Riverdale 2x8

1. Previously

2. on Riverdale...

3. This is the Black Hood.

4. I want to cleanse

5. Riverdale of sinners.

6. No.

7. Mr. Svenson...

8. you scared me.

9. I mean, really? Mom?

10. You talked trash

11. about the Serpents

12. when you yourself were one?

13. FP had a little accident.

14. What can we do?

15. Just pick up

16. a crate on the Southside,

17. deliver it

18. to an address in Greendale.

19. You do not want to be

20. in bed with a snake charmer.

21. And if Penny Peabody

22. reaches out,

23. don't respond.

24. No. You said that this was

25. going to be a one and done.

26. And I am just

27. getting started with you.

28. You think the Riverdale Reaper

29. is the Black Hood?

30. I wouldn't be surprised

31. if it was the same man.

32. There was a family

33. living out near Fox Forest.

34. Someone broke in

35. and shot 'em all dead.

36. Some say

37. he never left Riverdale.

38. Like the Red Death

39. showing up in

40. an Edgar Allan Poe story,

41. the Black Hood

42. had come to Riverdale.

43. With that grimmest

44. of reapers looming over us,

45. how did we cope?

46. In the case

47. of Archie and Veronica,

48. it was through

49. carnal defiance.

50. Ugh! Get a room,

51. Xenomorphs!

52. With every kiss

53. and embrace,

54. they seemed to be saying:

55. "You have no power

56. over me, Death."

57. In fact, "Varchie"

58. became the opposite of death.

59. In Archie's bedroom...

60. In his garage...

61. Even in the Pembrooke.

62. After all, if our young lovers

63. dared to defy the Black Hood,

64. why not risk Hiram Lodge's

65. wrath as well?

66. Are you sure

67. your parents aren't gonna

68. come back any time soon?

69. What if

70. they catch us like this?

71. The tasting menu at Pourquoi

72. is 13 courses, Archie.

73. We have hours yet.

74. What?

75. You've always wanted

76. to make it in front of

77. a roaring fire?

78. No, just... I love you, Ronnie.

79. - You, uh, wanna watch Netflix?

80. - I wonder what's on HBO.

81. Maybe I should go

82. on the off chance

83. your parents come back.

84. Yeah, or at a minimum,

85. we should get dressed.

86. I'm gonna go...

87. I have to do this thing.

88. I'll text you.

89. Archie...

90. this was as always,

91. amazing.

92. Sorry, there's no service

93. in the bowels of City Hall.

94. What'd you find?

95. Any truth to what that

96. creepy truck driver said

97. about that murdered family?

98. Yes, shockingly, Freddy Krueger

99. didn't lie to me.

100. A family of four was murdered

101. by someone that the press

102. called "the Riverdale Reaper."

103. The victims were Jim

104. and Mary Ellen Conway

105. and their kids.

106. Tommy was ten,

107. and Sue was nine.

108. Reaper was never caught

109. or identified,

110. so he could be our Black Hood,

111. but I'm dubious.

112. He would be in his 60's by now.

113. Why did he do it... Kill them?

114. The reporter of the article

115. talked to a sheriff at the time

116. who thought...

117. Killer chose them at random

118. - or because their house

119. was isolated.

120. - Where was it?

121. Edge of Fox Forest,

122. down some service road.

123. There's a picture of it.

124. Oh, my God.

125. Jughead, I've been

126. to this house.

127. The Black Hood sent me

128. to it, as part of his game.

129. Well, then there's definitely

130. a link between the Hood

131. and the Reaper.

132. We should talk to Keller.

133. Pull the files

134. from the murders.

135. At least get a list

136. of all the players.

137. No, Jughead,

138. I can't go to Sheriff Keller.

139. Not after I accused him

140. of being the Black Hood.

141. Right, yeah,

142. that would be awkward.

143. You could go to the house.

144. I can't go back there, Jug.

145. He made me look in a mirror,

146. you know, what I saw

147. staring back at me...

148. I don't want

149. to do that again.

150. Then you don't have to, okay?

151. Hello?

152. Yeah, I'll accept the charges.

153. So the reason

154. we called you guys in here...

155. My dad's getting out of jail.

156. Jug, that's... That's great.

157. Yeah, what heralded

158. this miracle?

