Betty Cooper/Season 2

Season 2
{{Scroll-1| The following morning, after Archie's father was shot, Betty is seen with her mother in the kitchen. As she makes breakfast for the two of them. Alice asks Betty what did her and her friends do after the 75th Anniversary Jubilee? As Betty responded to her mother that they went to Pop's. While later informing her mother, that she and Jughead went back to FP's trailer. As her mother was surprised to hear this from her, later asking Betty if the "beanie-wearing cad" defiled her? She could at least tell her that she was safe. As Betty answers her mother as to what she was talking about, later telling her that she didn't "do it" with Jughead. While also adding, that they almost did it, but were then interrupted. As Alice was relieved to hear what Betty had to say to her, as she thanked God that they didn't. As Betty later informed her, that they were interrupted by the Southside Serpents. Alice then was shocked to hear what Betty later had to say to her, as she asked her that if they were interrupted by "those thugs". Later telling Betty that she knew Jughead was going to follow in his fathers criminal footsteps. later added, "that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, especially not when there's a snake curled up in its limbs." As Betty's phone later ringer, she asks Betty if it's Snake Plissken, she wants him blocked. As Betty informs her that its Archie, while Alice later adds that Betty blocks him too.

Betty later calls Veronica and Jughead immediately after, she got off the phone with Archie, informing them both that Archie had been in an accident with his father. As she later rushed to the hospital with both of her parents, later meeting up with Jughead, Veronica and her mother. Where they reached up with Archie to comfort him in a time of need. As he later sits together with the gang, to inform them of what happened back at the diner. As Hermione later comes over and asks Archie if he's informed his mother as to what had happened to his father. While Alice and Hal accompany them. As Archie later leaves to go call his mother in private. Alice looks at Jughead with a look on her face as she sighs at him. As Betty later asks her mother to not start with her business, as she immediately knew what her mother was going to say to Jughead. As Jughead later asked what she was going to start? While Alice later informs Jughead, that she "can't help but wonder if his Southside associates had anything to do with what happened." As Betty bowed her head down with her hands towards her face, covering it, as she was ashamed to hear what her mother had to say to Jughead. As Hal later asks Alice if she doesn't start with her accusations now. While Jughead later comments to Alice that her accusations were unbelievable, informing her, that it was a good thing that she couldn't accuse his father. As he stated to her the fact he was still in jail for the matter.

Later, back at the hospital lobby, Veronica and Betty are seen seated next to each other. As Veronica tells Betty a list of things that she's good at, such as "makeovers, party planning, dance-offs, dropping vintage bon bots as if they were bonbons." As Betty chuckles at her. later telling Betty, a list of things which she wasn't good at. Which included "Grief, bedside vigils, and comforting boyfriends." As a look of shame came across Veronica's face, as she didn't know what to do in situations like Archie's. Betty then informs her, that was the old Veronica who she was talking about. While Veronica added, that "old Veronica would've bolted by now, but new Veronica doesn't want to let Archie down." As she feared that she would let him down. Which Betty assures her that she won't, as she had confidence in Veronica, that she would know what to do to help Archie out in a time of need. As they later see Archie with Jughead entering the lobby again, after their discussion with Sheriff Keller.

As the girls later go to hear what was going on, after Dr. Steven Masters arrived to informs Archie of his fathers medical status. In which Veronica later recommended to him, that while in the meantime he waits to see his father once they get him in a room. He could go back home to take a shower and change his clothes, as he was still covered in his father's blood. At first, Archie refuses to leave his father unattended. But Betty then informs Archie that Veronica was right. As the nurse later comes out and hand Archie his fathers belonging, which was everything he had on him. As Betty later gives him another reason to go, as she tells him he could go get his father a fresh change of new clothes. As she then tells him that Veronica would accompany him. Which Alice assures Archie that the rest of them will stay back at the hospital in the meantime while he's gone. As Alice tells Archie, to try not to worry. As she informed Archie, that his father is strong stock, adding that he's a fighter. As she continues to tell him that "Fred Andrews isn't one to leave unfinished business behind."

Later, Kevin joins Betty at Riverdale General Hospital, in support for Mr. Andrews, who has been shot by an unknown assailant. Kevin reasons if they weren't so worried about Fred's well-being, he'd be concerned with another topic of interest. Betty astutely tells him that they didn't do it, if that was what he had implied. Kevin is disappointed with this revelation but she tells him that Jughead told her that he loved her. Kevin was happy to hear the news and was shocked; he couldn't believe Jughead, "Mr. I'm-Weird-I'm-a-weirdo", told her that he loved her. Betty goes on to tell him that she said it back but after that, things got weird. She confides in him that with the arrival of the Southside Serpents; she believes that Jughead may be joining them. Kevin immediately disapproves, relating to his own relationship with Joaquin, asking her if she'd learn nothing from him. Betty attempts to relieve the tension, telling him that Joaquin was nice, but Kevin retorts "when he wasn't dumping bodies in Sweetwater River or mopping up buckets of blood." The conversation ends when they both see Cheryl Blossom and her mother, who was being wheeled into a room on a hospital bed, covered in bandages. They ask what had happened and Cheryl reveals to them that there was a fire at Thornhill. Cheryl elaborates; when the fire started, she was still asleep and her mother risked her life to save her own, suffering burns and smoke inhalation in the process. Cheryl proceeds to ask why they too were at the hospital too.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Veronica arrives and speaks to Jughead and Betty, where she informs them both, that Archie was back at the police station, attempting to identify the shooter during a lineup. Betty then tells them that they all should go and be there with him, as it would be traumatizing for Archie to be there alone. Veronica interrupts Betty, asking her if they could do her a favor instead. As she informs both Jughead and Betty, that Fred's wallet was missing and that she and Archie were thinking that it might still be back at Pop's. She also notes that his wallet was either there, or the guy who shot Fred could possibly also have it. Betty suggests that the gunman probably took his wallet for the cash. Jughead offers a more distressing theory; what if it wasn't just a robbery and was a hit instead. This coming from the fact that Riverdale is also the place where father's kill their own sons, in reference to Clifford and Jason Blossom. Adding that people have grudges, he believes it was possible that it was a hit. Betty reassures Veronica that the wallet could still be at Pop's and tells her that they'll go check it out. Later outside of the hospital, Betty discovers that Jughead now rides a motorcycle, as she leaves with him for Pop's.

In the search for Mr. Andrews' Wallet, Jughead and Betty arrive at the diner, where they run into Pop Tate. They have a brief conversation with him as to what happened back at the diner, while the shooter was still there after he shot Archie's father. Pop tells them his version of what happened and about the mysterious man under the mask. With the story complete, he asks them if they were hungry and would like something to eat; he could use the company while he was still shaken up from the incident. Later, Jughead and Betty, seated together at the counter, are given plates of food. Jughead was hungry and was eating a burger and fries while Betty didn't touch her food. He tries to make a joke to brighten up the mood, but it falls flat; he reveals that he hasn't eaten since last night. She brings up a conversation with Jughead to break the silence. She tells him that she didn't want to think about it while Archie was going through a tough time with his father, but she admits that it couldn't wait. She talks about the moment they had last night together bothered her, explaining that after they were interrupted by the Serpents and he tried on the leather jacket, it meant something. Jughead tells her it meant that there were ten biker dudes in front of him, where he thought he couldn't say no to their offer. Betty disagrees; she tells him that the Jacket fits like a glove, "like a second skin." She goes on to add that the look that she saw on his face, showed her that he wasn't acting for the Serpents. As she pointed out after that day, she started to see him riding a motorcycle, pointing out that he's never done before. Jughead then informs her, as he assures her, that he's not a serpent. He told her that it may have been his father's life, but it wasn't his. Changing the conversation, Betty brings up his foster family, pointing out that they were also from the southside, while questioning if they also had ties to the Serpents. Jughead added to her conversation, if she thought that they were going to indoctrinate him. He reassures Betty that she doesn't have to worry, that he worked out a plan with his foster family where he could still live in his father's trailer home, while they covered for him with his social worker. He admits that it was more comfortable staying at his own place. He explains to Betty that ever since he saw Archie almost lose his father, while pointing out that he's faced the fact that his father was going to be going away for a long time, that wearing the Serpent jacket, riding his dad's old motorcycle, and living in his trailer, it meant something to him. He continues to confide in her, that he was kind of hoping that it meant that he would always be closer to his father, no matter what. Betty understands but tells him that she didn't want to see him get hurt, or end up hurting someone else as it was the Serpents' nature in doing so and carried themselves on how they lived.

Back at the hospital, Betty and Jughead arrived along with Pop Tate, bringing food from the Diner for everyone. The gang was later seen sitting next to each other in private. As Betty smiled at Archie, telling him that his father would be so proud of him. As Jughead later adds, as he agrees with Betty, telling him that he has been a "rock-star god" through all of what was going on with his father. As he was referring to Archie, as he was being strong for his father. Veronica then asks Archie what was wrong, as he was sitting there quietly. As she asked him to talk to them. Stating that maybe they can help. He then sighs, as he tells them that there's something he hasn't told them. As he admitted that he was so ashamed to tell anyone. Telling that, after the guy fired at his father, he should've rushed over to him straight away. Adding that he should've tackled the guy, but instead stood there paralyzed. As he explained he just stood there looking at his father after he was shot, as if he was frozen, long enough for the shooter to get closer to him with his gun. Explaining that during that time he could've tackled the shooter, but didn't. As he told them he didn't move, not even after the guy walked up closer toward him. While he held his gun to his head, as he explained that he just closed his guys. Adding that he didn't know how long he did, but it was long enough for the guy to escape and possibly take his father's wallet. As he was unsure if his father wallet was taken by the killer. As he was telling his story with his eyes closed, unable to look at them. Betty is seen to be looking at him, while he is telling his story, as tears fall from her eyes to hear his pain. As Archie tells them he didn't open his eyes until he heard the bell of Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe ring. Which meant that he was gone. As Betty later tells him that there was nothing he could've done. Which Archie tells he it isn't that he could've done anything, to comfort his father, to get the gun away from the guy. As he admitted in shame that he was a coward. As he told them that now him and his father, are now witnesses, as well as Pop Tate, too. As he continued that the killer may have his fathers wallet. All of his information. Telling them fearfully, what if he comes back? As the gang at there in silence after.

Afterwards, Betty and Jughead are at the back of the hospital building, where it was raining outside. Jughead offers if she was sure that she didn't want him to give her a ride back home. Betty jokes that if her mom ever saw her getting off the back of his motorcycle, she'd probably come out with a shotgun. Mused, Jughead agrees with her and they both laugh at the thought. Before Jughead leaves for his bike, Betty stops him. She tells him what he told her back at Pop's. She was listening to him and told him that she understood his situation and how he was feeling. She also told him that whatever it was that he needed to do or explore, she would support him. Jughead leans and they embrace in a kiss before he leaves.

Saving Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe
Betty met up with Archie and Veronica At school that morning, where the three of them learned from Jughead that Pop Tate's entire staff quit on him. To make matters worse, he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to keep the diner doors open. Archie then pointed out that the diner's closing was a result of his father's shooting. People were scared, not that he blamed them as he too was actively avoiding the diner. Betty couldn't believe what she was hearing; her friends accepting the fact that Pop's was closing. She wasn't going to allow one psychopath with a gun dictate what happens to their favorite hangout place. She reminded Jughead of his crusade to save the Twilight Drive-In when it was closing, though with his father's hearing approaching, he didn't have it in him to take on any further social issue, which is why Betty, with Veronica's help, volunteered to take point on helping Pop Tate.

After a night of tossing and turning, Betty called Jughead with a plan that could potentially save the diner as well as help FP with his legal troubles. However, after looking over to Archie's room, and noticing that it has gone unslept in for another night, Betty told Jughead to meet her at the Mayor's office before calling Veronica to inform her that that Archie hasn't slept in his room since he and his father returned from the hospital.

Betty and Jughead headed down to the Mayor's office, where they asked Mayor McCoy for her assistance in saving Pop's shoppe. With the diner on the verge of closing, Betty wanted Pop Tate to know that the entire town was rallying behind him. They were hoping that the Mayor could make the diner a landmark or declare a day for Pop Tate in support. However, Mayor McCoy couldn't risk endorsing Pop's, only for another shooting to occur. Her priority was keeping the town safe. If they had to close Pop's in order for that to happen, then she was all for it. Jughead then asked if she was also all for sending his father off to state prison for a murder he didn't commit while Betty, who was right there at his side, tried to stop him from voicing his thoughts.

At the Blue and Gold offices, Betty refused to give up on Pop's without a fight. So, she suggested that they host an event at the diner that'll remind the town of simpler times, such as a throwback to when it first opened its doors. While Veronica wholeheartedly supported Betty's cause, she couldn't help but wonder why Betty chose this hill to die on. Betty explained that the diner had a very special place in her heart; orange freezes with her mom and Polly after ballet. Chicken noodle soup with her dad after ice-skating. Grilled cheeses with Archie on the last day of summer vacation. Pop's is where she met many of her closest friends, including Jughead, who may lose his dad. With that in mind, Betty was hoping that she could save the diner for all of them.

Betty and Veronica entered the gymnasium for River Vixens practice, where they were greeted by Cheryl and the newest recruit, Josie. Betty then asked Cheryl if it was possible that she would allow the Vixens to help at an event in support of Pop Tate. Unfortunately, Cheryl declined her request before rudely dismissing both Betty and Veronica.

Under the suspicion that Mr. Andrews' shooter and Ms. Grundy's killer was one and the same, Betty and Archie went to her mother in search of assistance in uncovering the truth. Since her mother was the first to gain exclusive details to Jason Blossom's autopsy, they were wondering if she could get details in regards to Ms. Grundy's death to see if they line up with the attack on Mr. Andrews. Betty's mother agreed to reach out to her friend in the autopsy lab in order to put Archie's mind at ease, though not without commenting on how thin Betty was spreading herself out as the patron saint of lost causes. She was then told by her mother that she can cross saving the diner off her list of crusades because it was being purchased by an anonymous buyer, which was the precise term given when Veronica's father was secretly purchasing the Drive-In.

After Jughead consulted with a lawyer for the Southside Serpents, he and Betty headed to Thistlehouse, the current residence of Cheryl and her mother. First thanking them for sitting down with her and Jughead, Betty then explained the reason for them being there is due to being advised by FP's lawyer to seek mercy from the victim's family; an appeal for leniency to reduce FP's sentence. However, the Blossoms were unwilling to forgive. Where was FP's mercy was when she was walking the halls of Thornhill in agony, obsessing over what was happening to Jason, Cheryl asked. Although, Betty did make a point to remind Cheryl that it wasn't FP who killed Jason; that was her very own father. With neither Cheryl nor her mother willing to forgive FP, Betty wondered what their next move should be as she and Jughead left the home. If they weren't an orphan and a widow, Jughead would've suggested blackmail and extortion.

The following day, Betty and Jughead stopped by the diner to ask Pop Tate why he was selling the shoppe and who he was selling it to. As much as it shamed him to admit, he was selling it to ChugMo, the liquor store chain. With the diner nearing closing, Jughead made a last supper request for his father, who was facing twenty years of having to eat the weird meat loaf that they serve prisoners. Barring an eleventh-hour miracle, Jughead was hoping that Pop could make FP's favorites, as his last meal in Riverdale; fried chicken, cornbread, onion rings and an orange freeze. Pop's had great memory of his customers' orders, a skill he acquired over time while running the diner, which he thought he would be doing until the day he died. This is unacceptable, Betty stated. Despite their willingness to accept what they perceive to be the inevitable, Betty refused to give up, telling them both to stay strong and that she can fix everything.

After leaving Pop's, Betty returned to the school, where she blackmailed and extorted Cheryl into testifying at FP's upcoming hearing. She threatened to wide release the video of Jason's death should Cheryl fail to comply. Betty told her that before handing the USB over to Sheriff Keller, she first saved a copy onto Jughead's laptop. Just like that, the darkest chapter of Cheryl's family's twisted psychodrama becomes a viral sensation. Cheryl was being presented with the opportunity to save a man's life. A nice ending to an otherwise sad story. If she testified, Cheryl wanted the footage of Jason's death and a guarantee that any and all other copies in Betty possession be erased. Betty agreed to the terms, then telling Cheryl that she'll also need the Vixens for Retro Night.

Betty and Jughead attended court the day after she blackmailed Cheryl in the ladies locker room into testifying at FP's hearing. With Betty in possession of the video surveillance footage of Jason's murder, Cheryl took the stand and forgave FP in front of the judge for his role in covering up her brother's death, and then humbly asked the court for leniency. As much as the judge sympathized, he couldn't ignore the quality of FP's crimes. There were no extenuating circumstances. After exchanging looks with Betty, Cheryl lie under oath, claiming to have overheard her father threaten to hurt Jughead if FP didn't comply with his demands. In light of these revelations, the judge decided to delay sentencing. Betty smiled as Jughead and FP happily embraced one another after earning their first win in a series of loses.

That night at the diner, Retro Night was off to an incredibly slow start, so much so that Betty feared that no one was coming at all. It was then that she received an unwelcomed, surprise visit from her mother, who came to write her next story over one last root beer float; an article entitled "Requiem for Pop's". Her mother then asked for a quote, to which Betty replied with by calling her a fiend and telling her that the diner is one obituary that she's not going to write.

Later that night, as things finally began to pick up, Betty was approached by Josie, who was upset at her for posting all over social media that the Pussycats would be performing a free concert at the diner. Betty explained that she knew if she had asked Josie to perform, she would have said no. However, like so many others, Josie cared about the diner, and Betty was sure of it. Unfortunately, even if Josie wanted to help, they were one Pussycat down due to Valerie's norovirus. Thankfully, Cheryl was willing to step in.

Afterward, Betty and Jughead stood behind the counter as three members of the Southside Serpents unexpectedly entered the diner. Jughead instructed her to relax, he was sure that they were simply there to enjoy Pop's world-class burgers and service. Betty and Jughead then began to kiss before being interrupted by Cheryl, who compared the couple to chimps in captivity, grooming and picking lice off each other. Mark this day in your diary, Cheryl said. She lied under oath for them. Luckily, she was quick on her feet. Jughead thanked Cheryl for her help before handing over the USB flash drive containing video surveillance of her brother's murder, though Betty honoring her end of their deal was all the thanks Cheryl required.

As the night came to a close, Pop Tate formally thanked Betty for her hand in saving the diner. After sharing a hug with Pop, Betty joined Jughead, Archie, and Veronica in a booth, where they relished in their victory; a rare win for the good guys.

With her friends having already gone home, Betty stayed behind to clean up the diner, during which time she was informed by her mother that several drug deals had gone down right under her nose. And if she thought that Hiram Lodge, Riverdale's answer to Scarface, helped Pop Tate for altruistic reasons, her mother remarked that she had a bridge to sell her. Furthermore, the Serpents have now officially crossed the tracks and have a toehold on the north side. With that being said, Alice sarcastically congratulated Betty for almost single-handedly being responsible for giving crime a haven in Riverdale.

After learning that Moose and Midge were attacked at Lover's Lane by an black hood wearing assailant, Betty arrived at school, where she met with her friends to discuss the recent shooting. With Kevin being the person responsible for finding Moose and Midge, some wondered what he was doing in the woods, to begin with. Kevin claimed that he was night jogging, but Betty appeared unconvinced. Now that another shooting has taken place, Archie hoped that they all could finally agree that there was a killer in Riverdale. However, with so much uncertainty surrounding recent events, Betty wasn't convinced that the latest shooting was in any way tied to Ms. Grundy' murder. Veronica then interrupted to invite them all over to her place to officially meet her father. As Jughead headed out the door to meet his peer mentor at Southside High, Betty while already knowing the answer to her question, asked Jughead if there was any chance he could remain at Riverdale. He told Betty that he would be fine, then giving her a goodbye kiss.

Betty confronted Kevin in the hall about his unconvincing night jogging story. He claimed that he was trying to get in shape for wrestling, though with Betty knowing him better than most, she could see straight through his lie, forcing Kevin to confess that he went cruising in Fox Forest. However, his claim to join the wrestling team still held true. In order to get out the house, Kevin told his father that he was jogging, which left Betty questioning how the Sheriff could fall for such a thinly veiled lie. Betty understood that he was lonely ever since Joaquin left town, but she hated cruising. Why couldn't he just use Grind'em, Betty asked, to which Kevin replied that no one is ever who they say they are online. Betty reminded him that Moose and Midge were shot three hundred yards from Fox Forest, and the person who did it was still out there. She insisted that he refrain from going out there again, at least until the shooter is caught.

Betty, Jughead, and Archie gathered at the Pembrooke that evening to watch the Matchlerette and officially meet Veronica's father. However, Archie was distracted by the recent shooting. He expressed his frustration with Sheriff Keller and his inability to apprehend the shooter. He started to feel as if they were being specifically targeted by the killer. It was then that Mr and Mrs. Lodge entered the room to greet everyone before leaving for dinner. Veronica introduced each of them to her father, starting with Betty and ending with Archie. Mr. Lodge couldn't help but overhear their discussion in regards to Sheriff Keller's shortcomings. For someone who's had his own share of run-ins with the law, he could confidentially say that the police weren't always the answer.

