Liam Hoofe reviews the fourth episode of Riverdale season 2…
Last week’s Riverdale ended with one of the show’s most ridiculous scenes to date – Archie Andrews and his topless, muscular group of men, ‘The Red Circle’, sending out a message to the town’s serial killer, The Black Hood. This week’s episode focused on the aftermath of that video, and that increasing tensions within the town itself.
Archie and his one-man mission to take down The Black Hood is the central focus of the episode and the only way the show could top last week’s ridiculous ending, was to make the situation even more ridiculous. At the start of the episode, Archie’s video has gone viral and has created further division among the town. While many, mostly the adults, criticise it for being ridiculous and putting the town in further danger, there are some who are supporting Archie, and who believe that attack is the best form of defence. This all takes a turn when Veronica, upon realising her father manipulated Archie into creating the video, chucks her full support being her boyfriend, causing the whole school to don Red Circle t-shirts as a sign of solidarity.
Archie’s first for vengeance also takes him to the Southside, where he believes he will be able to draw the Black Hood out for a one on one fight. This, through a series of events, leads to a big, over the top brawl, between the Serpents and the football team which takes place on the streets of Riverdale, in the rain. This scene was suitably ridiculous, but it does nicely tie into the ever-growing tensions between the north and the south side of the town. It will also no doubt play into the Jughead storyline as well. My chief concern, however, is Archie, and how the show is painting his character into a corner with his obsession with the Black Hood, while watching him slowly lose his mind is intriguing to a degree, it is already starting to feel a little repetitive and they risk making the character uninteresting.
One character who is being given something interesting now, though, is Betty. While she sat on the sidelines for the first few episodes, this episode she was brought front and centre when the killer sent her a message, informing her that it was her speech at the end of last season, that inspired him to commit his crimes. The episode also ended with The Black Hood phoning her directly. Theories will begin to spread like wildfire in the wake of this, so I’ll chuck mine out mid-review and go on the record as predicting that The Black Hood is Betty’s long-lost brother, Chic, who is set to make his debut on the show soon. Betty also has the issue of Jughead’s slow turn towards the Serpents to worry about and a battle for affections, with his schoolmate Toni, to worry about.
It does look as though a big theme for the season is going to be the ever-growing divide between the townsfolk themselves this season, with Betty’s mom doing her utmost to stir the pot, and the delightfully sinister Hiram Lodge telling his wife that he is just enjoying the chaos. The Southside Serpents are playing an increasingly bigger role in the show and this will definitely come to a head when FP makes his inevitable return to the show. One thing that is making me sad, though, is the lack of Cheryl in this season. She is the show’s most enjoyable character and it’s a shame that they haven’t found anything to do with her this season yet.
The Town that Dreaded Sundown’ was a suitably over-the-top follow-up to last week’s outrageous closing moments and it moved along the show’s storylines nicely. Like every episode, it never wasted a moment of screen time and set up plenty of intrigue for next week’s episode.
What did you think of The Town that Dreaded Sundown? Let us know in the comments below, and let Liam know on Twitter, here- @liamhoofe