159. Uh, overcrowding at the jail,

160. I guess the judge

161. reviewed my dad's case

162. and after Cheryl's testimony

163. it was...

164. A perfect storm.

165. What do you need

166. from us, Jug?

167. Both of us. We have a new lead

168. on the Black Hood case.

169. And Jughead and I,

170. we were wondering

171. if you guys would

172. follow up on it for us.

173. We can give you all of

174. the details, the articles.

175. It's just that

176. I have to be there for my dad

177. to help with his re-entry, so.

178. Uh, yeah

179. and I'm just...

180. I'm taking a break

181. from the Black Hood.

182. Wait, so,

183. you want us to be

184. you guys?

185. Essentially, yes.

186. Why, is there a problem

187. with that?

188. Oh, my God, Josie,

189. your back,

190. it's like a sailor's rope!

191. - What?

192. - All these tension knots.

193. Luckily, I just picked up

194. a new bottle

195. of lavender essential oil.

196. Turn around.

197. Uh, okay.

198. Girls, I'm so sorry, I didn't

199. know anyone was still in here

200. No, It's okay, Mr. Svenson,

201. Oh, my God, Josie.

202. It's so not okay.

203. Take your male gaze

204. and your male privilege

205. and get out

206. of the women's locker room!

207. Of course, my apologies.

208. I should've knocked.

209. Can you believe that?

210. He should be fired

211. and investigated,

212. the peeping Tom.

213. - Sheriff Keller.

214. - Veronica.

215. What was he doing here?

216. The shadow of the Black Hood

217. has finally landed on our home.

218. We received a letter.

219. What? What did it say?

220. The usual.

221. That we'll be targeted and

222. punished for our sinful ways.

223. Well, don't let it

224. ruin your day.

225. According to Keller,

226. apparently dozens of households

227. received the exact same letter.

228. Well, I don't know

229. about those other people,

230. but we're actually sinners.

231. The Pembrooke is a fortress

232. and Andre is trained

233. in the martial arts.

234. What about

235. when I go to school?

236. - Or shopping?

237. - He'll drive you,

238. and if he's not available,

239. we'll hire a car service.

240. Also,

241. your father and I have talked

242. and we wouldn't

243. mind seeing more of Archie.

244. He's brawny and devoted to you.

245. Wait, uh, Mom,

246. before you leave,

247. I wanted to ask

248. if I could borrow

249. the station wagon tomorrow?

250. Why?

251. FP's getting released

252. from jail.

253. So, Jughead and I,

254. we're gonna pick him up

255. and treat him to Pop's.

256. They're letting FP out?

257. And you're gonna

258. hear it eventually,

259. so, it might as well

260. be from me.

261. Don't freak out,

262. Jughead is a Serpent now,

263. officially.

264. Betty...

265. I wish I could say

266. I was surprised.

267. Jughead is important to me.

268. FP is important to Jughead.

269. So I'm asking, Mom,

270. will you try to give him

271. the benefit of the doubt,

272. for me?

273. I have

274. an announcement to make.

275. My dad's getting out.

276. And when he does,

277. I'll bring him up to speed

278. about our plans

279. with Mayor McCoy.

280. That's brilliant.

281. Do you have a problem

282. with that, Tall Boy?

283. Your old man? No.

284. I got no problem with him.

285. But you want us

286. to sit down with the Mayor.

287. I do. He's right.

288. I think we can bring

289. the Southside back.

290. But it's going to take work

291. and it's going to

292. take compromise.

293. Bring the Southside back.

294. You've been here

295. all of five minutes.

296. Tall Boy, I am sick of you

297. acting like a little bitch.

298. Whispering behind my back

299. that I'm half a Serpent

300. or that I don't belong here.

301. Why don't we put it to a vote?

302. If you guys think

303. what I'm doing is wrong,

304. I'll step aside.

305. All those

306. who stand with Jughead

307. and think that Tall Boy

308. should shut the hell up...

309. - My parents

310. are in their room.

311. - Good.

312. That thing Betty and

313. Jughead asked us to do,

314. investigate the murder house,

315. - I wanna do it.

316. - Yeah, me too.

317. My parents

318. got a threatening letter.

319. - What? From the Black Hood?

320. - Maybe,

321. or maybe it's was somebody

322. pretending to be

323. the Black Hood.

324. - Ronnie...

