Betty Cooper/Season 3

Season 3
{{Scroll-1| Three months have passed since that fateful evening in the school gymnasium where Archie was framed by Hiram Lodge and arrested for the murder of Cassidy Bullock. It's now the summer before the gang's junior year of high school, during which time, each of them spent the summer invested in their own activities; Betty's been in an internship for Mary Andrews. And though it does't pay much, it's for a good cause, Archie's freedom.

Archie's trial is now in session. He sits alongside his mother, Mary, and Attorney McCoy, both of whom are acting as his counsel. Betty, Jughead and Veronica are all in attendance. Archie is being prosecuted by District Attorney, Ms. Wright. The evidence and testimony presented during court supposed tells a dark tale, that Archie has a history of violent behavior. She attempts to paint Archie as a bad person in her closing argument as Mary attempts to shed light on all the good deeds Archie has done, such as helping solve the murder of Jason Blossom, providing the Southside Serpents with refuge as they hid from the police, and punching through a layer of ice in order to save Cheryl from drowning. With that in mind, Mary takes the opportunity to remind the jury that there were no witnesses, murder weapon or motive to the killing of Cassidy Bullock. After hearing from both the prosecution and the defense, the jury begins to deliberate.

While the jury deliberates, Betty, Jughead and Fred praise Mary for her defense, to which Mary thanks Betty for her assistance over the summer. Veronica then arrives to ask if anyone had seen Archie. When they explain that they haven't, Betty, Jughead and Veronica set out to find him. They find him sitting on the courtroom steps alone. Archie reminds Betty and Jughead how much fun they had together every summer at the swimming hole. Coincidentally, Betty and Jughead has also been thinking about it. However, they stopped going after they got covered in leeches one summer. Unfortunately, Veronica had never been and would like to go in fact. However, that would have to wait as Kevin interrupts to inform them that it's time to return to the courtroom.

As Betty, Jughead, Veronica, Mary, Archie and Fred leave the courtroom, Hiram makes a remark towards Archie, resulting in Fred punching him in face. The two are then separated before the incident can escalate.

Betty, Archie, Veronica and Jughead grab a booth at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe. Betty thinks they can vindicate Archie if they find the gun that Andre used to kill Cassidy, however, Veronica tore the Pembrooke apart in search of the murder weapon but failed to find it. According to Veronica, after the riots, her father erased all traces of Andre. Jughead concludes that Andre most likely ditched the weapon at Shadow Lake. They contemplate returning to Shadow woods with metal detectors in search of the gun, but Archie doesn't want to spend what could be his last weekend looking for evidence that isn't there. They see it as three extra days to save Archie from going to prison, but he would rather follow the Judge's advice by spending time with them. Enter Cheryl, who invites them to her epic End-of-Summer pool party at Thornhill. Cheryl warns them that while they're welcome to invite whom ever they please, she's in the mood for some hell raising.

The following day, Betty is spotted by her mom and sister as she attempts to sneak out the house unnoticed. They welcome her to join them, but Betty declines. Alice asks if she's off to another therapy session with Dr. Glass, but that isn't for another day, Betty replies. She's actually headed to see Archie. Alice tells Betty that before she go back to school, she think it's important that they spend some quality family time together. Edgar Evernever, the leader of the Farm, thinks it's important, though Betty dismisses the notion.

Betty helps Archie and Fred fix up the car they got from the junkyard in the Andrews' garage. Betty admits that watching Fred punch Hiram Lodge in the face was Incredibly cathartic, though as Fred points out, it almost got him landed in jail. Archie has the honor of starting the car. It would seem that all their efforts are successful, as the car starts without a problem. When Archie comments that they fixed the car just in time [for him to go to prison], Fred gets choked up and heads inside. This provokes Archie to ask a favor of Betty. If he does go away, Archie asks that Betty check on his dad, and occasionally invite him to dinner, as he'll be all alone once Archie's mom returns to Chicago. Betty promises to fulfill Archie's last request from her.

Betty comes downstairs to find her mother with all of her diaries. After talking to Edgar about them, both he and Alice agree that Betty should burn them because she's been filling the pages with so much pain and suffering over the years. She need to let that go. Betty retorts that her therapist, Dr. Glass, says journaling is a perfectly healthy outlet. And while Alice respects that, the diaries are Betty's past. And her past is crushing her. Betty again dismisses the notion and Edgar entirely/ Although, Betty may look down on the Farm, Edgar has done nothing but help Alice. He's encouraged her to embrace everything that she was ashamed of and become the best version of herself. Alice then points out that Betty's not dealing with her problems, such as The trauma from last year with what happened with her father and Chic. Alice worries about Betty, so she suggest that Betty listen to what her soul is telling her. Betty sarcastically remarks that her soul is telling her to get away from her mother as she's been body-snatched. As Betty exits the house, Polly warns their mother that there's something else she should know about Betty.

