On the newest episode of Riverdale, battle lines are drawn between friends and family as candidates for mayor and the student body president are announced.
Previously on Riverdale, Betty sent away Chic’s DNA, which concludes he is not a Blossom. Also, Hiram’s plans for Riverdale to house a new private for-profit prison were revealed.
“Primary Colors” starts with Betty continuing her questioning of Chic. She rushes to tell Alice, but her mother surprises her by saying Chic is her son, but Hal is not his father. Alice refuses to reveal the father.
Meanwhile, Hal interviews Hermione about her mayoral run. She says the maximum security prison they want to build in Riverdale will increase the population and build a solid economy. She announces plans to use a quarter of the profits to fund education and expand Riverdale High. Hal asks Veronica if she is running for student body president, but she is unsure. Andy Cohen plays himself and endorses Hermione, citing her strength and intelligence. While Kevin takes pictures with Andy, Hermione warns her daughter that many in Riverdale are not going to take the news of the prison well.
Fred reads Hal’s article and Archie tells him the Lodge’s have thought of all the reasons a prison is a good idea for Riverdale. Fred disagrees and says it will tear the town apart. He is going to find a way to sever his construction business ties with the Lodges.
At Riverdale High, Betty tries to keep the peace as Jughead starts accusing Veronica of knowing her parents' plans. Jughead announces he will do a hunger strike to protest Southside High closing. Ethel comes over and addresses Veronica about her “crimes”, then throws a milkshake at her face.
Veronica cleans herself up in the bathroom while Betty tries to comfort her friend. Veronica understands Ethel’s anger given that Hiram is the reason her family lost so much. She decides to brush it off and stay away from Ethel. They run into Reggie in the hallway, putting up campaign posters for student body president. He insults Veronica and her family, saying her parents will be the first prisoners in the jail. Veronica loses her cool and punches him in the face.
That night, Cheryl wakes to see someone trying to turn her doorknob. At breakfast, Penelope says she is being ridiculous and talks to Claudius about the business. Nana tells them the factory is still hers to control and Cheryl watches, worried as Claudius pours Nana some tea.
Veronica’s breakfast is awkward as well as she agrees when her parents say to stay under the radar. At school, she tells her friends she wants to run against Reggie. Jughead accuses her of doing her parents will. She asks Betty to be her running mate and Betty agrees.
Toni does a dance to try out for cheerleading while the other Vixens watch. After, Cheryl addresses the team and says Toni is on the squad, asks her, Betty, Veronica, and Josie to stay. She invites them all to a slumber party at her house.
Fred talks to Hermione about their business dealings. She says she will talk to Hiram and they will have to discuss everything with their lawyers.
Hiram and Archie discuss Jughead’s protest. He asks Archie to pass on a notice of demolition for Southside High to Jughead. Archie agrees and gets together with Jughead at Pop’s. Jughead is angry and says a six-week notice to the neighborhood is mandatory. Archie does not understand why Jughead cares so much, and he replies the area is where he grew up when his family was still together. Archie tells him about Fred’s position. Jughead notes Archie is against both his father and best friend.
The slumber party is in full swing at Thistlehouse with the girls doing each other’s hair. Cheryl addresses them all, saying she is worried about her and Nana’s safety. Josie thinks Cheryl is just imagining it, but Betty understands, explaining her house no longer feels safe because of Chic.
Later while the others are asleep on the floor, Cheryl talks to Toni in bed. She confesses she only wanted to invite Toni, but knew Penelope would not allow them to be alone. The two move closer to kiss, but a crash interrupts. They all rush out of the room to find Nana unconscious at the bottom of the stairs. The paramedics take Nana away, saying she is lucky to be alive. Cheryl looks at her mother and uncle, and notes he is wearing her father’s clothes. She confides in Toni her fears that the two adults pushed Nana down the stairs and worries she is next.
The next day, Archie’s mom Mary arrives to help Fred deal with the legal issues surrounding his deal with the Lodge’s. Mary is surprised by how her son is acting. Archie meets her at Pop’s for lunch later and they discuss his friction with Fred and his relationship with Veronica.
At Riverdale High, Veronica passes out cupcakes and cheek kisses for her campaign. She sees Ethel and tells her that she wants to make things right between their families by having the Lodge’s give her dad a job. In another part of the school, Jughead shows the Serpents the demolition notice and tries to convince them the land is worth protecting.
Betty arrives home to find Kevin and Chic hanging out. Kevin told him everything and Chic asked him over. Betty makes Kevin leave and tells Chic to leave her friends alone. They then have an awkward talk about their “darkness.”
At cheerleading practice, Veronica asks Josie to endorse her campaign. Josie is reluctant given their history. Veronica says she can get Josie on Andy Cohen’s show and Josie agrees.
