that interested in him coming to stay with her. Fred better at least let him move out of the damn garage.

I think in this instance, Fred could've shown more compassion towards Jughead. When Fred said "FP may have ruined Jughead's life, but I'm not going to let him ruin yours." to Archie, I was smad (sad and mad). And when Jughead overheard the conversation that Fred and Archie were having, where Fred was all "the Jones family sucks, Jughead is going to turn into a monster like his dad, blah-dee-bloo" (pretty much exactly how the conversation went down, right?), I was even smadder. Fred is really the only decent parental figure in Jughead's life, and he's been so good to Jughead, and then bam. Suckage.

I did really like how much compassion Archie had towards Jughead all episode. He truly cares for his bro, and it was great to see. And also, why the hell didn't Jughead's mom want him going there?! My heart absolutely broke at that. I mean as shady as FP is, at least it's been made clear how much he cares about his son and loves him (he even falsely confessed to murder to protect him). I want to find out why Mrs. Jones sucks so much...is that the next mystery?

11 hours ago, PeekaBoo said:

Is mustang apparent OD the second death they were talking about or is he just a victim of circumstances? 

I said the exact same thing on Twitter! But then someone pointed out (before I had even got to the scene) that Clifford died. So I guess that answers that? 

4 hours ago, waving feather said:

I am disappointed in the reveal of the killer identity. It was way too obvious from the beginning. But okay.

This really was the least surprising reveal. I think people have been suspecting this since pretty much the beginning. But I am excited to find out why Clifford killed Jason, and see all of the fallout from this. 

I liked that there were so many scenes with the core four/Kevin this episode. I hope we have a lot more of that to look forward to next episode/season. And I actually liked Hal this episode. And I continue to love Alice more and more...

And here is my weekly plea to make Skeet Ulrich a series regular next season. He's just so charismatic and great, and adds so much to the show. Every Jughead/FP scene is pretty wonderful, and I want more! 

Edited May 5, 2017 by AdorkableSars

[Dobian]

Even for a show like this, I thought it was a real stretch for Jason's dad to kill him like he did.  I could see him ordering a hit on his son with the stipulation that it be done quietly and so that Jason never knew what hit him.  But to tie him to a chair and have him beaten up Mafia style before finishing Jason off himself?  That's just some cold sociopathic stuff right there.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Dobian

[Snarkette]

5 hours ago, CCTC said:

I wonder if Mr. Blossom did actually commit suicide or if his wife and/or daughter helped him into the noose.

Cheryl wasn't wearing that spider pin for nothing

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

At Last, Riverdale Gives Us The Sticky, Dark, Dirty Truth

The penultimate episode of Season 1 solves the mystery of who killed Jason Blossom, and...well that's all that matters, really.

[herbaltease]

Is the audience to interpret at least part of FP's story as factual?  If so, then he admitted to abducting Jason, then ransoming him to his father, IIRC.  Apparently, Mr. Blossom shows up to "pay", then shoots his kid in the head, leaving FP to clean up the mess.  FP then dumps the body in the river after law enforcement has already dragged it for a body.  Hopefully, whatever happened will be further confirmed next week.

[Dobian]

3 hours ago, maxineofarc said:

I'd forgive so much if it turned out Joaquin is the real criminal mastermind here and he's laughing all the way to Black Mirror. (There is absolutely nothing in the show to support or even suggest this, for the record; it would just amuse me.)
 

That was a really neat easter egg, I love Black Mirror and San Junipero was a great episode.

[AdorkableSars]

One more Joaquin bread crumb: he leads Kevin, Betty, and Archie to a spot in the woods where they can find Jason's letterman's jacket, and inside it, a flash drive. On that drive is a video. The one that was in all the commercials for this episode. The one to which Jughead, Betty, Veronica, and even Kevin give A+ horrified reaction shots at what they see, while Archie looks like he may have just sat on a thumb tack. 

Haha, that line from the Previously.tv post made me laugh hard. Reading that post also reminded me of yet another heartbreaking Jughead moment from the episode. When he apologized to Cheryl because (he thought at that time) his father killed Jason. You didn't kill him Juggie? Why are you so compassionate and sweet and caring and broken?!?!? So many Jughead feels right now...Cole Sprouse is really killing it. 

[Mabinogia]

Cole was outstanding this episode. Watching his reaction to the phone call with him mom, you could tell what was going on without a word.

I love Betty for being so determined to prove FP's innocence despite incredible amounts of evidence, including FP's own confession.

