Riverdale Roundtable: Chapter Twenty-Eight: There Will Be Blood

The families of Riverdale are anything but ordinary or typical — and that’s exactly what makes them so entertaining.

On Riverdale Season 2 Episode 15, “Chapter Twenty-Eight: There Will Be Blood,” yet another long-buried Blossom family comes to light with the introduction of Claudius, Clifford Blossom’s secret twin brother. Elsewhere, Archie struggles between his blind allegiance to the Lodge family and protecting his dad when Hiram and Hermione try to convince Fred to run for mayor.

Tell-Tale TV Writers Mary Misasi, Alamin Yohannes, Lacy Baugher, Samantha Coley, and Brittany Rae discuss the episode below.

• Mary Misasi (@dorothynyc89)
• Alamin Yohannes (@AlaminYohannes)
• Lacy Baugher (@LacyMB)
• Samantha Coley (@samcaseys)
• Brittany Rae (@brittania_)

1. Archie swore his allegiance to Hiram and even took a blood oath. Do you sympathize with Archie’s position, or are you frustrated that he sided with the Lodges over his own father?

Mary: I understand the predicament Archie is in. However, I don’t completely agree with his decision. I know he’s trying to help Jughead find more information on Hiram and therefore needs to stay close to the man. Unfortunately, I feel in this situation Archie needs to lend his support to his own family.

His father takes his allegiance as the ultimate betrayal. It’s definitely going to rock their really close, loving relationship. Hiram is a very influential man who can easily discredit Fred. Having Archie on his side could do wonders for his fight. I really hope Archie changes his tune soon.

Alamin: I am officially over Archie joining Team Lodge. My theory has always been that Archie went to Hiram after his father’s shooting left him shaken, so I understood him bonding with Hiram initially. This is something else, because he is turning his back on his own family by siding with Hiram, and I am very frustrated by it. I no longer sympathize with him.

Lacy: To be honest, I kind of hate this storyline, largely because Archie’s motivation makes no sense to me. This is, in turn, a result of the show not doing much to show me many facets of Archie’s point of view.

I get that Fred getting shot shook him badly, and that he loves Veronica, but I just can’t make the logical leap between those two things and Archie suddenly swearing a blood oath to a life of organized crime.

Samantha: It didn’t play as genuine to me. I really felt like Archie was doing it to stay on the inside as a spy. Maybe I’m putting too much faith in Archie (who does continue to make really bad choices), but I’d like to see him use that connection to one-up Hiram and show that his true loyalty still lies with his father.

Brittany: I truly don’t think he did, I agree with Sam. I think he’s going to try and take out Hiram from the inside to get revenge on him for playing Fred and the town so badly. Maybe Fred and Archie are working together to take down Hiram and Hermione once and for all?

2. It looks like we may be headed for a Hermione vs. Fred showdown in the Riverdale mayoral election. Predict who will win and how it’ll play out.

Mary: As the cliche TV trope goes, good defies the bad. So Fred would defeat Hermione. However, I want Hermione to win — if only to see what that would mean for the show’s plot. I would love to see the complication of the Lodges seeming unstoppable. It’ll be that much sweeter when they get taken down.

Alamin: I’m gonna go with Fred winning because then the Lodges would have to find another way to get what they want and that would make things even more interesting. Hermione winning makes the next steps in the Lodges’ plan much easier and that’s less fun.

What I love about this development is the potential battle between Hermione and Fred, because I am a big fan of how Riverdale actually uses the adults on the show. Watching these two go head-to-head should be really fun to watch.

Lacy: On the one hand, I’d like Fred to win, simply because Luke Perry hasn’t had enough to do this season and my age-old crush from his Beverly Hills, 90210 days is still thriving. But I think Hermione-as-mayor will be a better story. So, I guess that makes me Team Hermione?

Samantha: Honestly, it could go either way, but I’m really excited about this storyline. Neither Fred nor Hermione have had hardly anything to do this season when they were one of the most interesting pairings to me in Season 1.

