Veronica’s confirmation brings the extended Lodge family to town, while all of the Southside Serpents are being persecuted for a crime they didn’t commit — or did they?

In The CW’s Riverdale 2×12, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) plans for her confirmation as many of the Lodge’s extended family comes to town for the occasion. Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) is getting closer to Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) as his intern. When Agent Adams (John Behlmann) finds out about Veronica’s confirmation, he summons Archie and reveals his plan to get proof that Hiram is doing illegal activities. Agent Adams wants Archie to wear a wire to the Lodge family poker game since they’ve never had anyone this close to the family and he wants to take advantage of Archie’s relation to Hiram. However, Archie isn’t comfortable with that, saying that they’re going to spy on Hiram on his terms and not what Agent Adams wants. Meanwhile, Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) is getting pulled further into her darkness, using her dark Betty persona to have a chat with an unseen man on her laptop. Chic (Hart Denton) warns her to never reveal where she lives to clients to keep herself safe. That has us asking – did he have trouble in the past with clients showing up unannounced?

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On the Southside of town, Sheriff Keller (Martin Cummins) harasses the Serpents on multiple occasions in an attempt to get a confession on the decapitation of the General Pickens statue. Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) and FP Jones (Skeet Ulrich) insist that it wasn’t the Serpents behind the vandalism. Sheriff Keller later delivers an eviction notice to everyone at the Sunnyside trailer park, mostly occupied by the Southside Serpents, under the guise of tenants not paying their rent. Jughead confronts both Sheriff Keller and Mayor McCoy (Robin Givens), stating that the eviction notice is their way of running the Serpents out of town because no one confessed to the vandalism. Tensions run even higher within the Southside Serpents, as Penny Peabody (Brit Morgan) comes back to town. She wants to help the Serpents with her legal expertise to stop the eviction, but her help comes at a price. She wants payback for Jughead cutting off her Serpent tattoo and running her out of town, wanting to give him the same treatment. The Serpents plan a vote to side with either Penny or Jughead, and Jughead goes to the one person he can trust to help solve his troubles with the Serpents – Betty. Betty suggests that they solve the mystery of the vandalism to appease Mayor McCoy, which will get them to back off the Serpents and focus their energy on the correct culprit.

Here to discuss Riverdale’s mob family, Betty and Jughead investigating the vandalism, and that shocking ending, is our roundtable:

Maggie (@jugsangel) – Wannabe Veronica Lodge with a passion for fictional character analysis.

Bre (@NancyRiverDrew) — Almost graduate, journo, Team Bughead, likes to say she’s a Betty, but she’s probably more of an Ethel.

Jeanette (@Twirl4meK) – Sales associate, Howard alum, Disney fanatic, television aficionado.

Kelsey (@MsKelsey_H) – Writer, editor, and lipstick connoisseur.

Elia (@eliathequeen) – Love writing and reading novels, major in English literature, Game of Thrones fanatic, Varchie fan, and loves cats.

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1. Lodge Industries and the people they’ve paid off will stop at nothing to clear out the Serpents from the Southside. How do you think the eviction notice will play out, now that they have solved the mystery surrounding the statue?

Maggie (@jugsangel): I think FP and Jughead will try to have a talk with Hiram and save the trailer park or maybe Jughead will talk to Veronica about it and ask her for help. I very much doubt Hiram will give into whatever deal FP and Jug might try to make with him. He’ll probably find a way to get around them and persuade them into thinking he’ll just leave that part of the Southside be–which I don’t think he’ll ever do. I think that interaction will be interesting though, Jughead doesn’t let himself be fooled easily so I’m wondering what could make him back down. If he does do that, he’s not one to give up without a fight.

Bre (@NancyRiverDrew): I think that is over, at least for now. Like Sheriff Keller said, finding the head would take the heat off. I am sure the Lodges will find other ways to terrorize the south side, and we really don’t need to see Jughead homeless…again.

Jeanette (@Twirl4meK): I don’t think that much will change because of the statue mystery being solved. Because really all Juggie and Betty did was prove that a Serpent was indeed the culprit, regardless of how that came to be. And I highly doubt the Lodges will let it get out that they bribed Tall Boy to basically frame the Serpents. At this point, all I can see happening is Jughead, FP, and the Serpents maybe fighting back harder against the eviction.