I would totally watch a spin-off based on the school newspaper, where Alice is in charge of the gang who go out and solve crazy mystery's all under the guise of writing articles for the school newspaper.

I like the idea that Hal Cooper is really a Blossom. It makes the generations old blood feud even better. That family is just insane! I somehow want them involved in my imaginary spin off. Maybe the Widow Blossom is funding the newspaper, or she's in a nut house and "cousin" Betty convinces Alice to take Cheryl in. haha

Anyway, this ep did not disappoint. Despite knowing that Daddy Blossom was most likely Jason's killer, there were still enough twists, the incest, the Blossom's reaction to the incest as no big, and fun, everything Alice, that I wasn't disappointed at all.

I also want to add that I think Archie is so much better as part of the main story. I like Archie more in non-romantic storylines I think. I'm actually going to miss this show during the off season.

[Bill1978]

54 minutes ago, AdorkableSars said:

The one to which Jughead, Betty, Veronica, and even Kevin give A+ horrified reaction shots at what they see, while Archie looks like he may have just sat on a thumb tack

My friend and I pretty much zapurudered (?? is that the term) the preview for a good hour last week and that was the one thing that stood out for me. 4 people giving a realistic reaction to see someone killed, while Archie sat there looking like he did a fart and hoping no one noticed cause they were watching the video.

Absolutely loved this episode. Those minutes dedicated to the reveal of not only the murderer but also showing the video was intense. Maybe some of the intenseness was caused by my concern that Jason was going to utter a word before dying. I can't help but feel for Jason, seeing his father so emotionlessly killing him.

I think my favourite part of the episode was Betty and Archie texting each other. I feel the writers finally got all the characters this episode. It really did feel like all the kids were actual friends and had prior history etc.

I'll be back with more, just need time to process cause this was a great piece of television. Not saying it deserves an award but I found it very satisfying.

[Mabinogia]

3 minutes ago, Bill1978 said:

I think my favourite part of the episode was Betty and Archie texting each other. I feel the writers finally got all the characters this episode. It really did feel like all the kids were actual friends and had prior history etc.

I like that they were allowed a friend moment without it being all angsty or dripping with teen longing. It was just two old friends concerned about their other friend. No romantic undertones at all.

[millk]

8 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I LOVED Bettys face when she found out that she was actually a Blossom. She looked so grossed out. And how the Coopers took a break from all their issues to be united in being grossed out by the Blossoms. "That baby is full Blossom" "...what the hell is wrong with you people?!?!" 

This is waaaaaaaay beyond what I think even the writers were going for but it makes me feel better with the people going about Polls having twins because of Jason being a twin. In the non-crazy world, the father has nothing to do with twin creation but with Polly being a Blossom then the gene for twinning can get to her through Hal.  I feel better. Is that weird?

Molly Ringwald is the most robotic actor ever.

[MisterBluxom]

18 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

There's an online soap about a candy company, and it gets revealed that the "candy" they sell are infused with highly addictive drugs. Maybe that's what happened?

It just doesn't make much sense. It can't be profitable to sell "highly addictive" drugs in some inexpensive product. What would you think if you saw chewing gum being advertised for $100 per package?

[truthaboutluv]

2 hours ago, Bill1978 said:

The one to which Jughead, Betty, Veronica, and even Kevin give A+ horrified reaction shots at what they see, while Archie looks like he may have just sat on a thumb tack

 

2 hours ago, Bill1978 said:

My friend and I pretty much zapurudered (?? is that the term) the preview for a good hour last week and that was the one thing that stood out for me. 4 people giving a realistic reaction to see someone killed, while Archie sat there looking like he did a fart and hoping no one noticed cause they were watching the video.

Good, so it wasn't just me. I felt like I was literally watching someone trying to act. Like I could see the thought bubble above K.J.'s head saying, "okay, now what would acting class say is the best facial reaction to teens watching other teen be murdered on video?" The actor playing Kevin wasn't that great of an actor either but he didn't seem to be visibly trying as hard as K.J. was. Cole, Lili and Camilla nailed their reactions though. 

I remember some previous comments that some didn't think Cole was a better actor than K.J. but that Jughead was just a better written character. After this episode and especially that scene, I beg to differ. Agree with the above about Cole's performance when Jughead was talking to his mom and while the writers have really driven the whole angsty, wrong side of the tracks thing, I think he's shown he can do laid back, even funny when it's called for.