Just as planned, Betty attends Cheryl's End-of-Summer pool party at Thornhill. Betty approaches Veronica as she sits alone at the party. Veronica went to see Archie's mom and Attorney McCoy, to ask them to put her on that stand. She wanted to get in front of that jury, to tell them the truth about her father, to see if that might make a difference, but they said it's too late. Josie interrupts to inform Veronica that she may not be too late after all. The jury is being sequestered at the Five Seasons. Third floor, room 301. The security's tight, but Josie thinks she can get Veronica in. Veronica's thinking that she only needs to get to one Jury member. To convince them that her dad's the villain here, not Archie, for there to be a hung jury. Which would give them more time to prove Archie is innocent.

Betty, Jughead, Sweet Pea, Toni, Cheryl and Fangs rally together and plot to invade Ghoulies territory after learning that they have Hot Dog. Fangs suspects that the Ghoulies snatched him on riot night. He looked very skinny. Fangs doubts they're feeding him enough. So they look to Jughead for their next move. They'd be going behind enemy lines, outnumbered, open to attack from all directions and risking another gang-war. However, no Serpent left behind. That includes their spirit animal. They're going to deploy after dark. It's going to be a quick stealth mission. Betty reminds Jughead that the last time he went into Ghoulie territory, he was beaten to within an inch of his life. However, he'll have backup this time. With that being said, Betty wants to come along. The Serpent Queen is a warrior queen. So if Jughead's on the frontlines, then so is she.

Betty, Jughead, Cheryl, Toni, Sweet Pea and Fangs steak out the Ghoulies' lair, where they are holding Hot Dog. Jughead instructs everyone to be lookouts as he goes to retrieve Hot Dog. Armed with a set of bolt cutters, Jughead cuts Hot Dog's chain. Immediately after doing so, he is surrounded by Penny, Malachai and the Ghoulies. As it turns out, taking Hot Dog was merely a ploy to get Jughead to come to her. Penny wants to talk about him trying to get into their business. Penny warns him to back off unless he wants to replay riot night, where they almost killed him. Penny also wants his jacket as it says "South Side Serpents" despite the fact that the south side no longer belongs to the Serpents. Penny had heard about Betty joining the Serpents and contemplates going after her next. With that in mind, Jughead agrees to give up the jacket so long as the Ghoulies stay out of the north side. As Malachai approaches Jughead, he is shot in the shoulder with an arrow by Cheryl, much to Jughead's dismay. When Penny orders the others to just kill the young Serpents, Jughead orders Cheryl to aim her next arrow at Penny, forcing Penny to call off her men. She lets Jughead go, but not before telling him that he just made the north side fair game.

The next day, Betty is sat down by her mother and sister. The pharmacy called. They can't complete an Adderall prescription that was requested by Betty's doctor because she had one refilled in Greendale two weeks ago. Furthermore, DR. Glass doesn't exist. Betty's been forging prescriptions for herself. So now Alice and Polly are worried about her. She's been lying about going to therapy. Now, she's making up a psychiatrist so that she can scam medication. Betty can't believe that she's being given a hard time for trying to re-up a prescription that her mother literally shoved them in her hands a year ago. Alice explains this was before Edgar explained the dangers of pharmaceuticals. Betty cant believe her mother's actually buying into the Farm. Edgar is helping them move on and he can help Betty too, though Betty doesn't see their methods will help get over the fact that her father murdered four people and tried to kill them. Polly becomes enraged, stating that Betty is in denial. She has a secret life, involving hoarding stolen drugs and hiding from her pain. Betty may hate the Farm, but they healed Polly and Alice, and before they can heal Betty, she needs to admit that she's sick. Archie then arrives outside to pick her up.

Betty, Archie, Veronica and Jughead drive down to Sweetwater Swimming Hole in Archie's jalopy. They get undressed and jump into the water. Afterwards, the four of them sit around a campfire. No matter what happens in court, Archie informs them that this is the best last day of summer a guy could ask for. In a one last-ditch effort to keep Archie out of prison, Jughead suggests that he make a break for it. Past that treeline, there's a road that goes through the mountains to Quebec. There are Serpents north of the border that will keep him supplied. Betty says that he doesn't deserve it, but Archie questions if he does. He's guilty. He didn't kill Cassidy, but he left him alone with Andre. Had Archie stayed, he might still be alive. More than just that, Archie blames himself for everything that went wrong last year. And he has to take responsibility for that.

Betty and Jughead have split off from Archie and Veronica. Betty reveals that she isn't ready for summer to end. This summer, she hasn't stopped or slept, because of working on Archie's case. She's barely looked up since May, and her mom and Polly think that she's been hiding and avoiding, which she admittedly has been. Betty thinks that she should stop taking Adderall and start seeing an actual therapist. Either way, come Tuesday, it'll all be over. And she'll have to face everything that has happened, everything that will happen. All these things that she doesn't have control over, they terrify her. Jughead assures Betty that they're gonna get through it. From now on, they're partners. In Serpents, in life, all of it. Betty and Jughead then begin to kiss.