325. Are we good?

326. Don't stop, Archie.

327. I don't want to.

328. Can we talk about

329. what I said?

330. Archie,

331. I wanna be with you,

332. and you want to be with me.

333. Can't that be enough

334. for right now?

335. While we focus on the case?

336. What's wrong, Archie?

337. Something you wanna

338. get off your chest?

339. Yeah, actually.

340. Me and Ronnie are in

341. kind of a weird place.

342. Things have been

343. pretty intense lately

344. Something weird happened

345. with Archie.

346. Well, to be honest,

347. I'm not sure if it even

348. really happened, but...

349. He may or may not have

350. said the "L" word to me.

351. I said "I love you"

352. to her, Dad.

353. - And she didn't say it back.

354. And yes, she heard me.

355. Which, if he did,

356. I think it's...

357. Too soon,

358. don't you guys agree?

359. I wouldn't get too

360. in your head about that, son.

361. I mean, those three words,

362. people are often on

363. different schedules.

364. It doesn't matter

365. what Archie said.

366. Or didn't say,

367. that's my preference.

368. It's about whether or not

369. you're ready to hear it.

370. - Hey, Betty.

371. - Hi, Mr. Jones.

372. Alice!

373. Is it true

374. what they say about men

375. who have just been released

376. from prison, FP?

377. What do they say?

378. That they're incredibly

379. sexually frustrated.

380. - Mom! What?

381. Seat belts, guys.

382. The Black Hood

383. is targeting sinners,

384. so, I'd watch my back

385. if I were you, FP,

386. especially once you re-join

387. that gang of hoodlums.

388. The Serpents aren't—

389. I'm not going back

390. to the Serpents, Alice.

391. I thought a lot about this

392. while I was in Shankshaw,

393. and I'm done

394. with Serpent life.

395. It's gonna be

396. one last ride for my boy and I.

397. But it's too much

398. of a slippery slope for me.

399. - The Serpents need you, Dad.

400. - Jughead needs you, Mr. Jones.

401. And what, pray tell,

402. will you be doing

403. with all of

404. your extra time, FP?

405. Working, Warden Cooper.

406. Saw a "Help Wanted"

407. sign in the window.

408. Thought I'd talk to Pop

409. about picking up some shifts.

410. Let's hope your plans

411. don't come crashing down

412. once you start drinking again.

413. Actually, I'm in AA.

414. Started in jail and

415. I don't plan on stopping.

416. - Sheriff.

417. - We wanted to talk to you

418. about a cold case.

419. About a family

420. that was murdered in Fox Forest

421. 40 years ago.

422. Your receptionist said

423. that the files on the case

424. were missing.

425. Is it possible

426. they were stolen?

427. As part of a cover-up?

428. Now, now, hold on.

429. Sometimes with cold cases,

430. the lead officer

431. will take the files home,

432. so he can

433. keep working on them.

434. Who would have been

435. the lead officer on this case?

436. Back then? Multiple homicide?

437. My guess would be

438. Sheriff Howard.

439. Do you know where he is?

440. Sheriff Howard died

441. two years ago, now.

442. But his daughter, still lives

443. in town here, Margaret.

444. Get her contact information.

445. Maybe she can help.

446. My name is Veronica Lodge.

447. I'm calling about

448. one of your father's cases,

449. the Conway murders?

450. Here we go again.

451. What about 'em?

452. My colleague and I

453. are writing a retrospective

454. on the murders,

455. and we were wondering if—

456. My dad was obsessed

457. with the killings.

458. He called the house where they

459. happened the Devil's house.

460. He'd go to that place

461. day and night for hours,

462. trying to

463. put the pieces together.

464. If you ask me, my father

465. lost his mind in that house.

466. Now, I am done

467. talking about this, okay?

468. Don't call me again.

469. - Ronnie...

470. - Don't say it, Archie.

471. We have to go to that house.

472. The Devil's house.

473. What if he's home?

474. Things got ugly

475. when you were away.

476. I asked myself every day

477. what you would do,

478. if you were here.

479. Has Penny bothered you?

480. Figured she's the one

481. who greased my wheels.

482. I did a job for her.

483. What kind of job?

484. It's a one-time thing.

485. Figured it best

486. not to ask too many questions.

487. We're squared away. For good.

488. You know, when I was 16,

489. my old man kicked me out

490. and told me to go to hell.