Edited May 6, 2017 by truthaboutluv

[Cirien]

7 hours ago, starri said:

Although, would it have killed Kevin and Joaquin to have opened their mouths when they kissed?  I mean, it was a nice kiss, but they didn't even get to use their tongues.

 

7 hours ago, TheLastKidPicked said:

If the actors are not gay in real life, I'm not sure they could have pulled that off.

I'm a "behind the scenes" kind of guy, and think of things like that when I watch TV and movies.

 

6 hours ago, indiscutable said:

If they can't pull that off, they're not good actors. 

I'm not going to comment on whether Casey Cott and Rob Raco are good actors/ gay or not, but Marisol Nichols - when she was on the "afterbuzz" programme did say that was the first on screen kiss that Casey performed - so maybe that was part of the awkwardness of it ?

[starri]

27 minutes ago, Cirien said:

I'm not going to comment on whether Casey Cott and Rob Raco are good actors/ gay or not, but Marisol Nichols - when she was on the "afterbuzz" programme did say that was the first on screen kiss that Casey performed - so maybe that was part of the awkwardness of it ?

I thought they'd kissed before.  In the episode with Juggie's birthday if not the one where they met.

[Dee]

They kissed, quite heavily, when they first met. That was their initial introduction.

[Last Time Lord]

So, I just got caught up on the last three episodes. Holy shit, this show! This gloriously insane show!

[MarkHB]

7 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I have a lot of questions about the episode that may never get answered, but I think I understand part of this particular point. FP installed a camera in the basement since he's leader of the Serpents and he's the only one that is allowed down there (and Mustang, I guess?). FP saw Jason's dead body and at some point, took the footage of Jason's murder, saw Clifford murder Jason, and put the evidence onto the thumb drive. FP took Jason's jacket back with him for....whatever reason, and put the thumb drive into the pocket. We do know that the jacket was at FP's before he hid it in the woods, near the Blossom's Maple Syrup billboard. The information missing is when FP/Joaquin hid the jacket in the woods, and why he kept the jacket in the first place. I'll have to rewatch this episode for FP's confession because at least part of it is true. I just need to decipher which parts are true and which are lies. 

Actually, question for anyone who remembers more than I do: Did FP assume that the thumb drive was lost, or did he know that the thumb drive was in the lining? 

I think the bag in the woods with the jacket and the thumb drive (hidden in the lining to make it less obvious, yet somewhat protected) were all part of FP's contingency plan in case Clifford double-crossed him... he'd keep the evidence with him.  He threw that out the window and told Joaquin not to bother when Clifford threatened Jughead.

 

6 hours ago, 80srockher said:

Is the audience to interpret at least part of FP's story as factual?  If so, then he admitted to abducting Jason, then ransoming him to his father, IIRC.  Apparently, Mr. Blossom shows up to "pay", then shoots his kid in the head, leaving FP to clean up the mess.  FP then dumps the body in the river after law enforcement has already dragged it for a body.  Hopefully, whatever happened will be further confirmed next week.

My interpretation was that anything we saw on the screen as the story was being told actually happened.  Anything we didn't see on screen was unreliable.  I could be wrong, though, because I'm not sure if we saw him pulling the trigger on the gun.

[Bort]

30 minutes ago, MarkHB said:

My interpretation was that anything we saw on the screen as the story was being told actually happened.  Anything we didn't see on screen was unreliable.  I could be wrong, though, because I'm not sure if we saw him pulling the trigger on the gun.

Clifford being the murderer is fairly reliable. We saw on the video Clifford pulling out his gun and pointing it at Jason, cut to the reaction shots of the teens watching the shot go off, then back to the video of Jason dead in his chair. I think the only reason we didn't SEE the kill shot was because the network wasn't going to show the graphic depiction of a teenager getting his brains blown out.

[MarkHB]

Just now, kariyaki said:

Clifford being the murderer is fairly reliable. We saw on the video Clifford pulling out his gun and pointing it at Jason, cut to the reaction shots of the teens watching the shot go off, then back to the video of Jason dead in his chair. I think the only reason we didn't SEE the kill shot was because the network wasn't going to show the graphic depiction of a teenager getting his brains blown out.

Oh, I don't doubt that part.  In my case the "him" I meant was FP... as I was writing I thought they might have shown HIM pulling the trigger while he was recounting the story.

[Bort]

1 minute ago, MarkHB said:

Oh, I don't doubt that part.  In my case the "him" I meant was FP... as I was writing I thought they might have shown HIM pulling the trigger while he was recounting the story.

