Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
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Weird
Forget Game of Thrones, the only game you should be caring about is Gryphons & Gargoyles. As Riverdale wraps up an insanely complicated third season full of more twists and turns than the winding roads of King’s Landing, there are a lot of balls in the air when the CW show finishes this Wednesday.
Multiple killers, strange stick monsters, cults, relationships… Season 3 has it all. But can the episode titled “Chapter Fifty-Season: Survive The Night,” written by showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Michael Grassi, and directed by TV veteran Rachel Talalay pack everything into 60 minutes (making time, of course, for a few Biore strip commercials in the middle)?
We’ll certainly find out one way or another once the episode airs, but until then, here are the many, many questions you might want to keep in mind:
Is Jason Blossom Really Alive?
On last week’s “Chapter Fifty-Six: The Dark Secret of Harvest House,” Ethel Muggs revealed Riverdale’s biggest secret: Jason Blossom (Trevor Stines) is The Gargoyle King, the mysterious stick monster who has been terrorizing the town all season long. Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) even went as far as to dig up Jason’s grave in order to prove the teenager whose death kicked off the series was, in fact, dead. No dice though, because the coffin was empty.
So is Jason Blossom alive? We saw his body on the show, we saw footage of him dying… So how is it even possible? Zombies? A third Blossom twin (which some folks would call a triplet)? Camera trickery? And if he’s not alive, why did Ethel tell Jughead he was The Gargoyle King? What’s happening here?
Who Is The Gargoyle King?
This is actually a two part mystery, because there’s The Gargoyle King in the present (who may be Jason Blossom), and then there’s The ORIGINAL Gargoyle King from 1992, a.k.a. the time period first introduced in “The Midnight Club.” It seems even more impossible that Jason is both Gargoyle Kings unless we’re looping in time travel; so who, back in the day, was the original Big Bad who killed Principal Featherhead (Anthony Michael Hall)?
Who Is Edgar Evernever?
The other big mystery this season has been wrapped up in The Farm, the cult that’s consumed a good half of Riverdale. They’re led by Edgar Evernever (Chad Michael Murray), who we discovered last episode has been harvesting human organs. Very cool, very normal.
But who is Edgar Evernever, really? When Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) investigated him, she found no information at all. He revealed to her he had a life before The Farm, but not his real name or identity. Is he tied to a character we’ve met before? Is he a character we’ve met before? Other than the whole “marrying his daughter” and “harvesting organs” thing, there’s not a lot we really know about the guy.
Is The Farm Tied To The Gargoyle King?
Two insane mysteries that both involve seeming death cults and have religions that casually drop the word “ascension” and “ascend.” They both showed up in Riverdale around the same time (we’ll ignore for the moment that The Farm has been teased since Season 1, and The Gargoyle King has existed since at least 1992). So they have to be tied together… Right?
Who Is The Black Hook?
Just when you thought we were done with Season 2’s Black Hood mystery… They pull you right back in. Hal Cooper (Lochlyn Munro) seemingly died in a prison transport accident, only for the gang to find out his hand had been severed and he instead seemingly escaped. Then a Black Hood with a hook showed up (let’s call him The Black Hook), terrorized Betty and was aligned with The Gargoyle King. Is this Hal? Or is Hal tied up somewhere, handless, as someone else hangs out dressed as his serial killer alter ego? The promo for next week’s episode which shows Hal pulling off The Black Hood, er, hood, seems to indicate it’s him. But is there a twist coming?
Is Betty A Serial Killer? And Is She Going To Get Operated On?
Last week Edgar, as well as Betty’s mother Alice (Mädchen Amick) and sister Polly Cooper (Tiera Skovbye) revealed that Betty has the “serial killer gene” which is sort of a real thing but also kind of not. Regardless, does that explain why Betty has had lapses of memory about her childhood this season? Why doesn’t Hal, the actual serial killer in the family, have these genes?
Oh, and also, is she going to get operated on by Edgar? Last episode she was tied to an operating table as he prepared to do… Something. She promised that Jughead and FP Jones (Skeet Ulrich) would save her. But, uh, Betty… They’re on different sides of town. Are we about to see Betty Cooper get lobotomized?
How Are They Going To Redeem The Farmies?
Look, we wouldn’t put it by Riverdale to say “well that was weird” and move on when it comes to our main characters on The Farm, if the whole Farm mystery is wrapped up at the end of the season. But that’s a bit much, even for America’s favorite teen murder show. Isn’t it? Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) and Toni Topaz (Vanessa Morgan) have already broken free of their influence after finding out about that whole “organ harvesting” thing. But will the same happen for Kevin Keller (Casey Cott) and Fangs Fogarty (Drew Ray Tanner)?
And what about Alice, who is essentially co-leader of The Farm at this point? She’s sold all her belongings, and is even essentially married to Edgar. Is there a way of saving Alice, or is she too far down the rabbit hole?
Is Varchie Dead?
After Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) and Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) teamed up to take down Veronica’s dad Hiram (Mark Consuelos) — and successfully, I might add — Archie ran to Veronica’s house to profess his love for her. Only, he discovered she had gotten back together with her ex-boyfriend Reggie Mantle (Charles Melton), seemingly shutting Varchie down for good. So is that it? Or will one last stressful night in Riverdale bring the couple back together?
Is That Really It For Hiram?
Riverdale’s master manipulator has been behind nearly every scheme for the past three seasons. That is, until Archie and Veronica shut him down and sent him to jail, sans shirt. So is that it for Hiram’s schemes? Or has he been behind everything, once again?
Will Toni Save Cheryl?
After one of the most heartrending scenes in the history of Riverdale, Cheryl was left to fend for herself at The Farm as she gave her girlfriend Toni time to run to safety. With Toni headed back to Thornhill, and Cheryl stuck in the former home of the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, will Ms. Topaz rally the troops and come to Cheryl’s rescue? Or will the next thing Toni sees be Cheryl’s heart, literally on a platter?
Will Bughead Kiss?
Fans have lamented the lack of romantic moments between Betty and Jughead this season, noting that they seem more like coworkers than romantic partners. I’ll note that when you’re dealing with a stick monster and an organ harvesting cult, romance takes a bit of a backseat. But we have gotten super romantic moments between the two in the last two finales, so will Season 3 make the hat trick?
What's The Crazy Season Ending Twist?
The writers of the show have been teasing that something nuts happens at the end of the season. Does it have to do with a photo showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa posted of two characters standing under a dark tree? Is there a Sabrina crossover coming? Maybe the tree is a new surprise character? Will Lili Reinhart win an Emmy??? All we know is that if it’s crazy for Riverdale then… It’s extremely crazy.
Where's Sweet Pea?
Jordan Connor’s South Side Serpent, Sweet Pea, has been missing for the past few episodes. Not in the plot, just… Gone. Is he coming back? Will Sweet Pea save us all???
