Riverdale Review: Chapter One Hundred and Ten: Things That Go Bump in the Night (Season 6 Episode 15)

Tension rises and episode titles continue to get longer on Riverdale Season 6 Episode 15, “Chapter One Hundred and Ten: Things That Go Bump in the Night.”

It may sound like a slightly broken record, but Riverdale’s dedication to switching up the status quo continues to play like an evergreen breath of fresh air. It’s entertaining to see different faces have new conversations, bringing more characters in to deal with the same conflict streamlines the show’s narrative unlike ever before.

Tabitha and Archie, for example, are a pair who should have connected from Tabitha’s introduction. They are two genuine beings of good fighting to save the soul of their home. Their mission is ultimately the same, as are their hearts. Why wouldn’t they team up?

It also adds more platonic male/female friendship to the mix. That’s something seasons of Riverdale past have been lacking. “Chapter One Hundred and Ten” fixes that in a few ways, actually, including finally allowing Veronica and Jughead to share the screen after what feels like six years of avoiding each other at all costs. 

It’s a pairing I’ve personally always wanted to see more from. Admittedly the idea of a Veronica/Jughead romance was once intriguing, but more recently, I’ve just yearned for the show’s most cerebral thinkers to get into some trouble while trying to do some good.

Their shenanigans are all well and fine, but it’s the quieter moments that really hit home. As they sit and have coffee, Veronica truly confides in Jughead about her problems with Reggie, with Jughead only offering a sympathetic ear in return. 

There is no judgment between them. There’s only trust and honesty as the two find a mutual solution to Veronica’s problem. Like Tabitha and Archie, these characters feel like people who should have been having these kinds of conversations a long time ago, but the show never slowed down long enough to let them. 

I mean, friends having coffee and talking about their feelings? Is this even Riverdale?

With the action unfolding at a slower pace this season, revving up to what promises to be an explosive finale, there is finally time to nurture relationships that always looked good on paper, but never had a real chance to grow. 

There’s also Betty and Drake. If Archie didn’t exist, I may be rooting for them to get together. The chemistry is there, and Betty needs more genuine people to add to the very small roster of trustworthy friends in her life. 

There may be subtle nudges towards Betty and Drake being destined for a more — complicated — relationship in the future. But for now, she’s a helpful guidepost in working through Betty’s trauma. 

After about ten years, Betty has finally realized what a horrible, manipulative person her mother is. It’s slightly unbelievable such a smart character would take so long to come to such an obvious conclusion, but love does blind us in many ways. 

Reaching that milestone leads Betty to Archie’s door on a more permanent basis. It’s a true celebration for Betty as a character — to find herself on the other side of the window she peered into as a girl, wishing for a future wasn’t sure she’d find. 

She’s escaped the mad house — and escaped her horrible mother —  to find safety and happiness in the arms of her best friend. What’s better than that?

A baby, maybe. One that’s been heavily hinted at this entire season, but “Chapter One Hundred and Ten” presses the idea even further. Between Alice’s hope that “Betty will never be a mother,” and Betty’s self-aura in the final moments of the episode, there may be an Andrews/Cooper child on the way, after all.

Who that baby will be, is another story entirely.

We’re also waiting to see who Heather will turn out to be, an infamous off-screen character who has now become all too real. Pushing Cheryl towards her Wiccan ancestry is long overdue. But it also feels like she’s been pushed farther away from Toni, simultaneously.

Considering there is a different Greendale witch Cheryl knows who could have made this same visit — a witch I’d stand to guess viewers would be much more favorable towards and has been confirmed to return — Heather’s presence feels a bit like a placeholder in multiple aspects of Cheryl’s life. 

Both Cheryl and Toni are dealing with placeholders until they eventually find each other again, but Toni’s is wildly more frustrating.

There is nothing about Toni and Fangs’ storyline that could not have been told in an identical way without the added layer of romantic entanglement, with Riverdale missing a perfect opportunity to tell the story of a modern family fighting to stay intact. 

Fangs and Toni being in a relationship adds nothing to that narrative. And their “faux marriage” could have been even more compelling if both characters were in on the plan. 

At the very least, Toni is back on screen, and back in Riverdale. As solid as the last few episodes have been, there’s always something missing when she’s gone. The show should know that by now. 

 

 

 

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

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