'Riverdale' premiere recap: 'Chapter Fourteen: A Kiss Before Dying'

On the season two premiere of Riverdale, Jughead and Betty start investigating while the town deals with the aftermath of Fred’s shooting.

At the end of the season one finale of Riverdale, Archie’s father Fred was shot at Pop’s diner. Season two starts immediately after the finale, with Jughead once again narrating the show.

The show starts by showing the group going about their morning routine in Riverdale, then goes to a panicking Archie with his dad in passenger seat. Archie cannot drive, but manages to get Fred to the hospital and into surgery.

Suddenly, we are in Fred’s mind. He imagines Archie’s graduation, and taking pictures of him and his friends with Archie’s mother, Mary. The dream turns violent as the kids mention death and the gunman shows up.

Meanwhile, Betty is talking to her mom, Alice, over breakfast about the night before. She tells Alice she went to the trailer with Jughead, but they were interrupted by the South Side Serpents. Alice starts rambling about Jughead being like his dad. She is interrupted by Archie calling Betty.

Veronica’s morning involves a croissant, a mimosa and an annoyed mother. Hermione tells her the champagne was for her father, but Betty calls and Veronica ignores her mother and answers. Finally, Betty calls Jughead and he takes his dad’s motorcycle to the hospital.

The group arrives at the Riverdale hospital and envelopes Archie in a hug. Archie tells them about the shooting He questions if he made the right choice. Pop called an ambulance, but it did not arrive. Jughead assures him that was the right decision, and jokes that he needs a superhero name.

Hermione, Alice, and Betty’s dad Hal come over to the kids and let them know Fred is still in surgery. Hermione asks if Archie called his mom yet and Archie leaves to call. When he talks to her, he tells her the story and says she needs to come as soon as possible. Alice glares at Jughead and questions if the Serpents are responsible. Jughead notes she cannot blame his dad at least, since he is still in jail.

Riverdale's Sheriff arrives and asks Archie about the shooting. Archie gives a description and says the man wore a hood. Jughead questions the motive and if it could be someone who wanted to used robbery as a cover up because they wanted to hurt Fred.

Veronica is worried about Archie and unsure how to help. After finishing with Sheriff Keller, Jughead asks Archie what it is he did not want to tell. Archie suspects a Serpent is the hooded man, citing the men let go from the construction job. Jughead lets him know he will investigate.

The doctor tells Archie the bullet is out and the internal bleeding stopped. Fred is still not breathing on his own or awake. They tell him Fred will be moved into a room within a few hours. Veronica and Betty suggest Archie goes home and clean up, as he is still covered in his dad’s blood. The nurse hands Archie his dad’s possessions. Betty and Alice assure him they will keep watch while Veronica takes him home.

Once again, Fred is dreaming of the future. He sees Archie taking over his construction company. Fred continues to say “it doesn’t feel right,” and Archie mentions dead relatives who are waiting for Fred. Then, there are gunshots.

Archie’s dog Vegas rushes to greet Veronica and Archie when they enter the Andrews’ home. Archie decides he needs to walk Vegas right away. As they walk, Archie tells her about when he got Vegas. His dad told him the dog was his responsibility, but Fred is the one who really takes care of the Vegas. When they return to his house, Veronica and Archie shower together.

Back outside the hospital, Jughead asks a Serpent for help finding out what happened at Pop’s. The Serpent agrees to help. Inside the hospital, Archie's other friends come to show their support. Kevin and Betty talk about her relationship with Jughead. Kevin is concerned when she tells him the Serpents are interested in Jughead.

Betty and Kevin see Cheryl arrive and ask her what happened. She lies, telling them her house caught fire and her mother rushed inside to save her and is now suffering various injuries. Last season Cheryl set the house on fire.

Veronica takes Fred’s items out of the hospital bag. Archie is worried when he cannot find Fred’s wallet. He takes his frustration out on Veronica and tells her to leave. She starts to go, but knows Archie needs her and says she is staying. She hold him while he cries.

