Riverdale Roundtable: Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember (Season 2 Episode 18)

The teens of Riverdale (plus Alice) take to the stage to perform Carrie: The Musical on Riverdale Season 2 Episode 18, “Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember” — and things will never be the same.

After months of believing the Black Hood to be dead and buried, the masked killer seemingly comes back with a vengeance and takes the life of one Riverdale High student in a brutal and public way. And there’s plenty of drama — both musical and otherwise — before all that chaos, too!

Tell-Tale TV writers Lacy Baugher, Mary Misasi, and Alamin Yohannes discuss the episode below.

• Lacy Baugher (@LacyMB)
• Mary Misasi (@dorothynyc89)
• Alamin Yohannes (@AlaminYohannes)

1. Midge is dead! Did you see that coming?

Lacy: I’d read in interviews or predictions or somewhere online that the Black Hood was coming back somehow, so that part wasn’t that shocking. However, I did not expect the Black Hood would just brutally murder someone during the annual school musical like that. (It was such a grisly death, too!)

I can’t say that Midge mattered that much to me, as a viewer, but I wouldn’t even want a character I hated (okay, MAYBE Chic) to go out like that. At the time, I was a bit surprised that the murder victim was Midge, rather than someone like Ethel, who’d been behaving so shadily all episode long. But I guess Ethel probably has some plot armor in the form of being played by Shannon Purser?

Alamin: I saw a death coming, but I had no idea it would be Midge. The Black Hood was definitely going to return and that was going to mean more bodies.

While I feel bad for Midge, what I find interesting about this choice is what it means for Kevin and Moose. Dealing with Midge’s death may result in Moose leaning on Kevin for support and potentially some actual answers about what Moose wants.

After all, the three of them did have that strange exchange at the diner about Moose and Kevin’s relationship.

Mary: I saw a death coming; it was only a matter of time. I have never felt that the Black Hood was actually dealt with. It’s interesting that he chose someone like Midge, who was seemingly insignificant to the bigger plot. It’s a move no one sees coming, which makes the death that much more impactful.

Like Alamin said, this death will definitely influence the Kevin and Moose connection, which could be interesting. I’ve been waiting for Kevin to become more central as a character. Maybe this is the opportunity.

2. Betty and Veronica make up after weeks of estrangement. How do you feel about their reconciliation?

Lacy: As a moment, it was both good and bad, I think.

It’s been so uncomfortable having Betty and Veronica be at odds for the past few weeks, particularly when prior to that, it had been ages since the two had even shared a scene. I love their friendship, and it’s been missing more often than not in Season 2. Plus, their duet together was both beautifully performed and very moving. Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes harmonize amazingly well together!

All that said, like several of the other “big” moments on this episode, it felt almost a little too convenient.

Given everything that’s happened between them, I feel like it probably should have taken more than a scene for the two of them to really hash things out. It felt like someone in charge realized that the rift between them was bad and just decided to hand-wave it away as quickly as possible.

Alamin: I was not a fan of how it was done. Betty and Veronica have established this amazing friendship and partnership. They are meant to be this unbreakable duo, but it happened — the broke. We saw them clash and slip away from one another.

Fences were mended without Betty and Veronica actually sharing with one another. This was the perfect chance for Veronica to let Betty in and share the pressure she’s under. Instead, they sang. Their reconciliation being set to a tune does make it special, but that doesn’t mean it’s good.

Their performances throughout the episode were great, though.

Mary: I didn’t like it at all. It was a reconciliation of convenience to me. They wanted to move the plot past their feud and so they resolved it in one simple moment. To me, it wasn’t satisfying or even realistic.

I expected them to hash it out a bit this episode, but still retain some anger towards each other. After all, the reasons they are mad at each other run deeper than a simple squabble. Veronica used and betrayed her best friend. That’s not something easily put aside after a musical number.

3. Archie finally stands up to Hiram and sides with Fred. Is this a sign that things are looking up for our boneheaded protagonist?

Lacy: Archie’s still an idiot, but I’m not entirely made of stone. Seeing how excited Fred was about Archie getting that stupid jalopy for them to fix up together was so sweet. (This whole situation never should have gotten this far, but that’s a rant for another day…)

Alamin: I hope so, because currently Archie Andrews is the hottest mess in the town of Riverdale. It was about time he sided with his dad. Watching how Archie treats Fred has been hard to stomach, and it’s good to know he’s finally done something right. Then again, it’s Archie, so he could do something worse on the next episode. Hopefully he continues trying to fix things with his dad, though.

