Riverdale: Top 10 Moments from ‘Chapter Eighteen: When a Stranger Calls’ (Season 2 Episode 5)

There aren’t any more murders on Riverdale Season 2 Episode 5, but things still take a decidedly dark turn — “dark” here involving attempted date rape and Betty pretty much colluding with a known killer.

In all, it’s a strong, game-changing, and heart-breaking episode of the series’ second season. Here are the 10 biggest moments from Riverdale Season 2 Episode 5, “Chapter Eighteen: When a Stranger Calls.”

1. The Black Hood and Betty get a whole lot closer…

As we first see on Riverdale Season 2 Episode 4, Betty begins receiving regular phone calls from the Black Hood. It’s not enough for him to tell her that she’s his inspiration — now, he wants her to prove her “devotion” to him.

The entire Betty/Black Hood section of the episode is horrifying and incredibly well done. The masked man psychologically tortures Betty in the worst way possible, by forcing her to ostracize herself from her friends.

While it’s easy to ask why Betty doesn’t just go to the police and get protection for her threatened friends and family members, Lili Reinhart’s performance is so strong that I hardly question whether Betty is doing the right thing by listening to the psycho’s demands.

This hour is easily Lili’s strongest yet, in terms of acting. The pain, panic, and desperation in her eyes is so visceral and pretty much everything that happens to her is stressing me out. #ProtectBettyCooper2018

… or do they?

Interestingly, there’s a bit of a twist: Alice and Sheriff Keller confirm to Betty that the handwriting in her letter doesn’t match the handwriting in the letter Alice herself received from the killer first.

This seems to suggest that Betty is dealing with a copycat, or someone who is just pretending to be the Black Hood in order to screw with her for… some other mysterious reason.

If it’s the latter, I’d bet that the faux Black Hood is Betty’s long-lost brother, who is set to make his first appearance at midseason. I don’t think they’d go as far as to make the brother the actual Black Hood, but his manipulation of Betty could easily be a way to “punish” the Coopers for abandoning him.

Personally, I’d have liked the twist that the calls were all in Betty’s head — not that she’s the killer herself, but that she’s just imagining them. That would explain the deeply strange and spooky moment in the abandoned house, where the caller guides her to put on a mask just like his.

2. Veronica’s old friend Nick St. Clair blows into town.

Literally the moment this dude appears on screen, I cringed.

He’s like the somehow even more demented little brother of Gossip Girl‘s Chuck Bass. Actually, he’s pretty much a bargain bin Chuck Bass, without any of the potential for an eventual redemption.

Despite the fact that he’s not a particularly unique or interesting character, I like the way the show handles his introduction. Initially, it seems like he’s going to be a wedge between Archie and Veronica.

But Ronnie isn’t so easily manipulated. Sure, she likes to have a good time, but she’s firmly sure of herself, who she is, and what she wants. And she doesn’t want Nick, even a little bit — she wants Archie. There’s no wavering there, and I appreciate that they’ve resisted fulfilling this tired old trope.

Of course, Veronica rejecting him isn’t the end of Nick’s disgusting sliminess. It just gets worse. But more on that in a minute.

3. Betty exposes her mom’s sordid past.

As part of the Black Hood’s (or copycat’s) manipulation of Betty and attempt to estrange her from everyone in her life, he gives her an article about Alice being arrested as a teen. Betty’s already been at odds with Alice over her mom’s Southside prejudices, so that’s a fairly easy sell.

Alice is understandably peeved. But on the bright side, we get this unforgettable entrance:

Tag yourself. I’m the dude in the suit not-subtly taking a photo of Alice.

Mädchen Amick is an ageless, flawless goddess. This shot, as much of a total throwaway as it is and having literally no bearing on the episode, is so amazing. As an aside, it also made me realize how much I miss Witches of East End.

4. “Dark Betty” makes an appearance at Nick’s party.

Of all of the amazing moments Lili gives us in this episode, none are more heartbreaking for me than Betty tearing down Veronica in the midst of the party.

Everything about the moment is so upsetting. Betty sitting there, getting increasingly sadder and more agitated as everyone else is having a good time. Betty turning on her best friend. Veronica immediately recognizing that something is up with Betty, but refusing to chase after her.

As sad as I am that B and V will presumably be on the outs for a bit, it’s a great dramatic moment.

5. Betty confides in Archie — and shockingly, Archie makes everything even worse.

The only person Betty tells about her Black Hood phone chats is Archie. And somehow, redheaded Wonderboy manages to muck everything up even more.