Before heading out for school the following morning, Betty gave her mother an envelope that she found on the front porch with their name on it.

Betty confronted Kevin in the student lounge after he failed to show up at Veronica's. He claimed that something came up. Something in the woods, Betty asked. Alluding to another cruising in Fox Forest. Kevin hoped that Betty wouldn't take what he was about to say the wrong way, but he asked how her how many years did he listen to her talk on and on about Archie, and now she's doing the same with Jughead. She didn't ask his permission to date them, but she did so regardless because she didn't need Kevin's permission nor did he need hers. She tried to explain that there's a difference between what he was doing and dating, but Kevin didn't stick around to listen. Unbeknownst to Betty, Cheryl was listening in on their conversation. She questioned what was so bad about Kevin's sudden sex drive. Betty explained that it was putting him in danger, leaving her to wonder why he wouldn't stop. Kevin used to be a lonely, awkward, fat boy with acne. Now, he's a smoke show, though, in his mind, he was still unattractive, so now, he is seeking validation, Cheryl explained.

Betty returned home that evening to learn that her mother had received a letter from the killer, who is now calling himself the Black Hood. In the letter, he took responsibility for shooting Mr. Andrews, Midge and Moose, as well as killing Ms. Grundy in Greendale. Betty questioned the legitimacy of the letter as it could've been sent by anyone. However, as proof of his crimes, the Black Hood took souvenirs from his victims, including Mr. Andrews' missing wallet and Ms. Grundy's red sunglasses, which he included in the envelope sent their house.

Despite Betty's best effort in trying to convince Polly to stay, after reading their mother's published article on the Black Hood, Polly decided it would be safest if she left town until he was apprehended. Betty urged her to at least slowdown and to think about the babies, though Polly would be living at the Farm until further notice. She had already called ahead to make sure they still had room for her. The farm in question was the very same one that she and Jason were going to run off to before he was murdered. Polly's sudden need to leave town stemmed from her fear of the Black Hood targeting sinners. Betty told her that she wasn't a sinner, but with Polly being an unwed mother that was carrying her cousin's babies, it became difficult to argue against her.

Betty paid Jughead a surprise visit at Southside High. She came bearing gifts to make his new office at the Red and Black a bit more comfortable. While Jughead was happy to see her, he told Betty that she shouldn't be walking around the Southside at night unless she was armed with a weapon. She replied that she is armed, jokingly holding up a tea kettle. She then learned that Jughead discovered the local component of Clifford Blossom's drug pipeline (Jingle Jangle) was coming from the school. Jughead recalled FP previously stating that the Serpents never dealt in hard drugs, but a rival gang known as the Ghoulies do. Betty questioned if it was a good idea for Jughead to write about gangs and drugs while attending the school. Are you worried about me? I thought you liked me reckless, Jughead replied. The two of them then started to kiss, before being interrupted by Toni Topaz, who Jughead introduced as the Red and Black's photographer.

Betty received a call from Cheryl, telling her that Kevin was seemingly going for another jog through Fox Forest. Cheryl's suspicions proved to be correct as the two of them found Kevin cruising the woods. Betty was disappointed that he broke his promise. She wanted him to have more respect for himself. While they had been friends for a long time, Betty had no idea how difficult it was being a homosexual male in such a small town. Betty acted as if they had the same set of options, when in reality, this couldn't be further from the truth. Kevin went on to explain that she lived in a pale-pink world of milkshakes and first kisses, where her biggest romantic dilemma is whether she is going to date Archie or Jughead, except for when she exploring her BDSM sexuality, which again, she's allowed to do, but he's not. Fox Forest was all he had to work with. So, he didn't need Betty following him just to tell him how disgusted she was with it all. If she couldn't accept what he did, then they weren't truly friends.

The next day at FP's trailer, Betty cleaned Jughead's wounds that he sustained during a supposed motorcycle accident. She asked if it was possible that he take a day off, but Jughead wasn't too concerned with his injuries. Betty told him before that the motorcycle was dangerous and that he should always wear a helmet. For a moment, she worried that Jughead was going to tell her that he was jumped by the Ghoulies, though according to Toni, the Serpents would never allow that to happen. They had Jughead's back. Even though he wasn't an actual member, there was still a connection of family loyalty. With Betty having to leave for school, she asked Toni to look after Jughead.

Betty joined Polly by the front door as she prepared to leave for the farm with her bags packed and a cab just outside the house. Betty questioned if this was truly how Polly wanted to leave things with their parents, leaving for the Farm without saying goodbye. Apparently, Betty was the only member of the family she was extending this courtesy to as neither of their parents knew that Polly was on her way out of town. Betty insisted that their mother was sorry. She's always sorry, Polly said. Right up until she does the next thing that sets everyone off. Polly insisted that she would be fine. She and Betty then hug just before leaving.

With Kevin's phone going to voicemail, Betty decided to drop by his house, and while he wasn't there, his father was. Betty went on to tell the Sheriff all about Kevin's cruising of Fox Forest.

The next day, Betty arrived at school, arm and arm with Veronica, before heading over to her locker. She looked over to Kevin, who was just a few feet away at his locker. However, when she attempted to speak to him, he turned around in the opposite direction. It became fairly apparent that Kevin was upset with Betty for going behind his back, to his father

How could you do this to us? Alice asked after learning that Betty assisted Polly with running away to the farm. Betty explained that Polly wanted her help. Furthermore, she was some place safe, far away from the Black Hood, who was targeting sinners. Polly was scared, though she wasn't the only one. Betty's mother was terrified that every time Betty walked out the door or didn't answer her phone when she called, that something terrible had happened to her. It was the acts that she and Polly did in secrecy that made it difficult for their mother to protect them. To make matters worse, Alice was being portrayed as the monster because of this.

With her mother headed down a downward spiral, Betty spoke over the phone with Jughead from the Blue and Gold offices, where she hoped that he would join her for lunch. Unfortunately, Jughead had to at least try to maintain a semblance of him being a student at Southside High. After hanging up with him, she found a letter addressed to her from the Black Hood.

As she sat motionless at her desk, Kevin arrived to announce that he had no foreseeable plans of cruising. Betty then handed Kevin the Black Hood's letter to read for himself. In the letter, the Black Hood revealed that he was inspired by Betty's speech at the Jubilee. Enclosed in the letter, was a cipher, which detailed where he will punish the next sinner. Cracking the code was a test that only Betty could solve. Kevin suggested that they hand the evidence over to his father. Betty agreed to give over the cipher, however, the letter would remain with her. If they gave the letter over to Kevin's father, he would then tell Betty's mother, who would make sure that Betty never got anywhere near it. Betty reiterated the Black Hood's statement of it all being a test. She wondered what if the start of the test began with what she did with the letter. Should she share it? Or not? Is she strong? Or is she weak? Is she even worthy? However, Kevin reminded Betty that she was merely a high school student, who was dealing with a psychopath. Isn't it better for people to be focusing on the cipher, rather than the letter, Betty wondered. To make this happen, she devised a plan.

With her make up running down her face from the fake tears she forcefully cried, Betty handed over the cipher to her mother, claiming that the code didn't come with a letter and that she didn't know what else to do or who else to go to with the cipher.

While stressing to crack the code from home, Betty received a message from Jughead, telling her that he was sorry for the phone tag, but that they would have to talk tomorrow.

Betty stopped by the trailer first thing the next morning to catch Jughead before he left for school. Betty, who was on her way to the library, had asked Ms. Paroo to set aside all the books she had in relation to cryptograms and ciphers, as she thought it would help in cracking the Black Hood's code, which she hoped that Jughead would join her in doing. However, Jughead regretted to inform her that he and Toni had already started working on the code a day before, which came as little surprise to Betty because much like Jughead, Toni showed an interest in serial killers. She had an affinity for the darker side of things, Jughead remarked. After taking it all in, Betty suggested that they all work on the code together, her, Jughead, Toni, and Kevin. A code breaking party, Betty called it. Jughead could even host the event.

That night, as planned, Betty, Jughead, Kevin, and Toni convened at the trailer, where they collectively attempted to cipher the Black Hood's code. The symbols looked fairly familiar to Betty, however, she couldn't yet place them, and she would go on to struggle with them for the remainder of the night. She remarked that it was driving her crazy, to which Toni jokingly suggested that she loosen her ponytail. Jughead then proposed that they look at the killer from a more basic perspective, asking why the Black Hood chose this moment to start killing people. Betty and Kevin shared a look, both knowing where the inspiration for the killer's spree lied, yet neither came forth. From what little they knew of the Black Hood, he was obsessed with cleansing the town of sinners and hypocrites, seemingly attacking anyone with ties to the north side, which Toni referred to as "fake news". She claimed Betty was supposedly demonizing the south side. Betty clarified that she was merely stating facts. There was far more drug and gang activity on the south side, though Toni made a point in addressing the fact that the drugs Betty spoke of were mostly sold to north side crackheads. She was surprised that Betty hadn't just come out to say that she believed that the Black Hood was a Southside Serpent, because they all knew how much Betty hated the Serpents, which is why Jughead was hiding from her the fact that he sat with the Serpents at lunch, Toni revealed. And on that note, both Toni and Kevin decided it would be best if they left. Once they were alone, Jughead explained that he sat with the Serpents purely for reasons of survival, though Betty didn't seem too concerned. She appeared far more interested in cracking the code.

Betty and Jughead woke up on the couch the next morning. After realizing that they had accidentally fallen asleep while attempting to crack the Black Hood's code the night before, Betty began to panic after noticing several missed calls from her mother. She frantically grabbed her belongings and exited the trailer.

Jughead stopped by the house to drop off the notebooks that she had left at the trailer. Jughead insisted that he wasn't snooping, but while he was gathering her belongings, her letter from the Black Hood fell out, leaving Jughead to wonder why Betty hadn't told him about it. Betty initially claimed that she withheld the letter because Jughead was busy at Southside High, running around with the Serpents. But as Jughead explained, he had been gone for all of two days. And while it was upsetting that they no longer attended to the same school, he knew that this wasn't the reason she was sitting on the fact that the Black Hood sent her a letter. Betty exclaimed that she hid the letter because the Black Hood wrote that she inspired him, and she feared that once Archie learned of this, he would blame her for his father's shooting. Jughead reminded her that while Archie was definitely shaken, he could still recognize the good from the bad. You're not one of the bad guys, Jughead said. You're Betty Cooper. Like Nancy Drew meets the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was this reference that led Betty to conclude that in writing the code, the Black Hood used one of her touchstones.

Betty and Jughead arrived at library, where Betty told Jughead that when she was a kid, she used to excessively check out a Nancy Drew book entitled "The Nancy Drew Secret-Code". Betty then used the book to crack the cipher, which read that the Black Hood would strike next where it all began, that being at the Town Hall, where he heard Betty's speech that inspired him to go on his cleanse of sinners and hypocrites.

Having cracked the code, Betty and Jughead rushed over to the Town Hall meeting, where they alerted all those in attendance. Soaked and wet from the storm, the two of them came in through the back door, warning everyone that they needed to leave immediately as the Black Hood was on his way. Betty's mother stopped them in the aisle, asking what it was they were referring to. Betty explained that they cracked the cipher, which revealed to them the killer's next move. The power to the building then went out. Whether or not this was due to the storm remains unknown. But in fear of the Black Hood's arrival, Betty pulled the fire alarm, which resulted in immediate evacuation.

After successfully evacuating Town Hall, Betty and Jughead reconvened at her house, where they revealed to her, parents, as well as to Sheriff Keller and Mayor McCoy that there was also a letter that Betty had kept secret from them all.

Later that night, Betty received a call from an unknown number while laying in bed. Hello? Betty answered, to which the caller replied, "Hello, Betty. This is the Black Hood speaking."

Communicating with the Killer
How do I know this is real, Betty asked, after supposedly answering a call from the Black Hood. "I will strike next where it all began", the killer responded, which was a quote from the cipher she decoded. He was at the Town Hall, yet he didn't hurt anyone, which left Betty wondering what he wanted. The Black Hood wanted the same thing she did, to set Riverdale on the righteous path once more by cleansing it of sinners, though Betty never imagined murder as being the means to that end. The Black Hood claimed that he was only killing people that deserved it, like Polly. The Black Hood knew of her pregnancy as well as the location of the farm, which was two hours North. If Betty attempted to warn her, he'd know. The Black Hood threatened to kill Polly if Betty told the police or Jughead that they've spoken. Betty pleaded for Polly to be left unharmed, but for that to happen, she could no longer deny him. Without warning, her mother barged into her room, making the assumption that she was on the phone with Jughead. Her mother blamed Jughead for inspiring her stunt at Town Hall with the fire alarm. Given the letter that the Black Hood sent her, Betty didn't know what else to do. However, this is assuming that the letter was from the Black Hood, as the Sheriff wasn't convinced. So, he was having it analyzed along with the letter her mother received. In the meantime, her mother wanted her home straight after school.

Betty sent Archie a message the next morning, asking if he could walk her to school because she needed to tell him something. But, before doing so, she needed him to promise her that he wouldn't repeat this information to anyone else, Veronica, Jughead, and his father included. After Archie promised to keep her secret, Betty revealed that the Black Hood called her. She was taking a great risk by even telling Archie, but they were best friends, who lived next door to each other, so the two of them walking to school together would look perfectly normal to the Black Hood, assuming he was watching them. As crazy as it sounded, Betty was convinced that it was him. Archie insisted that she report this to the police, even if it wasn't him, but she couldn't because Polly's life depended on it. If the killer called her again, she would have to answer. And so Archie volunteered to be right there at her side to help her through it.

Betty and Archie entered the student lounge to learn that an old friend from Veronica's past, Nick St. Clair, was coming to town for the SoDale Gala Opening.

After school, Betty and Archie sat in her room, waiting for the killer to call, and sure enough, he did. Betty answered the phone, putting him on speaker for Archie to hear. The Black Hood told Betty that he could see her parents at the Register, through a big picture window. The killer asked if she was alone. Betty looked at Archie before lying, and saying that she was. With Betty's mother being a thorn in both of their sides, the Black Hood devised a plan that would keep her from looming over them. Betty was told to check her email, and publish what was sent to her, only then would he know that she was loyal, though before agreeing to his demands, Betty wanted something in return from the killer, for him to prove his loyalty. If Betty did as she was told, he would answer any question she asked. She had until tomorrow night to follow through on her end of the agreement. In Betty's email, was an archived mugshot of her mother. The article revealed that she was arrested and used to be a member of the Southside Serpents, many years ago.

The next day, at school, Betty and Archie discussed the Black Hood and the mugshot he wanted her to publish. Her mother went after the Black Hood pretty intensely, so it came as no surprise that he sought to humiliate her, though Betty could not do it to her mother, as it would destroy her credibility. What credibility, Archie asked. Her mother was always going after them and their friends. In spite of all this, Betty refused to blindside her with a published mugshot.

Betty and her mother learned from Sheriff Keller, who stopped by the house, that after sending Betty's letter which was supposedly written by the Black Hood, to two different specialists, they determined that the handwriting wasn't a match. Whoever wrote Betty the letter, was either a copycat or an anonymous prankster. However, her mother suggested a much more banal third option; that Betty wrote the letter herself to garner attention. The cipher was even cribbed from a Nancy Drew book. So while her mother was convinced that Betty was somehow involved, she had yet to uncover a motive. "Maybe you and your Serpent boyfriend cooked this up because you guys were bored", her mother speculated. Fed up with her mother's judgmental ways, Betty messaged Archie to let him know that she would be publishing the mugshot.

Having ripped it from every public archive, her mother asked who gave her the article. Maybe it was one of the Southsiders you attack in your paper, daily, Betty replied. She constantly talked down on FP, Jughead, and the Serpents, despite previously being one herself. Betty told her parents that it was done in the name of justice against her mother and her holier-than-thou attitude.

Later that night, while brushing her teeth, Betty received a call from the killer. How does it feel to knock your mother off her high horse, the Black Hood asked, though Betty did not respond. Instead, she reminded him of their deal, her end of which had already been upheld. Fulfilling his end of their agreement, the Black Hood asked what did she want to know, but the question couldn't be his name. The face under the hood, Betty wondered if she would recognize it. Yes. He answered. Having given her the response she desired, he felt closer to her, as if they were friends. Though, the problem with this is that he's selfish, and didn't like sharing her with other people. He needed Betty to cut them out of her life, or else he would, in his own cynical way, starting with Veronica. Betty stated that Veronica was innocent, but they both knew that she didn't honestly believe that.

Betty met up with Jughead, the next day, at Pop's, where she greeted him with a kiss. She was a sight for sore eyes, Jughead commented. They'd both been feeling unmoored recently. Jughead wanted to check in with her after the exposé of her mother that she published, with a mugshot from many years ago, of her mother's arrest as a young member of the Southside Serpents. While it was intense, it was also a long story that Betty chose not to dive into at the moment. Betty then asked about Jughead's hand, after noticing that it was wrapped in gauze. He claimed that he sustained the wound while dogsitting Hot Dog. Sitting on opposite ends of the table, holding each other's hands, Betty and Jughead both wished that they could leave Riverdale on his motorcycle for some place where there wasn't a brewing war between two sides or crazy moms and psychotic killers. They'd be like Romeo and Juliet, Betty imagined, but with a happily ever after instead.

She was approached by Archie in the hallway after he went to her house that morning to walk her to school, but her mother had told him that she had already left. Archie wondered if she got another call from the killer. Betty lied to Archie, telling him that she didn't get another call, when in fact, she did. They were then joined by Veronica and her friend from New York, Nick, who invited Betty to his party at the Five Seasons.

That night, Betty, Archie, Veronica, Cheryl, Kevin, Josie, Reggie, Valerie, and Melody attended the party in Nick's hotel room, where after having drinks, Nick suggested they turn up the party with some Jingle Jangle that he scored from Reggie. While Betty and Archie weren't interested, everyone else, Veronica included, was more than willing to indulge. Suddenly, Archie had a change of heart, and decided to join them, making Betty the odd man out, so to speak. As all her friends got high and partied under the influence, Veronica attempted to encourage Betty to have some fun, as she was without Jughead for the night. Betty told Veronica that she was making a fool of herself by acting like some privileged, shallow, airhead party girl. Betty claimed that she was only saying what they were all thinking, that Veronica was merely a friend of circumstance and that she wasn't who she pretended to be. Why should they be surprised, Betty asked. Like father, like daughter, she added. Veronica may have fooled the rest of them, but she hadn't fooled Betty. She saw Veronica for what she truly was, a bad person.

In the middle of the night, Betty sat at a dark and vacant bus stop, where she cried her eyes out until getting another call from the Black Hood. Betty told the killer that she did what he asked of her by cutting off Veronica, but now she wanted her questioned answered. What will make him stop. He replied that Betty's devotion to him was the only thing stopping the attacks, though she wasn't sure how much longer she could continue. He now wanted Betty to cut Jughead out of her life. As the son of a Serpent, he wasn't deserving of Betty's love.

Betty was confronted at the Blue and Gold offices by Archie, over her actions the night before, where she instigated a fight with Veronica. Betty revealed that she lied to Archie when he asked if the Black Hood had called again. He did call. But she didn't want to tell Archie because she knew he would try to talk her out of it. During their conversation, he told Betty to cut Veronica out of her life, and now, he's demanding that she do the same with Jughead. Archie pulled out his phone, presumably to tell someone of Betty's secret calls with the Black Hood, but she convinced him to put the phone down. The Black Hood hadn't attacked or killed anyone since the two of them started talking. Betty suspected that maybe this was distracting him. But Archie interpreted this as the killer's own form of torture. He was making Betty hurt the people around her. Archie asked Betty how she's going to put Jughead and herself through a break-up, though Betty was hoping that Archie could tell Jughead that they had to stay away from each other for a while. Anything to appease the Black Hood. It didn't have to be cruel, just enough for Jughead to believe it. They could walk him back through everything later. As tears filled her eyes, Betty pleaded with Archie not to quit on her, as she couldn't bear to break up with Jughead herself.

That night, Betty sat in her room, crying, after cutting both Veronica and Jughead out of her life. She later received a call from the killer, asking if she had cut Jughead off, as he requested. After telling him that she had done as he asked, Betty only had one question left to ask, who was the man under the hood. He told her that she'll find her answer in an abandoned house on the edge of Fox Forest.

Just as the Black Hood told her, there was a house at the end of the service road, near Fox Forest. Betty slowly entered the home. It was then that her phone rang. The Black Hood was calling yet again. He asked if she could see the wrapped present he left for her. Inside, was the answer to her question. Betty opened the box to find a black hood inside. She was instructed to put it on. Betty carefully placed the hood over her head, then turning around to see herself in the mirror. She questioned why he was torturing her. He replied that he was doing it to show her that they were the same. Betty was then scared off after hearing an odd sound coming from inside the house, taking the hood off, and leaving it behind.

On her way home, Betty got a call from Archie, telling her to come to the Pembrooke after Cheryl was nearly raped by Nick. Fortunately, the Pussycats were there to save her. Veronica felt sickened to her stomach, as Nick was a monster, who had probably committed similar acts right under her nose, though Betty assured Veronica that Nick's actions weren't her fault.