Labor Day weekend is over and Archie's trial is now in session. Betty, Veronica, Jughead, as well as the rest of Archie's friends and family are in attendance, as well as his enemies. However, the jury could not reach a verdict. They're deadlocked. Six-to-six. With that, the jury is dismissed. Archie wonders what will happen next. Mary explains that the judge will declare a mistrial and they'll have to do it all again. In lieu of another trial, the State is prepared to offer a deal for a lesser sentence, Ms. Wright says. Instead of prison, time served plus two years in juvenile detention, if Archie will plead guilty to the crime of manslaughter. Despite his mother's counsel, Archie takes the deal, much to the court's surprise. Archie explains that he can't put all the people he cares about through this again. The court accepts Archie's guilty plea and he is taken directly from the courthouse to the Leopold and Loeb Juvenile Detention Center, where he will serve out his sentence beginning immediately. Betty consoles Veronica, who breaks down as Archie is taken away.

That night, Betty comes downstairs, calling out to her mom and Polly. She heads onto the back porch, where she finds Alice and Polly, along with several other members of the Farm, holding Juniper and Dagwood over a fire. They let the twins go into the fire. However, instead of falling in, Juniper and Dagwood float above the flames. Betty then collapses. She begins convulsing and is unresponsive to Alice's calls to her.

Investigating the Gargoyle King
The Cooper women are recuperating from the night before, where Betty fainted on the back porch. Dr. Patel kept her overnight for observation but it was just a precaution. They ran test hoping to discover the source for the seizure though he suspects it was the result of Betty begin stressed. Polly was up with the twins all night worried about Betty, though Betty herself is more concerned with the whereabouts of Juniper and Dagwood, who she swears she saw her mother and Polly throw into giant bonfire. Alice claims that the only thing burning last night was the Hibachi, as they were making skewers with a few friends from the Farm. Polly concludes that Betty was merely hallucinating when she saw the twins go into the fire as they are fine, upstairs sleeping in fact.

Betty meets up with Jughead in the Blue and Gold offices, where she learns that Dilton Doiley is dead. And Ben from the Twilight Drive-In is barely hanging on. Doctors don't know when or if he's ever going to wake up. What Jughead saw was horrendous. He describes it as being a ritual site. Dilton and Ben's lips were blue. There were these chalices with what was likely poison and even animal bones surrounding the site. Even the tree had markings on it. Not to mention the winged totem with a skull and branches. And there's no way to determine whether it was a murder or suicide pact gone wrong. Jughead first recalls seeing Ben and Dilton at Pop's and then Dilton later coming to his trailer raving about the Gargoyle King. With that in mind, Betty and Jughead decide to investigate the case together. At least until they catch another lead with Archie's case.

Betty and Jughead meet with Dr. Curdle Jr., who took over his father's coroner business after his passing. The toxicology report revealed lethal levels of cyanide in Dilton's blood. Dr. Curdle surmises that Ben only survived because he didn't drink enough to finish the job. Betty looks to Dr. Curdle, hoping he can determine whether this was a murder or suicide. He replies that the body did show signs of stress and there are three symbols carved out on Dilton's back. He guesses they're Runic. Jughead proceeds to take a photo of the symbols. As for what caused their lips to turn blue, the cyanide was mixed into a sugary drink called "Fresh-Aid". Blueberry flavored. There's something dimly familiar about this case to Dr. Curdle. Still, he's not quite sure if it's a murder or suicide.

In the Blue and Gold offices, Betty calls Riverdale General Hospital to check in on Ben's status. He's apparently out of the ICU, and so Betty prepares to visit him. Just behind her stands Evelyn Evernever. She introduces herself to Betty, explaining that they almost met through her mom and Polly. Evelyn is the daughter of Edgar Evernever. The leader of the Farm. Evelyn now attends Riverdale High, so she stopped by to say hi and inform Betty that she won't tell anyone about her seizure from the other night. As it turns out, Evelyn was present during Betty's incident. She and her father were invited over by Alice for a cookout and to burn a few of her things. Evelyn then inquires about Betty, who excuses herself to visit Ben.