Also, it was nice to see some warm scenes between Archie and Fred. With all of the mayhem on the show, their relationship was always a source of positivity. They have argued in the past, but this is much different and much darker.

Mary: I am glad that Archie seems to have gotten his head out of his butt a little. Let’s hope this trend of being behind the Andrews family instead of the Lodge family continues.

One of the things I want more than anything in this world is for Fred to find success and happiness. The prospect of fixing up the jalopy with his son gives him a bit of that. I hope to see more father/son bonding in the future.

4. Hal and Alice appear to have reunited — and he’s seemingly even okay with the fact that Chic is not his son. Good/bad?

Lacy: I have no idea why I still feel bad for Hal sometimes — and yet, I do. He’s trash, but I found myself oddly hoping the Cooper clan would reunited. Though admittedly, I have no idea how this will play out.

Alamin: Bad. Bad, bad, bad. Not only is Hal pretty awful, this development stops Alice and FP before it even starts.

Riverdale has skirted giving viewers the details of Alice’s past, with the Serpents and FP, for too long, and it looked like we were finally getting some answers. Hal’s return could become another obstacle in between us and that information.

Plus, he’s such a boring character! I’m sorry, but he’s the least dynamic parent on the show, so it’s not even like I can be happy about a good character complicating things.

Mary: I’m with Alamin. I want FP and Alice. So Hal being back in the picture is bad, bad, bad. It’s not only that Hal is a snake in the grass — I don’t trust him in the slightest. His return to the family dynamic is bad news for not just Alice, but also his daughters.

5. What’s your favorite musical number?

Lacy: Everything about “The World According to Chris” was flawless. Great choreography, Camila Mendes sounded amazing, and I want Veronica’s whole outfit so bad. Those bell bottoms!

Alamin: I agree with Lacy about “The World According to Chris” being amazing, but I liked Cheryl and Josie’s number the most because it was a great mix of pushing the characters’ stories forward and music. It’s handled better than what the show did with Veronica and Betty, which is why it stood out over some of the more bigger performances. It was quick but felt far more authentic than Beronica’s reconciliation.

A close second is Alice Cooper’s number for that same reason. She was at a tipping point, and we saw her bare her soul in song, then in conversation with Betty.

Mary: I loved the Alice Cooper number because it was so emotional. Here she is singing a song about a mother pleading with her daughter. She steps out of character and uses the moment to speak directly to Betty.

This is a moment that helps to repair them, even just a little bit. Or at least, I hope it does.

6. Name one thing you really loved or really hated about the musical episode (or simply thought the show could have done better).

Lacy: My absolute favorite moment was Cheryl, dramatically covering herself in what I hope was just pig’s blood to strike an iconic pose and threaten her mother with destruction if she doesn’t emancipate her ASAP. Legends only, Riverdale. Your fave could never.

Honorable mention: Literally anytime we were all required to pretend that Archie and/or K.J. Apa can dance.

Alamin: I disliked the very strange Ethel story in the episode.

She may have gotten a little revenge on Veronica, but she’s had a tough time on the show. Between the football team’s treatment of her to what’s happened to her family, Ethel deserves better than her treatment during the musical episode.

The characters on the show have rallied around Ethel from the beginning, so having the characters push her aside and doubt her felt inauthentic. Sure, it was a set-up for the twist of the Black Hood’s return, but that feels really lazy.

Mary: Like I said before, they could have definitely done the Betty and Veronica reconciliation a lot better. There was just no depth and meaning to it, which makes me feel that it isn’t real. I want it to be real though, because B and V are so much better when they are together.

As for the musical itself… anytime Archie sings. I’m sorry, but he can’t sing or dance.

I prefer Cheryl or Veronica or Josie. Those girls have super powerful vocals. I loved every second of them killing it onstage! Especially when Josie and Cheryl sang together. That was a beautiful moment. These characters don’t react well to each other, but in that moment, you could believe they were friends. Or at least cared for one another.

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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 18, “Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember,” right here.

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