Riverdale went retro this week with a throwback night at Pop’s diner… but I’m a lot more worried about the town’s future, actually.
Pop’s is now a ghost town, thanks to Fred’s shooting; vandals have even spray-painted “DEATH DINER” on the walls. (Hey, Fred didn’t die! Fact-check your graffiti, people!) And Archie’s still on edge, chugging energy drinks and pressing Sheriff Keller about finding the masked gunman. He goes further off the rails when he learns of Miss Grundy’s death, and is convinced her killer is the same guy who popped Fred at Pop’s. He even asks Reggie to hook him up with some of that sweet “jingle-jangle” so he can stay vigilant.
The coroner declares Miss Grundy’s death a “crime of passion,” but Archie freaks out when he learns the murder weapon was the cello bow he gave her. To him, it’s a clear sign the killer is targeting him, and urges Sheriff Keller to look into Miss Grundy’s ex-husband. Even though Keller says the guy has an alibi, Archie won’t let his guard down. When he spots a masked figure lurking outside his house, he tackles the guy… but it’s just Reggie, pulling a prank. Reggie warns him he’ll need more than a baseball bat if he really wants to take down the gunman, though.
Betty and Jughead spruce up Pop’s for a ’50s-themed Retro Night, with guys in soda-jerk attire and girls delivering milkshakes on roller skates. But Archie can’t shake visions of Fred bleeding on the floor. So he meets Dilton in secret, with the school nerd handing him a backpack with a handgun in it. And Archie might have the right idea after all: Moose and Midge — two more of Reggie’s jingle-jangle customers — are enjoying a make-out session by Sweetwater River when the masked gunman approaches their car… and shoots them both dead.
* Thoughts on Josie and the Pussycats’ cover of Kelis’ “Milkshake”? I found it to be a sugary-sweet slice of pop perfection, myself.
* Kind of weird that Veronica hasn’t introduced Archie to her dad yet… even when they’re both sitting in the same diner together?
* Cool to see comics mainstay Midge make her Riverdale debut. Bummer that she died in her very first episode.
* Veronica’s kindly old doorman Smithers got replaced by a newer (hotter) model named Andre. Have to think he’ll figure into the drama somehow — maybe as a spy for Hiram?
Got thoughts on this week’s Riverdale? Grab a booth in the comments below.