Last week’s episode took a break from the overarching murder mystery but “To Riverdale And Back Again,” dives right back into the investigation.
The homecoming dance is finally here and all of the characters are stressed out from the unrelenting responsibilities they have. Also, Molly Ringwald finally makes her return as Archie’s mom! She doesn’t get to do much in this episode because her son and his new raven-haired friend have gotten themselves into a bit of trouble.
Veronica is still confused and curious after the discovery in the last episode that F.P. is the serpent who her father hired to destroy the drive-in land. She has become increasingly suspicious of her dad’s involvement in Jason Blossom’s death and decides to volunteer as Riverdale’s newest investigator.
After Hermione shuts down her daughter’s growing concerns, Veronica turns to the show’s other rule-bending mother, Alice Cooper, hoping to win an ally in her pursuit of the truth.
The two rope Riverdale’s main ginger hunk into the action by convincing Archie to search F.P.’s trailer to protect Jughead from another familial disappointment. Both of them awkwardly discuss their drunken hookup with Archie completely ready to jump in head first to a relationship while Veronica is more hesitant.
Honestly, after spending the first half of the season in a toxic illegal relationship with Ms. Grundy and another chunk dating Valerie, this ginger needs to take a beat before landing another girlfriend.
Despite the rejection, he agrees to team up with for the sake of Jughead and the two formulate a plan to break into the trailer. A timely dinner distraction provided by Alice allows the two amateur sleuths some time to snoop around, only to uncover that there is no evidence that links F.P. to the murder.
Of course, at dinner, Betty is immediately angered that her mother plans to use the family meal in order to interrogate Jughead. She invites her father, Hal, as a distraction and attempts to keep everyone cordial because of how excited Jughead was to finally have their parents meet each other.
In fact, he spends much of “To Riverdale And Back Again,” ecstatic because his father has taken a genuine interest in his hobbies and finally seems to have pulled his act together. Before the homecoming dance, he even reveals that he has gotten a job in Toledo, and plans to reunite their entire family there.
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As excited as Jughead is to finally get his mother and sister back, he takes one lingering look at Betty which makes it clear that he has a real reason to stay in town despite labeling himself a loner.
He casually mentions to her that after the dance the two should talk and then like the supportive boyfriend he is, allows Betty the space to make sure everything runs smoothly. However, she gets distracted when she notices her two best friends reporting their lack of findings to Alice and she realizes that the three have been going behind her back.
After a heated exchange in the hallway, where Betty feels betrayed that her two best friends would investigate F.P. when she specifically told them not to, Jughead walks in. Poor Juggie, he spent the entire episode finally feeling happiness only to get it ripped away with the realization that his friends have gone behind his back.
It isn’t said enough, but Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse completely steal every scene in “To Riverdale And Back Again” (or any episode). The heartbreak in Betty’s eyes when he admits that he was planning to stay in Riverdale for her is gut wrenching as well as Jughead’s break down at his father’s place.
After running away when he’s told that his father has been arrested, no one has heard or seen Jughead. Betty tells her mother that she not only loves him but that he’s more her family than her.
Alice realizes that she isn’t going to be able to stand in the way of this daughter and her love, so she allows her to go out searching for her beanie-wearing boyfriend. Unluckily, she still can’t find him but does run into Archie and Veronica who are also looking for Jughead.
Why? Well, they are the only ones who know that the gun that was recovered in the trailer wasn’t there before the dance. F.P. has been framed, but by who? Sadly fans will have to wait until next week for the long awaited murderer reveal.
Cheryl also has a minor storyline in “To Riverdale And Back Again,” that involves her discovering the Blossom engagement ring in her parents’ room with Polly. Sadly the older Cooper sibling asks too many questions and ends up in a drug-induced sleep by the episode’s end.
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Does that mean the Blossoms did have something to do with their son’s death? Well, Clifford does wear a red wig and it seems like his hair color may not be the only thing he’s been lying about. Tune in next week to finally get the answers that Riverdale has been teasing all season.