Kelsey (@MsKelsey_H): I think the Lodges have made a big mistake by displacing a lot of angry, potentially violent people – or at least some that are desperate enough. I wonder if the Lodges will open up part of Sodale into low-income housing for some.

Elia (@eliathequeen): The Lodges are a family that you don’t want to mess with. They think they are the superior ones despite the crime they did because of the power and money they had to back everything up. Hiram Lodge is a ruthless person, he’s cold-blooded when it comes to the enemy. He doesn’t think twice to kill/hurt anyone who’s in his way like Nick and his colleague. He will do anything to achieve his purpose and nothing will stop him from doing it.

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2. Betty is going deeper into Chic’s world. What are your thoughts about her dark Betty persona as a webcam girl?

Maggie: I really don’t like it. I think there are so many other better ways to deal with it that don’t involve getting into sexual conversations with men older than her. She’s 16 so she’s still a child and it really disturbs me. I wish she could just get professional help but this is Riverdale so that doesn’t seem like an option. I’m thinking maybe getting back with Jughead may help her deal with it, I don’t think he was the only one making poor decisions during their break up and he was a really good influence to her in season 1 so hopefully, he’ll help.

Bre: My heart broke. That scene was really sad with her in front of the webcam — before school even started! And she liked talking to him? Who was he? Perhaps the guy that showed up at the end? And her conversation later on with Chic showed just how dangerous this is. Betty needs professional help, and I’m hoping she’ll finally tell someone who will lead her to get that because, for some reason, her parents have completely ignored it.

Jeanette: Honestly? I’m still not exactly sure what the writers are trying to convey here in terms of Betty’s “darkness” or possible mental health issues they’ve been alluding to since last season. Like, it’s kind of all over the place? There’s the self-harm with her hands, then there’s her blackmailing Cheryl, then there’s her exploring her sexuality in unhealthy ways, like the dance at the Serpent club, and now this. So I’m still not sure where the show is going with this…

Kelsey: This is so awful. This entire plotline is so damaging, both to the portrayal of potentially mentally ill people and sex workers in general. Betty is underage, and I desperately hope this is meant to be a cautionary tale. However, almost everything about this plot is being portrayed as damaging and/or alluring and the fact that it’s being done to an underage character makes it so much worse.

Elia: Betty wants to know more about her own dark side, maybe after that, she can start to embrace it as part of her or not. She seriously needs mental health help though

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3. Penny Peabody is back and looking for revenge. Jughead and Betty’s investigative work put a stop to her efforts to kick Jughead out of the Serpents. What do you think Penny’s next move will be?

Maggie: I’m honestly quite scared of it, she wants revenge, blood for blood, as she said, so I’m expecting her to come back for Jughead. I think she’ll want to harm him and now that she has Tall Boy on her side I’m afraid she might actually be able to get what she wants.

Bre: She has teamed up with Hiram, so I could definitely see her doing anything to bring down the Jones men. And since Hiram hired Tall Boy to decapitate Gen. Pickens, it seems like he might want to, as well.

Jeanette: I really don’t know. She already tried a coup, and that was a bust. What other cards does she have to play?

Kelsey: I think Penny will ally herself with the most powerful entity in town she can, and with her skills, as a lawyer, I think she’ll try to get a job with Lodge Industries. She’s been betrayed by the Serpents and she’s arrogant enough to think she can manipulate Hiram like she did the Serpents. But I don’t think it’ll end well for Penny.

Elia: Penny is a snake, she will find a snake way to revenge him. She will hurt Betty for sure.

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4. Hiram asked Veronica to make a decision about bringing Archie into the business or leaving him out of it for good. Why do you think Veronica wants to keep Archie out of her family’s business?

Maggie: She loves him, she really does. I think Archie is like Veronica’s sweet escape from all her family’s shady business and she wants to salvage that. Archie’s also just such a good guy and I think she feels like by allowing him to go any further into her father’s business she’s corrupting that goodness she values so fiercely. Archie wanting to stay involved however is going to be a whole other deal I think since he worked really hard to get where he is now.

Bre: He is her light, an innocent. She does not want to see the boy she loves blackened by her mafia family. Veronica seems really torn throughout this episode between Archie and her family. I wonder if she wants to preserve his independence in the hopes that she can, too, get away from it in the future.