After returning home, Betty had compiled a list of everything she knew of the Black Hood so far, for instance, how he was a white male, in his 30's or 40's, with green eyes. Betty answered her phone as it began to ring. She wasn't sure if he was going to call again. The killer told her that there was one piece of unfinished business, that she had been telling Archie about their chats. He'd been watching her, and she broke the rules. So, now Polly had to pay for her disobedience. Betty begged him not to hurt Polly. If she wanted to save her sister, the Black Hood demanded that she give him another name of someone else guilty. Betty initially refused to sentence someone to death, but with no other choice, she gave up Nick St. Clair, who was staying at the Five Seasons, and had tried to rape Cheryl.

With the guilt of choosing Nick St. Clair to be the Black Hood's next victim setting in, Betty raced over to the Five Seasons hotel to save him from certain death. She entered Nick's suit to find him stabbing at the bar's counter top with a knife, while sporting a black eye, but otherwise unharmed. He told Betty to tell Veronica that she should consider herself fortunate that he wasn't pressing charges against her. Nick's parents then entered the room, which allowed Betty to warn the the entire St. Clair family that they weren't safe in Riverdale. Sheriff Keller arrived moments later to take Nick into custody, as Cheryl had filed a complaint against him. When Sheriff Keller looked to Betty, wondering what she was doing there, Betty stated that she was making sure that Nick got what was coming to him.

While leaving the hotel, Betty received a call from the Black Hood, who explained that his reason for not killing Nick was because he wasn't one of Riverdale's sons. Furthermore, Betty had already given the killer the most wonderful gift by giving up Nick's name. In that moment of nakedness, she allowed him to see "the real Betty", who he perceived as beautiful and righteous. Betty claimed that this wasn't the type of person she was, but her recent actions indicated otherwise. Now that she's revealed her true self, he stated that the real work can begin, before hanging up. Betty then got a message from Archie, asking if she was up.

Betty met up with Archie, and the two of them discussed her on-going relationship with the killer. After clearing her head, Betty realized that the Black Hood was playing a sick game of psychological torture with her. She decided then and there that she was done with him and his game. She would be ignoring any of his future calls. As for Polly, who the Black Hood threatened violence against, she was going to disappear for a while with the help of some of the people from the farm, just until Riverdale was safe again. What of Jughead and Veronica, Archie asked. They too deserve the truth. Betty agreed. But she first wanted to make sure everything was settled. As they reached the parking lot of Pop's diner, Betty and Archie noticed Jughead inside, having breakfast with Toni. Before either could react, they received simultaneous calls from their parents.

Betty returned home to learn that her mother had called everyone from Nick's party over, as well as their parents. She had heard that Jingle Jangle found its way into the party, and that many had participated in the night's drug induced festivities, with the exception of Betty, who left the party early. As her mother went on, Betty could hear Veronica whispering to Archie, mocking her "perfect girl next door" persona by referring to her as "Saint Betty". After Reggie confessed to bringing the Jingle Jangle to the party, he revealed that he acquired the drug from his dealer on the Southside, who he suspected of being a member of the Southside Serpents as well as a student at Southside High. While they admittedly shouldn't have taken the Jingle Jangle, Nick should be the only one under interrogation, given that he asked Reggie for the drugs and later pressured everyone into using it. On top of that, he roofied and tried to rape Cheryl. Unfortunately, Jingle Jangle stayed in the user's system for up to three days. So with all the witnesses being high, Sheriff Keller explained that prosecuting Nick would be difficult. After Mayor McCoy learned that Josie experimented with the drugs as well, she declared that her number one priority as Mayor was taking over the Southside, even if it meant arresting every Serpent in sight.

At school, Betty tried to explain her actions during the party, but neither Veronica nor Kevin were willing to hear her out. Despite previously telling Archie that she would no longer be taking the Black Hood's call, she answered the phone when he called her. She headed into an empty classroom so that she could speak freely. Betty had done everything the killer asked, so why couldn't he just leave her alone. The Black Hood replied that they had unfinished business. He spared Nick's life. The life that Betty had sentenced to death. It was because he chose not to do it that Betty didn't have Nick's blood on her hands. Should she choose to disobey, she'd have a lot worse to deal with. He claimed that Riverdale's streets would run red if Betty didn't help him. While Keller and the police hunted for low-level dealers, they'll go after the real sinner, that being the drug maker, known on the street as "The Sugarman". A corrupter of children who deserved swift and brutal justice, the Black Hood believed. But the fact that he was asking Betty to find the drug maker meant that he couldn't. Betty didn't understand what she could do. She was merely a school newspaper reporter. However, as the Black Hood explained, Betty was friends with Cheryl, who was the daughter of the Sugarman's former supplier, Clifford Blossom. Should Betty succeed in discovering the identity of the Sugarman, the Black Hood claimed that he would stop killing. If she failed to comply, someone will be "purified".

Betty visited Cheryl at Thistlehouse per the Black Hood's request. She claimed that she was coming to check in, but Cheryl knew better, referring to Betty was the "invisible woman", as she could see straight through her lie. Betty confessed that she was writing an article on Jingle Jangle inundating Riverdale. So, she was wondering if Cheryl ever heard of the Sugarman, which she had. As children, Cheryl and Jason were told by their mother tales of how their father was friends with the so-called Sugarman. And if they were bad, he'd sneak into their rooms at night, steal them from their beds, and whisk them away, nevermore to be seen. Betty asked if it was possible that the Sugarman worked for the Blossom drug business. But Cheryl denied any possibility of this, explaining that the Sugarman was merely a poison confection spun by her mother to scare children. Like the Sandman or Krampus.

After stopping by the Sheriff Station in search of Sheriff Keller, Betty headed down to Pop's where she was told that she could find him. Betty entered the diner, hoping to ask him a few questions for a Blue and Gold story. Have you ever heard of the Sugarman, Betty asked. Sheriff Keller replied that they both knew the Sugarman, and he went by many names, but at the end of the day, it was always one man, Clifford Blossom. Betty questioned how this could be true if Jingle Jangle was still being supplied. The Sheriff informed her that Jingle Jangle didn't hit the street until after Clifford died. Before leaving, Keller told her that anyone could be the current supplier. Unbeknownst to Betty, Veronica was in the diner, watching her from a booth. She sarcastically asked if Betty was drafting her next savage takedown. While Betty didn't expect Veronica to believe her, she insisted that she didn't mean anything she said during Nick's party. There was no sane excuse. Veronica agreed, which is why she asked to hear the insane excuse. Betty told Veronica everything, from breaking up with her and Jughead, to publishing that article about her mother. Betty would never forgive herself for all the things she did, even feeling guilty about giving up Nick. While Veronica wanted her to cut all ties to the killer, Betty thought it best if she turns the tables on him. The Black Hood said he would go away if she found out the identity of the Sugarman. But in doing so, Betty would be sentencing him to death. And drug dealer or not, he was still a human. Betty was close to ending it all, she just needed Veronica's help.

As punishment for their hardcore partying, Betty, Veronica, Archie, Kevin, Josie and Reggie were sentenced to pick up trash at Pickens park, as part of their community service, though it remains unknown why Betty was at the park considering she didn't get high like her friends. While Veronica worked Reggie for his Jingle Jangle contact, Betty promised Archie that she would come clean about everything to Jughead. But she first needed to take care of a few things, which included tracking down Reggie's dealer, which she and Veronica managed to accomplish. Betty waited in an alleyway on the Southside as Veronica purchased Jingle Jangle from Verne, the dealer. He was startled by the mere mentioned of the Sugarman's name, so much so, that he took off, unaware that Betty was following him.

Unfortunately, the dealer discovered that he was being followed, and so Betty and Veronica were caught trying to sneak in through the garage of the dealers' lair, otherwise known as the House of the Dead, a drug den to the Ghoulies. Much to their surprise, Archie and Jughead were at the drug den as well, talking to Ghoulies leader, Malachai. "These are your bitches?" Malachai asked. Betty and Veronica learned that Archie and Jughead were looking to arrange a street race between the Serpents and the Ghoulies, where the winners gain more control of the Southside. For this race to happen, Jughead was forced to put up his home, Sunnyside Trailer Park, as a bargaining chip.

In preparation for the street race, Betty and Jughead worked on Reggie's car, which he allowed them to borrow. God bless Reggie Mantle and his inferiority complex, Betty said. His car was a lot like him. It was beautiful to look at but there wasn't much going on under the hood, she remarked. Betty asked Jughead if street racing rival gangs were what the Serpents did for fun, having learned that Jughead joined the gang despite telling her that he wouldn't. Jughead countered that she didn't have much room to talk considering that she said she loved him, only to dump him via Archie, which he explained was far worse than via text. Betty apologized. It wouldn't make any sense to him at the time, but everything around them was imploding, so she broke up with him to protect him. But as far as Jughead was concerned, she did the one thing that could actually hurt him. Betty planned on telling him everything, but for the moment, she just wanted to get him through the race.

Betty stood alongside Veronica, Kevin, Reggie, and Cheryl as the race was about to begin. She approached Jughead, and told him that she needed him to know that she never stopped loving him. She wasn't sure that she could. She also reminded him not to ride the clutch or allow it to slip between gear shifts. The race started soon thereafter, with Archie and Jughead in one car, and Malachai and Verne in another. The race was supposed to go over Herk Harvey bridge to Dead Man's curve, but Sheriff Keller and the police department intervened, which resulted in the arrest of the Ghoulies. Fortunately, Archie and Jughead narrowly escaped. They returned to the starting point, where Jughead shouted at Archie after learning that he was responsible for the police getting involved. With law enforcement just down the road, Betty got in the car with Jughead, and the two of them vacated the premises.

Later that night, Betty reconvened with Veronica at Pop's. Her phone began to ring. It was Cheryl, though they were expecting a call from the Black Hood. Betty answered, and Cheryl revealed to her the identity of the Sugarman. It was Robert Phillips. A teacher at Southside High as well as Jughead's adviser at the Red and Black. Betty was conflicted, as either choice she made could end with someone's death. "What do I do, Veronica? If I give the Black Hood his name, may God have mercy on the Sugarman. And if I don't, may God have mercy on all of us."

The next morning, Betty got a call from the Black Hood. She answered, under the assumption that her time was up to deliver the Sugarman's identity. The Black Hood demanded that she give up the name, but Betty refused. She told him that she had already notified the Sheriff's office, and that he would just have to read the name in the exposé she published in the Blue and Gold. The Sugarman needed to be brought to justice, not execution. He would be dealt with correctly. The Black Hood informed Betty that she was playing a risky game. She agreed. But now it's her game. A game that ended with her catching him. She found out who killed Jason Blossom, she found out who the Sugarman was, and now the Black Hood is next. She was breathing down his neck. "Can you feel it, can you feel me?", she asked.

That evening, at the trailer, Betty came clean to Jughead about everything. And so, after they mended their relationship, she cuddled up alongside him, reading a book, as he continued working on his novel.

Investigating Sheriff Keller
Betty laid in bed with Jughead at the trailer, disappointed with herself after learning that she failed to outsmart the Black Hood, who had broken into the Sheriff Station overnight, and murdered Mr. Phillips. By having him arrested, she thought she was saving his life, but his death proved otherwise. While Mr. Phillips didn't deserves what happened to him, Jughead reminded Betty that he was a high school teacher that dealt drugs. This led Betty to question how the Black Hood even gained access to the station. She had a theory, but told Jughead that it was nothing, given that it was too crazy. Jughead then received a call, which called for him to leave the trailer abruptly.

That morning at school, Betty and Veronica learned from Kevin that the town was turning on his father, which was cause to worry. While Sheriff Keller was trying his best under the crazy circumstances, the Black Hood was far too elusive. What's he been doing to deal with it, Betty and Veronica simultaneously asked. Kevin told them that his father was neither sleeping nor eating. He would also hear the Sheriff rummaging around their house at odd hours of the night, talking to himself, and heading out in the middle of the night.

In the Blue and Gold offices, Betty and Veronica discussed the troubles surrounding the Keller men. Betty announced that she had a theory. As did Veronica. While Betty accused him of being the Black Hood, Veronica believed that he was having an affair. Veronica was appalled with Betty's story, asking if it was a joke. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Hoping to convince Betty that her theory is incorrect, Veronica further elaborated on hers. Sheriff Keller's wife is away. He's failing at his job, looking for comfort, sneaking around. All signs pointed towards cheating, though Betty was persistent in her belief, stating that maybe he could be having an affair and he's the Black Hood. Given that Mr. Phillips was killed in a cell at the Sheriff Station, Betty asked how does one explain that. However, Veronica wished to no longer entertain Betty's absurd groundless suspicions considering that Kevin was in a time of need. Veronica was positive that Sheriff Keller was having an affair. So, she advised Betty to stay tuned for when she proved it.

Furthering her investigation of Sheriff Keller, Betty headed down to the station to question the Sheriff, who was under the impression that she was writing a follow up for the Blue and Gold. How did the Black Hood get to the Sugarman despite being locked in a cell, Betty asked. Forced entry, the Sheriff explained. While he was out on patrol, and the overnight deputy was sleep, the Black Hood pried the door open from outside the station. Betty then followed Sheriff Keller down to the holding cells, where Phillips was shot. They had gathered shoe prints and video surveillance to catch the killer, but what enraged the Sheriff was the fact that the killing took place in his department, under his watch.

That night, Betty called Veronica, who was sleeping over at Kevin's house without her and in the middle of an investigation of Sheriff Keller, though Veronica insisted that she wasn't investigating the Sheriff, rather comforting Kevin, and helping him deal with his father's infidelities. Essentially, Veronica was only sleeping over to look around, and prove her theory that Sheriff Keller was having an affair. Can you add looking for evidence to prove that Sheriff Keller is the killer to your to-do-list, Betty asked. She recommended that Veronica start in the home office, but it was locked. Betty then suggested that Veronica check the basement for evidence. Betty wanted her to see if anything jumped out at her. While she was initially hesitant, Veronica reluctantly agreed. However, moments later, Veronica hung up on her without so much as a goodbye.

The next day at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, Betty learned from Veronica that Sheriff Keller had sneaked out the house in the middle of the night, and that he didn't return until 4:00 in the morning. Hearing this pleased Betty as it furthered her theory. She then placed the latest article from the Register onto the table, which read "Drug Addict Found Dead on Southside Railroad Tracks". A Jingle Jangle addict's body was found by the tracks that morning. While the article read that the addict was hit and killed by a train, Betty believed that rather than stumbling into its path, he was pushed in front of it by Sheriff Keller. She reminded Veronica of all the locked doors in the Keller home, though Veronica retorted that he was merely a private person. She instructed Betty to not confuse wanting a solution to the mystery with actually having one given that they were talking about the father of their close friend.

Later that evening, Betty hid within the trees near the Keller house, waiting for the Sheriff to depart in order for her to search the home for evidence to prove that he's the Black Hood. As he left, Betty rushed over to the house, grabbing the spare key from under a potted flower, and entering the home uninvited. She immediately went to his home office, which was locked. Betty picked the lock with a bobby pin before searching the office. Inside, she found the walls of the Sheriff's home office covered with evidence to the Black Hood's attacks, such as Mr. Andrews's shooting at Pop's, the attack on Moose and Midge near Fox Forest, and Ms. Grundy's killing in Greendale. Betty began erratically searching the drawers within the office until finding a black hood hidden within one of them. Unfortunately for Betty, Sheriff Keller had returned home. He asked Betty what she was doing in his office.

Betty was then brought down to the Sheriff Station by Sheriff Keller, who called her father down to pick her up. Her father first apologized for Betty's actions and the absurd theory that the Sheriff was the Black Hood. Given that she found his research on the case and the black hood that he had previously confiscated from Archie, the Sheriff was willing to write it off as Betty having an over active imagination. Hoping to prove his innocents to Betty, the Sheriff gave her his logbook. Upon further examination, Betty discovered that he was processing a perpetrator when Mr. Andrews was shot. When Midge and Moose were attacked, he was paroling downtown. And as for Ms. Grundy, he was in the station when she was murdered in Greendale. He had the graveyard shift. Sheriff Keller had decided not to say anything to Kevin about what had happen considering that she had been a great friend to him, and if he ever found out what Betty did, it would break his heart.

After returning home, Betty called Veronica in hopes that she would join her for a stakeout of Sheriff Keller's house. Veronica agreed to accompany her, but only to keep Betty in check and for Kevin's sake. So, that night, from their car, Betty and Veronica sat outside of the Sheriff's home, where they waited for him to leave, so that they could follow him. Sure enough, in the late hours of the night, Sheriff Keller left his home as he'd done many nights before. Betty and Veronica followed him to the Shady Palm Motel. As he pulled a bag from out the trunk of his truck, Betty took a picture, stating that it was his "kill kit". She imagined that he was about to do something terrible with his next victim, who could be in his motel room. Veronica suggested that they call the cops, but Betty would much rather investigate. They hid behind the bushes, watching as Sheriff Keller knocked on the motel room door. Much to their surprise, Mayor McCoy answered the door, and greeted the Sheriff with a hug and a kiss.

Left shocked and speechless from this recent development, Betty and Veronica had milkshakes in a booth at Pop's, where they discussed how best to handle the situation. Veronica's woman intuition told her that the Sheriff was having an affair, but she never imagined that it was with the Mayor. From that, Riverdale's list of sinners just expanded. Archie and Jughead then entered the shoppe, but the girls decided against inviting them to join given that as Veronica put it, they were having an "intense broment". Betty wondered how they would present Kevin with such terrible news. But Veronica suggested that they not say anything. For Kevin's sake, this would be one of the secrets they kept to themselves in order for him to continue believing that his father was one of the good guys. After getting off the phone with the Black Hood, Pop Tate announced that they were all sinners who failed his test, and that the reckoning was upon them.

FP's Retirement Party
Betty met up with Jughead at Pop's to discuss the murder victims of the Riverdale Reaper, a serial killer that massacred a family of four in their own home, over 40 years ago. The victims were Jim and Mary-Ellen Conway, and their kids, Tommy and Sue, who were ten and nine. The Reaper was never apprehended nor identified, meaning he could possibly be the Black Hood, though it was doubtful considering that he would be in his sixties. The reporter of the article talked to the Sheriff at the time who thought the killer chose them at random due to their house being isolated. Betty learned that the house was located down a service road at the edge of Fox Forest. She even got a look at the house where the murders took place from an archived article from the Register. It was then that she realized that she had been there once before. The Black Hood had sent her there as part of his twisted game, which meant there was definitely a link between the two killers. Jughead suggested that they go to Sheriff Keller to see if he could pull the files from the murders. However, after Betty accused him of being the Black Hood, going to him for assistance was no longer an option. They could go to the house in question, but Betty refused to go back considering that the last time she was there, the Black Hood made her look into a mirror, and what she saw staring back at her was frightening. Their conversation was then halted by news that FP would be getting out of jail soon.

Betty and Jughead called Archie and Veronica down to the Blue and Gold offices to inform them of FP's upcoming release from prison. When Veronica asked what heralded the miracle, Jughead claimed that it was the perfect storm of overcrowding at the prison and Cheryl's testimony that the Judge must've reviewed. Unbeknownst to both Betty and Veronica, this was untrue. Jughead and Archie knew the true reason for FP's release was because of the one time drug-run they made for Penny Peabody in Greendale, during which time Penny had set Jughead up to be her permanent drug-runner. With a new lead in the Black Hood case, where they had discovered a connection between the current attacks and the Riverdale Reaper, Betty and Jughead were hoping that Archie and Veronica could follow up where they left off because Jughead needed to be there to help his father readjust to society while Betty was taking a break from the case. Essentially, they wanted Archie and Veronica to be them, in the sense that they would be tackle the case as an investigative team.

Betty returned home to ask her mother if she could borrow the station wagon because she and Jughead wanted to pick up FP from prison tomorrow and treat him to Pop's. Betty knew that her mother would hear it eventually, so she decided it be best to get it out the way. Betty revealed that Jughead had officially become a member of the Southside Serpents, which came as no surprise to her mother. Betty explained that Jughead was important to her, and with FP being important to Jughead, Betty was hoping that her mother would give them the benefit of the doubt.

The following day, Betty, Jughead, and her mother greeted FP as he exited the prison. After Jughead and FP shared a hug, her mother asked if it was true what they said about men who were just released from prison; that they were incredibly sexually frustrated. This question left both Betty and Jughead feeling uncomfortable as they got in the station wagon. At Pop's, her mother advised FP to watch his back because the Black Hood was targeting sinners, especially ones who joined the Serpents, or as she put it, a gang of hoodlums. On that note, FP took the opportunity to reveal that he wouldn't be returning to the Serpents, which concerned Betty considering that she was counting on FP to watch over Jughead, upon his release. FP had come to this decision while in prison. The Serpents were a slippery slope, one that he didn't wish to revisit. As for all of the extra time that he would have since he would no longer be gang affiliated, FP said that he would be working at the diner. As they were coming in, he saw a help wanted sign in the window. FP then revealed that he had joined AA while in jail, and he didn't plan on stopping.