Betty and Jughead arrive at Riverdale General, and after slipping past a Sheriff's deputy, they enter Ben's room. Ben is still unconscious, though his mother is at his side. Betty and Jughead introduces themselves, stating that they know him from school. Ben's stabilized, but he hasn't woken up yet. While Mrs. Button doesn't know what exactly Ben was doing in the woods, she notes that he's always been odd. Kept to himself. Especially after his piano teacher was murdered. But this summer, he became friends with Dilton Doiley. When that happened, he became a different person. Secretive, sneaking out at all hours and having horrible nightmares. Hanging on the door of Ben's hospital room, Jughead finds a twig doll. Mrs. Button believes that it was left behind by a girl whose name she has forgotten, but was wearing a bow in her hair. Sheriff Minetta then bust Betty and Jughead. He refuses to allow a couple of teenagers to compromise an active murder investigation. Jughead retorts that if this is an active murder investigation, he might want to start by letting the rest of the town know. Betty and Jughead then overhear Sheriff Minetta's conversation with another deputy, who reveals that an Adventure Scout's parents called. They haven't seen him in two days, and he was a part of Dilton Doiley's troop.

In the student lounge, Jughead confronts Ethel with the twig doll he found in Ben's hospital room. Ethel questions where he got it from, but when Jughead asks what she was doing in Ben's hospital room, Ethel tries to leave. However, Betty pleads with her to cooperated as they're only trying to figure out what happened to Ben, Dilton and the missing scout. Jughead wonders if the twig doll is the Gargoyle King, but it's not. According to Ethel, it's the opposite. She made that talisman to protect Ben. When Betty asks how Ethel and Ben knew each other, Ethel replies that he's her boyfriend. They just started dating that summer and spend most of their time in Dilton's secret bunker in the woods. Given this, Jughead and Betty present Ethel with a ultimatum; either she show them where the bunker is located or they go to Sheriff Minetta with this information. Ethel caves, telling them that they'll meet up at Fox Footbridge after dark.

Betty and Jughead are confronted by their parents as they arrive at the house after receiving a call from Sheriff Minetta that Betty and Jughead were snooping around Ben's hospital room. Jughead believes that something strange is in the works. Dilton even came to him for help, which FP was present for. Jughead feels as if he owes Dilton but FP exclaims that Jughead doesn't owe him anything. As for Betty, her mother reminds her that this is exactly what Dr. Patel was referring to. If she keeps up this stressful behavior, she'll likely have another seizure, which neither FP nor Jughead were aware of. Alice blames Jughead for dragging Betty into murder investigations. As Betty takes off upstairs, FP and Jughead exit the Cooper house.

That night, Alice apologizes to Betty for revealing to Jughead that she had a seizure. Alice was terrified and she only wants the best for Betty. Alice then gives her a hug and leaves the room. When she does, Betty hops out of bed, fully dressed. She locks her bedroom door, grabs her coat and leaves throughout the window.

On their way to Fox Footbridge to meet with Ethel, Jughead asks about the seizure. One moment Betty was fine and the next she was hallucinating some insane, horror movie-like stuff. Then she woke up in the emergency room, embarrassed, which is why she didn't say anything. Besides, Dr. Patel said it was just stress. Jughead now blames himself for getting Betty involved in a murder investigation in the midst of her own problems. However, being in the middle of the woods with Jughead, investigation a potential murder/suicide is the least stressful thing she can think of. It reminds her of when they first started dating. As they near Fox Footbridge, Betty and Jughead have their first encounter with the Gargoyle King, a giant imposing creature with a bloody, snout-shaped face and branches for wings. Betty and Jughead run away in terror.

Once the coast is clear, they grab a booth at Pop's, where Jughead shows Betty what they suspect to be Dilton's drawing of the Gargoyle King. Betty notes that it was too tall to be Ethel, unless she was on stilts, which is a possibility because she's not answering her phone. As for Dilton's map, Jughead points to the marked off location where he found Ben and Dilton. And he then points to the footbridge where Ethel wanted them to meet. There's a symbol written on the map that Jughead and Betty don't recognize, even after researching runic symbols. Jughead suspects that it's not a symbol at all, but a drawing for the hatch that leads to the underground bunker. Assuming the map is halfway accurate, right around the deadfall in Fox Forest.

Having followed the map, Betty and Jughead locate Dilton's underground bunker. It is filled with odd objects and decoration. Betty and Jughead quickly discover the pieces to the game Ben and Dilton were playing, Gryphons and Gargoyles. Betty finds a large drawing of the Gargoyle King on the wall, who is also featured prominently on a copper coin Jughead just found. They then find a poster with chalices that read "drink from the correct cup and ascend to the kingdom". As well as a blue Fresh-Aid packet and cyanide. Jughead realizes that it was a challenge from the game. As he takes photos of the bunker, Betty looks under the bed, where she is startled by the missing adventure scout.

Jughead tries to explain to the scout just how worried his parents are, but he doesn't seem to care. The adventure scout tells Jughead that he's supposed to stay hidden in the bunker until "Master Doiley" comes back. It is then that Betty and Jughead realize that the scout has no idea that Dilton is dead, forcing the difficult task on them of having to reveal that Dilton isn't coming back. The adventure scout was Dilton's apprentice in Gryphons and Gargoyles. Dilton was teaching him how to play so that he could eventually join the game. When Jughead brings up Ben and Ethel, the scout reveals that "Princess Etheline" isn't dating been in real life. Only in the game. And she warned him that Jughead and Betty might invade the bunker. Having gathered all they could, Betty and Jughead take the scout home.