491. Instead, I joined the Serpents.

492. And then the army,

493. and then back again.

494. I don't want

495. that life for you, Jug.

496. I want you to go to college,

497. get out of this

498. godforsaken town.

499. I ran the gauntlet.

500. I fought with the Serpents.

501. And for them,

502. I have to stay.

503. I wanna stay.

504. And I need your blessing.

505. Just promise me

506. you'll keep writing.

507. I will.

508. I do every day.

509. Y'all finished?

510. Yeah, thanks, Dad.

511. - Thank you.

512. - Thank you.

513. - Josie.

514. - Yeah.

515. Playing a car

516. dealership opening

517. is barely a step

518. above amateur porn.

519. Reggie's texting me

520. that his dad

521. is gonna pay me $5,000

522. for five songs.

523. As long as he gets

524. to escort me.

525. Clean that up, Plebe.

526. The way you did

527. my brother's blood.

528. Jug, don't.

529. We'll get you

530. another milkshake right away.

531. On the house.

532. My dad used to be a king.

533. A leader of men.

534. Now he's being demeaned by

535. the likes of Cheryl Blossom.

536. He deserves to be honored,

537. not humiliated.

538. - So, why don't we do just that?

539. Seriously, why not

540. throw your dad

541. a retirement party

542. fit for a king?

543. Don't worry,

544. I'll take care of everything.

545. You have a stage.

546. Would you be open to me

547. bringing in a karaoke machine?

548. For FP's retirement?

549. Sure, why not.

550. Also, Toni, one of the reasons

551. I wanted to talk to you,

552. beyond the

553. party-planning, is...

554. I've been walking

555. the razor's edge

556. since Jughead

557. joined the Serpents

558. and all I've been

559. thinking is...

560. You know,

561. as soon as FP gets home,

562. everything will get better

563. because he'll be there

564. to protect Jughead

565. and make sure

566. he doesn't get hurt.

567. Yeah, I'm following you.

568. I mean, with FP

569. out of the picture...

570. But that's my whole point.

571. I do worry.

572. So, I wanna keep

573. an eye on Jughead,

574. myself.

575. Make sure that as deep

576. into these snake-infested

577. waters as he goes,

578. he doesn't do something that...

579. you know, puts him in danger.

580. So, what?

581. You wanna be a Serpent?

582. Let's say Serpent-adjacent.

583. But, yeah,

584. part of his world, this world.

585. Shut it, Byrdie.

586. Sorry, Sweet Valley High,

587. if you wanna join the club,

588. you gotta do the dance...

589. Serpent dance.

590. Excuse me, Serpent dance?

591. It's an outdated,

592. sexist Serpent tradition.

593. Tried to get it outlawed,

594. but misogyny dies hard.

595. You don't wanna know.

596. Uh, yeah, I do.

597. I wanna know everything.

598. A party?

599. No, no, no, no.

600. The problem is,

601. I'm trying to keep the Serpents

602. in my rear view mirror,

603. remember?

604. It's one night. Not even,

605. it's like three hours.

606. You've done right

607. by the Serpents,

608. more than right.

609. Let them do right by you.

610. Come on,

611. it's the end of an era.

612. Okay.

613. - Okay, let's do it.

614. - Great.

615. It's Archie.

616. Don't bogart the egg rolls.

617. What the hell

618. do you want, Penny?

619. We have business.

620. How fast can you

621. get to Pop's?

622. No. No, I told you

623. that I'm out.

624. That I'm done.

625. Don't keep me

626. waiting long, little doggie,

627. or I'll have your father

628. back behind bars

629. before I finish

630. my cup of burnt coffee.

631. I won't be held

632. hostage by you.

633. I did my one favor,

634. I'm out.

635. No, no,

636. you have debts to pay.

637. And ours is

638. an ongoing arrangement.

639. You know what, Penny?

640. I'm about to have

641. a sit-down with Mayor McCoy.

642. She's not really so big on

643. the whole drug dealing thing

644. and I'm sure that

645. she would love to know

646. who took over

647. Clifford Blossom's operation.

648. You'd need proof to make

649. an accusation like that stick.

650. Like the video I have

651. of you and your pal

652. making that delivery for me.

653. What do you think of that?

654. I think that an attack

655. against me, or my father,

656. is an attack against

657. all of the Serpents.

