*WARNING: THIS EPISODE REVIEW DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS.*
Something in Riverdale stinks, could it be the rotting corpse of Tallboy? Can it be the putrid stench of alcohol spilling our of Archie’s breath? Or it could just be Riverdale. Jughead’s observations of the chaos occurring in town was a great way to open up this episode. Although the new sheriff so happens to be Jughead’s dad, he still has to keep his nose clean which is pretty hard to do with so many unsolved murder mysteries happening like a curse.
Detective Jughead Jones
We all know that Hiram Lodge has made many enemies since being released from prison, so it wasn’t shocking that he was shot. Veronica’s worries drove her to ask Jughead to find out who shot her father, but Jughead found more than what he was sniffing for. I strongly believe that Jughead and Betty are the best people to go to when it comes to solving mysteries. This is what makes them my favorite duo, no shade to the fans who love Veronica and Archie. Jughead’s first suspect to interrogate was Hermoine who insisted that she had nothing to do with his attempted assassination, but later on in the episode, we found out that she did. Apparently, Hermoine found out about Hiram’s affair and decided to get revenge by paying off F.P to shoot him and had an affair of her own with former sheriff Manetta who was supposed to be dead. Well, Hermoine made sure he was dead by the end of the episode, but I don’t understand why.
Penelope The Red Dahlia
Betty’s visits with her father became more beneficial to her because her father offers another pair of lenses to look through when evaluating a mystery. Even though he was the black hood, I still think that he was incapable of causing all of those murders by himself. Now that murders are occurring while he is behind bars, I’m questioning who Betty’s father influenced. Betty suspected Penelope Blossom, which made a lot of sense because she calls herself an “herbist” and most of the murders were caused by poison, something that only she could specialize in. Apparently, Penelope also specializes in domination at a weird kink club called “The Maple Club, so she’s also nasty! Betty and cornered Penelope into a confession, but she couldn’t turn her in without covering her own rear for delivering chick to the black hood. I was shocked when she discovered that Penelope’s husband was actually dead before he “hung himself”. I always felt that Penelope was a fake person because of the way she grieved, how her mother acts when she isn’t around, and how she treats Cheryl.
Be Strong Veronica
Again the Lodge family, with the Hypocrisy. It really made me upset that Veronica pointed the finger at Archie when her father got shot when Hiram was coming for his head on several occasions. Why give sympathy to a man who tried to kill you. Veronica and Hermoine discovered Hiram’s secret drug trades and decided it was time to end this part of his life. When Veroinica and Hermoine said that they didn’t want any part of Hiram’s drug dealing life, I expected them to venture off into a “legal business, but instead, they continue to maintain his lifestyle while being hospitalized. Again………….The Hypocrisy!!! How do you want to have nothing to do with his lifestyle when you’re still trying to look strong? Shouldn’t you just address Hiram’s business affairs and call it a truce? Instead, Veronica used Reggie to pose as the man in black as if they are still running a fizzle rock operation? Why pose if you want no parts of it. I was also mad that Hermoine went ahead and sold Hiram’s stock of fizzle rocks after she said she wants no parts of it? If you sell drugs to one customer you’re still a drug dealer. What if the stock of drugs still stays in Riverdale after being sold. Young women would still have seizures. They are so stupid to me, I can’t stand them!
Angry Archie Andrews
Archie is having one hell of a year so far. It’s as if his future has been ripped from his arms, thanks to Hiram, but instead of facing it head on he grew angrier each day. Discouraged by the SAT’s, Archie began self-destruction. He even expressed his desire to reconsider college and go into business with his father, but that didn’t last long. Archie’s first day of work was his last because he couldn’t control his temper. He then begins to drown his sorrows by drinking. It killed me to watch him temporarily waste his potential. Luckily, Josie gave him a reality check before Archie wouldn’t be Archie anymore. She even inspired him to face his demons head on, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t mean finish off Hiram. Before he could shoot him, someone else entered his room to finish the job. Archie saved Hiram’s life ironically since he wanted to be the one to kill him. I guess you could say that Archie now knows how Karma works and he doesn’t have to be the one to deliver it. I was glad to see Archie and Hiram call a truce because it was sad watching a grown man be so threatened by a young high school student.
Rating: 3/5
I rated this episode a 3/5 because I wasn’t as satisfied with this episode as I was the previous one. This episode actually infuriated me because It’s titled the Red Dahlia, so I was expecting the episode to be mainly focused on what lead up to Penelope becoming the Red Dahlia. I loved the scenes of Betty and Jughead being amateur detectives, but the Lodge family irritates my soul. After watching Betty pull the facts out on Penelope, I was expecting Penelope to be behind the shooting of Hiram. Instead, it was Hermoine………again the hypocrisy! She’s the same one who is always spilling BS about the family sticking together and loyalty when she was the main one being disloyal. If I remember correctly, Hermoine was sleeping with F.P while Hiram was in prison. Yet, its a problem when Hiram has a mistress/side chick. I would like to see an episode focusing more on Penelope being a psychopath because I’m tired of the lodge family working my nerves. Hopefully, the rest of the season doesn’t make me pop a blood vessel, but we shall see.
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~Arganise