Betty and Jughead confront Ethel after she not only blew them off but withheld the location of the missing adventure scout. Also, she and Ben aren't really dating, but Ethel insists that they are in love. Betty attempts to explain that they were simply role playing, but to Ethel, it was real. Betty and Jughead are trying to help her but she first has to stop lying to them. When Ethel maintains that she's not lying, Jughead threatens to take her to the Sheriff Station, where she can repeat her truth on record to Sheriff Minetta. Ethel explains that if any of them talk to the adults, the Gargoyle King will get angry. Dilton tried to talk to Jughead and look what happened. Before Ethel can continue, she begins to have a seizure mid-sentence. Jughead yells out to Weatherbee before calling an ambulance. All the while, Evelyn watches from the doorway as this unfolds.

At Riverdale General, Betty and Jughead learn that Ethel is fine and that she is resting. Given that seizures aren't contagious, Betty is certain that her seizure and Ethel's isn't a coincidence. Sounds like another mystery for them to solve, which both Betty and Jughead are up for. Betty suspects that maybe there's even a connection between the seizures and whatever happened to Dilton. They then decide to check on Ben. When they enter his room, they find him sitting in the window. Ben says that he's going to be with Dilton now. They both flipped the coin but Dilton was scared to ascend. Ben isn't however. What about Princess Etheline, Betty asks. Ben replies that they'll all be reunited in the kingdom and that it's all part of his plan. Ben then jumps out the window onto the street below, killing himself.

Betty and Jughead are cuddled up on Dilton’s bunker. Betty’s uncomfortable in the bunker, however, it’s the only place in town they can get a modicum of privacy. Ben’s death still haunts Betty, as he didn’t scream, forcing her to wonder why. She and Jughead begin to question the rules behind Gryphons & Gargoyles. Perhaps it’s the key to solving everything. Ben, Ethel and Dilton talk of it as if it’s a religion or cult. And every cult has its king.

At Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, Veronica expresses her concern for the diner to Betty. She’s overwhelmed with bills as Pop’s is hemorrhaging money. Betty inquires about the speakeasy, hoping that it is near. Veronica confesses that the speakeasy is ready and it has been for a while but she hasn’t opened it because she’s waiting for Archie to be released. Betty reminds Veronica that putting her life on hold is precisely what Archie asked her not to do. Betty suggests that Veronica focus on herself and open the speakeasy.

At school, Betty informs Jughead of the strict dress code for Veronica’s speakeasy. They then notice Ethel across the hall with Evelyn Evernever, much to Betty’s dismay. Betty suspects that Gryphons & Gargoyles may have some kind of connection to the Farm. Ben, Dilton and Ethel started playing the game that summer, which is the same time the Farm and the Evernevers moved to Riverdale. Betty tells Jughead that Evelyn’s father is their leader and her mother won’t stop talking about him. They compare Edgar to a king. Unfortunately, Betty doesn’t know much about him. They continue to watch Ethel and Evelyn’s exchange from across the hall, deciding then to continue their investigation with Ethel.

Betty and Jughead enter the classroom, where they find Ethel sitting alone. This is the first time they’ve spoken since the incident in the student lounge and so she informs them that she’s been given medication to prevent the seizures. She’s been having them multiple times a day. Betty asks if Ethel had any visions when she collapsed. Unfortunately, Ethel can’t recall. Betty then inquires about her friendship with Evelyn Evernever, to which Ethel replies that Evelyn’s been helping her get better so that she can titrate down her meds. Betty questions whose idea this was, Evelyn’s or her dad’s. Before Ethel can respond, Betty asks if Ethel has ever met Edgar Evernever. She doesn’t answer the question directly but instead suggests that Betty look into Evelyn’s peer support group if she’s so curious. She has started a student chapter of the Farm at Riverdale High. Jughead tells Ethel that before Ben killed himself, he mentioned reuniting with Dilton in the Kingdom, leading him to his question, if Gryphons & Gargoyles has a rule book or player’s manual. Ethel admits that one does exist though they refer to it as the scripture. However, she isn’t allowed to reveal to Jughead whether or not she owns a copy as he is not worthy of the King’s scripture. Jughead replies that he wants to be worthy and that he would like for Ethel to show him how. Ethel agrees to show Jughead, but him alone as Betty will never be worthy. They arrange a meeting for tomorrow night in Dilton’s bunker.

