The Cooper family deals with the aftermath of the mysterious man’s death, while Veronica attempts to negotiate a truce between her family and the Jones’.

The CW’s Riverdale picks up immediately where the last episode left off. Betty (Lili Reinhart) assists her mother Alice (Mädchen Amick) in disposing of the body, rather than calling the police. It’s unclear as to why Alice won’t contact the police unless there’s more to the story than she told Betty. Betty continues to come across loose ends and enlists the help of Jughead (Cole Sprouse) to help her dispose of the mysterious man’s car and phone. Realizing that they’re in too deep, they request the help of a familiar face, FP (Skeet Ulrich).

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Veronica (Camila Mendes) attempts to smooth over the tensions between her father Hiram (Mark Consuelos) and the Southside community, represented by FP and Jughead. The Jones’ men see Hiram’s condition to their deal for what it really is, a bribe. Mayor McCoy (Robin Givens) disagrees with the Lodge’s plan to keep their business goals on track and threatens to expose everything. Hiram and Hermione (Marisol Nichols) switch gears and plan to expose Mayor McCoy’s affair to discredit her. Meanwhile, Agent Adams (John Behlmann) puts extra pressure on Archie (KJ Apa) by going after Fred’s (Luke Perry) business. Veronica doesn’t agree with everything in her family’s business and warns Sierra of their plan, resulting in her stepping down as mayor to avoid the scandal. Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) discovers her mother’s (Nathalie Boltt) affair with Hal (Lochlyn Munro) and ultimately warns Betty of her father’s indiscretions. This is just the tip of the iceberg in Riverdale.

Here to discuss the Cooper’s decision to hide the body, the Southside not accepting bribes from the Lodge family, and more, is our roundtable:

Yari (@msluvchocolate) – Fangirl before it was cool. My favorite quote is “Live long and prosper… Peace and long life.”

Linda (@linda_toven) – Student, coffee addict, binge watcher and workout super fan!

Stacey (@StaceyONeale) – Multi-published author of young adult and adult fantasy, and a contributor for TV After Dark.

Candace (@jaxthevampire) – Writer for TV After Dark and Nerdeek. Professional nerd, flannel enthusiast, and a member of the South Side Serpents.

Heather (@xoheatherkw) – Quality control scientist, writer for TV After Dark, dog mom, and fangirl extraordinaire.

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1. Jughead is starting to figure out the arrangement between Lodge Industries and Mayor McCoy. How long do you think it will be until the truth comes out?

Yari (@msluvchocolate): I hope that Jughead can expose them sooner rather than later. These people have been plotting for some time. I hope the rabbit hole isn’t that deep.

Linda (@linda_toven): Since Mayor McCoy resigned, the situation will calm down. But I think Jughead will keep an eye on her and the Lodges.

Stacey (@StaceyONeale): I hope he finds out soon because I really want to know what their big plans are. It seems like Hiram is interested in more than just rebuilding the Southside. There has to be something special about that land. That or he’s doing some other kind of business with the construction as a front.

Candace (@jaxthevampire): Listen, if there’s anything that is absolutely consistent about this show, it’s that once Betty and Jughead catch a scent of something shady… they get to the bottom of it. I have absolutely no doubt that Jughead will crack the mystery eventually, even if it’s just in the nick of time. They already solved a murder. I’m pretty sure they can uncover a shady business deal without breaking a sweat.

Heather (@xoheatherkw): Jughead almost has all the information together, he just needs more proof rather than a gut instinct. My guess is that Jughead (maybe with Betty’s help) will expose the truth within the next few episodes, or definitely by the end of the season.

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2. Cheryl discovered that her mother is involved in a relationship with Hal Cooper. How do you think that situation will play out?

Yari: Mrs. Blossom and Mr. Cooper are just so odd. I get that they’re both vulnerable (Mrs. Blossom was more than Hal). Hal is just using this as a way to get back at Alice. Cheryl already made it clear to both of them that this isn’t going to end well. So it should end sooner rather than later.

Linda: I cannot imagine that there is true love between Hal and Penelope. But surely they have a special bond so they will stick together if the truth comes out. I guess the marriage of Hal and Alice would come to an end. And if it does then I hope FP can comfort Alice.

