Riverdale Review: Chapter Fifteen: Nighthawks (Season 2 Episode 2)

We’re officially dealing with a serial killer — Riverdale Season 2 Episode 2 ends with what appears to be a shocking double murder, as two recognizable characters are shot in cold blood.

RIP (probably), Moose and/or Midge!

I have to say I’m rather shocked that the show seems to have done away with at least one if not two fairly important characters from the comics. Midge makes her debut on “Nighthawks,” but Moose was introduced last season and we’d had a decent amount of time to get to know him. Obviously, they’re not a part of the main foursome, but they aren’t nobodies either.

If anything, I would have expected the show to pull a similar move with a pair of dispensable teens we had no ties to. This seems to prove that the show is serious about this killer storyline having actual stakes. I’m glad!

The show makes no bones about the fact that this is the very same attacker who also offed Ms. Grundy and went after Fred Andrews. But the attack on Midge and Moose seems to put a dent in Archie’s theory that this killer is someone who has a personal grudge against him.

Yeesh, Arch, not everything’s about you.

Speaking of which: I can’t decide how I feel yet about the apparent “Dark Archie” path the series is taking.

On the one hand, Archie is far and away the most boring character on the show. His whole “steadfastly good and noble” thing is a little old, and we’re only one season into the show. I want KJ Apa to get more interesting, complex material. But I’m not sure if this is quite it.

So far, Archie’s descent and spiral has been all too predictable.

It’s understandable that he’s dealing with paranoia, anger, and fear since witnessing his dad’s shooting. But right now, the writers are following a fairly paint-by-numbers approach with Archie’s PTSD.

He sits up all night gripping a baseball bat, on edge, repeatedly pouncing on friends after mistaking them for the attacker. He asks Reggie to hook him up with “jingle-jangle,” which is such a terrible drug name that I’m almost embarrassed to repeat it. In the end, Good Guy Archie even turns to Dilton Doiley for a gun, after Reggie points out the idiocy of bringing a baseball bat to a gun fight. (Thanks for the tip, Reg!)

If I had to guess where this is going, I’m going to assume that Archie will accidentally shoot and injure someone, prompting intervention from his friends and a gradual realization that he has to properly deal with his trauma after the shooting. But that’s all… kinda boring?

I guess I’m just still hoping that the show will rough up Archie’s noble hero persona just a tad and in an interesting, organic way. Jughead is, thus far, the far more interesting of the two male protagonists, simply because he isn’t perfect. He’s made questionable choices, seems tempted by the Southside Serpents, and is, y’know, weird. A weirdo. Etc.

Archie is too perfect. He needs to be taken down a notch or two, at least for a while.

Elsewhere, Veronica struggles with Hiram’s return to town. She’s hesitant to allow him back into her life after all of the sketchy crap she’s found out about him and his “business dealings.”

As it turns out, Veronica’s inclination to stay away from both of her parents is right on the money. They flat-out lie to her in order to manipulate her. And now, under the guise of a charitable donation, they’ve secretly bought out Pop’s. The “why” of that remains to be seen.

Both Hiram and Hermione are manipulative and untrustworthy. “Nighthawks” cements this, with several great Lodge family scenes.

I particularly like the double twist involving the letter Veronica received in the first season, when she refused to testify on her dad’s behalf for his early release from prison.

The letter was signed from Hiram, though on this episode, Hermione claims responsibility for writing it. This shifts the blame off of Hiram and onto Hermione. In the end, though, it turns out that Veronica’s mom is just lying to her daughter to cover for her husband. For whatever reason, Hermione is now steadfastly loyal to her husband.

Kinda like that whole Fred pseudo-romance in Season 1 didn’t even happen, huh?

Alas, Veronica gets some terrible advice from Jughead when neither Archie or Betty is around. He essentially tells her to push aside her misgivings and grab onto the 0.0001% chance that her dad isn’t a total dickhead. Because, y’know, other people don’t even get to have their dads. #Logic!

I certainly don’t begrudge Jughead this mentality. It’s just a little bit irresponsible to be applying it to other peoples’ dads, when he doesn’t know much of Hiram or his history at all.

That said, I’m really intrigued by the direction they’re taking with Jughead, FP, and the Serpents — in particular, the introduction of Penny Peabody.

Is that not the greatest character name ever, or what?

Jughead’s desperation to keep his dad from going to prison for 20+ years leads him to consult with the Serpents, who forward him on to “Snake Charmer” Penny. The second we find out she’s a badass gang member lawyer, I’m sold on her.

What’s most interesting is FP’s reaction to finding out that Jughead reached out to Penny for advice. When he calls Jughead to warn him to stay away from Penny, he’s positively frantic. Who, exactly, is Penny? And what might be the nature of this “favor” she says she may one day request of Jughead?

In the end, it’s Betty who (as per usual) saves the day.

Penny may have been the one to give Jughead the idea about having the surviving Blossoms plead for leniency, but Betty (or, more accurately, Semi-Dark Betty) is the one who puts the screws on Cheryl by threatening to release Jason’s murder tape to the world if the red-headed Vixen doesn’t comply.

Betty also finds the time to save Pop’s from closing down for good, because she’s a pretty good multi-tasker like that. Unfortunately, as Alice is all too happy to point out, saving Pop’s may have not been the brightest idea.

The goofiness of Alice freely snapping iPhone photos of drug deals and Serpents at the diner is quite something. But the larger point is that, for whatever reason, Pop’s has now become a hotbed of criminal activity. This isn’t exactly Betty’s fault — how could she have foreseen that?! — but it’s still an issue that’s clearly going to get worse as the season continues.

Jingle-jangle, and Serpents, and masked killers — oh my!

Stray thoughts:

• I’m always here for a good use of “Season of the Witch,” and the closing scene certainly has that.
• I’m not as fond of new Reggie as I was of old Reggie. This Reggie looks like he’s perpetually pursing his lips in duck-face mode.
• That Pussycats + Cheryl rooftop rendition of Kelis’ “Milkshake” is so wonderfully bizarre and random. It’s exactly what I love about this weird little show.
• Cheryl calling Bughead “Hobo” and “Bride of Hobo” is everything.
• Does Cheryl legitimately think watching her son’s murder at the hands of her husband will be cathartic for Penelope? Or is this some next-level psychological mom torture?
• Things Archie cannot do: Make toast and design “Wanted” posters that don’t look ridiculous.

What did you think of this episode of Riverdale? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

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