Riverdale - Silent Night, Deadly Night & The Blackboard Jungle - Double Review

The latest two episodes of Riverdale give us answers and a new starting point for the story. I enjoyed them both, let’s summarize what happened.

The Fall finale, which is called Silent Night, Deadly Night revolves around the final revelation of who the Black Hood is. In the town of Riverdale, nothing is actually what appears to be. So, if we thought that the school janitor Joseph Svenson wasn’t the town’s murderer, this week the table is turned. Archie and Betty step in the criminal and they are obliged to dig a grave for Archie, but when our favorite ginger protagonist appears to be destined to be buried, the police arrives, and  Black hood is killed.

The episode is also full of surprises: after their breakup with Jughead and Veronica, Archie and Betty unexpectedly kiss in Betty’s car. As I was ready for the triangle to start, the episode ends on a new twist: Veronica apologies to Archie and they get back together. I have to be honest: I don’t believe that this resolution of the mystery is real. I still believe that this season’s killer is someone who we know, not a random character. I’m still hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

The tenth episode, which is called The Blackboard Jungle starts a new chapter of the story. Let’s discuss the most interesting part of the episode: Betty and her mother decide that it’s time to find the long-lost son: Chic. They visit him at his motel and they convince him to spend some time at home with their new-found family, after he is almost killed. Chic is so creepy, I loved the ending with his strange appearance in his sister’s room. Sticking to Betty’s family business, we get to know Polly’s twins: they have the strangest names in the world, Dagwood and Juniper and they were born offscreen. Will this family come together?

While Archie and Veronica appear to have found a stability, even after Archie’s revelation about his kiss with her best friend, Jughead is still struggling for social causes. I really enjoy Jug when he is not playing the fake-badass with Serpents, even if it was all about his jacket. He was presented as the outsider and the writers should stick to this side. Even if Kevin wasn’t totally left apart, we didn’t have much of Josie and that’s a pity. I’m starting to like her more and more. The only certainty in this show are the parents of these kids: they are all awful, only Fred stands out as a normal and loving father.

All in all, these two episodes are enjoyable and entertaining. I still want to understand which direction this season will take, but after the terrible House of the Devil, Riverdale got back on track.

And you? What do you think of Silent Night, Deadly Night and The Blackboard Jungle?