Riverdale Review: Chapter Sixty-Eight: Quiz Show (Season 4 Episode 11)
Riverdale Season 4 Episode 11, “Chapter Sixt-Eight: Quiz Show,” drops the ball on almost every plot, only succeeding in areas where the story expectations were already set below average. We were stoked for a quiz show showdown between Bret and Betty, but the competition itself doesn’t even occur until nearly the end of this episode.
Meanwhile, the writers use Alice as more of a prop than a mother again, Jughead does some pretty garbage things to Betty and Archie’s storyline plummets thanks to his terrible uncle.
And we aren’t even going to talk about that weird Kevin content, okay?
THE GOOD
Cheryl and Veronica’s storylines have both improved massively by being merged into one on “Chapter Sixty-Eight: Quiz Show.” Both girls were suffering from bad or boring writing, but seeing them team up against Hiram (and also Penelope) is actually quite entertaining.
Both Cheryl and Veronica work best when they have a project to conquer and watching them work on this one together works really well for both of them.
They go back and forth with Hiram, re-branding La Bonne Nuit as a dance club and then re-opening the Maple Club to come out on top of him in the end. It’s no secret that I can’t stand Hiram, so watching these two actually win one against him is always going to be satisfying.
This is also a great way to loop Penelope Blossom back into the story. Nathalie Boltt is endlessly talented in this role and it would be a shame for the show to go on without her as its best villain.
THE BAD
Betty and Jughead’s storyline at least remains interesting but it’s ultimately more frustrating than it is entertaining. Jughead makes for a pretty terrible boyfriend on this episode, even with the circumstances outside of his control.
Alice is once again little more than a prop to further Betty’s story, and Betty ends the episode after getting knocked down even further mentally and emotionally than she was before.
No wonder she kills Jughead. Just kidding.
Betty cannot win on this episode; Jughead uses her serial killer dad as a story idea, she learns that Yale didn’t accept her because she’s a daughter of a serial killer, and then even when she gets in after the quiz show she’s right back out because Alice merely attempted to help he cheat.
Betty: Even rotting in the ground you still find ways to torture me.
This isn’t exactly new for Riverdale but it is disappointing to watch them fall back on the same tropes and weak storytelling. The show does best when it manages to get both character development and the absolute insanity of its storylines to move forward together.
Lately, it feels like the writers can only move Betty forward by throwing character development for everyone around her out the window.
It’s fun to see Betty and her team win, but watching Betty lose so much in spite of these small wins is getting exhausting.
Jughead: We’re gonna solve every mystery in Connecticut and we’re gonna eat a lot of pizza.
THE UGLY
Archie’s heart of gold has gotten him into a real spot of trouble with his uncle Frank.
It’s completely understandable why Archie wants to give this guy a second (and third and fourth…) chance. He misses his father and his uncle is the closest he can get to him. He also has a penchant for doing the right thing, and he believes the right thing is rehabilitating this grown man.
But Frank seems pretty insistent on wasting every chance that Archie gives him.
After Archie gives him a job as a foreman at Andrews’ Construction, Frank slacks off on the job, takes money from the company to gamble and advises Archie against taking a job that would help bring the company back into the green.
Archie does draw a line with Frank by the end of this episode, but how long will it be before Frank crosses it again?
Archie: It’s not what you did it’s how you did it.
While Frank’s shady dealings have worked out for the better on the past two episodes, it’s still wrong. How many times do we have to watch him manipulate Archie?
BLUE AND GOLD CLASSIFIEDS:
- Okay, but for real what even is this Kevin porn storyline? He’s barely 18 at most. I know Riverdale doesn’t have the best track record for showing realistic teenagers but come on. This is gross.
- This episode said Cheronica Rights!
- Why does this episode feel so long if barely anything happened? How does that work?
- Hiram makes me uncomfortable. I don’t care how sexy Mark Consuelos is, I am UNCOMFY.
- Veronica and Cheryl doing Hustlers? I’ll take ten thanks.
- Betty is smart enough to have actually destroyed that evidence, please.
- Alice being fired from WRIV opens up the door for her to join FP as his serpent queen and I would like to see it! Which writer do I need to bribe to make that happen?
- When did Tom Keller become such a SNACK?
- Thank you for my Barchie flash-forward crumbs. I still don’t know where the “Jughead is dead” storyline is going but if it gets us closer to canon Barchie I’m here for it.
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 and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Samantha Coley
Samantha (she/her) is a social media specialist by day and a sci-fi junkie by night. As a freelance writer and podcaster, she also enjoys live-tweeting, blogging, good music, and better television. Her current favorite television shows include Star Trek (yes, all of them), Riverdale, and Stranger Things and there will always be a place in her heart for Battlestar Galactica, Leverage, and The West Wing.