The next day, Betty and Jughead conversed as FP waited tables at Pop's, as their newest busboy. Betty and Jughead were forced to watch as Cheryl belittled FP by intentionally knocking over her milkshake, and demanding that he clean it up. This greatly frustrated Jughead given that his father used to be a king. A leader of men. Though he's since fallen to the point of being demeaned by the likes of Cheryl. FP deserved to be honored, not humiliated. Betty agreed with this notion, stating that they should throw him a retirement party fit for a king. She told Jughead not to worry, as she would take care of everything.

Betty's first step in planning FP's party was finding a location for it to be held. She chose the Whyte Wyrm, a known Serpent hang out. There, she spoke with Toni, hoping that she would allow a karaoke machine to be brought in, which she did. Betty then explained to Toni that she had been walking the razor's edge since Jughead joined the Serpents, and all she had been thinking was that everything would get better after FP returned because he would watch over Jughead to ensure that he didn't get hurt. However, with FP retiring, that left Jughead unprotected. With that being said, Betty sough to keep an eye on Jughead herself, to make sure that as deep into the snake-infested waters as he went, that he didn't do something that would put him in danger. You want to be a Serpent, Toni asked. Serpent adjacent, Betty replied. Byrdie, another member of the Serpents, laughed hysterically. She told Betty that the only way to gain membership was to perform the "Serpent dance", which was an outdated sexist Serpent tradition of initiation for its female members. Toni attempted to get it outlawed, but she failed. Betty wanted to know more about the dance, looking to Toni for answers.

That night, Betty thanked Pop for agreeing to cater FP's retirement party. All they would have to do was pick up the trays before the party due to the short notice. Betty then told her mother about the party at the Whyte Wyrm and how she was helping organize the event. Unfortunately for Alice, she didn't have much room to object given that she was once a Serpent.

The next day, in a reversal of roles, Betty and Jughead were called down to the Blue and Gold offices by Archie and Veronica, who informed them that via Sheriff Howard's case files, they had discovered that the Conways were a family of five, and that there was third child who survived the massacre. His name was Joseph Conway. His identity was hidden and name was changed so that he could lead a normal life. According to Sheriff Howard's notes, he was adopted by another family in Riverdale, and presumably enrolled at a local high school. Fortunately, they had a photo of Joseph, meaning that all they had to do was match the photo to one of the students that would've attended Riverdale High School during those years through the school's various yearbooks. Should they find him, he could tell them how the Conway massacre was related to the recent attacks at the hands of the Black Hood. However, Jughead proposed that they proceed with caution since Joseph Conway could be the Black Hood. Considering that Joseph possibly saw the slaughter of his family, something as traumatizing as that could've effected him throughout life, which he could possibly blame Riverdale for, and is punishing the town because of it. Betty and Jughead then invited Archie and Veronica to his FP'S retirement party.

That night, before heading out for FP's retirement party, Betty looked at herself in the mirror before letting her hair down, and doing away with her "iconic ponytail".

Betty arrived at the party with her mother, who was out of her usual attire. Alice was dressed in a fashion that neither Betty nor Jughead was accustomed to. She resembled a Southsider more so than anything else. While her mother took several shots at the bar, Betty informed Jughead that she would have a surprise for him later on in the night.

A little later in the night, Betty signaled Archie to come up on stage as he had arranged for him and Veronica to sing a duet. Betty watched as Archie and Veronica performed "Mad World" for the bar. However, their performance was cut short as Veronica ran off stage, with Archie not fan behind, causing the crowd turn on them. As the crowed booed, Betty took this opportunity to get on stage, and pick up where Archie and Veronica left off. While singing, Betty started to undress as she performed the "Serpent dance" in order to gain membership to the Serpents, thus allowing her to watch over Jughead full time. Betty stripped for the crowd, taking off everything but her black laced lingerie as she sang and worked the stripper pole. As her set came to an end, FP entered the bar, giving Betty around of applause, while encouraging the crowd to do the same. He then covered Betty with his jacket, before sending her off the stage. As she got down off the stage, she was scolded by her mother for her inappropriate actions. FP then gave a speech to the Serpents announcing that he no longer had plans of retirement. This concerned Alice, who tried to take Betty home, but she refused to leave.

As Betty stood in the bar's parking lot, where she was joined by Jughead. She noticed that something was wrong, asking if it was the dance that upset him, which it was, though it wasn't the only reason. Jughead wondered why Betty would do such a thing. Betty explained that she wanted to be apart of his world, and the Serpent dance was the only way for that to happen. Archie knew to cut bait. He questioned why Betty didn't do the same. Because of this, he was dragging Betty down, as well as his father, who was no longer retiring because of his actions. Betty insisted that everything would be alright, and that they would figure out together what they had to do, though Jughead would beg to differ. He could no longer be with Betty, out of fear that she would get hurt, which he couldn't allow to happen. This wasn't his decision to make, Betty stated. However, given his status among the Serpents, it was in fact Jughead's decision, he retorted. How many times are we going to push each other away, Betty asked. Until it sticks, Jughead replied. He wrecked his father's one chance of going straight, and he refused to subject Betty to a similar fate. Though, Betty had not the slightest clue as to what he was referring to. She insisted that he to tell her what happened, but Jughead simply begged her to go home.

After the retirement party, Betty returned home, where she adjusted herself in the mirror before turning around to see Archie from his bedroom, looking back at her.

Stopping the Black Hood
Betty is awakened from her sleep by Polly, who came into her bedroom and told her that "he's here". "Who's here?" Betty asked. She headed down to steps to find Polly standing along side their mother and father. To her right, where the Christmas tree stood, Betty saw who she initially believed to be Santa Claus, planting gifts. She called out to him. But imagine her surprise when the man in red turned out to be the Black Hood dressed in a Santa suit, holding a large knife. Betty then looked back over to her family, who had been slaughtered. All she could do was stand there speechless and motionless as the Black Hood inched closer towards her. Fortunately, Betty then woke up in her room, thus revealing that it was merely a dream. After coming to this realization, Betty looked out her room window to the sight of falling snow.

The next morning, she joined Veronica over at the Pembrooke where they discussed Kevin's Secret Santa gift exchange, which as Betty informed Veronica, had a $20 limit. Although, Veronica wasn't too concerned with Kevin's rules. Furthermore, all the gifts she had purchased weren't for the Secret Santa exchange. She had gotten a Hermes scarf for her mom, a leather passport case for her dad, and even a gift for Betty. Much to Betty's surprise, in Veronica's possession was also a gift for Archie, even though they had broken up. Betty asked if the gift was meant to reunite the two lovers. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. Veronica explained that not only was she and Archie still friends, but that the gift was purchased prior to their break up.

Betty went on to attend the Secret Santa gift exchange in the student lounge at school with Archie, Reggie, Cheryl, Kevin, Veronica, Jughead and Josie. After Veronica opened her gift from Josie, which was awkwardly a gift certificate for a couples massage, Josie suggested that Veronica use the certificate to take someone other than Archie given that they had broken up, such as Betty or her mother. Reggie then joked that he could use the gift certificate for the couples massage with Veronica's mother. Luckily, Betty was the last exchange for the evening. Based on the wrapping of the present, Betty instantly knew that it was Archie that picked her name. She unwrapped the gift to find an old read-a-long record that she and Archie used to listen to when they were younger, entitled "The Swiss Family Robinson". She loved the present, thanking Archie for such a wonderful gift. Moose and Midge then entered the lounge to join them for the Holiday event.

Betty followed Archie out the lounge as he exited abruptly. She asked why he was rushing off. Archie explained that every time he looked at Moose, all he could think about was the Black Hood and all the pain he had caused. The fact that the killer was still free to wreck havoc was giving Betty anxiety nightmares and making her paranoid. It was as if everywhere she looked all she could see is the Black Hood. Though, she cut her sentence short after noticing a new janitor cleaning the floors rather than Mr. Svenson. Betty approached the janitor, asking who he was before asking about Mr. Svenson. The new janitor told Betty and Archie that he had no knowledge of Mr. Svenson's whereabouts, who had been out for a few days. Betty grew concerned for Mr. Svenson's well being considering that Archie and Veronica had confronted him about his connection to the Black Hood. Maybe in doing so, they led the Black Hood to Mr. Svenson and got him killed.

In the front office, Betty and Archie learned from Ms. Bell that Mr. Svenson had been out all week with a cold. She stated that he sounded terrible over the phone, so she dropped off some chicken soup at his front door a few days back. She went on to explain that Mr. Svenson often became depressed during the Holidays due to having no family to spend them with.

After parting ways with Archie, Betty entered the Blue and Gold offices, where she found Jughead awaiting her arrival. He had stayed behind to personally deliver her gift. Jughead then apologized for their sudden break up. As Serpents, Jughead and his father were specifically in a precarious place, and he didn't want to see Betty get caught in the cross-hairs. However, that wasn't his decision to make, Betty stated. Even if he thought his recent actions were to protect her, what she risked and for whom was her choice. While Jughead agreed with what was being said, he decided it was best that he leave. As he was heading out, Betty revealed that she had gotten him a gift as well. He smiled as she handed him the large present.

From the office, Betty called Archie to inform him that she couldn't shake her concern over Mr. Svenson and wanted to stop by his house to ensure that he was alright. Archie agreed, asking Betty that she give him ten minutes to get there.

Betty and Archie arrived at Mr. Svenson's house, where they founded Ms. Bell's chicken soup still sitting on the front step. They knocked on the front door several times, but no one answered.

After failing to make contact with Mr. Svenson, Betty returned home, where she found her mother making ginger bread cookies in the kitchen just in case there was a Christmas miracle, and Polly decided to return home, as they were her favorite. Betty then learned that another gift was left for her on the steps, which was supposedly from her Secret Santa. Betty opened the gift in her room to find a severed finger inside. She threw the box down in terror before calling Archie over. With the gift came a letter that read "Enclosed is a finger that belongs to the sinner Joseph Conway .You have one final trespass to unearth. Find the truth, reveal it to the town, and you will perhaps save his life". Betty then received a call from the Black Hood, during which time she briefly heard Mr. Svenson's voice, begging for her to save him. The Black Hood told Betty that Mr. Svenson had lost a lot of blood, though it was nothing compared to the blood on the hands of the town. The Black Hood instructed her to exhume the past and find where the primal sin was committed. There, she could possibly find Mr. Svenson alive. Archie then snatched the phone away to talk to the killer himself, but the Black Hood immediately hung up, leaving Betty to question the primal sin that the Black Hood was referring to. Before he was adopted, Svenson lived as Joseph Conway at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Betty and Archie hoped that one of the Sisters could possibly help them in figuring out Joseph's sin.

At the group home, Betty and Archie spoke with Sister Woodhouse, who informed them that Joseph Svenson/Conway was a troubled youth. Did he suffer from survivor's guilt, Betty asked. Before Sister Woodhouse could respond, another Nun passed the nearby window, giving a menacing look, resulting in Sister Woodhouse to bring their discussion to an end. However, Betty wasn't done with her questioning. So as a mean to force Sister Woodhouse's compliance, Betty revealed that she learned all about the corporeal punishment from Polly after she escaped the group home. In fear of what would follow should Betty reveal the truth about Quiet Mercy, Sister Woodhouse told them that after Mr. Svenson's family was massacred, he identified the man responsible, known as the Riverdale Reaper. From there, a small group of townsfolk took matters into their own hands by executing the alleged killer. It wasn't until Svenson had been taken to Quiet Mercy that he admitted in his terror and shock that he accused the wrong man, meaning the primal sin was sentencing the wrong man to death. Betty asked if Svenson ever talked about who carried out the execution. Sister Woodhouse claimed that they came by the group home once, to see Joseph. It was a group of men and one woman. While she couldn't remember their names or what they looked like, Sister Woodhouse recalled that the woman had striking white hair, save for a cherry-red stripe. With that description, Betty concluded that the woman was Nana Rose Blossom.

Under the suspicion that Nana Rose was present for the execution, Betty and Archie unexpectedly showed up at Thistlehouse, where Cheryl answered the front door. She invited them in and took them to see Rose. Betty and Archie asked her about the execution of the Riverdale Reaper and if Nana Rose had accompanied them when they killed him in the name of justice and revenge. Nana Rose revealed that she wasn't there to see the execution first hand as she was told to stay at home while the men took care of the killer. Where did they hang the Reaper, Betty asked. Rose replied that he wasn't hung. They gave him a proper burial by burying him alive. As for the location of the burial, Nana Rose, who mistook Betty for Polly, as she had done before, told Betty to ask her grandfather, who had participated in the execution. Rose had a picture of them at the burial, smiling just beneath the devil's hand. Nana Rose then fell ill, asking that Cheryl take her to her room.

In the car, just outside Thistlehouse, Betty and Archie discussed how her grandfather helped murder an innocent man. Though, Archie questioned if what Nana Rose had told them was true. Betty was pretty certain that it was true considering that she vaguely remembered the picture Nana Rose mentioned. When her grandfather Louis died, Betty and her family packed up his house. While they donated most of his items, they kept the pictures, which they later organized at her house. With her grandfather having a hand to play in the death of an innocent man, Betty questioned if this was the reason that the Black Hood chose her to call and torture, as a way to enact revenge for something that she didn't even do. Archie grabbed Betty's hand as he explained to her that they were finally at the part of the story where they could end it all by stopping the Black Hood and saving Mr. Svenson. But in order for that to happen, Archie needed Betty at his side. Tomorrow, they would wake up and everything would be back to normal. But for that night, Archie needed Betty. They then shared a kiss before driving off, unaware that Cheryl watched from her bedroom window above.

Betty and Archie returned to her house, where they looked over her grandfather's old photos to see if they could find the picture that was previously mentioned by Nana Rose. There was one photo in particular that Betty somewhat remembered, but the story behind it, at least according to her father was that her grandpa Louis and his friends planted some trees in Picken Park. Betty then found the aforementioned picture. In it, they could see the burial site of the preacher that was falsely accused by Mr. Svenson. Archie suspected that the burial ground of the preacher is where they could find Svenson, hopefully alive. Betty then took a better look at the branches, which resembled the devil's hand, as described by Nana Rose. Betty and Archie planned to call Sheriff Keller as they headed to Picken Parks in hopes of finding Svesnon alive and well.

Betty and Archie arrived a Pickens Park soon thereafter, where they found a shallow grave labeled "here lies Joseph Conway". After Archie dug up the grave, he and Betty opened the coffin only to learn that it was empty. They started to wonder why the Black Hood would bury an empty coffin. Though this question was quickly answered by the Black Hood, who showed up alongside them, held them at gunpoint, and demanded that Archie get into the coffin. After he got in, Betty closed the top on him and began to fill the grave with dirt, essentially burying Archie alive as her grandfather did to the innocent preacher. As Betty continued to bury Archie, she told the Black Hood that they had uncovered Mr. Svenson's wrongful accusation of the preacher and how a small group of men executed him. This was the town's sin, which Betty was willing to expose should the Black Hood allow Archie to live. No one had to die, Betty stated. As police sirens began to ring throughout the park, the Black Hood became distracted, allowing Betty to take advantage of the opportunity by hitting him in the face with her shovel and disarming him. She then jumped into the grave to uncover the coffin and save Archie. As she did so, the Black Hood took off, leaving his gun behind. Once Archie was out, Betty and Archie climbed out the grave and chased after him.

They chased the Black Hood over a bridge, which he attempted to jump over as Betty and Archie began to catch up to him. Although, he was hesitant in doing so with Archie holding him at gunpoint. Betty looked on as Archie demanded the killer to get down off the edge of the bridge. Should the Black Hood try to escape, Archie threatened to shoot him. It would only be right, with Archie reasoning that the Black Hood tried to kill his father and friends. Despite having a gun pointed at him, the Black Hood attempted to jump over. However, before he could do so, he was shot down and killed by Sheriff Keller. Upon removing the hood, they discovered that the Black Hood was Mr. Svenson, who had even cut off his own finger to further along his goal. Betty and Archie then hugged as back up arrived.

Betty and Archie were then taken to Pop's by the Sheriff, who spoke with their parents as they sat in a booth with Jughead and Veronica. Archie and Veronica's instincts about Svenson were right. Veronica thought he was the Black Hood, and had Archie listened when they confronted him at school, they could've end everything there. But after looking directly into the killer's eyes the day that his father was shot, Archie didn't see the resemblance in Svenson's eyes. Taking a moment to forget about his eyes, they couldn't believe that he would cut off his own finger. The finger of accusation, Betty pointed out. Now that they knew who did the killings, Jughead wondered why. Betty explained that Mr. Svenson accused an innocent preacher of murdering his family, which later got the man killed. Betty suspected that maybe in Mr. Svenson's own backwards way, he thought that targeting sinners would balance the scale, so to speak. Svenson having the knowledge that he did on their lives made perfect sense given that he was always around, lurking in the hallways. He could have seen Archie and Ms. Grundy in the music room, as well as Moose and Midge buying Jingle Jangle. While they continued to go over the killer's motives and mindset, Jughead was just grateful that Svenson was in a body bag and they weren't.

Betty opened her present from Jughead the next morning, which was a 1987 novel entitled "Beloved", by Betty's literary hero, Toni Morrison. With the novel came a note from Jughead that read "A signed first edition for my beloved. Thanks for introducing me to your favorite writer. Love Jug". Afterward, she retrieved a box from under her bed, containing all her evidence in the Black Hood investigation. Betty headed down stairs by the fire place, where she tossed the files and newspapers clippings into the fire. When it came time to burn the black hood, she couldn't bring herself to do it after having stared into the blackest of voids. While she initially tossed the hood in the fire, she pulled it back out. The hood was the place where Joseph Conway's soul had once existed. It was in that void that Betty had seen a dark reflection, a truth that could not be burned away. A truth that whispered to her, "This isn't over".

Finding Chic
While sitting in the student lounge with Archie, Veronica and Kevin, Betty learned from Mr. Weatherbee, who announced over the intercom that effective immediately, Southside High was shutting down and that the students who attend would be transferring to other school's in the district, including Riverdale. When Archie asked what this meant for them, Betty replied that Jughead was coming back, leading Kevin to wonder if Betty was ready to see him given that they had recently broken up. Betty insisted that she and Jughead were fine and perfectly capable of being in each other's presence. The reason behind the sudden closure of Southside High, Veronica suspected that it was some kind of bizarre, Byzantine town ordinance that they couldn't possibly understand.

Betty returned home from school, calling out to her mom and dad, but with no response. However, she quickly discovered that she was not alone as a noise could be heard coming from upstairs. Betty quietly and cautiously headed up the staircase, pulling out a can of pepper spray as she made her way up. She entered the room only to discover that Polly had returned home, though she was only back to gather her belongings. Much to Betty's surprise, Polly had given birth to the twins. The brief moment of excitement turned into disappointment as Betty realized that their mother would be crushed upon learning that Polly gave birth without telling them. At the very least, Betty wanted to alert their mother of Polly's return, but Polly warned her against such action. The leaders of the Farm, which Betty viewed as a cult, thought it best if Polly severed all ties t their family. However, Polly insisted that they weren't a cult. Furthermore, there wasn't a stigma on the Farm, surrounding the twins, who were healthy and who Polly named Juniper and Dagwood. Betty pleaded with Polly to stay while also acknowledging the fact that their parents hurt her. Despite that, Polly's behavior was cruel, selfish and vindictive. As Polly exited the room with a box of her belongings, Betty grabbed the nightlight sitting at the top of the box, claiming that it was hers.

That night, Betty's mother returned home as Betty sat at the kitchen table, distracted over her recent fall out with Polly. Much like Archie, her mother was suspicious in regards to the abrupt closing down of Southside High. She suspected that Mayor McCoy was hiding something. Just as Betty was about to tell her mother that Polly had stopped by and that she had given birth to the twins, Alice asked Betty if she had talked to her sister because she wanted to make sure that Polly had everything that she needed and that the nursery was painted to her liking. Within the questioning and seeing the joy that the mere mentioning of Polly brought to her mother's face, Betty decided against telling her mother the truth, claiming that she was simply wondering if anyone had heard from Polly.

Later that night, Betty met up with Jughead at Pop's. She appreciated him agreeing to meet with her as she had a favor to ask of him. Jughead told her that it was not a bother given that he was going to reach out to her in an effort to avoid any awkward exchanges once he returns to Riverdale. Betty explained that she needed his help to find her long-lost brother. She was hoping that Jughead would put her in touch with his social worker, Ms. Weiss, to see if she could help Betty find him. While Jughead was more than willing to set up the exchange, he couldn't help but wonder why Betty suddenly sought to find her brother. Betty told him that Polly gave birth to the twins, but that she didn't even call their mother to tell her. Admittedly, her mother was crazy. But she was also very sad. Betty was hoping that having her brother in their lives would make things better. As for clearing the air, Betty was happy that Jughead was returning to Riverdale High.

The following day, at Pop's, Betty spoke with Ms. Weiss, who informed Betty that her brother's files were unsealed and made public when he turned eighteen. His name is Charles Smith. After her mother gave birth at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, he entered and stayed in the foster system, meaning that he was never adopted. The last known address they had for Charles was two towns over, in Centerville.

Betty went home to inform her parents that Polly had the twins. Her mother immediately realized that Polly didn't want them to be apart of the babies' lives. When her mother asked if the twins were healthy and if Polly was alright, Betty replied that she is and that they are. Betty revealed that this wasn't all she had to share. After some digging, she found an address for her brother, Charles Smith. Now that Polly was gone, Betty assumed that this would better their lives, but her father would beg to differ. He quickly grew angry, explaining that her brother had nothing to do with her or Polly. Her mother agreed.

