Posted in: Movies, Riverdale | Tagged: archie, betty, Hermoine Lodge, Hiram Lodge, HRL, jughead, Paul Sosso, riverdale, Toni Topaz, Vanessa Morgan, veronica

Riverdale Season 2, Episode 16 Review: The Watcher In The Woods

Last night's episode of Riverdale was intense. We learn the fate of Moose and Midge (I won't spoil it for you), as well as what becomes of our characters after the fact. The takeaway? "Good children should never go into the woods alone."

Archie is hurt by this the most, as everyone he loves is in the line of fire. After coming across some old Red Circle comics (no, your Red Circle comics did not go up in value), he gets an idea to start a neighborhood watch group. For me, this little part of the episode was exciting, since we got to see The Shield and other classic MLJ heroes. When Archie presents the idea of a neighborhood watch, the Bulldogs are all too eager to help Archie on his quest, especially Reggie (Paul Sosso). Archie calls the group The Red Circle, which is very fitting.

We also learn that yes, this masked killer is calling himself the Black Hood. After leaving a note for Alice to publish in the paper, he's going after every "sinner" in Riverdale. Needless to say, everyone is a target.

Jughead, meanwhile, has started school at Southside High. We finally meet Toni Topaz (Vanessa Morgan), and on the surface she seems cool and level-headed, but anything is possible. The character in the comics is Jughead's friend, but in Riverdale she may become a thorn in Betty Cooper's side. But currently Betty has bigger problems; her friendship with Kevin Keller is strained, especially after she imposes some "rules" for how Kevin meets men.

It's clear Betty is overstepping her boundaries, but she does sincerely care for her friend.

The show handles Kevin very well. Yes, he is openly gay, and it's hard for him to meet men in this town. Unlike Betty, he can't just have normal things like first kisses and having a bunch of guys to choose from.

We also finally get to see Hiram Lodge and Archie interact. There's some classic Archie/Hiram dialogue — like when Hiram tells Archie to never sneak into Veronica's room again — but what is classic, harmless fun in the comic is very sinister in the show. It's clear Hiram is hiding something, and frankly he comes off as abusive and threatening — especially to Hermione. Things are heating up in the Lodge household, and it's getting close to some kind of boiling point.

Riverdale will certainly keep you on your feet this episode. If you aren't watching, you absolutely need to.

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