Stacey: At some point, Alice will find out. I’m rooting for a relationship between her and FP. I absolutely adore Skeet and I’d love to see more of him on the show. Also, as a side note, they need to bring Cheryl back. She was a huge part of season one, and now she’s not involved in most of the storylines. I miss her.

Candace: It already played out the way that I thought it would. I honestly thought that Betty would find out about it first. But now that she knows, she used it as a weapon against him. Betty has certainly become more ruthless this season, and with everything she’s gone through, I’m not surprised. Solved a murder, was a tool for the Black Hood, and now has an outlet for this unexplored dark side of her that we’ve only seen glimpses of. (AND BELIEVE ME, I’M COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS FOR THE NEXT EPISODE. THAT PROMO!) She is not the girl next door anymore, but something stronger and much more volatile when she needs to be. However she uses this information further, it will definitely be used as a weapon.

Heather: I don’t even know what Hal and Penelope are thinking! It didn’t take very long for Cheryl and Betty to find out, so it’s only a matter of time before more people do. Hal isn’t really a likable character, and neither is Penelope, so maybe they’re more suited for each other than Alice and Hal. Ultimately, since Alice and Hal didn’t have the best marriage, to begin with, I think they’ll end up divorcing. Plus, I definitely ship Alice and FP!

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3. Negotiations didn’t go as planned for the Lodge and Jones families. Hiram tried to smooth things over by offering to pay back rent, but Jughead wouldn’t agree to back down from his investigation. What do you think their next move will be? Either for Hiram and/or the Southside.

Yari: Jughead is like a dog with a bone. Won’t let any of it go until he’s ready. Hiram just wants the plans he made while in prison to go through. (I bet he wasn’t expecting this much resistance). Both Hiram and Jughead are in it for the long haul.

Linda: Jughead will continue his investigations. Hiram will make plans against the Southside, especially against Jughead–maybe by distracting Jughead from the real problem. This way he could turn to Penny Peabody, she and Jughead are not finished with each other yet.

Stacey: Hiram is going to get dark and dirty. I wouldn’t be surprised if he found out about the dead drug dealer and used Betty’s involvement to blackmail Jughead. That, or he will find a way to get to FP.

Candace: Jughead will go to great lengths to protect the Serpents, especially now that the history of them is out. He will not stand for the silence anymore. And when it comes to Hiram, he may not underestimate FP, but I think he will definitely underestimate Jughead and won’t see him as a threat. Hiram may try to shut down the Serpents through someone else (because we all know he won’t do it himself) but he’s not ready for Jughead and Betty’s detective skills. And now that Alice Cooper owes FP, Jughead has the power of two Coopers on his side, and together they are definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Heather: Hiram has tried to play the nice guy in all of this, while still keeping Lodge Industries on track. Since the nice guy routine isn’t working, I think he’ll push back and go after the Southside even harder. That’s not to say that the Southside residents won’t push back, and I actually expect them to not go down without a fight. I just hope they don’t resort to seeking legal advice from Penny Peabody because I think she’s just as bad as Hiram since her favors come with stipulations. I think Hiram will go on the offensive stance, while the Southside community will be more defensive in response to whatever Hiram has planned.

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4. We keep getting little hints that Chic isn’t who he says he is; the smirk when Betty and Alice are arguing, and later he’s seen cutting Hal out of the photos. What do you think Chic is really planning?

Yari: Chic is just doing what seems to come naturally to the people of Riverdale. Plot. I wonder if Chic is going to feel sorry at all after he gets what he wants. He is playing with Betty and Alice’s feelings and I don’t like it. Why can’t he see they are trying to do right by him.

Linda: Chic wants to separate Hal from his family. And Chic wants Betty and Alice to trust him more than Hal. I think he knows something about Hal and wants to blackmail him. Or he tries to get Alice to do something dangerous for him because Alice does not want to lose him.

Stacey: Alice has been really nice to him, even breaking the law in a big way to protect him. I don’t think he wants to hurt the whole family. I feel like he might want to get rid of Hal. And I’m not convinced Hal is his father. There has to be some reason Hal dismissed him from the very start. That would certainly explain why he treats him terribly.

