Riverdale Review: Chapter Fifty-Four: Fear the Reaper (Season 3 Episode 19)

On Riverdale Season 3 Episode 19, “Chapter Fifty-Four: Fear the Reaper,” Betty makes a shocking discovery about Evelyn, and the Gargoyle King sends the Jones family on a deadly goose chase.

There’s a lot to unpack when it comes to “Chapter Fifty-Four: Fear the Reaper,” but the biggest news is we finally have confirmed proof that Edgar and Evelyn are super shady. Or are they? All the Farmies appear to know Evelyn is a grown woman posing as her husband’s daughter and don’t have a problem with the arrangement.

But what do they want? It’s not to spread joy, love, and happiness. All Riverdale villains operate with the hopes of achieving either justice, vengeance, or some combination of the two. 

There is one person who has the motive to want to take down almost all of our favorite Riverdale residents — Alice and FP’s love child, Charles. Nobody believes Charles is dead, and fans have been waiting for the prodigal son to return. But what if Charles is a woman?

Alice is pregnant in 1992 which– if he’s alive — makes Charles 26 years old. Those of you who are convinced Edgar is Alice’s long-lost offspring could be correct, but even Chad Michael Murray can’t pull off being in his mid ’20s. Also, Edgar doesn’t fit Charles’ physical description.

There is someone in Riverdale who is 26 with red curly hair — Evelyn Evernever. It’s an outrageous theory, but nothing is entirely off-limits on Riverdale. There are three plausible options A) Charles is disguised as a woman B) Charles had a sex change C) Charles was born female. 

The third possibility is shaky at best since presumably Alice sees the sex organs of her newborn. She gives birth at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, and those nuns aren’t exactly known for their truthfulness. Who knows what they tell her? It also explains why the Farm has set up shop at the old orphanage-house of horrors. 

Betty sees a picture of a boy she’s told is Charles, and if we’re going with the red curly hair theory as the basis for Charles=Evelyn, there’s a few plot holes to work out. 

Charles is supposedly dead, but the only witness to that fact is Chic who is missing, also presumably dead, and most likely going to turn up somewhere down the line.

How Edgar factors in is still iffy, and it may be Evelyn who’s calling the shots and not the charismatic cult leader. 

It’s all one big, extended, incestuous family tied together by one common denominator. Another mystery waiting to be solved is  whatever deal Penelope makes to get her grandson, and why the Farm and Polly would part with one of her babies.

None of this means there’s any relationship between the Farm and the Gargoyle King. We still believe the OG Gargoyle King is a former member of the Midnight Club or someone midnight-club adjacent. While it’s hard to believe these two major storylines don’t intersect somewhere, it’s growing increasingly difficult to figure out how.  

Edgar and Evelyn seem much more interested in getting to Betty, while the Gargoyle King is targeting an entirely different crowd. That goose chase the Jones’ go through is incredibly familiar to the hoops Hal makes Betty jump through during the good old Black Hood days.

One thing Edgar’s and the Gargoyle King’s acolytes have in common is succumbing to some level of brainwashing, but the Farm isn’t accruing an impressive body count as a result.

Maybe Charles is gone forever, and Evelyn and Edgar are just nut cases. Their agenda could just be to brainwash and manipulate a select few for some personal gain or to emulate the likes of Heaven’s Gate. 

There’s just something about Evelyn’s red hair. Those “Gingers” in Riverdale always spell trouble.

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

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

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

 Follow us on Twitter! 

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

16 TV Couples We Want to See Tie the Knot