Jeanette: Obviously to keep him safe and uncorrupted. Veronica knows she’s a “Mafia Princess”, and she’s somewhat accepted that it’s just what her family does, and she’s part of it now. But it doesn’t mean she wants the same for Archie. The main thing about Archie that she loves and attracted her to him in the first place is how pure and good and small-town wholesome he is (Grundy debacle notwithstanding) like he was transplanted straight out of an old-school copy of Archie & Friends. V may have a few daddy issues, but so far it’s pretty clear she is NOT attracted to men like him, and she doesn’t want to end up like her parents. So there’s no way in hell she wants Archie turning into another version of Hiram.

Kelsey: I think Veronica deeply loves Archie because of how good and moral he is and therefore is just as fiercely protective of him as he is of her. She doesn’t hold herself to the same moral standard, but she does have a moral code.

Elia: This episode is clearly showed how in love Veronica Cecilia Lodge is with Archie Andrews. There is nothing complicated about why she doesn’t want him in the darker world. She simply loves him.

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5. The Southside Serpents were at odds about who would best leader of the Serpents. If it were up to you, who do you think would be the best leader?

Maggie: I definitely think FP is the best leader, no doubt he’s done bad things like Jughead reminded us, he stuffed a teenager’s body in a freezer but I do think he’s a good leader for the Serpents, much better than Tall Boy ever would be. FP makes sure the Southside stays at bay which right now I think it’s what they need to do, stay quiet while he and Jughead handle things. I think having Jughead by his side will also be a good thing. He’s a really smart kid and even though their father/son relationship is a bit questionable with all their arguments and the pushing around, he’s a good addition to the gang.

Bre: Things were in chaos earlier in season two when F.P. Jones was not around, so realistically, I would say him. Pipe bombs and blacktop beatdowns aren’t great. But I also think back to that moment of Alice’s thunderous walk-in as a Serpent queen from 2×05, and I think she would know how to lay down the law with them, so I would love to see that. The Serpents could use a mom in charge of this crisis.

Jeanette: FP, of course! Jughead was sincerely devoted and tried his darndest to lead when it was needed, but it’s clear he still needs more of daddy’s tutelage.

Kelsey: Now that FP is sober, I think he is the best choice. He’s much more even-handed than somebody like Tall Boy and he’s more mature and experienced than Jughead. He can keep the Serpents out of more trouble.

Elia: Toni Topaz.

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6. Let’s talk Bughead! Betty and Jughead reconnected in more ways than one this episode – investigating and getting back together. What are your thoughts about their reconciliation?

Maggie: I am so happy they’re back together, I’ve been waiting since the moment they broke up for this reconciliation and I think now was a good time for it to happen. I’m glad Jughead laid everything out on the table for Betty to see. I’m glad he told her about Toni and about what exactly happened with Penny but I have to say I’m not so happy with Betty hiding that she kissed Archie when he asked about it. I understand where she’s coming from. She now knows Archie’s the one thing that can really hurt him and she couldn’t bring herself to do it but I hope it comes up sooner rather than later. I can’t stay too mad at that with that final scene though, everything was so beautifully done and Cole and Lili’s chemistry was, as usual, amazing.

Bre: I loved seeing the detective duo back at it! It made my Bughead heart soar. There were so many great moments of reconciliation from Jughead that I loved: he was honest with her about Toni, he said he erred in breaking up with her, and he defended her in front of the Serpents. I was, however, disappointed in Betty for lying to him. Yes, telling him about her kiss with Archie would have caused a rut in their relationship, but now that she has lied, it is just going to be worse later.

Jeanette: Now isn’t that just like them? Getting together after solving another Riverdale mystery? They are so Nancy and Jonathan from Stranger Things it’s not even funny. It’s great that they’re getting back together, but I have one little critique concerning Betty – Her dragging out telling Juggie that she kissed Archie. Especially because he already told Veronica, so when this inevitably bites her in the butt later, she’s gonna look so much worse in comparison.

Kelsey: Yay Bughead! I think Betty’s lie about the kiss with Archie will come back to bite her, and it definitely doesn’t help that she used Archie to break up with Jughead earlier in the season. For Jughead’s part, I thought it was really good that he apologized and reaffirmed his belief in Betty. Basically, every conclusion I wanted him to come to at this point happened.

Elia: It’s about time for Bughead to get back together. Jughead without Betty is seriously a mess, he always makes stupid decisions which result in his own doom. With Betty there is someone who will give him some slack, I believe Jughead will function well again. And Betty should have talked about her problem with Jughead too–like her darkness. She seriously needs help. She needs someone to talk about this, not someone like Chic, but Jughead who she can open up to about that side of her.