Candace: Honestly, he has got me wondering if he is the real brother after all. I haven’t trusted him since he walked through the door, and obviously, it makes him happy that the Cooper residence is falling apart. He’s either using them, or he works for someone that wants to see the Coopers fall apart.

Heather: Oh, Chic. I haven’t trusted him since the first moment we were introduced to him. For whatever reason, he’s enjoying the tensions within the Cooper family. Chic clearly doesn’t get along with Hal, and I’m sure that’s his motivation to try to keep Hal away from the rest of the Coopers. Maybe in his own way, he’s trying to prove that he belongs in the family with Alice and Betty. He’s just going about it the wrong way with manipulation and deceit. This is probably the first time a family has shown interest in keeping him around, and I’m sure he’ll do anything to stay with the Coopers.

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5. Betty brought Jughead, and later FP, into the death of the mysterious man at the Cooper household. Do you think that’s the last we’ll see of the repercussions involving his death?

Yari: I’m glad that Betty let Jug in. I’m glad that FP wanted to help too. But when does any secret (dead body included) ever stay secret? Yeah, FP added the lye to dispose of the body. But somehow, some way, before that body is completely gone it will come back. I hope it doesn’t.

Linda: No that is not over. Someone will miss the drug dealer. Moreover, Betty has checked and used his cell phone. She also wrote down some information. Even if the body disappears without a trace, there is still the car and the cell phone in the lake.

Stacey: No way. This will come back on all of them. It’s too big of a loose end to leave hanging out there. And this is Riverdale, after all. No one ever escapes without a few scrapes and bruises. I just hope FP doesn’t go down for it because he got sloppy when he buried the body.

Candace: If the death of this shady man didn’t come back to haunt them, this wouldn’t be Riverdale. Of course, this isn’t going to be the last of it. Someone has to pay the consequences for his death, and I’m hoping that it’s Chic and not anyone else. But there’s still a lot we don’t know about his death. All we know is what Alice told Betty, that it was self-defense. Somehow, I find that hard to believe. Alice and Chic are keeping a secret from Betty, and eventually, it’s going to come out and Betty is going to be pissed.

Heather: It can’t be that easy! They sure made it look easy to get rid of all the evidence. If the body is gone, there’s still the car and cell phone in the lake. Authorities could pull phone records and see that the last person to contact him was Chic, or Betty if you count her “finding the phone.” Sooner or later, someone will come looking for the drug dealer. Even if they get away with it, there’s still the problem of guilt eating away at the four of them.

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6. We found out that Agent Adams was hired by Hermione to pose as a federal agent to determine Archie’s loyalty to the Lodge family. Veronica previously expressed that she didn’t want Archie involved in the family business. What do you think that means for Archie now in terms of being brought into the family business?

Yari: Archie is caught in a game of chess between Hiram and Hermione. I had a feeling that Agent Adams had to be some sort of fake. Hermione has her owns plans and I bet it doesn’t include Hiram. I loved it when we all saw that she was the one who summoned Archie.

Linda: From now on Archie will be accepted by the Lodges, especially by Hermione. She is the boss. She doesn’t care about what her daughter said. Loyalty is now an obligation for Archie. He will get deeper and deeper into the family business.

Stacey: Archie will still be brought in. It’s hard to find people you can trust when you’re a gangster. You know, being surrounded by criminals most of the time. Hopefully, his involvement won’t be kept from Veronica. If she can’t trust him, their relationship won’t last long. Trust is a big deal to her.

Candace: I knew it all along. Not that he was hired by Hermione, but that he wasn’t an FBI agent. Now that Archie is in the family, I don’t see him getting out without a price. I’m not the biggest Archie fan because for me he makes way too many stupid and impulsive decisions… and I think he’s in way over his head. He says that he knows what he’s getting himself into, but I really don’t think he does. He’s doing this because he loves Veronica. That’s the long and the short of it. In the end, I think it’s going to lead to Veronica having to choose between Archie and her family and I honestly have no idea which side she will choose.

Heather: As much as Veronica wants to keep Archie out of their business, I don’t think she’ll get a say in the matter. I don’t think Hiram and Hermione are going to waste Archie’s proven loyalty to the family, and I fully expect them to bring him into their business. Considering Veronica has some concerns about how her parents handle their business, I think they’ll slowly bring Archie up to speed and gauge his reactions as they reveal more and more of their business and their plans for the Southside land.