658. And not even some

659. fuzzy surveillance footage

660. of me delivering a crate

661. is going to stop us

662. from coming for you.

663. Your girlfriend...

664. Betty Cooper, I believe?

665. She's quite fetching.

666. What did you say?

667. All snakes

668. have a soft underbelly.

669. She's yours, am I right?

670. Now I'm regretting throwing

671. your gun in Sweetwater River.

672. If Sheriff Howard kept coming

673. back here year after year,

674. there must be a reason why.

675. Something that didn't,

676. or doesn't add up.

677. So, what does

678. the article say happened?

679. The Reaper

680. came at night,

681. when the rest of the town

682. was getting ready for bed.

683. He killed the mother,

684. Mary Ellen Conway, first.

685. Maybe over there.

686. He killed the father,

687. Jim Conway, in the kitchen.

688. He was rushing

689. to save his wife.

690. He was shot

691. point-blank in the chest.

692. The kids were still

693. in their bedrooms.

694. Hiding.

695. My God, Archie.

696. They were

697. hiding under the bed.

698. Archie? It was a family

699. of four that was killed, right?

700. Yeah, why?

701. There's something

702. weird here...

703. Three sets of initials.

704. These are Sheriff Howard's

705. files, his notes.

706. He kept them here

707. so he could keep

708. working on the case.

709. Does it say anything

710. about a third child?

711. With the letters

712. "J" and "C"?

713. Wait, wait, turn it back.

714. Oh, my God, Archie, there.

715. The Conways

716. were a family of five.

717. Why so sad?

718. It's great news

719. about your dad.

720. I guess that means

721. the Snake Charmer came through.

722. What? She hasn't called you

723. for any more favors again,

724. has she?

725. That deal was a favor.

726. A one favor. Technically,

727. I don't owe her anything.

728. Oh, Jones.

729. Let's hope you're right.

730. It's no problem,

731. we can pick the trays up.

732. Thanks, Pop.

733. Sorry for the short notice.

734. - Bye.

735. Trays for what?

736. Juggie is throwing

737. a retirement party

738. for FP at the Whyte Wyrm.

739. And I'm helping him organize.

740. Before you object, Mom,

741. need I remind you,

742. you were a Serpent?

743. Betty won't listen to reason,

744. so I'm telling you, FP,

745. if she even thinks about

746. putting on a Serpent jacket,

747. - I'll have your head.

748. - I'm working.

749. I won't have our kids make

750. the same mistakes we did.

751. They weren't all mistakes.

752. If you're that worried,

753. come to the party.

754. Chaperone her.

755. Are you high on fumes?

756. I can't.

757. Yes, you can. Stop by.

758. - Say hi to some old friends.

759. - Hal would never come.

760. - Well, then leave him.

761. At home.

762. So, the real story

763. was in the Sheriff's notebook.

764. There was a third child,

765. Joseph Conway,

766. who survived the massacre.

767. They hid his identity,

768. changed his name,

769. so he could lead

770. a normal life.

771. - Yeah.

772. - According to

773. Sheriff Howard's notes,

774. he was adopted by

775. another family in Riverdale

776. and presumably, enrolled

777. at a local high school.

778. We got a picture

779. of the kid.

780. If we match that boy

781. to one of the students

782. at Riverdale High

783. during the years

784. he would've attended...

785. Then he might

786. be able to tell us

787. how the Conway murders are

788. connected to the Black Hood.

789. Or he is the Black Hood.

790. Just go with me here.

791. Let's say

792. that our mystery kid

793. did end up

794. surviving the slaughter,

795. maybe even saw it.

796. That would've messed

797. him up for life.

798. Yeah, and somehow,

799. for some reason,

800. he could be blaming

801. the town for what happened.

802. And now is punishing us for it.

803. So, basically, we just

804. have to go through

805. all these yearbooks,

806. page by page,

807. and see if we find a match.

808. So, not quite

809. a needle in a haystack.

810. What?

811. Uh, we just have to get ready

812. for a party that we're hosting.

813. It's my dad's

814. retirement party, so...

815. No, you guys should come.

816. - Yeah, no, I'm renting

817. a karaoke machine.

818. It's not a big deal.

819. - You should come.

820. You guys should come.

821. - If you want.