Late that night, Betty woke up from her sleep to see her mother sitting at the edge of her bed. While they couldn't tell her father because he wouldn't support it, her mother wanted to secretly meet Charles.

That day, Betty and her mother traveled two towns over to Centerville. They arrived at a Last Resort Hostel, Charles' last known address. Upon approaching the counter, the manager told them that it was $40 a night for a single bed and $20 a night for a bunk. Betty explained that they weren't looking to stay, rather they were searching for her brother by the name of Charles Smith. Room 237, the manager said. Charles told them to come in as they knocked on the door. Just as they prepared to introduce themselves, he revealed that he was already aware of who they were, having been given their address after being kicked out by the Sisters at the age of eighteen. He admitted to even stopping by their house once before. "Must be a nice place to grow up", he remarked. He didn't approach them because he had the feeling that they didn't wish to have someone like him around, though Betty insisted that this was not true. He then looked to Betty before telling her that she was lucky that their mother sought to keep her. As the interaction carried on, they learned that he went by the name of "Chic". Unfortunately, Chic began to become angry, instructing them to leave as he had a client on the way. "Fantasy Fulfillment" was his occupation.

In the car, just outside the Hostel, Betty comforted her mother as she cried her eyes out after finally meeting her son only to discover that he holds great amount of disdain towards her.

Shortly after returning home from an ill advised trip to Centerville, Betty went up into Polly's room, where some of Polly's belongings had been boxed into specifically marked boxes i.e. "throw away" and "donation". In the throw away box, was the nightlight that Betty had taken from Polly just before she left for the Farm. This, apparently, had awaken a desire in Betty to see her brother once more. She rushed downstairs, grabbing the keys off the table before leaving the house. She headed back down to the Hostel by herself. Upon her arrival, she discovered that Chic was being attacked by the manager, who armed with a box cutter, sliced open Chic's arm. Fortunately, Betty came to his aid, pepper spraying Chic's attacker in the face before making a getaway.

Betty took Chic home, opening the front door and calling out to her parents for help as Chic was in dire need of assistance. Betty and her parents helped Chic to the kitchen, where they grabbed the first aid kit and applied medical care.

Later that night, Betty slept in her bed, unknowing that Chic had quietly crept into her room and stood at her bedside, where he creepily loomed over her.

Betty sat at the breakfast table alongside Chic, Alice and Hal. When her father asked Chic how long he planned on staying with them, her mother interjected that he was free to stay for as long as he wanted to. Hal claimed that he was simply trying to plan his life. When Betty brought Chic home, he was bleeding profusely from his arm. Hal wished to know more about why Chic was in that condition. Betty told Chic that he didn't have to answer her father's questions but he did so nonetheless. Chic explained that his attacker's name was Marcel. He ran the Hostel, and sometimes, he booked clients for them. The night Betty showed up, Chic wasn't in the mood to work, but Marcel attempted to convince him otherwise. Both Betty and Hal showed great interest in the type of clients Chic catered to. Chic replied that he had clients of all kinds, ranging from nice to even nastier than Marcel. If Hal preferred, Chic could specify, along with showing him a decent collection of scars that he had acquired over time, though he was not alone in that manner. Betty also had scars, crescent marks in her palms, from digging her nails in them. Like Betty, Chic once dug his nails into the palms of his hands.

In the student lounge, Betty passed around Chic's photo to Veronica, Jughead and Kevin. Veronica commented that he was very fetching for someone who was living on Skid Row. Kevin agreed. But he insisted that he had seen Chic before. Jughead asked if he could have possibly ran into him while cruising Fox Forest, though Kevin was unsure. With Chic still acclimating and Betty attempting to gain his trust, it was unlikely that they would be meeting him anytime soon. It was proving difficult since her mom was treating him like a ten year old and her father was acting as if he was the devil's spawn. In an attempt to solve Betty's dilemma, Veronica suggested that she bring Chic to Pickens Day so that they could all meet him, though Jughead claimed he would not be attending because the Serpents weren't extended an invitation. Instead, they were hired to work security. The damage, as they say, had been done. Betty then noticed Toni standing by the doorway as Jughead prepared to leave as he had scheduled an interview with her grandfather for his oral report, who was the oldest living Serpent.

Later that night, while spending some quality time with Chic and their mother, Betty got a call from Kevin, who had remembered where he knew Chic from. According to Kevin, he was a webcam-boy.

The next day, in the Blue and Gold offices with Kevin, Betty learned that he had gotten the better of Archie during wrestling practice. Kevin expressed the joy he felt in beating Archie, who may have had the "physique of a 1970s porn star", but that didn't mean he knew how to wrestle. Speaking of porn stars, Betty said as she transitioned the conversation towards Chic, she was fascinated by this discovery of him being a webcam-boy. She brought Chic home to help her mom without knowing who he was, and now to find out he's actually multiple people, performing online. Betty wasn't sure how to broach him. Kevin then took off as Jughead entered the room to run a story by her. When Jughead interviewed Toni's grandfather and later did some research of his own, he discovered that General Pickens was hired by Barnabas B. Blossom to remove the Uktena tribe by force. In doing so, he killed 400 innocent men, women and children. To add salt to the wound, the last remnants of the tribe, the Serpents, were being squeezed out of existence. Toni's grandfather lived in a trailer the size of a broom closet. And Hiram Lodge was planning on honoring General Pickens instead of trying to make amends. Jughead believed this was a story they needed to tell. Betty agreed, asking if he was going to get a quote from Hiram Lodge.

Betty greeted Chic as he returned home in a fit of rage after learning that Marcel, his landlord, had thrown away all of his belongings, everything he needed to survive, including his laptop and camera. Betty couldn't believe that Chic could ever go back to the Hostel after what Marcel had done to him. Chic exclaimed that his entire life was at the Hostel, though Betty didn't think this to be of great concern as she reminded Chic that her mother had said that he was more than welcome to stay with them for as long as he needed to. In that, Betty believed that he could stay with them long term, but Chic thought otherwise. He told Betty that if she honestly believed that he would permanently live with them, then she was crazier than he thought.

Betty paced back and forth in her bedroom that night as she contemplated over how best to approach Chic. While doing so, she remembered the old laptop that she had in her dresser and how Chic needed one since Marcel threw his away. With the laptop in hand, she knocked on Chic's bedroom door. But no one answered. So she placed the laptop on the floor and walked away. When Chic finally opened the door, Betty told him that she was sorry that Marcel had sold everything in his possession and she was hoping that the laptop would make up for it.

While eating at the breakfast table that morning, Betty told her father to ease up as he asked Chic if he knew that the seat he was sitting in actually belonged to Polly, who had chosen to live at the Farm, away from them. He was not only sitting in her chair, but sleeping in her bed as well. Chic was filling a void, as far as Hal was concerned. Though, Chic was surprisingly unbothered by Hal's remarks. Everyone needed something, to his point. Furthermore, he didn't expect to be staying with them for free. He never had.

Later that afternoon, Chic asked Betty why she had bought him the laptop. Betty told him that she didn't. The laptop that she gave him was an old computer she had from the Register. He then asked why Betty came back to the Hostel for him. Betty replied that he was her brother and her mother was depressed. However, Chic didn't believe her. He had come to realize that everything's a transaction. No one, not even Betty, is that nice. So, why did she care, Chic asked. He advised her to choose her next words carefully because he'd know if she was lying. Betty admitted that she wanted to figure out why she is the way she is. There's a darkness in her that she didn't understand, which scared her. She thought that if Chic had the same darkness, which she believed that he did, he would be able to help her makes sense of it. Betty revealed that she knew about the webcamming, which is why she got him the computer. So, if he ever wanted to talk about it or even compare scars, she'd be there for him. However, Chic passed on her offer.

On Pickens Day, Betty, Chic, Hal and Alice gathered around the breakfast table before their first outing as a family. Fortunately, Hal would be staying behind since he had a few odd jobs to do around the house.

Shortly after arriving at the Pickens Day celebratory event in Pickens Park, Hal confronted Chic after going through his computer while they were away. He had seen what Chic had been doing online with his "clients". Betty insisted that her father stop snooping into Chic's business and harassing him, though Chic wasn't the only subject of her father's rage. He even scolded Betty for bringing Chic into their lives and into their home, more specifically, Polly's bedroom. Her mother retorted that it was no longer Polly's room. It's Chic's. Hal was persistent in Chic needing to go, and that Alice knew why he couldn't stay. She reminded Hal that she had thrown him out once before and that she was willing to do it again. Heading Alice's warning, Hal took off into the opposite direction. For the remainder of the evening, Betty Chic and their mother watched as Veronica and the Pussycats took to the stage and performed. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by the Southside Serpents, who sought justice for their massacred loved ones.

Later that night, with Pickens Day at its end and Betty in her room, Chic entered to confess that the first night he was there, he came into her room while she was sleeping. He kept waking up that night, trying to understand why Betty would go through all that trouble just for him, who she didn't even know. Chic believed that he had figured out why she came back. She was alone there, at the house. He sat next to Betty on her bed, agreeing to share with her his personal life, starting with why he webcammed. One of the reasons was to make money. The other reason was to escape, to pretend to be someone else. It was a way of getting away from the darkness within himself. Betty looked at her scarred palms. Seeing the crescent shaped scars on her palms, she asked Chic if he could show her how to escape from the darkness inside of herself. With the stroke of a few keys, Chic's dark educating of Betty had begun.

The Case of the Decapitated Statue
Following her webcam tutorials with Chic, Betty became a full fledged webcam girl. In her 'Dark Betty' black bob-cut wig and lingerie, she talked dirty over a webcam to local strangers. In this session, her client asked her several odd questions, ranging from if he looked good to could he undress for her. When he asked if the two of them could meet, Betty replied maybe. Unfortunately, their session was interrupted by her mother knocking at the door. She repeatedly knocked on Betty's door asking her why it was locked and who she was talking to. Having removed her wig, Betty opened her door while covered with her house robe. She claimed that she was merely taking to Jughead who had questions about their homework.

In the student lounge, after already inviting Archie, Betty, Jughead and Kevin were invited by Veronica to her confirmation ceremony. Usually those kinds of events were family only, but since they were her chosen family, she managed to pull a few strings and reserve them a pew. After learning the dress code, Betty and Jughead were called down to the Principal's office by Mr. Weatherbee who scolded them over Jughead's General Pickens article. There had been a steady stream of outrage since the publishing of the article, most recently, Hiram Lodge's lawyer, Paul Sowerberry. He called to tell them that they were considering taking legal actions against the Blue and Gold on the grounds of defamation of character. Effective immediately, both Betty and Jughead were suspended from the newspaper staff. They were given a day to clean out their personal things.

In the Blue and Gold offices, Jughead apologized to Betty for getting her suspended from the newspaper. While he didn't care if they harassed him at home or school, he never wanted her to get caught up in it all. Betty asked who was harassing him at home. Jughead replied Sheriff Keller. He had no proof but he suspected that one or more of the Serpents, probably Jughead, decapitated General Pickens' statue. "And did you?" Betty asked. Even though he hadn't, she reasoned that he could've done it for the same reason he had written the article, to avenge Thomas Topaz, Toni's grandfather. Betty revealed that she saw Jughead and Toni at Pop's early one morning, in the middle of the Black Hood attacks. They were having breakfast, and to Betty, it seemed like they were more than pals. While it wasn't her place to ask, she felt compelled to ask if anything had ever happened between him and Toni. Jughead admitted that on the night of the gauntlet, after Betty sent Archie to break up with him, Toni stayed over. She gave Jughead a tattoo and they did some stuff, but they didn't have sex. However, since they were on the topic, Jughead asked if Betty had done anything with anyone. Despite kissing Archie, Betty told Jughead that she had not been with anyone else.

Betty returned home to find Ben coming from out of Chic's room. He passed right by Betty, telling her that Chic would be on his way down. As Ben exited the house, Betty asked Chic about job interview. Chic told her that Ben worked concessions at the Bijou and that he thinks he got the job. Betty suspected that Ben was one of Chic's clients, but he stated otherwise. Chic would never tell any of his clients where he lived and he advised Betty to do the same. Boundaries are key. They'd keep her alive.

Betty met up with Jughead at Pop's, where he asked for her help as she was the only one in town who he could talk to. Ironically, the last time Jughead and the Serpents were in trouble, he pushed Betty away. Jughead told her about the two week eviction notices at Sunnyside and how Mayor McCoy suspected the Serpents of vandalizing the statue. With the trailer park technically being on town property and not everyone having paid their rent, the evictions were perfectly legal. To make matters worse, Mayor McCoy was making the entire thing about the beheaded statue when in actuality, it was just a pretense to shut them up and get them out. If the statue is what was fueling the fire, Betty suggested that they take away the gas by finding the head. To do this, they would have to treat it like a missing persons case. Someone, somewhere, saw something. So they could canvas the town with reward flyers for anyone who had information. Find the head, save the trailer park.

The next day, Betty and Alice attempted to convince Hal to stay at the house, though he was adamant in leaving for as long as Chic was staying with them. Her mother argued that Chic wasn't hurting anyone, and with him getting a job at the Bijou, he could pay rent. Nonetheless, he was a stranger, Hal countered. Betty and Alice pleaded with him to give Chic a chance, though Hal wasn't interested. He told them to call him once Chic was gone. In the meantime, he'd be staying at a ShareBNB down by the Register.

A day later, Betty attended Veronica's confirmation ceremony. She sat alongside Jughead, Kevin and Archie as Veronica walked down the aisle and was confirmed. Afterward, during the post-ceremony celebration, Betty found Jughead upstairs, looking over the staircase balcony. She noted that it wasn't like him to neglect a free buffet, which concerned her. Jughead told Betty about the Serpents' meeting to determine whether or not he would be kicked out. He told her that he broke a code and that in doing so, he messed up badly. Jughead went on to tell Betty about the Snake Charmer and how she suckered him and his dad into delivery drugs, forcing him and the younger Serpents to find her, grab her and cut her. The worst part is that none of it even mattered because she was back. Every decision he had made since they broke up, including their breakup, only made things worse. Betty then got a call about the flyers they put up regarding the head to General Pickens' statue.

Betty and Jughead left the party early to meet up with Junkyard Steve in the junkyard. He was the caller who had supposedly found General Pickens' head. While he had nearly ten acres of scrap and he came across weird stuff all the time, for the first time ever, he found a bronze head stashed in an old refrigerator. Jughead questioned who dumped the head at the junkyard, asking Junkyard Steve if anyone suspicious had been around recently. Ignoring the regular scavengers, Junkyard Steve told them that one guy in particular came by last week. A stranger, claiming that he was in search of bike parts, though he didn't buy anything. According to Junkyard Steve, he was a tall, low-life type, who happened to be wearing a Serpents jacket, leaving Jughead to conclude that it was Tall Boy who decapitated the statue.

Betty, Jughead and FP entered the Whyte Wyrm with the head to General Pickens statue in hand. Betty watched alongside Toni, Sweet Pea and the other Serpents as FP demanded that they stop the vote in light of recent developments. They sat Tall Boy down to ask him what he was doing at the dump last week. Tall Boy initially claimed to have no knowledge on what they were referring to, though it wasn't long before he confessed. When Tall Boy asked why Betty, a Northsider, was in the bar given that they were handling Serpent business on Serpent land, Jughead stated that she was one of them. Tall Boy then revealed that he stole the head because he was tired of seeing the Serpents go soft under FP's rule. Hiram Lodge came by wanting to stir up trouble. He told Tall Boy that if he took the head, he'd get Mayor McCoy and the cops to swarm all over them, causing chaos in the process. Hiram Lodge essentially asked Tall Boy to start a mutiny, and he he agreed. Jughead wanted to know why. Tall Boy explained that he did it in order to get rid of Jughead, which would get rid FP as well, leaving the Serpents under the leadership of him and Penny. In doing this, Tall Boy betrayed his own kind and broke Serpent law. His punishment was being stripped of his jacket and exiled.

At the trailer, Betty and Jughead sat on the couch wondering what Hiram Lodge had planned for the Southside. Maybe they could ask Veronica on Monday, Betty suggested. Though, Jughead proposed that they investigate quietly until they knew more. They hadn't saved the trailer park yet and he was on probation with the Serpents because of what he did to Penny. But at least they stopped her from coming back and got rid of Tall Boy. Betty remarked how it was nice to hear Jughead speak of the two of them working together again. He'd be apologizing for it for the rest of his life, but he was sorry for feeling like he had to shield Betty from what he was going through with the Serpents or his darkness, since they both knew that she could handle it. Betty then prepared to head home, but Jughead asked that she stay, placing his hand on her leg, resulting in Betty getting on top of him as the two of them started kissing. As Jughead undressed Betty, she told him that she needed to tell him something. Betty looked Jughead in his eyes and told him that she wanted all of him. The two of them then proceeded to have sex.

After consummating her relationship with Jughead, Betty arrived home to find a dead man's body laying on the kitchen floor. Next to the body was her mother, who was cleaning up the bloody mess. Her mother asked if she had locked the front door back, but Betty failed to response, having been rendered speechless.

Picking up from where the previous episode left off, Betty walked in on her mother cleaning up the blood of a dead man whose body laid on the floor. When Betty asked what happened, her mother explained that the dead man tried to hurt her, so Chic who was sobbing in the corner, came to her aid. Betty was warned against calling the police. Should the police get involved, her mother feared that they would take away Chic, though Betty reasoned that if the man was killed in self defense then everything should work out in their favor. Unfortunately, her mother disagreed. Betty offered to help but her mother would prefer if she wasn't involved. Betty then answered a call from her father who was on his way to the house for toiletries. With time being of the essence, her mother conceded, telling Betty to grab the bleach so that she could help clean up the mess. Luckily, they finished with the clean up job just as Hal entered the house. Betty told him that Chic was upstairs resting before offering to get the toiletries for him as he began asking questions in regards to the overpowering aroma of bleach. Up in her room, Betty got a call from Jughead who wanted to say goodnight and that he loved her. However, with her mother needing her assistance in disposing of the body, Betty had to abruptly hang up.

With her mother in the passenger seat, Betty drove out onto the trail near the woods. She questioned what would happen if someone came looking for the man considering that he likely had a family. Her mother told her that people go missing everyday and that he didn't strike her as being a family man. Wrapped in the dinning room carpet, Betty and her mother dumped the man in the sewer pipes that were shutdown decades ago, where her mother used to play as a little girl. After dumping the body, Betty returned home with her mother and the two of them proceeded to wipe the house down of the man's finger prints. After wiping the house down, Betty went to bed. She woke up that following morning to the sound of her alarm. She joined her mother and Chic downstairs for breakfast, dropping her bowl of cereal as someone repeatedly banged at the front door. On the other side was Jughead, hoping to walk her to school.

On their way to school, Jughead asked to talk to her about the night before when the two of them had sex at his trailer. He thought that they had a nice night, but her hanging up on him later that night left him unnerved and worried that maybe she had regrets because it wasn't enjoyable or that she thought they were moving too fast and wanted to slow down. Betty assured him that this wasn't the case and that she had an amazing night. Unfortunately, per usual, there was no shortage of drama at her house upon her arrival. Jughead presumed that the aforementioned drama was "Chic centric". Betty confirmed his presumption by stating that everything would be fine as it was nothing more than typical Cooper house lunacy.

In the student lounge, there was clear friction between Jughead and Veronica whose father's pursuit to take over the Southside continued. Betty could barely keep her eyes open as the two of them went back and forth. Kevin then entered the lounge to tell them about a dead body that the police had found that morning, which was reason for concern given that Betty and her mother had just dumped a body out in the woods. While Jughead wondered if the Black Hood had risen, Archie asked whose body was found and Betty asked where it was found. Although, the investigation was ongoing, it was apparently gangland style execution at the motel. As Kevin went on to explain the gruesomeness of the murder, Betty excused herself. She ran into the bathroom and puked into the toilet. Though she was not alone in the bathroom. Cheryl found her and offered to help, but Betty insisted that she was fine.

Betty returned to the sewer pipes later that day to ensure that the body was just as they left it. She lifted the carpet to find the body just as she remembered. While the dead man didn't have a wallet or any kind of identification, he did have a phone, which rang just as Betty lifted the carpet. She grabbed the phone to discover that the man had 47 missed calls. Betty took the phone, covered the body back up and headed home, where she was briefly addressed by her mother before going upstairs, into her room. Betty locked her door just before looking through the dead man's messages on his phone. As she read through them, Betty transcribed the text messages into her notebook, during which time, she had brief flashes of her clean up job.

The next morning, Betty confronted Chic at the breakfast table after discovering that the shady guy wasn't a client, but rather a drug dealer. In his phone, Betty discovered hundreds of messages from junkies looking for their next fix, including one from Chic the night of the murder. Betty explained that she went back to the dumping site to ensure that no one could see anything from the trail. Considering that Chic lied to them about the shady guy, she began to wonder what else he was lying to them about. Rather than owning up to his lie, Chic looked up to Betty as tears ran down his face though Betty was unsympathetic, telling Chic that no one was buying the water works. Before Betty could continue her pursuit for the truth, her mother pulled her into the hallway to scold her for her recent actions. Her mother believed that if she persisted in her ways that they would all be caught. Though, Betty disagreed, reasoning that the only way for them to be caught is if Chic continued to be untruthful.