When Betty arrives at Evelyn’s peer support meeting, she finds the classroom empty. However, she is joined by Evelyn not long after. Betty claims that she’s come to learn more about the Farm and that she came to ask about Ethel, who told her that Evelyn had been helping her with her seizures. Evelyn says that she’s been trying to with her dad’s teachings as she has to get Ethel off the medication. Evelyn then asks if Betty is on any medication, which Betty claims she isn’t, but she is considering it as she’s still having convulsions one or twice a day. Betty is hoping that Evelyn’s dad could help, which Evelyn is thrilled to hear.

Betty returns home to find her mother and sister, along with half a dozen members of the Farm, Evelyn included, sitting in the living room, awaiting her arrival. Evelyn told them that Betty was finally ready to meet the Farm. Betty was under the impression that Edgar would be joining them, to which to the group laughs. Alice and Polly explains that there are certain levels one must first attain before meeting Edgar. First, Betty must start by meeting a few "Farmies". This will be Betty’s first testimony, which is essentially an open, non-judgmental conversation about all the bad things she’s done in her life. Evelyn reveals that between Alice and Polly, the Farm has gathered much information on Betty, such as her dark kinship with her father and the role she played in disposing of a dead body in her kitchen. Betty is in disbelief that her mother shared this information regarding Chic and the shady man with the Farm.

Alice tells Betty that everything spoken at the Farm is kept in confidence. They all know each other’s secrets. They also know about the wake and the webcamming. Feeling cornered, Betty changes the subject to Evelyn being present at both her seizure and Ethel’s, and how the Farm showed up in Riverdale at the same time as Gryphons & Gargoyles, which made Ben and Dilton kill themselves all to appease a creature only known as the Gargoyle King, which Betty suspects may be Evelyn’s father. Evelyn claims that the first time they had ever heard of Gryphons & Gargoyles was from Alice, leaving Betty to wonder how her mother knows about the game. Alice attempts to drive the discussion away from her past, stating that it’s too soon and that Betty isn’t ready. Betty then becomes dizzy, as if she’s about to faint, but she keeps her balance.

As Betty prepares for the opening night of Veronica’s speakeasy, her mother enters the room. Alice knows that Betty never had any intentions of working with the Farm. She merely wanted to meet Edgar so that she could question him. Betty explains that by Alice telling the Farm her deepest, darkest secrets, she’s also implicating Betty, Jughead and FP. However, Alice believes that the Farm would never use her testimony against her. Betty questions what her mother told the Farm about Gryphons & Gargoyles but Alice chooses not to answer because she trusts the Farm more than she trust Betty.

As Jughead and Betty arrive at opening night, Jughead informs Betty that he hid the rule book in the trailer and will show Betty at a later time. Betty then asks about Ethel, who is physically alright, but she’s going to need a bit of deprogramming Jughead states. Betty remarks that Ethel can keep her mom company as the Farm has gotten way deeper into her head than initially presumed. Betty is certain that her mom knows something about Gryphons & Gargoyles, but she refuses to speak on it. Betty then attempts to wipe away the blue fresh-aid on Jughead’s lips.

Betty and Jughead return to the trailer to find it in complete disorder. Their parents demand to know where Jughead got the rule book from. FP is especially enraged as he can still see the blue on Jughead’s lips. Betty questions what her and Jughead's parents are hiding and she instructs Jughead to not answer any of their questions until they start telling the truth about what they know about Gryphons & Gargoyles. FP explains that the game is pure evil and that no one else will ever play it again. Jughead begs his father not to destroy the scripture. While they don’t intend to play it, the book may be the only chance they have of figuring out what happened to Ben and Dilton. Nevertheless, with this being the only known copy, FP and Alice decide it’s best to destroy the scripture by throwing it into the fire.

Betty and Jughead are once again in Dilton bunker, laying in bed. Jughead begins to thinking that maybe destroying the rule book was for the best because as he was flipping through the manual, he felt as if he was reading evil. Betty states that both of their parents played the game, which is why they were so adamant against them investigating Ben and Dilton’s deaths, and why they freaked out over the rule book. If what Ethel said about that being the only rule book is true, then it doesn’t matter anymore as it’s all over.

Given the growing dangers that the teens of Riverdale are facing, the town Mayor, Hermione Lodge, decides to personally visit Riverdale High to provide clarity on the dangers they face. Betty, Cheryl, Jughead, Veronica, Reggie, Josie and Kevin are all in attendance. Hermione explains that Dilton Doiley and Ben Button have already taken their lives, and Ethel Muggs attempted to. All three victims are linked through playing Gryphons and Gargoyles. Betty asks where the game came from and where Ben and Dilton first gained access to it, but Hermione doesn’t know. From what little they do know about it, the game seems to be targeted at impressionable developing minds. Hermione elaborates that the game’s quests and role-playing scenarios are specifically designed to foster delusions, paranoia, and violence. As mayor, Hermione officially bans Gryphons and Gargoyles. On top of that, Mrs. Burble is going to be holding extended office hours and Hermione has set up a 24-hour crisis hotline overseen by Kevin.