822. Ronnie, can we take

823. a break and talk about—

824. Oh, my God.

825. Is that him?

826. Could be, yeah.

827. Mr. Svenson!

828. Yes.

829. We know who you are...

830. Joseph Conway.

831. Why did you run, Mr. Svenson?

832. I got scared.

833. No one's called me

834. Joe Conway in decades.

835. We read about your family.

836. We know you're

837. the only one that survived.

838. If you've been tempted

839. to find justice—

840. I found justice.

841. What do you mean?

842. The night it happened,

843. I heard gunshots

844. and I escaped

845. out of my bedroom window.

846. I could've run

847. into the woods, but I didn't.

848. I wanted to see him

849. leave my house.

850. I saw him covered

851. in my family's blood.

852. I saw his face.

853. You know

854. who killed your family?

855. A con man,

856. a preacher

857. passing through town.

858. Next day, a group of men

859. took me to the motel

860. where he was staying.

861. I pointed him out,

862. they took him away,

863. and they killed him.

864. I'm not sure how.

865. What happened

866. to the men who did that?

867. Nothing.

868. Justice had been served.

869. It was never reported,

870. never investigated.

871. The town demanded

872. blood for blood.

873. You're sounding an awful lot

874. like the Black Hood right now.

875. Where were you the morning

876. Fred Andrews was shot?

877. Ronnie—

878. And the night

879. Ms. Grundy was killed?

880. - And Moose and Midge,

881. - Ronnie. Ronnie!

882. - and the Sugarman.

883. - That's enough!

884. I've looked

885. into the Black Hood's eyes.

886. We were wrong.

887. It's not him.

888. Andre's got the car

889. waiting for you,

890. but I wanted to ask,

891. how things are

892. with you and Archie?

893. We've been working

894. on this side project,

895. and I'm realizing that

896. one of the reasons

897. I threw myself into it

898. was to avoid talking

899. about the love

900. that dares not speak its name.

901. Why can't I say it, Mom?

902. And why does it

903. have to be such a big deal?

904. I mean,

905. you and Daddy never say it.

906. I mean, I don't think

907. I've ever heard you say it...

908. Once.

909. Hey, bud,

910. picking up Veronica?

911. No, I think

912. I'm just gonna meet her there.

913. So I take it

914. things didn't go so well

915. on the other side

916. of the four-letter-word, huh?

917. When I'm with Veronica,

918. as dark as things get

919. and they've been

920. getting pretty dark,

921. she makes me feel like

922. everything is gonna be fine.

923. She makes things fun.

924. I don't wanna lose that.

925. You won't.

926. You just gotta

927. give her a little time

928. and space.

929. You're a great kid, Arch.

930. Really, get out there,

931. have a good time.

932. Take the pressure off.

933. - Archie, hey.

934. I just did

935. a sweep of the perimeter.

936. You good?

937. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

938. Ronnie's almost here.

939. We're gonna clear the air,

940. it's gonna be a good night.

941. Here's hoping.

942. - I'll catch you later, okay?

943. - Yeah.

944. Jones, you look nervous.

945. Want a drink?

946. No, I'm good.

947. I'm just getting

948. a lay of the land.

949. Wow, Betty.

950. Mrs. Cooper.

951. You look incredible.

952. Tell me about it.

953. Unfortunately, I couldn't

954. convince this one

955. to dress appropriately,

956. Hog Eye, get me...

957. Tequila, straight up,

958. - hold the worm.

959. - Hold the worm.

960. I was talkin' to you.

961. I have a surprise for you.

962. Later.

963. Mmm. Hit me, Hog Eye.

964. Honey, what do you want?

965. A Shirley Temple?

966. - Just give me two.

967. - Two.

968. Can we talk?

969. Not about Svenson,

970. not about the Black Hood,

971. not about some murder house.

972. About us, Ronnie.

973. Archie, this is a party.

974. Must we discuss

975. serious things tonight?

976. I just want you to know.

977. What I said?

978. That was about me

979. and what I was feeling

980. in that specific moment

981. and you shouldn't feel any

982. pressure to say it back to me.

983. Oh, Archie.

984. Thank you for understanding.

985. Yeah,

986. you're welcome.

987. Uh, yeah.

988. I, uh,

989. I signed us up for a duet

990. that Donnie Darko song

991. you love

992. or hopefully,

993. strongly like at least.