So seeing them go head to head to in such a public forum is going to be exciting. Especially considering their romantic past! I’m really interested to see how that plays into the race.

Brittany: I’m going to go with Fred. He hasn’t had a storyline this season, and having him as Mayor would actually give him something to do. I wouldn’t mind either of them being mayor — as long as Hermione is freed from the weird, archaic gender role her marriage to Hiram has her trapped in.

3. Were you surprised that Chic ended up not being who he said he was? Who do you think he really is?

Mary: Not at all. I’ve thought he was creepy from the beginning. I’m not sure who he is, but it would be interesting if he has something to do with the bigger plots going on. Either with the Lodges or the Blossoms. My money is on the Blossoms.

Alamin: Betty has been really aggressive about all this, so while I am sure Chic is creepy, I bet whatever is really going on is not as bad as Betty is making it out to be. They haven’t been bringing Chic into the bigger storylines, so my guess is that whatever the truth is will end up leading to a great Alice storyline. It’ll be good to get to know her better.

Lacy: Not even a little bit. Riverdale‘s been lampshading the whole “Chic is a bad dude” thing practically since he arrived, though it’s been laying it on extra thick recently. (The implication he might just murder some babies out of jealousy! Creepy threats toward Betty! What?)

That said, I agree with Alamin; they’ve been hinting that he’s lying so aggressively that I have to believe it’s not as bad as Betty thinks it is. Maybe the truth is that he isn’t Hal’s kid? Something like that.

Samantha: I’ve been betting on Chic being Alice’s kid but not Hal’s kid since he showed up. There’s an aggressive animosity towards him from Hal, one I don’t think would be there if he were actually his kid. And if the test Betty sent his blood to only screened for Blossom blood, he could still be Alice’s son. My money is on him being Alice and FP’s secret love child. Which is a whole other plot line I want to see play out.

Brittany: Chic is less of a Cooper and more like a creepy kid that you just know could be a serial killer someday. I think he did something to Alice’s actual son and assumed his life, and now he’s slowly cutting out all the Coopers until he has Alice where he wants her. Why he’s doing any of this is still a huge question.

4. Clifford Blossom had a secret twin! What do you think of the introduction of Claudius and poor Cheryl’s increasingly screwed up family dynamic?

Mary: Ugh. Can’t we solve the current “who’s a Blossom” puzzle before adding another one to the mix? Sure, the secret twin is always a fun plot device, but at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if the show brings back Clifford from the dead.

I want Cheryl to lead the family so badly. I feel this latest revelation puts her a little farther from that still. Also, give my girl a break. She’s got enough turmoil in her life as it is without adding secret family.

Alamin: Cheryl cannot catch a break, huh? I was hoping for her to get more screen time, but this is not what I meant. Clifford was one of my least favorite characters, and hopefully his twin is at least more interesting than he was.

Lacy: Man, Cheryl deserves better than the storylines she’s been getting this season, huh? Like Mary, I’d also like her to get the chance to come into her own, but the introduction of Clifford’s twin brother makes me really nervous that this is going to be another Blossom story that happens to Cheryl, rather than is about her. (I’d definitely take more Nana Rose anytime, though!)

Samantha: Well, during their awkward family dinner I had hope that Claudius would become an ally for Cheryl, but his conversation with Penelope seemed awfully ominous. I hope Cheryl continues to rise up and overthrow her whole family.

Brittany: I burst out laughing when he walked in. It’s such a soap opera moment, and perfectly in line with the cheese-fest Riverdale totally pretends it’s not. I can’t wait to see what weird stuff he gets up to with Penelope. What the hell are they planning?!

5. What was your favorite scene, moment, or quote of the episode?

Mary: I really love that Jughead is constantly the behind-the-scenes hero of the story. I also love the relationship he has with his father. On this episode, when he went to the prison with FP to take down Hiram, I was in love.

But I also can’t avoid mentioning Cheryl owning herself in front of her mother when she insisted Toni come to the reading as her emotional support. Get that lady some love.