In the Blue and Gold offices, Betty and Veronica discuss Gryphons and Gargoyles and just how dangerous it’s becoming. Veronica isn’t playing and neither is Betty and Jughead. However, they’re still trying to figure out why their parents were so triggered by them having the manual. Betty then gets a call from Dr. Curdle Jr, informing her of a discovery he made in the morgue archives.

After meeting with Dr. Curdle Jr., Betty confronts her mother once she returns home with a case file from many years ago. Per Alice’s Farm testimony, she’s undoubtedly played G&G before. And now, Betty has concrete evidence that when her mother was her age, there was another suspicious death that took place at Riverdale High where the corpse had blue lips. With that, Alice decides to tell Betty everything she knows about the game for her own protection. Alice tells Betty the long story of how she, Fred, FP, Sierra, Penelope, and Hermione discovered Gryphons and Gargoyles during their junior year of high school.

Betty is shocked by the revelation that her mother and Fred Andrews kissed. Alice explains they were lonely, young and attractive. It was just a brief fling, however. She also learns that all the parents became obsessed with the game and during an ascension party, the school principal went missing, only to be found a week later, dead with blue lips.

If principal Featherhead died from drinking from a poison chalice, Betty questions who poisoned the cups, but not even Alice has the answer to that. Featherhead’s death was ruled a suicide under suspicious circumstances and they never spoke about it because they knew it must’ve been a member of the Midnight Club. One of them was a killer and Featherhead was an unintentional casualty as a member of the Midnight Club was meant to drink from the poison chalice. Betty has a lot more questions to ask, which concerns Alice because the more you talk about the game, the more you think of it and the more at risk you are. The game gives you permission to hurt or kill. Ben, Dilton and Ethel all willingly drank the fresh-aid during their quest, but Betty can’t figure out if it is murder or suicide. In the end, it’s just death, Alice explains. She wants Betty to promise her that she won’t investigate any further but that’s a promise Betty can’t make. Someone from the Midnight Club used the game to murder Featherhead and now Betty’s classmates are dying. The entire school is playing. Betty recalls seeing the Gargoyle King in the woods. She suspects that it may be the same person from the Midnight Club way back when. Knowing that Betty has no intentions on stopping her investigation, Alice at least asks her to swear that she won’t play the game, which Betty agrees to.

The next day at school, Betty goes looking for verification of her mother’s story. She starts in the classroom, where she finds the Midnight Club’s initials in the window seal, just as her mother said. Betty also finds the chalices hidden in plain sight, in the trophy case.

With this, she goes looking for Jughead. She finds him in Dilton’s bunker, playing Gryphons and Gargoyles along with Toni, Cheryl, Sweet Pea and Fangs. Betty questions what Jughead is doing but he is clearly too far gone, rambling on about having it all figured out and beating the Gargoyle King.

Picking up from where the previous episode left off, Betty enters Dilton bunker to find Jughead, Toni, Cheryl, Sweet Pea and Fangs playing the game. Jughead explains that he’s made sense of it all. Once he ascends, he will meet the Gargoyle King. Betty sits Jughead down and informs him of the story she learned from her mother, how all their parents played Gryphons and Gargoyles during their junior year of high school. Betty continues to reveal that while they were playing, one of them killed their then principal, Felix Featherhead, as he also had blue lips, which is why Betty thinks Jughead should stop playing. However, he sees this as confirmation that they’ve been playing this game off board for a lot longer than they realized. The Hot Dog rescue mission, for instance, he believes was a quest. The Serpents and Ghoulies, if nothing else, are warring tribes, such as the orcs and goblins.

Betty stops Jughead, as he isn’t making sense. They have nine suspects, meaning one of their parents could be a murderer. So, Betty wants to investigate them alongside Jughead, but he continues to ramble on about Eldervair, the realm of Gryphons and Gargoyles, which Jughead concludes is an anagram and analog for Riverdale. This is why the game only exists in Riverdale and why there’s no online trace of it. Betty states that this is merely a coincidence, but he thinks it’s one big narrative that’s still being written and played. The more Jughead plays the game, the more familiar he becomes with Eldervair and its rules. The more he sees the patterns. And the more he understands the Gargoyle King. The game is the Gargoyle King’s imagination and psychology. How they view Riverdale. How do you catch a Game Master, Jughead asks. To that he replies that you become a Game Master. And that’s exactly what he’s doing. Once he proves that he’s at the Gargoyle King’s level, he’ll come face-to-face with him. Betty grows tired of Jughead ramblings and decides to investigate on her own.