Oh, during the confession? No, they didn't show that. I only just watched the episode today, it's pretty fresh in my mind. What they showed during his confession was what turned out to be the stuff he actually did: torch the car, Jason in the freezer…

[MarkHB]

OK, that's what I was getting at... that my impression that what they actually showed us was what actually happened (including Clifford being the killer), but what wasn't actually shown is debatable.

[Grandmother Olivia]

If the actors are not gay in real life, I'm not sure they could have pulled that off.

I'm a "behind the scenes" kind of guy, and think of things like that when I watch TV and movies.

If Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve can be convincing lovers in "The Hunger" and Sarandon was having an affair with David Bowie while they were filming that, then I don't think these guys have much of an excuse. Kissing someone you aren't necessarily attracted to is a pretty core skill in acting.
From memory, Sarandon said that the idea was to make her character drunk to give her an "excuse" to be seduced, but she vetoed that. "Why would you need an excuse? It's Catherine Deneuve!" (Always loved that.)

[Affogato]

13 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

It just doesn't make much sense. It can't be profitable to sell "highly addictive" drugs in some inexpensive product. What would you think if you saw chewing gum being advertised for $100 per package?

Futurama/Slurm. In the case of candy it just makes the product really popular and profitable, people need to continue to buy it because it is addictive. I think the assumption is the addictive substance is cheap, not unreasonable. War against drugs does jack the prices of these things.

In this case the maple syrup barrel method is just transport, maybe three specially marked barrels per fifty barrels of syrup, pulled by the intended recipients. I'd guess, ;anyway. If we dig deeper, maybe global warming making the crop weaken or fail, as it actually does, and Cliff thought to add a little value to the business. Jason was killed because when, as the heir, he was told about this he threatened to take it to the police. The idea was to scare Jason but he didn't scare.

Is Polly now addicted to whatever is in the packets, or is she just getting Tanis Root?

[Chaos Theory]

Maybe Archie is the mastermind?

All the "bad acting" is actually acting choices.

Just a thought.

[Affogato]

On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 9:09 AM, HunterHunted said:

 

I don't think the show has alleged that Archie is a Blossom. I think he was featured prominently because he's an attractive young man with red hair and good optics. He's been shown being kind, compassionate, and wholesome to others when the Blossoms had a bunch of terrible PR--Jason's murder and Cheryl as the initial suspect.

The board thinks Cheryl is unsuitable as the heir to the business and Cliff hoped that Archie standing next to her, presumably the one making the decisions, would make things more palatable.

I wonder if this is just paternalistic or if Cheryl still has hidden veins of craziness to expose. 

[peachmangosteen]

42 minutes ago, Chaos Theory said:

Maybe Archie is the mastermind?

All the "bad acting" is actually acting choices.

Just a thought.

This is what I want it to be lol. When Archie looked like he didn't give one fuck that he was watching a teen peer get murdered by his own father I recalled that theory that Archie is actually a sociopath, a theory I love. But honestly I'm pretty sure it's just because KJ is the second weakest actor in the cast. (Casey Cott being the weakest actor imo.)

I love this show. I never have much to say about it because I literally just adore the hell out of every aspect of it. It is truly a mess and it has no idea what it's trying to do, which I would actually normally be annoyed by, but somehow it just works perfectly for me.

Cole Sprouse fucking killed that scene in the phone booth. I mean he killed every scene, but that one surprised me the most because I didn't think he was good in the scene after he finds out FP was arrested for the murder. But he was just pitch perfect in the phone booth scene. And I really wanna know what's up with his mom. She seems super horrible. Like it's pretty bad when the best parent you have is an alcoholic gang member that covered up a teen's murder!

Lily Reinhart was also great in this ep. Betty's facial reaction to finding out she was a Blossom was so awesome and hilarious.

Edited May 6, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[maxineofarc]

5 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Lily Reinhart was also great in this ep. Betty's facial reaction to finding out she was a Blossom was so awesome and hilarious.

So was her facial reaction to Archie's suggestion they loop in their parents!

[peachmangosteen]

Just now, maxineofarc said:

So was her facial reaction to Archie's suggestion they loop in their parents!

I don't even remember that one! Excuse me while I go rewatch lol.

[Chicago Redshirt]

43 minutes ago, Affogato said:

The board thinks Cheryl is unsuitable as the heir to the business and Cliff hoped that Archie standing next to her, presumably the one making the decisions, would make things more palatable.