Keller calls and Archie goes down to the police station. Keller has a group of men ready for a lineup. One by one, Archie says no. Veronica goes to the hospital and tells the group what happened. She asks them to help her find Fred’s wallet. They talk about where it might be and Jughead lets Veronica in on his idea that the robbery was really a hit on Fred. Betty takes Jughead with her to go look for the wallet at Pop’s, while Veronica goes to talk to her mom.

Hermione is in the hospital chapel praying when Veronica arrives. Veronica mentions Jughead’s idea that someone put a hit out on Fred. She accuses her mom. Hermione tells Veronica her behavior needs to be fixed before her father comes to Riverdale.

Archie talks to his friends before the doctor arrives, saying he can go see his dad. Archie talks to his unconscious dad. Fred is having another dream, this time at Pop’s. Archie tells his dad he is going to marry Veronica and shows him the ring. Fred shows Pop, and Pop mentions death and points at Fred, who begins to bleed from his bullet wound.

At the real Pop’s, Jughead and Betty walk in and see the blood on the floor. Pop comes out and asks about Fred. They tell him and ask to look for his wallet. Pop tells them he dove behind the counter, so he saw very little of what happened. He also says he does not remember calling the cops, and says the gunman did not take anything. Pop says the man was not a robber, that he was darker. He offers them food, which Jughead accepts readily.

Betty talks to Jughead about the night before. She shares her concerns about the Serpents, though he denies thinking about joining. Jughead says he is going to stay in the trailer and not move in with the foster family. He says everything he is doing is a way to stay close to his dad.

Back at the hospital, Cheryl’s mom Penelope wakes up. Cheryl threatens her, telling her to stick to Cheryl's version of the story. If Penelope refuses to comply, Cheryl will tell the truth about what happened to her dad in the barn. Cheryl temporary cuts off Penelope’s oxygen with her fingers, accusing her of abuse and letting her know she is alive only because of Cheryl's mercy.

Veronica brings Archie a new wallet for Fred when he wakes up. Archie asks if he can talk to her about what happened and she agrees. Jughead and Betty walk in with Pop’s food for everyone to enjoy. The four find a quiet place to sit and they ask Archie to talk. Archie tells them he was frozen in shock and got down on his knees then the guy held the gun to his head. His eyes were shut until the bell on Pop’s door rung. Archie thinks the guy took his dad’s wallet then, and he is scared of the man returning. They all tell him it is not his fault, but he is shaken.

Later, Archie walks in to see Cheryl kissing his dad’s head. She says she wanted to repay Archie by giving Fred what Archive gave her: “the kiss of life.” She leaves and Archie tells Fred about his relationship with Veronica. While Archie is talking, his dad is dreaming about Archie and Veronica’s wedding. Everything is lovely, until Fred notices dead people in attendance. Then, the gunman walks down the aisle. Fred jumps in front of Archie and is shot. In real life, Fred wakes up.

Archie apologizes for freezing up and not protecting his dad. Fred in turn says he came back to protect his son. Outside the hospital, Betty tells Jughead she supports him, no matter what.

When Jughead goes back to the trailer, the Serpents he spoke to are there with a prisoner. They say he knew nothing but wanted Jughead to tell his dad they are taking care of him as a fellow Serpent.

Veronica comes home to see her father has arrived in Riverdale. He says what Hermione has told him about Veronica’s behavior does not sound like her, and Veronica says she has changed. She asks if he has as well. She then says she knows they will be happy to hear that Fred woke up.

Fred is released and Mary stays to help take care of Fred, while Archie guards the door at night with a bat.

In another town, we see the predatory Miss Grundy kissing another student. When he leaves and she goes back inside, the window is open and the hooded man kills her by cutting her throat.

Riverdale continues to be fun and dramatic. The dream sequences were weird, but Veronica’s dress was amazing. Like Betty, I am concerned about Jughead’s connections with the Serpents. I am glad they killed off Miss Grundy. She was a sexual predator who proved she would continue to prey on teenagers. Overall I think this was a great first episode to the new season.

Riverdale airs Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. on The CW. Check out the trailer for the next episode below.