Riverdale Review: Chapter Ninety-Three: Dance Of Death (Season 5 Episode 17)
Riverdale Season 5 Episode 17, “Chapter Ninety-Three: Dance Of Death,” wraps up its main mystery by putting its characters in high-stakes situations, leading to more than one untimely demise.
Somehow, “Dance Of Death” finds a way to connect Betty, Jughead, Toni, and Cheryl’s storylines, and surprisingly, the execution falls into place seamlessly. It’s an impressive feat, looping the lonely highway into the Moth Man mystery, all while providing a non-extra-terrestrial explanation that leads back to the Blossom family.
Riverdale is getting back to its roots by bringing the Blossoms back as contenders for the town’s biggest threat — they were the original villains, after all.
They’re also much more eccentric than the straight-laced Hiram Lodge could ever be, and pinning them as Big Bads allows the show to walk the balance of dark camp and comedy it so clearly enjoys.
Witchery, cults, random families dressed as aliens living in the woods — it somehow all leads back to what is one of Riverdale’s more satisfactory explanations for a season-long mystery, even if it feels rushed at times.
“Dance Of Death” also brings Betty and Jughead back as an investigative duo, and the two fall right back into their old rhythms, doing what they do best — solving really, really, weird mysteries.
Experts at their craft, Sprouse and Reinhart play up the dark humor at all the right beats. Reinhart is able to deliver a tonal shift with a second’s notice, however, switching off the camp for a truly heartbreaking scene in the episode’s final moments.
Polly’s death is a gut-punch of a reveal (even if we saw it coming), aided by the exceptional camera work of first-time director Nathalie Boltt, who chooses to focus on Betty and Alice’s reaction to Polly’s dead body, rather than the body itself.
Riverdale has refused to let Betty deal with her trauma for so long. Watching her breakdown is truly a poignant — and necessary — moment for the character. Hopefully, it’s only the beginning of giving Betty the space to mourn, grieve, and finally open up to her pain.
Unfortunately, Archie and Veronica don’t get to play a part in taking down the Moth Men — sorry, the wood-dwelling Blossoms — due to Archie’s entrapment down in the mines — Something that gets a severe lack of focus, considering it revolves around a protagonist fighting for their life.
None of Archie’s friends — beyond Cheryl and Kevin — even find out about Archie’s harrowing experience, as he’s out and neck-deep in a warm bath with Veronica by episode’s end.
The emotional stakes aren’t really there, but then again, this plot isn’t actually about Archie. It’s about Veronica.
Normally, Archie being used as a plot device for yet another Veronica and Hiram showdown would be, for lack of a better word, annoying. “Dance Of Death” manages to take the played-out Lodge conflict somewhere new, allowing Veronica to step into a role she’s yet to play — a viable threat to her father.
Mendes gives an outstanding performance opposite Consuelos, supplying a full array of emotions in their big stand-off moment. It’s an outpouring of pain and resentment that’s been piling on since Season 2, and Mendes knows it.
Veronica is maniacally cold, yet delicately vulnerable as she revisits the suffering her father has caused her. The willingness to end him completely is as eerie as it is satisfying, after watching her lose in so many showdowns with Hiram before.
It’s all played perfectly by both actors, as Veronica Lodge officially rises up as Hiram’s true adversary. It’s a reflection of the monster Hiram has created staring right back at him, in the eyes of his own flesh and blood.
Chilling.
Where Riverdale will take Veronica’s character from here remains to be seen, but the potential is certainly intriguing. This new cut-throat business titan (who kills her ex-husband in cold blood, by the way), could end up going down the same road her father once did years earlier.
It’s a new take on the same story, but at least it finally feels like things are moving towards an ultimate payoff. Riverdale is introducing a new version of Veronica, one with complexities she’s yet to accuminate for 5 seasons and counting.
With the Moth Men mystery discovered, Polly’s body found, and Hiram licking his wounds, the main arcs of the season have all but been wrapped up, with two episodes still to come.
Hopefully, Riverdale takes this time to allow its characters to catch up with their intense emotional journies, and settle in, before the final battle for the soul of Riverdale inevitably begins.
Random Thoughts:
- I would watch a spin-off about Toni and Fangs co-parenting their child.
- Is Cheryl…really a witch?
- There is no better character on Riverdale than Nana Blossom.
- Does Archie know Veronica killed Chad?
- The conversation Fangs and Toni have about their families and sexuality is past due, but still not enough.
- Every single person Riverdale claims is Betty’s friend, better be there for her in the coming episodes.
What did you think of this episode of Riverdale? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
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Kat Pettibone
Kat Pettibone is an aspiring TV writer, artist, and poet. As a Pacey Witter Fan Club lifer who never missed a TGIF, she has dreams of becoming your generations small screen Nora Ephron. She's also an avid lover of coffee, dogs and all things spooky.