Chapter Fourteen: A Kiss Before Dying

"Chapter Fourteen: A Kiss Before Dying" is the first episode of the second season of Riverdale, and the fourteenth episode of the series overall. It premiered on October 11, 2017.

Synopsis
THE ANGEL OF DEATH — As Fred’s life hangs in the balance following the shooting at Pop’s diner, Archie struggles with the emotional aftermath of what he witnessed. Meanwhile, as Veronica steps out of her comfort zone to support Archie, she learns that her father Hiram has arrived to Riverdale earlier than expected. Elsewhere, at Pop’s diner, Pop Tate recounts the chilling details of the shooting, which leaves Jughead and Betty questioning the gunman’s true motives. Lastly, after running into Cheryl at the hospital, Betty and Kevin are surprised to learn about the fire at Thornhill.

Plot

 * NOTE:PLOT IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The episode unfolds with the aftermath of the last season's ending. Archie Andrews rushes his shot father, Fred, to the Riverdale General Hospital. Even though Archie Andrews doesn't even have a drivers license yet, he careened down the streets of Riverdale, trying to outrace death. He finally arrives at the hospital, without wrecking the truck, as he shouts for help at the entrance, explaining that his father was shot. They put him on a wheeled stretcher as they rush to the emergency room. Archie stays on the other side of the door, reassuring his father repeatedly that he is waiting right there.

Suddenly the time flashes forward to Archie's high-school graduation. As Fred is about to take a picture of Archie, Veronica, Betty and Jughead, he says that he just can't believe that he's there, at Archie's graduation, a day he didn't think he'd live to see. Jughead replies that he didn't. Fred is confused by this, so then Veronica reminds him of the incident that occurred at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe. The same bell jingles, and the shooter appears as the graduates laugh. When the shooter enters the room, he brings out his gun and Fred yells for everyone to go down. The gun fires, and Fred returns back to reality.

Meanwhile, Betty is home eating breakfast with Alice. Alice approaches Betty, asking her what she and her friends did after the jubilee. Betty replies that she went to Pop's and later went to FP's trailer with Jughead. It doesn't take long for Alice to assume that Betty and Jughead had sex. Betty assures her that they didn't, well they almost did, but they were interrupted. Alice's glad to hear they were interrupted until Betty mentions who interrupted them — the Serpents. Alice tries to prove her point, saying she knew Jughead would fall into FP's criminal footsteps, and then Betty gets a phone call. Alice says that if Jughead's the caller, block him. Betty says, instead, that it's Archie, to which Alice says to block him too.

At the Pembrooke appartment, Veronica sits at the table with a glass of mimosa and a plate of chocolate almond croissant. When Hermione sees the glass of champagne in Veronica's hand, she reprimands her for opening the bottle of Cristal that was saved for her father's return. Veronica gets a phone call from Betty, ending their conversation. At the same time, Jughead also receives a phone call from Betty. Jughead exits the trailer, uncovers the motorcycle parked in front of the trailer, and without hesitation, gets on, puts on the helmet and leaves.

Betty and her parents, Alice and Hal, enter the hospital. She sees Veronica and her mother on the way, along with Jughead. They find Archie pacing back and forth, covered in the blood of Fred. They all come in for group hug, and they all sit down so Archie can explain what happened.

"I came out of the bathroom and there was this man, thief... Wearing this hood, with a gun on Pop Tate, and then he pointed it at my dad and he fired. And then he... and then he bolted. Then I was holding my dad, Pop Tate called an ambulance and it didn't come so I drove here and... And I don't know, maybe I should've waited, maybe I made it worse..." Jughead refuses to agree with that, saying that he saved his dads life, along with Cheryl. He gave him the name, 'Pureheart the Powerful'

Hermione asks Archie if he spoke to his mother about it, and he states that he hasn't yet. He walks away, saying he'll be right back, which leads to Alice looking at Jughead in a weird way. Jughead looks back awkwardly, saying, "What?" Betty tries to stop her mom from saying anything. "Mom. Do not start this." "Start what?" Jughead asks curiously. Alice then speaks up and says, "Well, of course, I can't help but wonder if your Southside associates had anything to do with what happened to Fred." Jughead snaps back by replying, "Unbelievable. At least you can't accuse my father of being the shooter, considering he's in jail." This is the first time Jughead has a real interaction with her.