Okay, okay: I’ll give Archie credit where it’s due. He starts off the episode confirming to his dad that the Red Circle is disbanded, so hopefully there’ll be no more of that garbage nonsense. But he quickly becomes more of a liability than a help when it comes to Betty’s problems.

I’m specifically talking about how he interprets Betty’s request for him to break-up with Jughead for her, per the killer’s orders.

Betty asks Archie to be gentle about it and to get Jughead to leave her alone in such a way that they can “walk it back” later, when everything is resolved. Instead, Archie reacts like a little jerk when he realizes that Jughead is now with the Serpents.

He doesn’t even pause to consider that Jughead is doing this all for a reason. Instead, he assumes the worst and allows his prejudices to overwhelm him. I lol’d at Archie pointing out that the Serpents attacked their friends — um, is he forgetting that he’s the one who technically started that fight by coming to the Southside and pulling a gun on them?

Archie’s confrontation with Jughead basically confirms every single thing that Jughead has feared about juggling his two worlds. It’s Archie, ironically, who gives Jughead the final push into the Serpents’ arms. Betty asks Archie not to crush Jughead, but in his anger, Archie gives his supposed BFF the most hurtful breakup explanation possible.

What a doofus.

6. Bughead breaks up in the most painful way possible.

We don’t even get an in-person breakup, which I don’t think my heart could have physically handled anyway. Instead, it’s by proxy, via Archie.

Cole Sprouse’s performance in this episode, like Lili’s, is incredibly strong. You can really see the heartbreak in Jug’s eyes as he tries to deny what Archie is telling him about Betty wanting to dump him for weeks. So sad. Too sad.

On the bright side, at least we got this hot AF, amazing Bughead kiss to leave off on:

Hopefully, it’ll give us all the strength until this break-up is behind them.

7. Jughead joins the Southside Serpents.

The initiation is a weird mix between humorous and violent: dog-sitting, getting bit by a rattlesnake, getting the snot beaten out of you. Tonally, these portions of the hour are all over the place. But there’s no denying how significant they are, both for the season’s plot and Jug’s character development.

At this point, he’s got nothing to lose. Betty is gone. Archie is gone. There’s no reason for him to deny his Serpent side any longer.

And that’s why it’s not surprising when…

8. Jughead and Toni kiss.

I’m not saying I liked it… But I didn’t not like it.

As far as kisses go, it’s a good one. And yes, I completely buy the fact that Toni would choose this moment to make her move and that a totally broken and hopeless Jughead would give in easily.

Part of him always believed that he wasn’t good enough for Betty, that she’d never truly want him. Archie basically confirms this for him by claiming that Betty saw where he was headed (into the Serpents’ arms) and wanted to get away from him because of that.

Jughead believes this so easily because it had always been in the back of his mind. I’m not emotionally prepared for Betty to find out that Jughead kissed Toni, though.

9. Veronica and the Pussycats save Cheryl from date rape.

Did I say #ProtectBettyCooper2018? Sorry, I meant #ProtectCherylBlossom2018. Or how about both? Both is good.

Nick is the worst, clearly recognizing that Cheryl is vulnerable and just trying to find her way after her various traumas. He preys on her, an easy target. It’s sickening and all too real.

When he slipped the drug into her champagne at the open house event, my heart dropped so heavily.

There’s no doubt that an attempted assault can be just as traumatic as a completed assault. So while I’m glad that Veronica and the Pussycats save Cheryl from Nick’s disgusting clutches in the knick of time, my heart still hurts for her and the added trauma she’ll need to deal with after this violation of her body.

That said: It’s extremely cathartic and satisfying to see that entirely gratuitous scene of the girls kicking the crap out of that sexual assaulter.

10. Betty names the Black Hood’s next victim.

Dark Betty makes another appearance in the closing moments of the hour, as the Black Hood demands she choose his next victim or he’ll kill Polly.

Though she initially panics, she eventually gives him a name with steely calm and determination: Nick St. Clair.

It’s a crazy moment, when you think about it. Good girl, virtuous Betty is willingly pointing a killer towards someone she believes deserves punishment, basically acting as a vigilante. But in the end, she does it with almost no hesitation.

Who knows if it’s all an act. But in the moment, it truly seems like Betty is a-OK with the Black Hood offing scumbag Nick. And that’s chilling, intriguing, and such an exciting turn for her character.

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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