Riverdale Review: Chapter Twenty: Tales From the Darkside (Season 2 Episode 7)

Riverdale fully embraces the horror genre with a Tales from the Crypt-inspired hours that’s pure genius.

And, perhaps best of all, it finally gives the criminally-underused Josie something interesting to do.

Riverdale Season 2 Episode 7, “Tales From the Darkside,” takes on the anthology format and tries something new and inventive for the series. It chops up the narrative and presents the episode in three distinct smaller, overlapping stories. Each of the “tales” focuses in on one or two characters, and the story benefits enormously from that narrowed focus.

Overall, this installment is one of my favorites of the season so far. It’s fast-paced, plot-driving, and full of excellent character moments.

For the sake of clarity, let’s address each of the stories in the order in which they appear.

Jughead and Archie

I’m surprised by how much I like this section of the episode, especially considering how “blah” I’ve been about all things Archie this season. Of course, the focus is far more skewed to Jughead than it is to his redheaded BFF, which likely helps things in that regard.

This entry in the anthology finds Jughead enlisting Archie’s help to make a drug run for Penny Peabody. As far as forwarding-the-plot purposes go, this is the heavy-hitter of the hour.

I particularly love the skillful and manipulative way that Penny easily coerces Jughead into doing her bidding, by lying about his dad being jumped by Ghoulies — something Jug discovers in the end never actually happened at all. I completely buy that Jug would unhesitatingly do whatever is asked of him to help his dad without questioning anything.

But most importantly, this episode really underscores that Penny is scary and a force to be reckoned with.

Brit Morgan is doing a phenomenal job with the slow-burn build up of her character’s importance. I can’t wait to see more of her — and I’m sure we will, if the way Jughead’s “tale” ends is any indication.

Penny is completely ruthless, and I don’t doubt for a second she’d turn Jughead into the authorities if he doesn’t comply with her demands. On that note, I’m interested to find out what exactly the deal is that Penny made with FP that Jug’s dad wasn’t able to follow through on.

As for the actual drug run — sorry, “Pancake Mix” run — portion of the story, it’s far more entertaining than I’d anticipated.

I love seeing Tony Todd in just about anything, so his creepy guest appearance here is very welcome. But he isn’t just a cameo appearance for the sake of a nod to horror fans — he actually imparts important and useful information.

He tells Jug about the Riverdale Reaper, another killer who brought death to the town years ago — and this sets Jughead on the path of another lead. The possibility that the Black Hood and the Riverdale Reaper are one and the same is an intriguing one.

Overall, the dynamic between Cole Sprouse and KJ Apa is also fantastic here, and I’m really glad they have an entire segment to flesh that out.

Josie

By far the creepiest story in the anthology — and the one most traditionally like a horror story — is Josie’s.

The Pussycat, as it turns out, is being manipulated by Cheryl for… reasons. While at first it seems that Chuck (or even that overly friendly janitor) may be Josie’s secret admirer, the final moments of this story reveal that both are simply red herrings. There’s no doubt it’s Cheryl.

Cheryl’s actions are extremely disturbing, but I’m so curious about her motives and want to see more of this for sure. Is this a romantic infatuation that Cheryl has developed with Josie, wanting to keep Josie all to herself? Or does this have more to do with what Cheryl mentioned about wanting to pay Josie back for saving her from Nick St. Clair — in an admittedly rather twisted way?

Either way, Madelaine Petsch is mesmerizing as an increasingly unstable Cheryl. I can’t look away. It’s all so fantastically melodramatic and gothic. I’m also extremely glad that Josie gets to have her own story — though I am a bit sad that it means she’ll be estranged from the Pussycats for a time.

It’s a bit weird that the show sets out this aborted almost-redemption arc for Chuck, after his unabashed shittiness in Riverdale Season 1. But in the end, it doesn’t even matter whether Chuck is being genuine about wanting to change and repent for his predatory/womanizing ways. After being falsely accused, I can’t imagine he’ll keep on trying to maintain the good guy persona. It’s a bit sad, really.

Betty and Veronica

While Jughead and Archie emerge with their own theory about the identity of the Black Hood, Betty forces Veronica to help her follow up on her own.

Betty becomes convinced that Sheriff Keller is the Black Hood, largely because of how the killer was able to sneak into the station and kill the Sugar Man as he was jailed. And that’s… pretty much all Betty bases her theory on.

It’s clearly that Bee is spiraling, given how quickly and fervently she picks up on and holds tight to her theory, despite the damage it could do to poor Kevin.

Unfortunately, though it seems that Betty’s “Sheriff Keller is the Black Hood” theory is completely off-base, Kevin’s dad winds up being an ass regardless.

I love the reveal that Veronica’s “womanly intuition” (can you believe how many times she actually says that phrase?) is right all along — the Sheriff’s shadiness is all due to an affair he’s having while his wife is deployed. But the further twist is one I can honestly say I didn’t see coming. The Sheriff’s illicit lover is Josie’s uptight and overprotective mom, Mayor McCoy. Wow.

It’s a great twist and makes a lot of sense when you consider it. Alas, the Sheriff’s infidelity is just yet another sin in the ever-growing tally that the Black Hood is keeping on the town’s inhabitants.

The moment where the Black Hood literally calls Pop’s Diner and gives him a message to relay to the teens present is goofy as hell, but it works for a tension-builder — now, all the most important characters know that the Black Hood is coming for them, and there’ll be more killing to come. Yikes.

Stray Thoughts:

• The show has had quite a number of funny, tongue-in-cheek ways of avoiding copyright infringement. This installment has several gems, including Archie calling Triple C (instead of AAA) for a spare tire and Cheryl referencing getting Josie some time at Shabbey Road Studios — a clear reference the The Beatles and Abbey Road.
• Cheryl is being creepy AF, but boy, she’s a really good artist! Where did that come from?
• While I like Bee and Vee teaming up for adventures, I hate the idea that Kevin is being lied to and left in the dark.
• Speaking of Kevin: the brief moment where he tries to teach Veronica a board game is absolute gold. Her barely-contained boredom is so palpable.
• The whole “spooky Greendale” thing is fantastically done. There are so many small, creepy moments as Jughead and Archie make their way through the town. McGinty mentions that he briefly thought Archie was Jason Blossom and remarks that such a thing wouldn’t be too strange in Greendale — because zombies/ghosts are a thing there?! Archie also sees that maybe-not-quite-dead deer walking around.
• On that note: Can Sabrina Spellman please be introduced already? I’m impatient.
• Shirtless Sheriff Keller is a sight that’s unexpectedly pleasing to the eyes. To put it mildly.
• There is, at this point, no doubt in my mind that Hal is the Black Hood. The way they shoehorn him into Betty’s story here is extremely noticeable and telling.

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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