In a booth at Pop's, Betty looked through the dead man's phone, calling several of his contacts, claiming that she found the phone in the parking lot and was looking for the person who it belonged to. However, each person she called hung up on her. Just as it seemed all hope was lost, the phone rang. Betty answered. On the other end was a woman who accused Betty of sleeping around with the dead man and for being the reason why he was missing. Unbeknownst to the female caller that the shady man was dead, she told Betty to tell him not come home and that he was dead to her.

Betty returned home and sat on the front steps of her house as she called Jughead and asked him to meet her. Upon his arrival, she expressed her inner turmoil and how everything was falling apart. She then told Jughead about the dead man, everything from the moments leading up to his death to her and her mother disposing of the body. While Betty was stressing out, her mother on the other hand was acting as if nothing had happened. Despite their attempt to dispose of the body and evidence, Jughead believed that they could still call the police but Betty had her doubts. A parking enforcer then pulled up to ask if either of them knew the owner of car parked right across from Betty's house, which belonged to the dead man though neither Betty nor her mother had noticed it before that moment. In covering their tracks for them, Jughead told the parking enforcer that the car belonged to him and that he couldn't find his keys. With the street being clean, the enforcer gave him five minutes to move the car. In that time, he and Betty hot-wired the vehicle and drove off. The two of them drove the car out into the woods, pushed it into the river and held each other closely as they watched as it slowly became submerged in the water, along with the dead man's phone, which Betty also threw into the river.

The next day at school, Betty was approached at her locker by Cheryl who insisted that she had something important to tell her. Upon receiving a message from Chic that he was at the house alone with her father, Betty took off. But not before Cheryl told her that her father was having an affair with Cheryl's mother, Penelope Blossom. Betty entered the house to find her father harassing Chic. So she questioned his presence at the house considering that he had moved out until further notice. Her father claimed that he had a change of heart and he was feeling that it was time for him to move back and more importantly, get some answers out of Chic. Though Chic, who was whimpering in the corner, wouldn't even look him in the face. Her father then began to question why the house smelled of bleach, what happened to the dinning room rug and where the lamp went. Betty exclaimed that she didn't know and that she didn't appreciate being interrogated. However, her father was positive that something was going on in the house and that it involved Chic. Betty demanded that he get away from Chic and leave the house or else she'd tell her mother about him and Penelope Blossom.

Later that night, Betty told her mother about her father stopping by the house and asking a lot of questions. Although, Betty insisted that he wouldn't be back given that he didn't want to risk his affair with Penelope Blossom being exposed. Considering that they could barely handle keeping her father at bay, Betty began to think that they were in way over their heads. The shady man's car was even parked outside of their house for two days without either of them noticing it. Fortunately, she and Jughead took care of it. However, Betty couldn't stop thinking about the body and who might come looking for it and how many loose ends there are that they weren't even aware of. They needed help, but not from the police. Betty suggested that they go to FP. Betty and her mother arrived at Sunnyside Trailer Park to learn that Jughead had just told FP everything and that he was willing to help because he didn't want the three of them to make the same mistake he made with Jason Blossom.

Betty and her mother sat quietly with Jughead in a booth at Pop's as FP got rid of the body. FP covered the man in sodium hydroxide before burying him. Once FP returned, he explained that within a week's time, there would be nothing left of the body, not even his teeth. Her mother thanked FP for his assistance. She was sorry for pulling Betty in, who then pulled Jughead in. Though, the circle ended with them. All loose ends had been taken care of.

Day after day, Betty checked the headlines and local news, waiting to see if they had been exposed for murdering the shady man and disposing of his body. She later entered her room to find Chic taking a shower. As life carried on, Betty could feel the walls closing in on her until what was once just her house became her own private purgatory.

At school, Betty and Jughead were invited to join Archie and Veronica at the Lodge's lakehouse. Betty was thrilled though she looked to Jughead to see if he would be coming as well. While hesitant, Jughead agreed. Reasoning that it would offer a chance for him to work on his novel though Veronica made sure to remind him that the point of the weekend was to relax and unplug.

While she was excited for their get-away weekend, Betty pulled Jughead away to the Blue and Gold offices to confront him over her suspicions that he was up to something. Jughead admitted that he needed a new source of intel for his article on Hiram Lodge and he was hoping that it would be Veronica since she was on the inside of her family's business. However, Betty asked that he refrain from investigating her best friend considering that she was kind enough to invite them to her family's cabin. Betty then confessed that ever since the night of the killing, she began feeling suffocated by Chic, who was by her account, everywhere. She needed the weekend to be an escape. Hearing this, Jughead agreed to postpone his investigation for the weekend. They then kissed.

Betty returned home with Jughead after school to pack her things for the get-away. Meanwhile, Jughead became acquainted with Chic downstairs. Chic asked Jughead if he knew about the killing. And while Jughead assured Chic that he could be trusted, Chic threatened the safety of Betty and her mother should Jughead tell anyone. Before Jughead could sum up an appropriate response, Betty came downstairs and headed out the front door with Jughead, completely oblivious to the conversation that had just transpired.

They were then driven out to the lakehouse by Andre much to Betty's amazement as she took in the scenery. Veronica then guided her inside. Shortly after entering the cabin, Jughead got a call from Cheryl who told him about her and Archie's kiss outside of Thistlehouse just before Christmas. After hanging up with Cheryl, Betty and Archie were confronted by Jughead.

Betty asked if the two of them could talk about the kiss as they sat awkwardly in their bedroom. Jughead explained that while he wasn't mad about the kiss, he was wondering why Betty didn't tell him the truth about her and Archie when he was truthful about his night with Toni after the gauntlet. Betty told him that she wanted to tell him but she thought that Archie was his third rail. Admittedly, Betty and Archie growing up together and living directly across from one another used to bother Jughead, but after everything they had recently been through, he wasn't intimidated by a Black Hood-prompted kiss. Just as the two of them made up, Betty and Jughead could hear Archie and Veronica having sex in the next bedroom.

A little while later, Betty and Jughead joined Archie and Veronica downstairs to ensure them that everything was fine. That night, while drinking margaritas, Jughead proposed a toast to the Lodges' hospitality and to putting the past behind them. Despite earlier agreeing to Betty's request to postpone his investigation, Jughead began questioning Veronica, asking her about her parents and the SoDale project. She tried to drive his investigation off track but Jughead was persistent. He then pointed out that as they were driving up to the cabin, he noticed that none of the houses had mailboxes or numbers. Veronica replied that Shadow Lake was a private community. Which led Jughead to wonder if they were hiding something. However, before Veronica could respond, Betty confronted him, leading Veronica to conclude that they were actually still fighting over the kiss between Betty and Archie. Understanding the reason for the tension in the room, Veronica told them to change into their swimsuits.

While drinking margaritas in the hot tub, Veronica revealed that when Archie told her about the kiss, she absorbed and processed it. In the end, she bore no ill will towards Betty or Archie. But the thought of it has haunted her a bit for the past few weeks. Now, as it seemed to Veronica, Betty and Jughead were caught up in the aftermath. To clear the air amongst the four of them, Veronica suggested that she and Jughead kiss. While Betty and Archie were against it, Jughead agreed to Veronica's sentiment to ease the tension as it would level the playing field. He reasoned that a "Vughead" kiss might be precisely what it takes to save future "Bughead" from imploding. With Betty and Archie in agreement, Jughead and Veronica shared a kiss in the hot tub as Betty and Archie watched.

Later that night, Betty pointed out to Jughead that out of the four of them, only he and Archie hadn't kissed. Jughead almost immediately realized that this meant at some point, Betty and Veronica had shared a kiss. While getting dressed in the bathroom, she asked Jughead if kissing Veronica made him feel better. Jughead replied that watching Archie's face made him feel better. She then asked again if he enjoyed kissing Veronica. Knowing entrapment when he saw it, Jughead chose not to answer. Betty then exited the bathroom in black lingerie and a black bob-cut wig, and told Jughead that she would have to punish him if he did enjoy his kiss with Veronica. Betty packed the outfit in case he needed a distraction from sleuthing. So she proceed to push Jughead on to the bed and climb on top of him as the two of them had sex.

The next day, Betty and Veronica went into town for supplies at the local convenience store where Veronica asked Betty about her and Jughead having sex. She told Veronica that it first happened on the night of her Confirmation Ceremony. As they exited the store, Veronica asked about Betty's relationship with Jughead. Betty replied that everything had been nice though Veronica replied that "nice" isn't what she heard through the walls the night before. So Betty admitted to wearing the very same outfit with Jughead that she wore when they drowned Chuck in Ethel's hot tub.

As they returned to the cabin, Jughead got a call from his dad who told him that everyone was over at the trailer celebrating because the eviction notices for their back rent were gone. Paid in full. According to FP, Jughead's article shamed Hiram Lodge into buying the trailer park and allowing everyone to stay. After the call with his FP, Jughead confronted Veronica as his suspicions had been confirmed, that Veronica's father was taking over the Southside, piece by piece, starting with the Twilight Drive-In, and now the trailer park. With the Southsiders' debt cleared and eviction notices revoked, Betty, Archie, and Veronica wondered why he was outraged. Jughead explained that Hiram's move with buying the trailer park was tactic. But Betty, Archie and Veronica insisted that he was simply being paranoid and that Hiram was trying to make amends.

That night, Betty stopped their game of Monopoly as she got a call from her mother. She returned from the call with her mother to announce that Hiram Lodge just bought the Register. Veronica insisted that she had no idea her father was buying the Register though this only confirmed Jughead's suspicions that he was making big plays to take over. So Betty began to question if Veronica's reasons for bringing them up to the cabin weren't as sincere as they initially believed. Their suspicions were warranted given that Lodge Industries was buying property all over the Southside and now the one newspaper in town so that people couldn't report on what he was doing. The means to silence the free press and keep Betty's mother from coming after him. As the four of them went back and forth, glass breaking could be heard from inside the house. Four men wearing black ski-masks then entered the lakehouse with weapons in hand, demanding their valuables. After taking Veronica's wallet, the intruders demanded that they get down on their knees. As he grabbed a baseball bat, the phone rang as Veronica had triggered the silent alarm. With guards on their way, the intruders exited the house. However, Archie chased after them though he returned empty handed, but fortunately, unharmed.

Later that night, in a booth a Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, Betty, Jughead, Archie and Veronica joined hands and came together as no one was hurt and they had each other. Afterwards, Jughead saw Betty home. As they entered her house, he told her that there was more than one kind of home invasion. It's not always fast and violent. Sometimes they open the door and let the intruders in themselves. With this, Jughead warned Betty to be careful around Chic as he had gotten an weird vibe from him during their first encounter. They then shared a kiss before Jughead left.

In the Blue and Gold offices, after school hours, Betty begged Kevin to assist her in her investigation of Chic. Every time she tried asking him questions about himself, Chic got defensive or started to cry as a diversion. Betty proposed that they Catfish him. Kevin reluctantly agreed as he got on video chat with Chic while Betty instructed him on what to say.

In the morning, Betty was shocked to discover that her father wanted a divorce from her mother. While he had stopped seeing Penelope Blossom, her father was upset at how poorly he had been treated since Chic's arrival despite worshiping Alice for the last 20 years. He couldn't believe that they had sided with Chic, a stranger, over him. However, much to Hal's surprise, Betty was on his side in regards to Chic. She too wanted him out of the house. As for selling the Register, he explained that Hiram Lodge offered a fair price, half of which he was willing to give to Alice as long as she was willing to agree to the divorce.

Betty and her mother learned Hiram's methodology from Jughead. Hiram acquired devalued land at a criminal discount. Twilight Drive-In, Sunnyside Trailer Park, Southside High and now Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe. While most people didn't care about Hiram's other acquisitions due to them being located on the Southside, Pop's was the heart of Riverdale, meaning people would care about Hiram secretly purchasing the diner.

Betty returned home to find that Polly had returned with Juniper and Dagwood. Betty and Polly shared a hug, during which time Polly expressed her surprise when meeting Chic. Still cautious of Chic given his recent behavior, Betty grabbed Dagwood from him though she made sure not to raise any suspicion. Polly then asked about their father, as she was wondering if they would be attending Clifford Blossom's will reading together.

Later that day, Betty attended the will reading with Polly and their father. Also in attendance was Cheryl, Toni, Penelope and Nana Rose. In the will, Clifford stated that ownership of Thistlehouse will remain with Nana Rose. To Penelope, Clifford left Thornhill, though that had since burned down. Any and all remaining assets of Clifford's fortune was to be divided in half. The first half would be distributed equally to anyone in Riverdale who could prove that they were of Blossom blood. Alice then arrived at the will reading to confront Hal. She had realized that he only wanted a divorce so that he could cheat her out of Clifford's will. After her mother was escorted from the premises, the will reading continued. The second half of Clifford's assets were to go to his true heirs, Cheryl and the now deceased Jason. As Cheryl gave a speech, Clifford's twin brother, Claudius interrupted the will reading.

That night, Betty, Polly and Chic discussed with their mother getting the blood test done so that they could inherit the fortune they were promised through Clifford's will. Oddly enough, Chic refused to get his blood tested, claiming that he didn't know any of the Blossoms well enough to trust them, along with being triggered by needles and not wanting their blood money.

In the Blue and Gold offices, Betty proposed that she and Kevin take a more aggressive approach in investigating Chic given his refusal to take a blood test. Betty was sure that he was hiding something so she devised a plan. Just as before, she instructed Kevin on what to say to Chic over video chat. Betty told Kevin to tell Chic that he had gotten tested for the first time and the test came back negative. Kevin asked if Chic got tested. Which he did. He used to go every week. He had a terrible scare once, one that he didn't feel like sharing. All he would tell Kevin is that he was living with a rougher crew back then. Kevin then shut the laptop close as Chic realized that someone else was in the room with Kevin. To Kevin, Chic seemed like a good guy. So he began to feel guilty about catfishing him and decided that he would do it no more.

Betty sneaked into Chic's bathroom that night in hopes of finding his DNA so that she could send it to the Blossoms' blood testing lab as she was still under the suspicion that Chic was hiding something. She looked through his cabinet, examining his toothbrush and combs only to come up empty handed. However, upon searching his trash can, she found a bloody strand of floss, which she then put in a napkin before hiding it in her pocket. Unfortunately, she ran into Chic on her way out of his room, who told her that he liked it better when Polly wasn't around. Love was finite, according to Chic, and people ran out of it eventually. He feared that Alice would stop loving him. And so Betty asked if he was alright. Rather than to respond to her question, he told Betty to never use his bathroom again.

After sending Chic's DNA off to be tested, Betty went shopping with Polly with the money they inherited from Clifford Blossom's will. On their way home, Polly told Betty that Chic was creepy. Betty agreed. It was part of the reason why she submitted a sample of his blood to the Blossoms' lab. Betty began to think that their father was right about Chic being dangerous. She also began to theorize that maybe Chic wasn't even their brother. And if he's not, she would be relieved despite their mother's heartbreak. Betty and Polly returned home to find that Chic had taken Juniper and Dagwood for a walk along Sweetwater River. Just as Betty and Polly began to panic, Chic walked through the front door with the twins unharmed.

The next day at the Blue and Gold, Betty read over Jughead's article, exposing Hiram Lodge for the diabolically insane mastermind that he is and his master plan. Betty stated that the article was the best thing that Jughead had ever written and that they needed Mr. Weatherbee to print it immediately. Unfortunately, Mr. Weatherbee refused to publish Jughead's article as he didn't condone the malicious take down of a fellow students' parents i.e. Veronica.

Later that day, Betty confronted Chic with the DNA test results from the Blossoms' lab. Chic wasn't who he said he was, and so Betty demanded to know who he really was.

Betty exploded on Chic after confronting him with the blood test results that had confirmed everything she had feared, that she had let a dangerous stranger into her house. Chic did not come from Blossom blood, leading Betty to believe that he was an impostor. Betty went to her mother with this startling discovery. However, from her mother, Betty discovered that Chic wasn't of Blossom blood because he didn't share the same father as her and Polly. Betty asked who Chic's biological father was, but her mother refused to answer. As her mother held Chic in her arms, comforting him, Chic and Betty made eye contact, followed by a devious smile from Chic.

At school the next day, Betty, Jughead, Archie and Veronica discussed the closing of Southside High and whether or not Veronica knew that the sole reason for its closing was for her parents to build a private, for-profit prison on it's bones. Betty insisted that Veronica had no knowledge of her parents wrong-doing. Nonetheless, Jughead planned to go on a hunger strike to protest Southside High closing and Betty supported him. Ethel then approached the table with a milkshake from Pop's and poured it onto Veronica in retaliation for her parents' misdeeds.

Betty joined Veronica in the girls' restroom to ensure that she was alright. Veronica's dad was responsible for the Muggs family losing everything they had and he still hadn't made amends. So by Veronica's account, Ethel had every right to be upset. Betty was impressed with Veronica's restraint. On their way back from the restroom, Betty and Veronica ran into Reggie, who began harassing Veronica. Veronica grew so angry that she attacked Reggie, dropping him with a single punch as Betty stood there speechless.

The next day in the student lounge, Betty, Jughead and Archie learned that Veronica was running for student council president against Reggie and that she wanted Betty as her running mate.

Later, River Vixens practice ended with Toni's performance before the squad. Afterward, in honor of Toni becoming a Vixen, Cheryl invited Betty, Veronica, Josie and Toni over to Thistlehouse for a mandatory slumber party.

During the slumber party at Thistlhouse, Cheryl revealed her true intentions behind inviting them over. It wasn't to celebrate. In actuality, Cheryl was terrified of being alone at the house with her uncle Claudius, who was crazy and a complete stranger to her, which Betty related to all too well. Cheryl had overheard her mother and uncle plotting against her and her Nana. Josie questioned if she was merely imagining things. But if Cheryl was, then so was Betty. There was a stranger in her life as well, Chic. With him lurking in every corner, her house felt dangerous and deadly. After hearing a loud thud, the girls ran into the hallway to find Nana Rose unconscious at the bottom of the steps. It would seem she had fell or even been pushed.

The next day, Betty and Archie supported Veronica in her run for student body president. They joined her by her stand as she gave out kisses and cupcakes.

Betty returned home from school to find Kevin in the kitchen chatting with Chic. Chic revealed that he and Kevin had been continuing their online chats. During which time Kevin told Chic about their cat fishing scheme. Upset with Kevin's betrayal, Betty asked that Kevin leave. Once he was gone, Betty demanded that Chic leave her friends alone. Clearly, there was something he wanted. A void he was looking to fill. Like brother, like sister, Chic added. Recalling on how Betty mentioned that they shared the same darkness though Betty countered that Chic knew nothing about her darkness.

Later that night, as Chic slept, Betty entered his room and waved a Zippo lighter across his face, waking him up from his sleep. Chic wasn't the only one who could scare people by being crazy. While he may have fooled their mother, Betty was fool proof. She promised Chic that she was going to bring him down as she had so many bad men before him, like Clifford Blossom, The Sugarman and the Black Hood. The commonality between all three of these men were that that were dead. With that message, Chic had been warned.

Concerned that he would be arrested for trespassing or protesting without a permit, Betty headed down to Southside High to check in on Jughead as his protest of the demolition of Southside High continued. However, that was the beauty of Jughead's predicament. It would look bad if Sheriff Keller tried to manhandle a group of teens who were peacefully trying to save their school. Not to mention it would probably go viral, which was publicity Jughead would welcome. Betty then gave Jughead a kiss before heading off to attend to her student council obligations with Veronica.

Betty watched from the crowd as Josie gave her endorsement of them running for president and vice president of the student body. Josie, Archie and Veronica then performed on stage for all in attendance. However, Ethel entered the lounge halfway through their performance with flyers that revealed Veronica knew all about her parents turning Southside High into a prison, amongst other things. Learning that Veronica had lied to her, Betty stormed out the lounge with Veronica not far behind hoping to explain herself. Betty recalled the day when Weatherbee announced the closing of Southside High and how Veronica pretended to have no knowledge of it. And so she was upset that Veronica had lied to them and gone along with her parents' plan. With this, Betty could no longer be Veronica's running mate as she could no longer trust her.

Betty returned home only to be confronted by her mother for tormenting Chic with a Zippo lighter. To make matters worse, they had found her black wig. Which Chic revealed that Betty wore when she had sex with Jughead. Betty clinched her fist tightly and admitted to her mother that she and Jughead were sexually active.

The next day, Betty told her mother that she and Jughead were using protection. Which counted for something since her mother didn't when she was Betty's age. Furthermore, her mother added that she was very well acquainted with how alluring the Jones men could be. From this, Betty surmised that her mother and FP used to be together. However, in no way was FP Chic's biological father. Like it or not, Chic was apart of their family. While he was odd and damaged, for the past 25 years, he didn't have anyone to love him. So he needed them, Alice explained. However, Betty insisted that he was dangerous and that her mother never forget what he did.