Archie then calls his mother, telling her about the incident, and that she should come immediately. The core four go to see Sheriff Keller, who asks about how Fred was doing, in which Betty responds that he's still in surgery. Sheriff Keller suggests that they talk about it, and Jughead asks to tag along. Sheriff Keller doesn't agree at first, until Archie does, stating that'd be great.

Archie describes the shooter as a man that's maybe 5'10, 160 pounds or so. Sheriff Keller asks, "And he was wearing dark pants and a dark jacket?" To where Archie nods. He adds on by asking if there was anything on the jacket, like a symbol or insignia. This catches Jughead's attention, and he asks if he meant as in a snake. Archie states that it was just a normal, dark jacket, with no snakes. Sheriff Keller then asks about the ski mask, and Archie responds saying it wasn't exactly a ski mask, and more like a black hood, homemade, with the eyes cut out by themselves. He also describes the man to having green eyes. It is stated that Pop Tate had a good point of view as to what happened, all the way until where Fred was shot.

Archie is asked to fill in a few gaps, and explain everything more briefly. When asked about what the shooter did after shooting Fred, he starts the sentence with a word, but zones out a little, and refuses to get into details. He simply states that he shot his dad, and ran out. Although it was too early to speculate, Archie asked, "Who did this, Sheriff?"

Sheriff Keller states it was probably someone out of his head on meth or the jingle jangle, or perhaps a Southside lowlife looking for a cash grab. Jughead asks how much cash he got, suspicious that robbery wasn't the motive.

"Since this is Riverdale, I have to ask. What if robbery wasn't the motive? What else could it be?" he asks. Sheriff Keller suggests it may be someone who has a grudge against Fred that wanted to make it look like a robbery, although it is too early to even think about that.

Veronica speaks about the things she can and can't do, which include not being able to comfort boyfriends. Betty sticks up for Veronica, saying she can do it, and that she wouldn't hurt Archie. At the same time, Jughead and Archie return. Jughead asks Archie if he was hiding something from the sheriff, and Archie explains that his dad said he and Hermione fired the Serpents, knowing FP vouches for them. He decides to not let Jughead down, adding that maybe one of them were pissed off enough to do something. Jughead says he'll do his best to get information from the Serpents about the incident. The two pull into a hug, with Archie saying, "Thanks, bro." #JarchieIsEndgame

As Jughead leaves, Steven Masters, also known as Fred's doctor, states that they got the bullet out and stopped the internal bleeding. The downside was that Fred still couldn't breathe on his own. However, he was allowed to see him in an hour or two. Archie asks what he's supposed to do in the mean time, and Betty and Veronica recommend that he goes home to change.

Starring

 * KJ Apa as Archie Andrews
 * Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper
 * Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge
 * Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones
 * Marisol Nichols as Hermione Lodge
 * Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom
 * Ashleigh Murray as Josie McCoy
 * Mädchen Amick as Alice Cooper
 * Luke Perry as Fred Andrews
 * Casey Cott as Kevin Keller
 * Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge

Co-Starring

 * Alvin Sanders as Pop Tate
 * Cody Kearsley as Moose Mason
 * Trevor Stines as Jason Blossom

Guest Starring

 * Charles Melton as Reggie Mantle
 * Martin Cummins as Sheriff Keller
 * Nathalie Boltt as Penelope Blossom
 * Asha Bromfield as Melody Valentine
 * Hayley Law as Valerie Brown
 * Lochlyn Munro as Hal Cooper
 * Sarah Habel as Geraldine Grundy
 * Molly Ringwald as Mary Andrews
 * Barclay Hope as Cliff Blossom
 * Peter Bryant as Mr. Weatherbee
 * Colin Lawrence as Coach Clayton

Trivia

 * The title for the episode comes from the 1953 crime novel by Ira Levin which has been adapted into film twice, first in 1956 then again in 1991.
 * Fred Andrews' fate will be revealed by the end of this episode.
 * The episode ends with the notes of "Rosemary's Baby Main Theme", the soundtrack of Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (1968), based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Ira Levin.

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