994. - Archie—

995. - Or can you not

996. do that, either?

997. No, I can sing with you.

998. Veronica...

999. - Oh, my God.

1000. - There he is!

1001. Quite the show.

1002. Thanks, Betty.

1003. Here you go.

1004. Let's give her

1005. a round of applause!

1006. And show her some of that

1007. Serpent hospitality

1008. we're known for.

1009. You know what? I've been

1010. in and out of the Serpents

1011. since I was younger

1012. than my son.

1013. And it's been a...

1014. A wild ride.

1015. Good times, bad times,

1016. but through it all,

1017. the Serpents stuck by my side,

1018. while most other people

1019. turned their backs on me.

1020. My own family included.

1021. Now, the letter of the law

1022. says that I can't be here

1023. in the Serpent den.

1024. That I can't associate

1025. with my friends.

1026. - My real family.

1027. - Yeah!

1028. My blood.

1029. - You're the man!

1030. But I've been

1031. thinking about that.

1032. And it'll be

1033. a cold day in hell

1034. before a snake lets

1035. a pig tell him what to do.

1036. All right, Coyote Ugly,

1037. let's go.

1038. No, I'm staying.

1039. Elizabeth, you're coming

1040. with me now.

1041. No, I'm staying.

1042. Well, I can't.

1043. Northside wants me

1044. outta this gang?

1045. Well, they better

1046. bring a coffin

1047. because FP Jones

1048. isn't retiring!

1049. I am not going

1050. gently into the night!

1051. I'm here to stay!

1052. So, bring the fire!

1053. Yeah!

1054. What happened to retiring?

1055. I know about

1056. the Snake Charmer.

1057. And the delivery you did

1058. and the debt you owe her.

1059. It was the one thing, son.

1060. The one thing

1061. I asked you not to do.

1062. I can fix this.

1063. Let me just talk to her.

1064. No. No. I'm in, you're out.

1065. Penny's my problem now.

1066. You broke my heart, Jughead.

1067. Shots, let's line 'em up!

1068. Hail to the king!

1069. - To the king!

1070. - To the king!

1071. Ronnie, what I said,

1072. it doesn't matter

1073. if you don't wanna

1074. say it back to me.

1075. But it does. And it should.

1076. And...

1077. for whatever

1078. messed-up reason,

1079. Archie, whatever

1080. deep-seated issues I have,

1081. I can't let myself

1082. go there with you.

1083. I'm sorry.

1084. I'm so sorry.

1085. Home, Andre.

1086. Yes, Miss Veronica.

1087. What's wrong?

1088. Was it the dance?

1089. It's everything.

1090. And, yeah...

1091. Why would you do that?

1092. I wanted to be a part of this.

1093. The Serpents, your world.

1094. Why?

1095. Archie knew to cut bait.

1096. Now I'm dragging you down.

1097. I'm dragging my dad down.

1098. Jug, he's still

1099. figuring it out.

1100. And It's going to be okay.

1101. We'll figure out

1102. what we have to do, together.

1103. No. Betty... Mmm-mmm.

1104. Not together.

1105. Betty, if you stay,

1106. I don't know

1107. if I can protect you anymore.

1108. You might get...

1109. You probably will get hurt.

1110. I can't let that

1111. happen to you.

1112. It's not your decision

1113. to make.

1114. Actually...

1115. yeah, it is.

1116. How many times, Jug?

1117. How many time are we

1118. going to push each other away?

1119. Until it sticks.

1120. I was my dad's one chance

1121. at going straight

1122. and I wrecked it.

1123. I'm not going to

1124. destroy you, too.

1125. Just tell me

1126. what happened, Jug.

1127. Jug!

1128. Tell me.

1129. Please,

1130. go home.

1131. That night, I realized

1132. it was like we'd been playing

1133. a game of Snakes and Ladders.

1134. Me, Betty, Archie, Veronica.

1135. - And in one fell swoop,

1136. we all slid off

1137. the board and into free fall

1138. and not just us,

1139. other people.

1140. Maybe innocent, maybe not,

1141. had been dragged

1142. into our game,

1143. as old wounds reopened.

1144. And as feelings

1145. that had long been buried

1146. shook loose.

1147. And a boy looked out his

1148. window at the girl next door

1149. as if for the very first time.