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7. This episode was filled with so many twists and turns. What were you most shocked by in this episode?

Yari: A lot of people were saying that Cheryl’s behavior was the most surprising. Not for me, she has been trying to turn over a new leaf for a while. I was shocked by Mayor McCoy. I didn’t think that she would have stepped down. She has been plotting for a long time with the Lodges. I thought that she would have continued with the plans regardless of what the threat was.

Linda: I am most shocked about the situation between Betty and Alice. First, Betty helped her mother to get away with the homicide. That was an extreme burden for Betty. And then it seems that Alice and Chic are pretty good at pretending that nothing happened. And we still don’t know what has happened between the drug dealer, Chic, and Alice.

Stacey: The most shocking part for me was the preview for the next episode. It kind of looked like Betty was getting into some BDSM stuff with Jughead. Also, it looked as if Veronica was about to kiss Jughead in front of Archie. It’s going to be a long three weeks waiting for the show to return from break.

Candace: This is something that I wasn’t shocked by per se, but it was something I was very EXCITED to finally happen. Alice going to FP for help… We all know they were together way back when and she has a history with the Serpents. I’ve been waiting for the moment where she went to him for some kind of help because Alice is Alice and eventually she would do something where she would need his help… AND IT FINALLY HAPPENED. Last week, we learned Betty is officially considered part of the Serpents, and now, Alice has been brought back into the fold. I truly hate Hal, with a passion. And I’m absolutely here for this event leading to some kind of future for FP and Alice. I think it’s absolutely something they both need.

Heather: It’s an equal tie between Betty agreeing to cover up the drug dealer’s death and the fact that they seemingly got away with disposing of the body, car, and phone. I’m shocked that they all thought it was a good idea to get rid of all the evidence. Jughead had a brief moment of clarity when he suggested that they could still call the cops, although it’s much more incriminating if they reported the incident after the fact. Secrets don’t stay secret very long in Riverdale, and I don’t think that’s the last we’ll see of the drug dealer.

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Final Verdict: Riverdale shows us that the Lodge family will stop at nothing to accomplish their goals, including testing Archie’s loyalty with a fake FBI Agent.

Can the Cooper’s secret stay buried forever? Or will the mysterious man come back to haunt them? The true testament of any good relationship is: will you help dispose of a body for the other person? Betty and Jughead, and even Alice and FP, go full “ride or die” for each other. Will those secrets stay buried, or will someone catch on to the disappearance of that man? Chic (Hart Denton) seems to enjoy the disputes in the Cooper household. Betty finds out that Chic lied about this mysterious man, saying he is a drug dealer and not one of his clients. A twist of events reveals that Agent Adams is actually employed by Hermione and Hiram, determined to test Archie’s loyalty to the Lodge family. Luckily, Archie makes the right call in terms of securing his relationship with his girlfriend’s family. However, if a situation arises with a legitimate federal agent, Archie could be accused of obstruction of justice.

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Betty seems to be the only one with a proper response to hiding a dead body, and cannot focus on everyday tasks while she is hyperfocused on tying up all the loose ends. Alice and Chic resume their normal lives like nothing has changed. It must take a mental and emotional toll on the individuals involved, as we’ve seen with Betty. Is that the last we’ll see of this drug dealer, or will his family and friends show up asking questions? The problems with the shady man stem from Chic lying to the Cooper family, so that has viewers wondering what else is Chic hiding or lying about? The high school students in Riverdale are dealing with far too much than should be expected, so how long will it be before they have a mental breakdown? Mental health issues, specifically regarding Betty and Cheryl, have yet to be addressed on the show.

What would you do after disposing of a body? Go out to a cabin for a mini vacation with your boyfriend and best friends, of course! Betty, Jughead, Veronica, and Archie get away for a relaxing weekend in the next episode. Dark Betty decides to make an appearance in the bedroom with Jughead, and things get steamy for the four of them in the hot tub. And did you catch the guy in a face mask behind Veronica?! Does that mean the threat of the Black Hood isn’t over? Unfortunately, we have to wait a month for the next episode to find out.

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