Riverdale Season 3: Ep. 2 “Fortune and Men’s Eyes”

Archie opens episode 2 getting processed into the juvenile detention center. He meets with the warden who doesn’t make the friendliest impression. Archie’s bunk mate, Big Dog, seems different from most of the other guys in Juvie. He has things in his cell that no one else has. Meanwhile, Veronica and Fred Andrews are trying to keep things the same for Archie’s return.

Betty was taken to the hospital and kept for observation following a seizure at the end of the last episode. The doctor thinks it may have been caused by stress, but when Betty mentions seeing her sister and mother drop the babies into a bonfire, they convince her she hallucinated because they were just grilling on the fire with friends from the farm.

Jughead tells Betty about finding Dilton and Ben in the woods at the ritual site. Dilton is dead and Ben may never wake up. He remembers Dilton telling him about this game they were playing and someone called the Gargoyle King. He asks Betty for her help investigating.

Archie enters the yard for rec time. He shows the serpents his tattoo and they let him sit at their table. When he recognizes Joaquin, who was put in juvie after the riot last season, Joaquin tells Archie the serpents will only protect him if he stabs a Ghoulie in the yard, but Archie walks away after saying no. Later, he’s attacked by a gang of Ghoulies who steal his shoes and beat him up. When Veronica comes for a visit, he lies to her and says he’s sore from working out.

Betty and Jughead pay a visit to the coroner for information about Dilton’s death. The coroner tells Betty that the death feels vaguely familiar and shows them runic symbols that were carved into Dilton’s back. Dilton and Ben were initially poisoned with cyanide mixed with a blueberry drink, but Ben didn’t drink enough to kill him. Ben was sent to the hospital.

Later, Betty calls to check up on Ben, only to find out he’s been released from the ICU. After her call she’s approached by a girl named Evelyn who turns out to be the daughter of Edgar Evernever, the cult leader from the farm. Evelyn introduces herself, but Betty says she has a sick friend and has to leave.

Veronica tells Cheryl she’s no longer welcome at Pop’s. She’s clearly upset that Cheryl wants to take Archie’s presidency at Riverdale High. However, Cheryl tells Veronica about a group called the “Innocence Project” who may be able to get Archie out of Juvie. Veronica talks to her mother (who’s now mayor of Riverdale) and convinces her to write a letter of recommendation so she can start a chapter of the “Innocence Project” in Riverdale.

When Betty and Jughead go to see Ben in the hospital, they speak with Ben’s mother. She tells them Ben’s behavior has changed for the worse since he started hanging out with Dilton. Jughead finds a wooden doll hung on the hospital door. Ben’s mother tells him she thinks a girl left it and gives a vague description of someone who sounds like Ethel. They’re quickly interrupted by the police and find out that another member of Dilton’s Troup has gone missing.

Jughead and Betty find Ethel and confront her with the talisman. She says she made it to protect Ben who she started dating over the summer. She agrees to take them to a secret bunker in the woods, owned by Dilton. When Ethel doesn’t show, Betty and Jughead run into a large thing in the woods Dilton called the “Gargoyle King”. After finding the secret bunker, they also find the missing boy scout. He says Dilton told him to wait in the bunker until he returned and also divulges that not only is Ethel only dating Ben in the game but that she warned him they would be coming.

Veronica finds out Archie has arranged a football game between the Ghoulies, the Serpents and all of the other guys in Juvie. She decides to work with Cheryl and the Vixens to put on a pep rally to cheer them up and make things better for Archie. The Vixens show up at the jail and perform “Jailhouse Rock” for the boys, only separated by a fence.

When Veronica’s father shows up at the football game, she realizes the warden’s in his pocket. She keeps cheering during the game until her father gives the warden a signal and police in riot gear march onto the field and start beating up the boys. Archie is thrown back in his cell, but all of Mad Dog’s belongings are gone. The guard tells Archie he died in the riot, but Archie knows it’s a lie because Mad Dog wasn’t even there. The warden later visits and tells Archie he will be the new Mad Dog. Cheryl tells Veronica to get a fake ID so she can still go see Archie.

Betty and Jughead confront Ethel about her lies, but when she starts telling them the truth, she has a seizure. Betty looks up from Ethel’s body to see Evelyn Evernever watching.

 

The adults of Riverdale hold a secret meeting. Something happened to them all years ago and is happening again, but they swore an oath of secrecy. Veronica’s mother tells them all that if they don’t stop ‘it’, all of the children of Riverdale are in danger.

The episode ends with Ben sitting in the hospital window. Betty and Jughead try to talk him down, but he says they will ascend into the kingdom with Dilton and he isn’t afraid. He then falls from the window to the ground below.

What is this foul energy surrounding Riverdale? What will come next for the children and adults who have to deal with the possibility of a supernatural entity? Find out next on TGON!