After talking it over with her mother, Betty proposed a truce with Chic though he had no reason to believe her since all she's wanted to do was get rid of him. Betty explained that if she really wanted to get rid of him, she would go down to the Sheriff Station and tell Sheriff Keller how he killed a man. However, Chic wasn't so sure that Betty would ever do that given that he never touched the body, the car, the phone or went through the dead man's contacts. It wasn't Chic's fingerprints or hair they would find, rather Betty's. Chic then threatened to call the police on Betty since all the evidence would point to her.

At the trailer with Jughead, Betty assured him that his protest had made a different. Every revolution had a starting point. Having already lost Southside High, Jughead didn't want to lose Riverdale High as well. So he had decided to run for student body president and he wanted Betty to be his co-president. She accepted his offer while also asking that Jughead allow her to stay at the trailer with him because she couldn't be around Chic any longer. Jughead agreed and they shared a kiss.

In keeping her promise to run alongside him for student body president, Betty joined Jughead at the school hall meeting where they squared off against Archie, Veronica, Reggie and Josie. The first question of the night came from Sweet Pea and Fogarty who were concerned about the Southsiders and their treatment since being transferred to Riverdale High. Betty and Jughead assured them that they would be looked after though Sweet Pea and Fogarty were less than convinced. Afterward, Betty and Jughead left the school posthaste to avoid an encounter with her mother, who was still upset about her moving in with Jughead

Back at the trailer, Betty, Jughead and FP made a shocking discovery while watching the news, that the shady man's car which Betty and Jughead had dumped in the swamp had been uncovered by local law enforcement.

Betty and Jughead convened with their parents in a booth at Pop's the very next morning to discuss their next course of action. Jughead blamed himself for the discovery of the vehicle, claiming he should've known better, but there was no way he could've known that Junkyard Steve drained the swamp for people's cast offs. It was Jones luck, Jughead noted. When FP asked why Chic wasn't at Pop's with them, Betty explained that he didn't know anything about the car. Thankfully, they wiped the car clean of prints before dumping it. As Sheriff Keller entered the diner, Betty and Jughead were told to keep their mouths shut and to proceed as they normally would. When her mother attempted to use this as motive to move back in, Betty restated her stance, that she would return once Chic was gone. In the unlikely event that something happened, they were to batten down the hatches. Until then, life was to go on and they were to stay away from the car.

Betty attended a meeting of the Swords of Serpents called on by Jughead, who was criticized by Sweet Pea for going back on his promise of going to war with the Lodges, and instead running for student body president. Jughead explained that they needed those votes to affect change. Whoever was elected got a seat on the school board, giving them access to the inside which meant they couldn't be silenced. However, Fogarty and Sweet Pea were still untrusting of Betty who they predicted would bail on them just as her mother did. However, Betty had helped the Serpents on numerous occasions, such as finding the Pickens' statue head and getting Cheryl to testify for FP's parole. Though as Sweet Pea pointed out, she did all this for Jughead, not the Serpents. Betty's legacy would be the same as her mother's as far as they were concerned, making her an enemy of the Serpents. For that reason alone, Jughead would not be getting the Serpent vote.

At the trailer that night, Betty and Jughead discussed what it would take for her to gain Sweet Pea and Fangs' trust. She questioned if she should start wearing plaid and leather jackets, along with getting a snake tattoo. To be fair, Jughead pointed out, her mother was Serpent enemy #1. Meanwhile, the shady man's car had been discovered and they had no idea what was going on with it. Jughead had been thinking about that. He asked Betty what was their normal. She replied that it was investigating something when the entire world was telling them they shouldn't. With that in mind, Betty and Jughead met up with Kevin at Pop's to gain intel of the shady man's car. They claimed that they were writing an article on how people use Swedlow Swamp as a dumping ground. According to the Sheriff, the car was claimed by its owner earlier that morning and the police were trying to figure out who stole it in the first place.

The next day, they were scolded by their parents for questioning Kevin despite being told to lay low. However, Betty and Jughead explained that they had to in order to figure out what was going on with the car. Furthermore, Kevin didn't suspect a thing. They had learned that Chic's drug dealer, Dwayne, stole his girlfriends' car before making his run to their house. Unfortunately, Chic couldn't tell them much about Darla. Although, Betty did recall briefly speaking to her when she called the shady man's phone. Switching gears to another topic entirely, Betty was ordered to return home by her mother with FP's backing.

After returning home, Betty asked her mother to sign a consent form to allow her to get a Serpent tattoo as she practically a member already. However, her mother refused to sign the form or even acknowledge Betty's adjacent membership. As the two continued to discuss the matter, Chic returned home with Darla. He was supposedly trying to help but made things so much worse. Darla wasn't surprise that Dwayne took her car though it ending up in a swamp did strike her as odd. Just as she was getting ready to head back to Centerville, Chic called her to see how much she knew, but she saw right through him. Dwayne was a terrible person by Darla's account. So she didn't care what happened to him and didn't see any reason to ask questions so long as she got the $10,000 that he owed her. If not, Darla threatened to go to Sheriff Keller. With no other choice, they agreed to pay off Darla. However, the bank was closed and they would have to wait until the morning.

Betty headed off to the bank the next morning as planned. After withdrawing the money, she got a call from her mother telling her that Marcel, the manager that attacked Chic at the hostel was also at the house. Whatever she did, her mother told her not to come home. Betty returned home despite her mother advising her not to, but not before telling Jughead about her predicament. Jughead rallied the younger Serpents and together, they kicked in the front door and threatened Darla and Marcel with knives. They demanded that Darla and Marcel leave or else the situation would get a lot worse than it already was. Heading their warning, Darla and Marcel took the money and left. As they were leaving, Betty and her mother shared a hug. Once they were gone, Jughead apologized about the front door but her mother wasn't concerned. She merely wanted to thank Jughead and the Serpents for their intervention. She then admitted that Betty was right abut Chic and kicked him out the house.

The next day, Betty joined the younger Serpents as they gathered around while her mother personally thanked them for intervening the day before when they were in trouble. Furthermore, she was done attacking and disavowing the Southside.

Betty brushed her hair back and sang "In" before heading off for school. She arrived at school some time after and ran into the auditorium with Veronica, Archie, Cheryl, Toni, Josie, Ethel, Kevin Midge and Moose. They got on stage, where they continued to sing and dance before being joined by Fangs, the assistant director. The cast then began introductions, starting with Archie who portrayed "Tommy Ross", the boy next door. Betty played "Sue Snell", the good girl. Veronica portrayed "Chris Hargensen", the mean girl. And Cheryl would be playing the iconic role of "Carrie White". As for who would be portraying, "Margaret White", Carrie's mom, that role went to Alice Cooper, which came as a surprise to almost everyone. Kevin explained that while her casting was untraditional, to him, there's nothing more amateur than age-inappropriate casting. Alice was both looking forward to playing Margaret and spending more time with Betty. Chuck Clayton joined them late after mistaking that rehearsal was in the music room.

Betty and Archie discussed how weird it was to be playing boyfriend and girlfriend. Hearing this, Jughead advised him to take it easy as Big Brother is watching. Archie acknowledged that their relationship (Archie, Betty, Jughead and Veronica) was strained at the moment. But they were there for Kevin and to do the play. So, Archie hoped that they could do it as painless as possible. However, it was not that easy for Betty considering that Veronica lied to all of them by conspiring with her parents against the entire school. Betty added that it's fine that Archie was doing exactly what Tommy Ross would do by standing by Veronica's side. However, where Betty's standing, Veronica was just as much of a privileged, selfish, spiteful mean girl as the part she's playing.

Cheryl interrupted rehearsal after hearing whisperings that some of them, mainly Ethel and Josie, didn't think she's fit to play the role of Carrie White. So to settle the matter, she began to sing "Carrie" to prove them wrong. Her singing removed all doubt as Betty, Archie, Veronica, Ethel, Josie, Alice, Toni, Midge, Moose, Jughead, Kevin, Fangs, Chuck give Cheryl a round of applause. As Cheryl headed back to her seat, a heavy sand bag fell from above and nearly crushed her.

In the auditorium, Betty and Veronica sang "Do Me A Favor" and danced with Archie and Chuck.

In the Blue and Gold offices, Betty learned from Jughead that Kevin recieved a threatening letter from someone claiming to be the Black Hood. Much like Jughead and Kevin, Betty believed the letter to be a hoax. It was a legit threat, but it wasn't from the real Black Hood, Jughead stated. Classic Phantom of the Opera tactic. Mystery man sends menacing note demanding a certain diva soprano gets recast or else. "Who's to say this letter came from a mystery man at all?" Betty asked. Jughead admitted that this was a good point as the letter may have come from a woman.

Suspect #1 was Ethel. Betty found her in the student lounge and tried to bait her. Betty accused Cheryl of always taking things she shouldn't, like the role of Carrie, to see if Ethel would agree. Jughead filmed from just outside the lounge as this unfolded. However, Ethel did not bash Cheryl, instead, she thanked Betty for the compliment of considering her to be a better fit for the lead role. Betty continued. For Kevin to cast Cheryl as Carrie without even letting Ethel audition, Betty wondered if that made Ethel angry. Ethel replied that she was born to play Carrie White. So to not be given a shot at it makes her angry. Unfortunately, Ethel noticed Jughead by the window and realized that she was being filmed and interrogated. She told them that she's not a violent person and that she would never harm anyone for her own benefit.

Betty, Veronica, Toni, Ethel and Chuck continue rehearsal in the auditorium, where they sang and performed "The World According to Chris". Though Betty seemed almost disgusted with Veronica's performance, Archie, Fangs, Kevin, Moose, Midge and Jughead were highly impressed as they applauded the routine from the crowd. Betty credited Veronica's performance to her being the literal embodiment of Chris, the character she's portraying. Never had a role been so perfectly type-cast, Betty remarked. Archie tried to stop it, but she continues. Betty went onto point out the similarities between Veronica and Chris. Spoiled rich girl. Major daddy issues. Bad to the bone, trying to control everyone around her, including her boyfriend and best friend.

Afterward, Archie confronted Betty for being so mean to Veronica. Betty had no idea what's going on with Veronica. There's a lot that Betty didn't know about Veronica, her family and the intense pressure that she's under. Betty asked that Archie tell her as she wanted to let it go, but it's not Archie's place to share it. Archie did however remind Betty how quickly Veronica forgave her when the Black Hood made her say terrible things to Veronica at Nick St. Clair's party. Kevin then called them on stage to run Tommy and Sue's ballad. Archie took Betty's hand while singing "You Shine". Taking in what Archie had said to her, Betty found Veronica in the music room to apologize. But Veronica assumed that Betty was there to continue her assault. If there was anything that playing Chris has illuminated it's that she has been a terrible friend to Betty. Betty replied that she couldn't disagree more as she and Veronica proceeded to sing "You Shine".

Betty came downstairs that night to find her mother calling Chic. She was worried about him and hadn't heard from him recently. When he didn't answer, she left a message saying that she loved him.

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, Kevin informed Betty, Archie, Veronica, Jughead, Fangs, Toni, Ethel, Alice, Moose, Midge, Chuck and Josie that Cheryl will no longer be playing Carrie. When they asked why, Kevin simply replied that Penelope Blossom wasn't much of a stage mom. In the meantime, Cheryl's understudy would assume the role, that being Midge, who Kevin appointed after the sand bag incident.

Betty's mother and Midge sang "Stay Here Instead" on stage. However, Alice's performance started to seem a bit too real and more so directed at Betty than Midge. Alice then looked to Betty in the crowd and told her not to leave her like everyone else, before running off the stage in tears. Betty followed her mother into the hallway to inform her that she wasn't going anywhere. Everything was crumbling, Alice remarked. She'd driven everyone away. She gave Chic away when he was born and she just did it again. Making matters worse, she and Betty's father weren't living together because of something unspoken that happened years ago. And she and Betty have never been so frayed. Betty held Alice close as she continued to cry.

As part of the behind the scenes documentary, Betty told Jughead that while her mother has always been a woman on the verge, this was something else. Betty wanted to do something that'll make her feel less alone and abandoned.

Opening night has arrived. Betty and Alice were too nervous to even eat. Betty did however come through on her promise to do something to make her mom feel less abandoned. She called her dad and arranged that he bring her mother flowers. Hal arrived with flowers for Betty and Alice. However, Alice was allergic to peonies. Hal told her that he'd really like to come back home. If they do this, there can't be anymore secrets, which meant Alice had something to tell Hal in regards to Chic. She revealed that Chic wasn't his son. Which he always suspected though he didn't care. He only wanted to come home. Their secrets can't hurt them anymore and they can be together again. Betty listened from the hallway as her parents reunited.

In the dressing room, Betty, Archie, Veronica, Kevin, Midge, Moose, Kevin, Alice, Chuck, Toni and Ethel sang "A Night We'll Never Forget". After Betty did a bit of singing in the dressing room with Veronica, Archie and Chuck, Veronica spoke for the entire gang when she told Chuck that his behavior throughout rehearsals has been nothing short of that of a proper Victorian gentleman, meaning his pariahship was over. Chic entered the dressing room, much to Betty's surprise. He claimed that he wouldn't miss the play for the world. Betty then told him that he should get back to his seat as the play is about to begin and he wasn't supposed to be backstage.

The crowd was packed when the play began, and Alice started to sing "Evening Prayers". Betty, Archie, Veronica, Moose, and Toni watched from backstage. When Alice cued Midge, the curtains raised only to reveal that Midge had been murdered by the Black Hood. She had been stabbed with knives and scissors and pinned to the wall. On the wall, written in blood was a message. "I Am Back From The Dead. All Those Who Escaped Me Before Will Die... B.H" When Alice screamed in fear, the crowd realized that this was not part of the play and the auditorium erupted in panic and chaos.

Return of the Black Hood
The town gathers for Midge's funeral to pay respect. Cheryl sings a song in Midge's honor. She and the rest of the River Vixens are dressed in all-black cheerleader uniform. Midge's death has seemingly taken a great toll on Riverdale, Mrs. Klump and Moose especially. As the service ends, Betty, Jughead, Archie and Veronica watch as Cheryl consoles Mrs. Klump. When Sheriff Keller approached to offer his condolences, Mrs. Klump slaps him as he was supposed to be protecting them all from danger.

At Pop's, Jughead theorizes that the latest killing is the work of a copycat. And Chic coincidentally showed up in Riverdale just after Svenson was killed. That along with the fact that he's creepy with a temper places suspicion on him in Jughead's mind. However, Betty corrects Jughead. Chic is only in Riverdale because she went searching for him. Admittedly, he is weird. But he didn't know Midge. So Betty wants to move on to a different suspect. Archie explains why he doesn't think Svenson was the Black Hood. While they were there when he died and he was wearing a hood that night, it doesn't mean he's the same guy who shot Fred and killed Midge. Betty reminds Archie that Svenson forced her to bury him alive. Not to mention that he cut off his own finger. Archie argues that maybe the real Black Hood cut Svenson's finger off because he was working with him. All Archie knows for sure is that when he looked into the Black Hood's eyes, they weren't Svenson's eyes.

While leaving the diner, Jughead questions how could they possibly know with certainty that Chic isn't the killer. Jughead recalls that he's killed someone before, the Shady Man, Dwayne. Betty explains that Chic acted in self defense when killing Dwayne. Midge, however, he never even knew. So there is no motive. Given Chic's violent past and his association with equally violent people (Darla and Marcel), Jughead can't help but suspect him.

Sheriff Keller arrives at the Cooper house to question Chic as he has been talking to everyone who was at Riverdale High School the night of the musical. A couple people claim they saw Chic backstage just before the show. Her father tells the Sheriff that Chic no longer lives with them, but that they can bring him down to the station tomorrow. Sheriff agrees and then leaves. Once he is gone, her mother wonders why he threw Chic under the bus. Hal questions what Alice is worried that Chic will say. Remembering that her father has no idea about the murder that took place within the house, Betty interjects that her mother is just overprotective of Chic.

The next day, Betty asks her mother if maybe Chic should leave town for all of their safety. Betty worries that Sheriff Keller might press Chic, which could lead to Chic revealing what happened to the Shady Man. However, as Alice explains, Chic leaving town will only raise suspicions, which will result in law enforcement hunting him down. While talking to the Sheriff is a risk, it's one they have to take. Alice also insists that Betty relax because she'll be coaching Chic.

At school, Betty tells Jughead that maybe they should look further into Chic. While there is still no motive on why he would want to kill Midge, there might be something that connects him to Svenson since they both spent time at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Taking a moment to reconsider Archie's theory about there being multiple Black Hoods, Jughead notes that Svenson and Chic could've been in cahoots. While it's a long-shot since Svenson is older than Chic, he did however work at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy for years as a groundskeeper, meaning they might've crossed paths.

At the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, Betty and Jughead speak to Sister Woodhouse about information regarding Chic. They ask if Chic's time at the group-home ever overlapped with Svenson's. Betty wants to check Chic's files to see if the time matches up. When Sister Woodhouse asks for a court order, Betty informs her of her family relation to Cheryl, who recently escaped the Sisters' secret, gay, reeducation camp. So unless Sister Woodhouse cooperates, Betty threatens to return with a court order, as well as the F.B.I to shut them down. Out of fear that Betty will follow through with her threats, Sister Woodhouse provides them with the files. They discover that Chic ran away nine years ago. That means he would've overlapped with Svenson for two years. In the file, they find a photo of Charles Smith. Although, he looks nothing like Chic.

Betty and Jughead return to Betty's house frustrated at themselves for not figuring out sooner that Chic isn't really Betty's brother. Much to their surprise, Chic is in the kitchen with her mother. After taking him down to the Sheriff's station for questioning, she invited him back to the house for dinner. Betty and Jughead reveal that they paid the Sisters of Quiet Mercy a visit. While there, they discovered that Chic is an impostor. Betty shows her mother a pic of the real Charles Smith. Chic attempts to play it off, claiming that Betty's been out to get him from the start and that she never wanted a brother. When that fails and suspicion of Chic grows, he grabs a large kitchen knife, unintentionally cutting Alice's hand as he attempts to attack Jughead. Betty manages to disarm Chic before knocking him unconscious with a rolling pin.

Betty joins Jughead and her mother in the basement where they have tied Chic up to a chair. He wakes up not long after. Betty has grown tired of his games. They want answers, starting with Chic's real name. He insists that he is Chic and then calls out to Alice again for help, but she does not respond. Betty surmises that Chic must've known her real brother. When she and Alice went to the hostel and asked for Charles Smith, they were sent to Chic's room. So Betty asks why Chic was impersonating him. Chic explains that he never said he was "Charles Smith". He said he was "Chic", during their first encounter. Chic reveals that he met Charles out on the street. They then moved into the hostel together. That's where Charles told him about the Coopers. A perfect family a Riverdale who gave him up for adoption and never even came looking for him. One day, he knocked at the Coopers' door. Betty's mother answered. She told him that they weren't interested, before slamming the door in his face. Charles went on a bender that night and overdosed on Jingle Jangle. Hearing this, her mother runs upstairs in tears with Betty not far behind her.

Her mother finds the picture that Betty showed her of Charles. She gives it a good look and knows that Chic is telling the truth, at least about Charles stopping by the house. Alice remembers turning Charles away at the front door. He knocked and she asked him to leave. She begins to blame herself for killing her own son. Betty tries to calm her mother. They don't know Chic or his motives. Alice concludes that he is seeking revenge. She gave her son away and he came back to her only for her to turn him away. This, Alice believes, demands biblical punishment. However, Betty argues that Chic is the only person of guilt. Alice finally stops crying. Before leaving out the house, she requests that Betty stay at the house and watch Chic until she returns.

At the Cooper house, Betty's phone rings. It's the Black Hood. Betty instantly becomes teary-eyed. He asks if Betty missed him. Deep down, she knew it wasn't over. Betty accuses him of killing Midge and setting up Svenson. The Black Hood admits that both is true. And yet, for all he's taught her, she's been making amateur mistakes by allowing Chic, a sinner in her house. The Black Hood claims that Chic has lived in a den of sinners and that he kills as easily as he did in the house. Chic has supposedly murdered before. Jughead joins Betty in the kitchen and asks who she was talking to. She tells him it was her dad. Betty then tells Jughead that they need to go back to the hostel because she doesn't think Chic's telling the truth about what happened to Charles.

Betty and Jughead arrive at the hostel. They head up to the second floor to see if they can figure out what happened to Charles by talking to his neighbors. They have no such luck with the first neighbor, who tells them to go away. However, they do come across another one of Charles' neighbors, who is a bit more willing to talk. Betty shows the woman a photo of Charles. She recognizes him. She said that he was the nice one. He always spoke to her and even carried her groceries. May he rest in piece, she comments. Jughead asks did Charles have a Jingle Jangle addiction. The woman knows nothing of any addiction but Charles and Chic were constantly fighting. And then one day there was only one. "The bad one" i.e. Chic. Later, when she took her trash out, she saw bloody sheets and pillows in the dumpster.

Betty and Jughead confront Chic with the information they gained from his and Charles' neighbor. However, Chic refuses to admit anything other than the fact that Charles was a junkie. Jughead punches Chic and he begins to bleed. Despite all the blood, Chic seems rather unaffected. He tells Jughead to keep at it. They're not going to kill him because they're scared and they won't let him go because they're worried that he'll tell about the shady guy. Betty grabs Chic by his throats and demands the truth about her brother, but Chic continues one with his games.

