On this episode of Riverdale, titled “Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Hills Have Eyes,” Veronica, Archie, Betty and Jughead spend a weekend at the Lodge’s lake house and assorted revelations test their relationships. Meanwhile, Hiram continues his takeover of the town, Josie gets upsetting news from Sierra and Jughead gets a bad vibe from Chic.
Penelope Blossom is still the front runner for worst mother of the year in the town of Riverdale. She’s back to turning tricks since Cheryl got rid of Hal. Penelope saw Hal as her one shot at happiness, and she’s being even nastier to her daughter than usual. One of their usual verbal sparring matches takes a particularly ugly turn when Penelope calls her daughter a “jealous, spite-filled, starving, emotional anorexic.”
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Lodge Lodge
Now that Archie has proven his loyalty and is officially part of the Lodge family in every sense of the word, Hiram has really warmed up. He offers Veronica and Archie the family cabin for a romantic little getaway. Apparently, Hiram has zero problem with Archie screwing his daughter since he’s not a snitch. Hiram suggests that Veronica and Archie invite Jughead and Betty along. Since Hiram is always working some angle, this weekend could spell bad news for Jughead who is still investigating Hiram’s shady activities.
Hiram pulls Archie aside to let him know that while they are out of town, he and Hermione are going to be hosting a meeting with all of the New York families. There’s been some unrest since the death of Papa Poutine. Hiram wants his little girl safely out of town, and the vacation home at Shadow Lake has always served as a sort of safe house. Archie swears he’ll protect Veronica, but Hiram is sending his capo Andre along to keep an eye on things. Veronica makes it clear she doesn’t want a chaperone, so Andre’s presence will only be known to Archie, and Hiram wants to keep it that way.
Jughead and F.P. are still facing eviction from the trailer park since they refused to play ball with Hiram. Jughead knows Hiram is planning something bad, and he needs to approach the situation from a different angle to figure out what it is. If Hiram can’t outwit a teenage boy, he’s not much of a gangster.
Betty is eager to get out of town. She’s still on edge over being an accessory to murder, and Chic is becoming an increasingly creepy and invasive presence in the Cooper household. Betty is suspicious after Jughead readily agrees to the getaway. He claims it will give him time to work on his novel, but he admits to Betty he needs a new source of intel for his article on Hiram Lodge, and Veronica would be a great source since she’s on the inside of the family business.
Betty doesn’t want Jughead investigating her best friend, especially after Ronnie was nice enough to include them. She’s also on Chic overload and really needs to escape. Jughead promises to behave himself.
Cheryl overhears the foursome discussing their upcoming retreat and tries to invite herself along, but Veronica makes it clear this trip is couples only.
Jughead finally gets to meet Chic while he waits for Betty to finish packing for their trip. He is polite and trying to make small talk, but Chic is more interested in discussing what Jughead knows about the “Shady Man,” and what happened that fateful night at the Cooper’s. Jughead assures Chic he can be trusted, but that doesn’t stop Chic from threatening that something bad will happen to Betty and Alice if Jughead decides to talk.
Betty described the chalet as “rustic,” but it’s a gorgeous, sprawling mansion that Veronica affectionately calls “Lodge Lodge.”
Kiss and Tell
Jughead gets a call from Cheryl who decides to tell him about the kiss between Archie and Betty that she witnessed in front of her house. Jughead doesn’t waste any time confronting his best friend and his best girl.
The couples retreat to their respective bedrooms. Archie wonders if this will be the end of Bughead (again), but Veronica points out that the kiss didn’t break them up. She also thanks Archie for telling her the truth when he did, proving how strong they are together.
Things are less smooch-y between Betty and her beau. Jughead isn’t upset about the kiss. He’s more curious why Betty didn’t fess up when he told her about what went down between himself and Toni. He realizes Betty didn’t know how to approach the subject since there is a long history between the neighbors and long-time pals. It wasn’t so long ago that Betty was crazy about old Archiekins. Jughead admits Betty and Archie’s proximity both emotionally and physically used to bother him, but after everything he and Betty have been through, he’s not bothered by a Black Hood-prompted kiss (Sorry, Cheryl, you’re attempt to ruin the weekend is an epic fail.)