I wonder if this is just paternalistic or if Cheryl still has hidden veins of craziness to expose. 

I would say that much of what we've seen would suggest that Cheryl would not be someone a responsible board would want in charge of a business. Granted, she is only like 17, so trying to forecast whether someone would mature enough to be a good entrepreneur is largely a guessing game. But she's unpredictable, vindictive, emotional, self-centered, deceitful, immature, etc. etc. 

Also, it is sort of ridiculous that there would be talk of who would take over the business already, unless there was some illness that both Cliff and Penelope had. Most businesses would act as though there were years before having to worry about a potential successor.

[Last Time Lord]

45 minutes ago, maxineofarc said:

So was her facial reaction to Archie's suggestion they loop in their parents!

The Screen Junkies News recap/review on YouTube made special note of Betty's facial expression when she realized what the Coopers and Blossoms bring the same family actually meant for Polly and the babies. 

[jay741982]

49 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I don't even remember that one! Excuse me while I go rewatch lol.

Man I already deleted it or id go back to watch that reaction! I missed it 

[AzureOwl]

1 hour ago, Affogato said:

The board thinks Cheryl is unsuitable as the heir to the business and Cliff hoped that Archie standing next to her, presumably the one making the decisions, would make things more palatable.

I wonder if this is just paternalistic or if Cheryl still has hidden veins of craziness to expose. 

You're assuming the Blossoms' business has stockholders and a board. It seems more likely that the company is wholly owned by the family. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

The way the show has portrayed the Blossoms' business is strange.

They do have a board, which we saw a few episodes back when they converged on Riverdale for an annual celebration and meeting. 

In that episode, there was talk about the board somehow forcing the Blossoms out, which is in part why Clifford was trying to recruit Archie into making Cheryl seem like a suitable future for the company.

What doesn't make sense is ow there is enough stock outside Blossom family control to potentially be a threat to the Blossoms. Seemed like the show wanted to have it both ways that the Blossoms were majority shareholders and yet somehow needed to fend off challenges from the rest of the board.

Even assuming for argument's sake that it could be the case, why wouldn't the Blossoms just buy back enough stock to be straight majority owners again?

[Cirien]

15 hours ago, starri said:

I thought they'd kissed before.  In the episode with Juggie's birthday if not the one where they met.

Maybe they shot scenes out of sequence? I could be remembering the interview wrong though

[dippydee]

1 hour ago, Last Time Lord said:

The Screen Junkies News recap/review on YouTube made special note of Betty's facial expression when she realized what the Coopers and Blossoms bring the same family actually meant for Polly and the babies. 

I loved all the Cooper reactions to the "purely Blossom" babies, especially Polly's disturbed glance down at her stomach. 

I also look forward to all the future potential awkward bonding scenes with Betty/Cheryl that I really hope the writers are already writing for next season.

[MisterBluxom]

On 2017-05-05 at 1:29 PM, TheLastKidPicked said:

If the actors are not gay in real life, I'm not sure they could have pulled that off.

I'm a "behind the scenes" kind of guy, and think of things like that when I watch TV and movies.

I have been wrong so many times when I try to guess an actor's real sexuality after watching them perform in a role that is clearly gay or clearly not gay.

I finally had to decide that a good actor's performance just cannot be an indicator of their true sexuality. So many actors have turned in amazing performances that would convince most people of their true sexuality but then it turned out the actor did not have the same sexuality as the character they played.

At this moment, I can't seem to remember any specific examples. But I now there are many examples of an actor that people would swear they could tell their true sexuality. But the performance just fooled the audience. So many cases where actors can fool the audience.

There must be an important lesson that can be gleaned from the number of times actors have fooled the audience wrt their true sexuality.

Maybe the important lesson is that there is just no such thing as a reliable "gaydar". That must be just a myth.

On 2017-05-05 at 0:09 PM, tennisgurl said:

The true source of evil...MAPLE SYRUP! Or maybe drugs, but I'm focusing on MAPLE SYRUP!

Some people seem to think the truth had been revealed about the scene with the barrels of maple syrup.

But, I can't seem to find any truth there. Has there been any evidence that explains just what the problem was? What was it about those barrels that caused such a huge fight between the members of that Blossom family?  Was there drugs in the barrels? I never saw any evidence. But maybe I'm just not tuned in enough to realize the truth.

Is anyone here certain the truth was revealed? Or did the show simply give us a preview and tell us the truth had something to do with those barrels and that we can expect the truth to be revealed in the next episode?

I'm very confused about this.