Betty phone begins to ring just as she places the gun she stole from Ms. Grundy in her purse. It's the Black Hood. Betty admits that he was right about Chic being a killer, but he won't admit it. Some sinners only confess when faced with certain death. If Betty delivers Chic to the Black Hood, no one will ever know about the man who met such a gruesome end in their living room. Betty seems to be considering the Black Hood's offer, but before she can answer, FP and her mother barge into the house. FP heads downstairs to find Jughead attacking Chic. He stops the interrogation and takes Jughead out of the house. Meanwhile, Alice and Betty contemplate their next move. Betty suggests driving him out of town or driving him out of town, but her mother fears that he'll only come back. In the meantime, she decides that it's time to tell Hal the truth about everything as this affects all of their lives.

After learning that Chic is an impostor and that he is tied up in the basement, her father blows up. He demands to know what they were doing. Alice begs him to calm down, but with a psychopath in their basement, Hal is irate. When he decides that it's better to let the police deal with Chic, Her mother reveals that Chic killed a man in the house and that she helped him cover it up by disposing of the body. Alice lies to Hal and tells him that Betty had no involvement in the cover-up. It was only her and Chic. When Betty tries to speak up, Alice tells her not to say another word and to go to her room. Instead of following her mother's instructions, Betty heads into the basement. She pulls the gun from her purse. She tells Chic that she took it from a music teacher that was a predator like him. At gunpoint, Betty cuts Chic loose and they head out the back door.

Betty drives Chic out to the cemetery. Chic wonders who was it that called Betty with the odd lollipop song. Betty tells him that he'll find out soon enough. Now that it's just them, she wants to know if he killed her brother Charles. Chic reveals that they got into a fight and he lost control, but he never meant to hurt Charles. The Black Hood arrives. Just a few feet away. Chic doesn't believe her as she too would be running for her life if it was really him. But Betty tells Chic that the Black Hood is only interested in him. She lowers her gun and gives Chic a head start as the Black Hood slowly approaches. Chic takes off in the opposite direction. The Black Hood briefly makes eye contact with Betty before chasing after Chic.

Betty returns home to find her mother sitting on the steps, drinking her troubles away. Alice asks where Betty went. Betty answers that she took Chic away. He's gone for good. Betty lies and tells her mother that she took Chic to the bus station. Betty then notices that Hal is gone. So she asks her mother where he went. Alice informs her that he went out looking for Betty.

Betty is certain that the Black Hood has returned as and that he is none other than her own father, who sits right across from her and her mother at the breakfast table. Hal notices that Betty is troubled and asks if there is something on her mind. Betty claims that she had been thinking and had come to the conclusion that Chic was a test. Everything that he did to them and brought on them was a test. Betty believes that they're stronger after surviving it. Alice remarks that this supposed strength remains to be seen, but Betty is positive that they are stronger. Furthermore, they'll survive whatever comes next.

Betty and Jughead walk to school. Jughead asks if Betty has heard back from Chic. He too, like everyone else, is under the impression that Betty took Chic to the bus station, when in actuality, she set him up to be killed by the Black Hood. Nonetheless, Betty hasn't heard from him since that night. She hopes that he's gone for good. The silver lining to all this is that it can't get any worse by Jughead's account. Betty states that her dad could be the Black Hood, which would in fact make things worse. Jughead takes it as a joke, but she couldn't be more serious.

Betty pulls Cheryl into the Blue and Gold offices to ask her about Jason's killing and her father being the culprit. Before she saw the video of her dad shooting Jason, Betty asks Cheryl if she knew her father was a murderer, which Cheryl did, subconsciously that is. Betty then reveals to her that there's a chance that her father may somehow be the Black Hood. Cheryl is doubtful considering that Hal doesn't seem like much of a killer. While Betty hopes this isn't the case, everything in her body is telling her otherwise. Cheryl suggests going to the authorities given that the new Sheriff may be more competent than Sheriff Keller. However, Betty wants to be 100% positive that her father's the killer before confronting him. In that case, Cheryl advises Betty to get proof or a confession. She'll first need to buy herself sometime while she investigates.

The next day, at the Cooper house, Betty sits at the table with her parents. Given that her father has been so busy at the Register, Betty proposes that her mother join him. She is already moderating the debate. Betty sees no reason why she shouldn't report on it as well. Alice likes the sound of this. As does Hal. Betty even offers to help with proofing and layout after school. Hal couldn't be happier to have them both back the Register.

Betty hangs back at the Register to finish up her work as her mother and father head out for dinner. Once they are gone, Betty unlocks her dad's drawer and makes copies of his planner. After calling Cheryl over, Betty explains that she cross referenced every day of the Black Hood attack with her father's schedule, and they all line up. He worked late the night Midge and Moose were attacked at Lover's Lane. He had an early meeting the morning Fred was shot. He even had a business trip the night Geraldine Grundy was killed in Greendale. This isn't proof though it is corroboration. The phone rings. Betty answers. It is Dr. Curdle from the corner's office. A corpse recently turned up of an unidentified male in his mid-twenties. His mutilated body turned up on the highway, just out of town. Impersonating her mother, Betty tells Dr. Curdle that she'll be there soon to see the body. He replies by telling her to bring small bills, as always. Betty reveals to Cheryl that she sent the Black Hood after Chic. Maybe he didn't make it and it is his body laying in the morgue, Betty wonders.

Betty and Cheryl arrive at the coroner's office. While Betty isn't the Cooper he was expecting, her money is good just the same. After paying him off, Dr. Curdle unzips the bodybag. The man was found in the men's room of a rest stop outside of Greendale. Luckily for Betty, the man inside the bodybag isn't Chic. Betty and Cheryl return to school, where Betty sobs on the steps. Cheryl assures her that everything is alright as it wasn't Chic. But Betty argues that it could've been. Chic could be dead somewhere because of her. Or he got away, Cheryl counters. Betty delivered him to the Black Hood. That makes her a killer herself. Betty is disgusted with her actions. The Black Hood got what he wanted. They're the same. Cheryl tells Betty that none of this is her fault. However, part of Betty wanted Chic dead for everything he dead. If Chic is dead, that's the Black Hood's doing, Cheryl explains. She then advises Betty to confront her father with as much of the truth as she dares to see how he reacts.

Betty takes Cheryl's advise and at the dinner table reveals to her mother and father that when the Black Hood was first killing people, he was also calling her, asking her to do things as they were alike. He offered to help get rid of Chic. So Betty delivered Chic to the Black Hood. If Chic's dead, that makes her accomplice to a murder, and Betty's okay with that. There's always been this darkness inside of her. She thought Chic could help her understand it, but really it was the Black Hood who did. She says all this to potentially bait her father. Her mother is left speechless. Her father holds her hand and tells her about his own darkness. When he was away from Betty and Alice, it felt like he was drowning it it. This is why they need each other.

Betty calls Cheryl to reveal what she had learned. While her father hasn't confessed to any crimes, he did admit to not being his best self when he's was kicked out the house. It was just a hunch but Betty gained access to his credit card statements and learned that he's still making weekly payments to the ShareBnB he'd been renting even though he's back at home. Cheryl wonders if maybe he has a serial killer lair. With that, they decide to break into it to get to the bottom of it. Cheryl stands lookout as Betty picks the door open. They're looking for anything unusual or incriminating. Cheryl finds a Nancy Drew book. The same book in fact that the Black Hood used to write the cipher that only Betty could solve. Betty's dad knew she was obsessed with the book growing up. Betty then gets a call from her dad, who asks where she is. Betty lies and says that she's at Pop's with Cheryl. He tells Betty that he and her mother are about to head to the debate. When he offers to pick her up or wait for her, Betty says that she'll meet him there.

Betty sits in the crowd of the Mayoral debate, not that far away from her father. Not long after the debate starts, the Black Hood begins shooting from the balcony with a rifle. Betty calls out to her dad, who is no longer in the seat behind her. She suspects that it is him shooting from the balcony, but it's not. He grabs Betty and the two of them hide as the gun fire continues.

Betty sits at home with the Nancy Drew book that she took from her father's room at the ShareBnB. When he comes downstairs, Betty confronts him. She doesn't know what she saw at the town hall, if that was really even the Black Hood, but she and Cheryl went to his room at the ShareBnB. When they broke in, they found the book that the Black Hood used for his cipher all those months ago. She wonders why he has it. Hal had no idea that the Black Hood used that book. All he knew was it was Betty's favorite. She checked it out of the library practically every weekend. He found a copy online and was saving it for Betty's birthday. He then realizes that Betty suspected him of being the Black Hood. He assures Betty that the book was merely a present. They then share a hug.

Betty sits in her bedroom, looking at the Black Hood she previously took. She calls her father, who asks if everything is okay. Betty tells him that they need to finish the conversation they started earlier. He asks if she should come home, but Betty wants to meet where it all began, with her speech at town hall. She wants it to just be between the two of them, just like it's supposed to be. Betty arrives at town hall shortly thereafter with the Nancy Drew book and the gun she stole from Geraldine Grundy.

Betty awaits her father's arrival at Town Hall as planned. However, he never shows up. She does however have 2 missed calls from Jughead. Betty texts him back, though she lies, claiming that she is at the Register with her mother. Betty then gets a call from Cheryl, who reveals that she was attacked by the Black Hood at Thistlehouse. Betty wonders if her dad was the attacker. Based on the killer's waistline alone, Cheryl admits that it could've been her dad though she isn't sure. Luckily for Cheryl, she was able to get to her archery set before the Black Hood could hurt her. Cheryl informs Betty that her attacker fled into the woods after she shot him with an arrow and that she plans to track him. Just in case he escapes her, Cheryl warns Betty. Now that the Black Hood is wounded, he's acting on instinct, ready to lash out and kill anyone in his path, including his loved ones.

Betty calls her mother at the Register, who is relieved to hear from her. When Betty asks about her father, her mother informs her that Hal it out calming the riots. Betty is on her way to the Register to join her mother, who is taking great pleasure in the chaos unfolding as it means headlines. "If it bleeds, it leads."

Betty arrives at the Register to meet her mother. There, she learns of Hermione's announcement, a $1,000,000 reward for anyone who can capture the Black Hood, dead or alive. As a mayoral candidate, Hermione feels it's important to take charge in times of crisis. Like the riot, which she believes was brought about by the actions of the Black Hood. She offers a bounty in hopes that it will bring an end to the Black Hood. Betty disagrees with the notion that a bounty will solve their problem. Furthermore, she questions if it's even legal. Hermione reminds Betty that the Black Hood is an active shooter on the streets of Riverdale. He even tried to kill Fangs outside the Sheriff's Station. However, Betty assures Hermione that the Black Hood wasn't responsible for shooting Fangs as no one actually saw him outside the station. As Betty continues, her mother questions her sudden urge to act so protective of the Black Hood. Before she can respond, Cheryl calls with a lead as she continues to track the Black Hood. He's exited the forest and headed for the houses beyond the pines. Maybe even Betty's house. With that being said, Cheryl warns Betty against going in the house alone. However, Betty has to find her father before anyone else does given Hermione's bounty.

Despite being warned by Cheryl not to return to her house alone, Betty does so, calling out to her father as she enters the house. No one is home. Betty does however find blood on the kitchen sink, possibly from the arrow Cheryl shot at the Black Hood during their altercation.

After cleaning up the blood, Betty gets a call from FP at Riverdale General. He's wondering if Betty's heard from Jughead, which she hasn't. If she comes across him, FP asks that Betty tell Jughead that he's looking for him. FP then mentions that her father was brought into the emergency room. He was badly wounded. With this, Betty heads down to the hospital to investigate.

Betty arrives at Riverdale General to find her father, who had supposedly been checked in. According to the nurse, he was in room 221. Betty enters the room to find that her father is gone and that he has supposedly murdered Dr. Masters. His throat had been slit. The hospital telephone rings. Betty answers. On the other end is the Black Hood. He remarks that they keep missing each other. The Black Hood admits to killing Dr. Masters because he asked too many questions. With this, Betty accuses the Black Hood of being an average run-of-the-mill psychopath as there's no longer any method to his killings. The Black Hood tells Betty to come home so that they can finish what they started. He then reveals that Alice is also at the house. He threatens to slit her throat as well if Betty goes to the police or isn't home within ten minutes.

Betty returns home to find her mother in the living room, unharmed. As Betty tries to convince her mother to leave the house with her, her father enters the living room. He came up with an idea to watch home movies. Hal plays for them old home videos of himself as a child, being disciplined by his mother. On the video, Hal's mother, Betty's grandmother, tells him that his father did something very noble in massacring the Conway family as they were sinners, thus the revelation that Hal's father was the Riverdale Reaper. Young Hal was ordered by his mother to convince Joseph Conway to accuse someone other than his father of being the killer. When the video ends, Hal tells Alice to take out her tape-recorder as he wishes to share his story. He reveals that Great-Grandpappy Cooper wasn't murdered by his brother. Instead, he was the killer. He killed Great-Grandpappy Blossom and then took on the Cooper name to create a new identity for himself. The Conways discovered this secret. Mr. Conway blackmailed Hal's father and Betty's grandfather. So he killed them for being sinners and Hal convinced Joseph to accuse an innocent man as planned. He goes onto tell Betty and Alice about his darkness. The same darkness that lives in Betty. Her father approaches and demands that she say who he is. "You're the Black Hood", Betty says as her eyes fill with tears. He is responsible for shooting Fred Andrews as well as killing Geraldine Grundy the Sugarman, Midge, and Dr. Masters. But the shooting at the Mayoral debate was not his doing.

Her father goes onto explain that he became the Black Hood because Riverdale is a town of sinners. He recalls Betty speech at the 75th Anniversary Jubilee, where she says that the town must do better. It reminded him of a promise he made to his mother, that Riverdale would do better. So he picked up his father's sword, so to speak and continued the work that he and his grandfather started. Betty asks why her father wanted this discussion recorded. He replies that he wanted everyone to understand what happened when they find them. It would seem that he plans on killing her and her mother, along with himself. Betty watches as her mother taunts her father. She always knew he was a mama's boy. She claims that he can't do anything for himself. Betty advises her mother against antagonizes him, but she continues to do so nonetheless, pointing out that Hal can't do anything right. Not even be a serial killer. With Hal distracted, Betty grabs a shovel from the fireplace and hits him over the head with the shovel from behind, knocking him to the ground, Alice then hits him with the shovel.

Betty stands with her mother as Tom Keller arrives to arrest her father. He puts Hal in handcuffs and places him in the squad car before pulling off. Archie and Fred join them on the front steps. Betty reveals to Archie that her father was the Black Hood. Archie asks Betty if she saw the Black Hood leave his house after he tried to shoot his father again about an hour ago. Betty explains that this is impossible as Hal was with them during that time. Betty then gets a call from Jughead. He only called to tell her that he loves her and that he'll never stop loving her. Betty asks him where he is at, but he doesn't answer, only saying that he'll see her later, before hanging up. With that, Archie and Betty grow concerned for Jughead. Betty proceeds to call FP as she was starting to worry about Jughead after the call she got. It was almost as if he was saying goodbye.

Betty, Archie, Cheryl, Sweet Pea, Toni and the Serpents arrive at Jughead's old hangout where he sacrificed himself to Penny and the Ghoulies in order to save everyone else. FP comes out of the woods holding a lifeless Jughead in his arms. He has been beaten bloody and senseless, and his Serpent tattoo removed. Archie, Betty, Cheryl, Sweet Pea, Toni and FP are speechless.

A dream sequence takes place in the opening scene. Betty, Archie and Veronica stand over Jughead's grave. Betty falls to her knees and tears fill her eyes as she begs Jughead to come back to her as their journey has only just begun. Jughead wakes up in a hospital bed. He calls out to his father, who sleeps in the chair next to his bedside. FP jumps to his seat at the sound of Jughead's voice. It would seem that some days have passed since Jughead was attacked and left for dead by Penny, Malachai and the Ghoulies. What Jughead did brought every Serpent FP had ever known out of the woodwork and Jughead would've been proud of them. It looked like they were going to win the war with the Ghoulies, but in the end, there were just too many of them.

Betty visits Jughead in the hospital after learning that he has awaken. Jughead now knows that her father was the Black Hood. He consoles Betty as she lays alongside him in his hospital bed. He's sorry that he wasn't there to see her through it. Betty tells him not to worry as she never wishes to see her father again. Her only concerns are Jughead, her mother and atoning for her father's sins. This means that she and Jughead are no longer running for student council. She then kisses him. They are soon join by Archie and Veronica. Jughead informs them that he'll be released from the hospital tomorrow. Until then, there's still another mystery to be solved. Betty's dad was at town hall when another Black Hood opened fire on the candidates. He was also at home with Betty and her mom when this second Black Hood attacked Archie and his dad. Jughead believes that the attacks perpetrated by the second Black Hood have a political motive, which suggests that Hiram is actually behind the attacks. They have to stop Hiram now because once he has control of the mayor's office, the Lodges will be untouchable. While they're positive that Hiram is the mastermind, none of them believe he is the man behind the hood. They're thinking that the second Black Hood could be a Serpent or Ghoulie. But Jughead suspects that Sheriff Minetta could be the second Black Hood.

Betty walks home to find her mother standing outside their front door, berating their neighbors, who also stand just outside their house, taking photos and video following the discovery that her father was the Black Hood. Alice entertains the crowd, inviting her neighbors to come in and see where Hal planned all the murders. Betty pushes her way through the crowd, demanding that everyone go home.

The next day, after he was released from the hospital, Jughead calls Betty. He offers to skip school and join Betty over at her house if she is in need of support. However, Betty declines his offer as her mother isn't in the mood for company. At least not until the neighbors desist. Betty tells Jughead that she loves him and that she and her mother will have to work their way through this ordeal.

Betty heads over to the Andrews house to apologize to Fred for her father's action. Fred tells her that she has nothing to apologize for as she did nothing wrong. Betty blames herself for not realizing that her father was the Black Hood sooner. She claims to be a great detective yet she couldn't see what was right in front of her. People paid for that mistake with their lives.

Betty is joined by Archie and Veronica, who try to convince her to come back to school, but she's hesitant. How can she? Her father killed Midge and shot Moose. Betty doesn't think she can ever show her face at school again. She asks if Archie hates her father for shooting his father. Because she does. Seeing that Betty is in need, Veronica and Archie comfort her.

Polly returns to Riverdale with her twin babies Juniper and Dagwood. She questions why Betty and their mother haven't gone to see Hal yet. Betty claims that she's taking things one step at a time. Polly wonders how they're supposed to forgive him if they don't go visit him. At the Farm, they taught Polly that forgiveness is the most valuable gift they can give. If they don't absolve him, they'll become what he was, full of hate. And Polly's babies deserve a mother who's better than that. Their mother begins to think that Polly's right, at least about seeing their father. Maybe that way they can get answers or she can give him a piece of her mind. Either way, Betty has no interest in seeing her father.

Jughead arrives at Betty's house to babysit Juniper and Dagwood with her. During which time, Betty asks Jughead if he believes that evil can be past down. Her great-grandfather, grandfather and father were all evil murderers. Jughead claims that this was merely circumstance, but Betty begs to differ. She worries that the twins might even grow up to be murderers, much like her father. Jughead tells Betty that neither she nor the babies are evil, but Betty feels that being evil may be her destiny; something she can't control or understand. Jughead assures Betty that she's a good person.

Betty sees her father in prison. Betty told herself that she wasn't going to see him again, but Hal never doubted for a moment that she would come as she's the only one who understands him because they are alike. Hal did unspeakable, horrible things. Betty's not like that or like Hal, leaving him to wonder why she even came by. Betty came to say goodbye and also to say no more darkness and no more evil. For him, it's over. Hal no longer has any power over her. However, Hal is certain that Betty will be back.

Betty confesses to her mother that she went to go see her father in jail. How did it go, Alice asks. Betty says it was hard. But she wants to go back to school now. Alice and Betty then hug.

Betty, Jughead, Archie, and Veronica meet at Pop's, Veronica's newest acquisition. According to Pop Tate, the basement of the diner used to be a secret speakeasy, back in the days of flapper dresses and cigarette girls. So, Veronica wants to reopen that speakeasy. A cabaret space for world-class entertainment and the most decadent cocktails. A place for North and Southsiders alike. In fact, she is hoping that FP might want to manage it to make sure the Serpents feel welcome and at home. As for Veronica's father, he's probably plotting some sort of revenge.

Later that night, Jughead books a room for himself and Betty at the Five Seasons. They lay in bed together unclothed. Betty wonders what's the special occasion. There is none, but Jughead feels that after everything that has happened, a night at the Five Seasons might be something that she would enjoy. He also wants to ask her to be the Serpent Queen to his Serpent King. He's essentially asking her to join the Southside Serpents, though he tells her that she doesn't have to give an immediate answer. He jokes that she can take her time and tell him tomorrow at lunch. They then proceed to have sex.

The following day, Betty, Jughead and Veronica watch proudly from the stands as Archie prepares to be inaugurated in the school gymnasium. However, the event goes awry when Sheriff Minetta and two deputies enter the gym to arrest Archie for the murder of Shadow Lake resident, Cassidy Bullick. }}