The foursome kick back with some cocktails, and Jughead asks Veronica if her parents spend much time at the cabin. She responds they would like to, but Hiram is a work-a-holic. This leads Jughead to inquire about the SoDale project, and he’s not the least bit subtle about the fact that he’s fishing. Still, Ronnie doesn’t catch on and reveals the project is heating up and bragging about what a great job Fred is doing keeping everything on schedule.
Betty changes the subject. She wants to know all about the exclusive enclave of Shadow Lake. The who’s who residing there don’t even have names or numbers on their mailboxes. Jughead continues to interrogate Veronica, which upsets Betty. Veronica thinks the two are dealing with residual tension from Cheryl’s bombshell. Ronnie has a solution — time to hop in the hot tub.
Ronnie decides that to put the whole Archie-Betty kiss to rest, she and Jughead should lock lips. Archie isn’t crazy about the idea, but Jughead is all for leveling the playing field. He’s also trying to get in good with Ronnie, so playing along puts him in the hostess’ good graces. Vughead kiss, and it’s passion-free. The hot tub is steamier. But the scene doesn’t sit well with Archie or Betty.
Later, Betty questions Jughead if kissing Veronica made him feel better, and he does admit he enjoyed the look on Archie’s face. Then Dark Betty makes an appearance, seductively suggesting that if Jughead enjoyed the kiss, she might have to punish him. You would think seeing Betty decked out in a black wig and lingerie might catch Jughead offguard, but he doesn’t even blink — he’s intrigued.
Toni and the Queen Bee
Toni overhears Cheryl and wants to know why Cheryl told Jughead about the kiss. Cheryl explains to Toni that she’s Cheryl Blossom, which means she doesn’t need to have a reason; she simply is. Toni isn’t intimidated by Cheryl and urges the Vixen from Hell to open up since she’s clearly in a lot of pain, but Cheryl isn’t interested in confiding in a Serpent, particularly about her mother being a whore and all.
What Happens When Things Go Boom?
The following morning at Lodge Lodge, Ronnie enjoys watching Archie, clad in a wife beater and jeans, chopping wood. He gets a text and disappears into the surrounding trees. Ronnie follows and catches Archie with Andre which forces Archie to disclose his conversation with Hiram. An irate Veronica sends Andre packing. She also wants some space from Archie and decides to head into town with her bestie, leaving the boys behind.
Archie apologizes to Jughead for kissing Betty, admitting he has no good excuse. Jughead’s okay with it. The whole situation is pretty complicated: Archie’s two best friends are dating, Bee and Vee are also best friends, so Archie’s best friend’s girlfriend is also his girlfriend’s best friend. Jughead is equal parts amazed and terrified that they’re all so close. It’s like the four of them are in a powder keg. All it would take it just one match, and they’d all blow up. (Foreshadowing.)
Betty and Ronnie hit the local general store and engage in some girl talk. The walls at the cabin are thin, and Ronnie wants to know all about Betty and Jughead’s sexual exploits. Betty reveals that she brought Dark Betty along. Ronnie also flirts with a local named Cassidy, causing Betty to urge her friend to dial down the sex appeal.
Veronica returns to the cabin willing to forgive and forget under one condition: There’s no room for Hiram in their relationship.
Jughead gets news from F.P. that Hiram purchased the trailer park and has told everyone they can stay. F.P. thinks Jughead shamed Hiram into it. The Serpents are in full-on celebration mode, but this confirms Jughead’s suspicions that Hiram is buying the entire Southside. Veronica and Archie don’t get Jughead’s outrage since Hiram has cleared all the tenants of their debt and are allowing them to stay. But Jughead thinks it’s just a way to buy his silence.
Archie thinks Hiram is responding to Jughead’s article, demanding the businessman make amends while Ronnie believes Jughead is behaving like a straight-up narcissist. Even Betty thinks Jughead is going overboard with the conspiracy theories.
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Josie Shows Her Claws
Josie’s dealing with her mother’s relationship with Sheriff Keller. She’s having a hard time seeing them together, especially since her father doesn’t know. But Sierra reveals that Josie’s father is no longer in the dark. They were going to wait until after Josie graduated, but they’ve decided to get a divorce. Josie is dumbfounded that her mother is that crazy about the Sheriff and wants to know if Keller is leaving his wife. Sierra says Kevin and his mother are still in the dark, so that means Josie has to keep her mouth shut.