Mary and Fred meet with the Lodge’s to go over the legal documents. Hiram gets a call and then calls Archie and tells him to go talk to Jughead. Archie finds Jughead and some other Serpents chained to the Southside High building and they argue.
At the Cooper’s, Betty holds a lighter to Chic’s sleeping face. He wakes and she threatens him, telling him about all the “bad men” she has taken down. The next day she meets with Jughead at his protest and offers support.
At Riverdale High, Josie endorses Veronica and the two sing a song about girl power. During the performance, Ethel passes out a Mean Girls-like flyer of dirt on Veronica. The girls stop singing and Veronica confronts Ethel. Betty leaves after reading that Veronica knew about her parents business dealings. Veronica chases after Betty as Archie takes the flyers away from people. Ethel thanks Josie for giving her the intel and she replies that the Lodge’s hurt both their families. Veronica catches up to Betty, who drops out as her running mate. Betty no longer trusts Veronica because she knew her parents' plans.
Hermione asks Veronica about her campaign when she gets home. Weatherbee told her and she is upset Veronica ran when they told her to be careful. Veronica says she thought becoming president would mean she would have protection against the people that hate their family.
Meanwhile, Chic tells Alice that Betty threatened him and gives her Betty’s wig, saying she wears it when she has sex with Jughead. When Betty asks how he knew, he said he guessed. Alice is weirdly shocked when Betty says she is sexually active, given that she saw the cringeworthy striptease in the Serpent bar.
FP brings Jughead some burgers, despite the hunger strike. The other Serpents left to get warmed up, so the two sit, eat, and talk. Hiram offered FP a penthouse apartment in the SoDale housing project. FP says it could fit the whole family, but Jughead replies they would look out and see a prison where people used to go to school. FP says he hung up on Hiram anyway and got the burgers for the protesters.
The Andrews family have dinner together and Mary brings up wanting to say hi to Jughead while she is in town. Archie expresses his beliefs about Jughead’s protest and the other people in the town who are “afraid” of progress. Mary notices the dig at Fred and gives an impassioned speech about Fred. She tells her son he can choose whatever side he wants in this fight, but he needs to stop disrespecting his father.
Alice questions Betty and makes sure she is having safe sex. During the conversation, Betty wonders if FP is Chic’s father, and Alice says no. Alice tells her they need to take care of Chic because he has always been alone. Betty says he is dangerous and not to forget what he did, but Alice says, even so, he needs his family. Later Betty goes to Chic and suggests a truce. Chic refuses to believe her and she says if she wanted to hurt him, she could tell the police that he killed someone. He claims to have not touched the body and says since she and Alice moved it, none of his DNA would be there. He says he could call the police on her, then says she is the scary one.
Cheryl asks the doctor for updates on Nana’s condition. The doctor says she had a rare paralytic toxin called tannis root in her blood. Penelope claimed Nana chewed on the root in the greenhouse and it was probably due to her sundowner syndrome. Cheryl tries to tell the doctor her suspicions but Penelope arrives and drags her away. In the car, Cheryl confronts her mother. Penelope says Cheryl has lost her mind.
Hiram says Jughead’s protest is bad for the business. He asks Archie to take the wrestling team and remove the Serpents. Archie refuses and Hiram reminds him of the oath of loyalty he gave to the Lodges. Archie agrees, if Hiram, in turn, proves his loyalty by ending his contract with Fred.
The protest grew larger and people are standing around with signs and chanting while the police watch. Archie and the team arrive with bolt cutters. Archie and Jughead confront each other. People use their phones to record Archie and the others cutting the Serpents chains.
At the trailer park, Betty talks to Jughead about the protest. He asks her to join him in running for student body president. She agrees immediately and asks to stay with him because she needs to get away from Chic. He agrees and they kiss.
The next morning Archie learns Hiram kept his end of the deal and ended the contract with Fred. Mary says she is going to stay with them for a while and help Fred on his latest idea. Fred is going to run for mayor against Hermione.
Toni goes to Thistlehouse after not finding Cheryl at the hospital. Penelope claims Cheryl went to a boarding school in Switzerland and tells Toni not to return. In reality, Cheryl is being held against her will at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. A woman named Sister Woodhouse declares Cheryl will be cleansed and converted.
Riverdale had a few surprises this episode. I like that Mary is back and I hope she is able to get through to Archie about how ridiculous he is acting. I am confused by Chic saying he never touched the body unless Alice actually killed the man, but that seems unlikely. Conversion therapy, which appears to be what Cheryl is undergoing, is horrifying and unfortunately still legal in most states, so it is a topic that needs addressing. That said, Riverdale’s writing has been such a mess this season, I am not confident they will tackle it or the aftermath well. Cheryl feels like an updated gothic heroine who never gets closure for all the horrible things she has endured. I just want all the teens to get the therapy they so desperately need, but this is Riverdale so any therapist would probably be evil.
Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW. The preview for the next episode can be viewed below.
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