Alamin: I’m always here for a big Alice Cooper moment, and this episode had an outrageous one. When she stormed into Clifford’s will reading, I got so excited, and her line about Hal’s Blossom money was just amazing.

“I will be taking half of whatever blood money you get from this inbred cesspool of a family. Yeah, that’s right. I said inbred,” she yelled at Hal, who has been awful lately, and Penelope, who is revealing herself to be a real monster. I was Team Alice even if she was a bit harsh in front of the Blossom family.

Lacy: I found it unintentionally hilarious that Hiram would be so terrified of what a local teen might say about him in a high school newspaper. Jughead’s position as the town’s designated Citizen Journalist has always been a weird combination of utterly nonsensical and vaguely amusing, but this was basically next level bizarre.

More serious answer: I’m always down for a dramatic Gothic-style Blossom family event, and Clifford’s will reading did not disappoint.

Samantha: I’m seconding Alamin, I’m always here for Alice Cooper being messy and making an absolute scene. So her storming into the middle of the will reading and then proceeding to read Hal to filth was honestly iconic.

Brittany: Thirding! Anything Alice does is immediately iconic to me, so that big drama queen moment was an instant favourite.

6. Now that we’re headed into the final stretch of episodes this season, what are you hoping to see more of or what plot are you hoping gets wrapped up once and for all?

Mary: I am actually really intrigued to see how the Hiram situation is gonna go down. I’d love to see Archie reveal himself as playing Hiram in order to help his best bud take the man down. It would be even more amazing if V is in on it too. Also, can we put Chic to bed. I’m tired of him. He’s exhausting and pointless… unless he’s really not.

Alamin: I need more Josie and Cheryl, as well as less of what I call “alarmist Jughead.” Season 1 Jughead was great, but the way he’s been going about things is a little annoying. Like his war with Hiram. Yes, Hiram is doing something bad, but he isn’t a supervillain who plans to destroy Riverdale.

The way Jughead goes on barging into the Mayor’s office or saying “everyone’s in danger” because of Hiram just gets on my nerves. Hiram is not above killing people, but he’s not trying to wipe out the people of Riverdale — just make himself rich in a scummy way. Figuring out what’s going on and writing articles to expose people is the Jughead I truly miss.

Lacy: I’m curious to know whether the Lodges’ nefarious master plan goes beyond just building a prison and, if so, what their next steps are. I can’t stand Archie’s involvement in this storyline (because it makes him horrible), but I do find Veronica’s relationships with her parents intriguing, as well as her apparently chill nature regarding the real nature of her father’s business dealings.

I’d like to spend some more time on their family dynamic, as I think it’s one that doesn’t exist anywhere else on the show. I’d also like Riverdale to remember that Betty and Veronica are supposedly friends. When was the last time they had a scene together?

Samantha: Now that we know what the Lodges are planning, I’m suddenly less interested in it than I wanted to be. I’m really excited for the mayor showdown and really any plot that has to do with Team Adults. I would LOVE for some more Alice/FP backstory, because even with relatively little screen time, theirs is one of the most fascinating relationships on the show to me.

If that starts to heat up with this plot about Chic, I’m all for it. I’m also really excited about Cheryl’s journey. She’s always been one of the most interesting characters on the show, but I relate to her just a little bit more now with her coming out and developing a friendship (if not more) with Toni, so I’m excited to see where that goes.

Brittany: The story I’ve been invested in the most is Chic’s parentage and his whole story with Alice, so I’m hoping she has some big moments coming up. And I’m DYING for more Alice/FP! I’m really not feeling anything with Jughead or the Lodges. I agree with Sam about Cheryl — I can’t wait to see what they do next with her, especially in regards to her relationships with women.

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What did you think of this episode of Riverdale? Respond to our roundtable questions with your own answers in the comments below! You can also catch up with our review of Riverdale Season 2 Episode 15, “Chapter Twenty-Eight: There Will Be Blood” right here.

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

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