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7. The writers teased that we would be shocked by the last 20 seconds. What do you think went down in the Cooper household?

Maggie: I was so shocked, I didn’t see that coming at all. I think I can assume the man who knocked on the door was a client of Chic’s who had some unfinished business with him. He probably came in and attacked him and now what I’m really curious to find out is if Chic was the one who killed him in self-defense or if it was Alice trying to protect him. She seemed a bit too calm whilst cleaning up his blood to have been the one who killed him though. I wonder how this will affect their family dynamic going forward.

Bre: Don’t mess with Mama Coop’s babies! Alice hit the guy with a lamp after he threatened either Chic or, maybe, Betty. But it looks like they’re trying to hide the body in the next episode, so maybe it’s not so heroic.

Jeanette: I really can’t picture Alice Cooper being a silent bystander as some shady dude has a confrontation in her house with her newly found son. My best guess is that there was an altercation of some kind, and Alice went full “mama bear” in coming to Chic’s defense. Either one or both of them took the guy down, and since Chic was nowhere to be seen when Betty came, Alice may have told him to go lay low somewhere. And well, that’s the best I got with the information given.

Kelsey: Oh Chic definitely killed that guy, split the scene, and left Alice to clean up the mess. Maybe Alice is trying to protect Chic or Betty or both, but hopefully, this ends the whole cam girl thing because now Betty sees how dangerous it can be. As for the victim? I’ll be interested in learning more about who he was and who he was to Chic in particular.

Elia: The Coopers are being attacked by the stranger and they were doing self-defense which results in them hurting him or even killing him in the process.

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Final Verdict: Riverdale shows us, once again, that the underprivileged are being bullied into submission by the powerful and wealthy. With all the drama, how will they deal with the fallout?

The tensions between the Northside and Southside are the highest they’ve been all season, with the Sheriff, Mayor, and Lodge Industries trying to run the Southside Serpents out of town. The Serpents aren’t going down without a fight. And thanks to Betty and Jughead, they solved the case and found out that Tall Boy was paid off by Hiram to pin the vandalism on the Serpents. Because he was seen dumping the bronze head, he gets exiled from the Serpents.

Archie is walking a very thin line between trying to uncover information on Hiram for Agent Adams, and his conscious with what he finds out. Betty and Jughead get back to investigating, both the vandalism and each other. They were reminded that they work well together, and Jughead finally accepts that she can make her own choices regarding him and his life with the Serpents. The lighting choices were very deliberate. At Veronica’s confirmation, the light dimmed around her parents and shined brightly on Archie, indicating that he’s inherently good and morally righteous. The last scene with Betty and Jughead has darkness covering half the screen and could symbolize her inability to share her secrets with Jughead after he opened up to her.

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Riverdale tends to ask more questions than it answers. Earlier this season, it wasn’t clear if Betty joined the Southside Serpents, or not, until this episode. Is Betty a full-fledged Serpent? Alice didn’t want her daughter following in her footsteps, so will she try to stop Betty from joining them? Jughead had his moments of honesty with Betty this episode, confessing about his kiss with Toni and his misgivings about how he handled everything with the Serpents and Penny. But, Betty has yet to be completely honest with Jughead about both her kiss with Archie and how she’s dealing with her inner darkness by talking online to strangers in a webcam. She had a moment where it looked like she would tell him, but opted not to. Will Betty share that with Jughead? Or will someone force her hand, as Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) witnessed the kiss between Archie and Betty?

This week’s episode of Riverdale left us with the biggest cliffhanger all season! The question on everyone’s mind is: what exactly happened in the Cooper household? Alice (Mädchen Amick) and Chic are seen cleaning up a dead body in the very last scene, and Hal (Lochlyn Munro) wasn’t even there for it! The next episode starts to examine the aftermath of the death of this mysterious man, and how the Cooper family deals with it. What is the mystery man’s connection to Chic? Was it an accident? Was it intentional murder? But that’s not the end of the questions! Agent Adams’s investigation is at a standstill, having to rely on Archie for information. It appears that Hiram ordered a hit on the traitor in his business, so will Archie come clean to Agent Adams about what he knows? Thankfully, we only have to wait seven days until the next episode of Riverdale!

Riverdale returns Wednesday, February 7th at 8/7c on The CW.