The first thing Josie does is go and run to Kevin. He immediately confronts his dad, pissed that while his mom is overseas risking her life for her country, the Sheriff is banging his former boss.
Sierra learns what Josie did and accuses her daughter of being cruel. Kevin is upset, and the Sheriff has no choice but to tell his wife. Josie has no regrets. She wanted to give Kevin the chance to save his family. Josie accuses Sierra of imploding their lives, but Sierra insists it was the Lodges who forced things to come out. It wasn’t Sierra’s choice to blindside her daughter. And, now, Josie’s done the same thing to Kevin.
It’s movie night at the Bijou, and Josie apologizes to Kevin. She admits she was just hurting and mad at her mom. Kevin isn’t holding any grudges.
Cheryl’s alone, hoping a rom-com will pull her out of her funk. She runs into Toni who’s been stood up by fangs. A deflated Cheryl is more open to Toni’s attempts at friendship.
Things Go South at Shadow Lake
Jughead calms down, and it’s a night of boardgames and wine. Betty gets a call from her mom and learns Hiram just bought the Riverdale Register. Veronica and Archie find themselves at odds against Bughead. Betty questions if Veronica lured them to Shadow Lake so they’d be out of town while Hiram was negotiating all of these real estate purchases. Veronica denies knowing anything about her dad’s latest plans.
Betty accuses Veronica of stabbing her family in the back, Jughead accuses Archie of kissing up to Hiram, and Veronica’s fed up with Jughead’s vendetta against her father.
Their argument is interrupted by maked home invaders, yielding axes. They demand Ronnie’s purse, and when she takes them upstairs to get her wallet, she hits a panic button. She also knows that one of the men behind the masks is Cassidy, the guy from the general store. Ronnie’s also dumb enough to say so.
Cassidy orders the foursome down on their knees, and Archie flashes back to the shooting at Pop’s. But it looks like all Cassidy is interested in is trashing the place, taking the cash and leaving. The phone rings, and Veronica informs the locals that it’s the security company, calling in response to her tripping the silent alarm. She says they have 30 seconds to run before the armed guards show up. Cassidy calls Veronica a “rich bitch” and rips a locket from her neck and flees on foot.
Archie takes off after them and tackles Cassidy. Andre arrives and orders Archie to leave, promising he’ll take care of things. Archie heads back towards the cabin and hears a gunshot. (As far as vacations go, this one really sucks.)
After the movie, Josie and Kevin decide to sit down with Sierra and the Sheriff and try to start working things out.
Everything and Everyone Comes Out
Cheryl commisserates with Toni over milkshakes. Cheryl knows everyone thinks she’s a “loveless monster,” but insists it isn’t true. She reveals that she loved someone, and her mother destroyed it. The girl’s name was Heather and she was Cheryl’s best friend in junior high. Penelope caught them sleeping in the same bed and called Cheryl a deviant. Toni’s sympathetic and comfots Cheryl, telling her she’s not unlovable or a deviant, she’s sensational.
Archie, Ronnie, Betty and Jughead hash over the break in at Pop’s. Archie hasn’t told them about Andre or the shot in the dark. They think he never caught up with the robbers. The upside to this whole traumatic experience is that the four besties have put their differences aside.
Archie does confide in Hiram who wants to know if what happened between Andre and Cassidy upset him. Archie tells Hiram about the night he had the Black Hood, he hesitated, and that’s his only regret. Hiram advises Archie that when it comes to protecting himself or the ones he loves, he should never hesitate and hands Archie Ronnie’s necklace.
Jughead returns Betty home safely but warns her that there are different kinds of home invasions, and she should be wary of Chic.
Will Veronica stand by her father even if it means losing her friends and Archie? What does Hiram have planned for Riverdale? Will Toni and Cheryl become Riverdale High’s new power couple? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW. Want more news? Visit our Riverdale page on Facebook.
(Image courtesy of The CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Jennifer has worked as a freelance writer in the entertainment field since 2012. In addition to currently writing feature articles for Screen Rant, Jennifer has contributed content ranging from recaps to listicles to reviews for BuddyTV, PopMatters, TVRage, TVOvermind, and Tell-Tale TV. Links to some of Jennifer’s reviews can be found on Rotten Tomatoes.