Betty calls Josie, Kevin and Reggie into the Blue and Gold offices to inform them of the Midnight Club and their parents’ past involvement with Gryphons and Gargoyles. Josie is in disbelief that her mother was a rule-breaking, anti-apartheid activist in high school. And Kevin questions how his father and her mother were together even back then. Much like Josie, Reggie is also skeptical. He doesn’t believe that his father did live action role-play with as he put it "a group of lame ass nerds". Regardless of what they would like to believe, Betty needs them to subtly ask their parents about Gryphons and Gargoyles, as her suspicion is that whoever was running the game back then is also running it now. Josie, Reggie and Kevin seem aggravated at the insinuation that one of their parents could be responsible for what happened to Ben and Dilton, but they agree nonetheless.

Betty reconvenes with Josie, Kevin and Reggie in the Blue and Gold to discuss their efforts to gain more information from their parents. Josie and Kevin came up with nothing as their parents did not admit to anything. All they did was lie and pretend as if they knew nothing of G&G. In other news, Josie reveals that her mother and Kevin’s father announced their engagement. As bad as that was, Reggie’s dad’s reaction to Reggie’s questioning in regards to G&G was much worse, as Reggie was left with a black eye. Reggie wonders why their parents are acting so secretive about something that happened 25 years ago and what Betty is keeping from them. Before Betty can answer, Veronica enters. She tells them how Archie is caught up in some diabolical teen fight club and that she intends to break him out of juvie with all of their help.

Betty returns to Dilton’s bunker to find that Jughead is about to set forth on a new quest. She’s about to help Veronica break Archie out of juvie and she’s hoping Jughead will help. Jughead notes that this is perfect. The quest he’s been working on lacked heart and humanity until Betty just gave him the missing piece; a rescue mission, to save their friend. Betty exclaims that this is not a game. It’s real life. But since he refuses to recognize that, she’ll just take Jughead’s bike and do this without him.

Betty, Veronica, Kevin, Josie and Reggie reconvene at La Bonne Nuit. Archie’s stuck behind bars and his life is in danger. As much as possible, they must follow the plan. The slightest deviation and Archie could end up dead. They will need a distraction if they’re going to disorient the guards and save Archie. Something they can sneak into the location easily, that won’t arouse suspicion, something they’ll have to make themselves, so Josie, Kevin and Reggie sneak into the chemistry class to make smoke grenades, masqueraded as beverages. As for the getaway route, Veronica already has a position picked out for Betty. So long as she sticks to the woods, their cars shouldn’t be able to follow her. Just in case, Betty suggest adding another precaution to the plan.

Just outside the recreation center, Betty disables the Warden’s car. Afterward, Betty joins Kevin over by the sewer tunnel. He informs her of the lock they weren’t aware of. Kevin then reveals that Joaquin just passed and that he has to go after him. As Kevin goes looking for his past love, Betty picks at the lock with a bobby-pin. Betty picks the lock open just as Archie makes his way through the pipe. He’s bloody and covered in sludge, but Betty helps him out the pipe. She’s overjoyed having helped free him. She notices his stab wound and helps to apply pressure.

Betty and Archie then ride off on Jughead’s motorcycle, passing Wraden Norton and his men. Warden Norton orders his men to go after them. Much like Betty, they too are on motorcycles. Betty speeds throughout the woods, with the guards on her and Archie’s tail. As they go further into the woods, they are cut off, forcing Betty and who they believed to be Archie to a stop. However, the passenger on the motorcycle is actually Kevin, who removes his helmet, asking how can he help them. As it turns out, Betty's extra precaution previously mentioned was swapping out Archie for Kevin. Warden Norton grabs Kevin by his jacket, demanding to know the whereabouts of the Red Paladin i.e. Archie. After Kevin says that he doesn’t know, Betty pulls out a can of mace and threatens to spray the Warden. The Warden lets Kevin go and calls his men off, ordering them to fall back to the center.

After Betty, Veronica, Josie, Kevin and Reggie arrive at Dilton’s bunker to regroup with the others, Toni patches Archie up and tells him not to make any sudden movements. Archie reveals that it was Joaquin who stabbed him though Archie thinks the Warden made him do it. He then asks where are they, to which Betty explains Dilton’s bunker. The only people who know about it are in the room and it is the safest place in Riverdale. Veronica then notices the branding on Archie’s side, courtesy of Warden Norton. Jughead, Betty, Sweet Pea, Fangs, Toni and Cheryl seem particularly intrigued by the brand. Veronica then calls for everyone’s attention. Since her father saw her, she has to do some damage control on the home front. But, someone needs to stay with Archie at all times. Betty and Jughead volunteer to take the first shift. Equally important, Veronica announces that everyone in the room, herself, Betty, Jughead, Cheryl, Toni, Sweet Pea, Fangs, Josie, Reggie and Kevin, are all part of a pact. From this moment on, no one is to know where the bunker is. No one was involved with the breakout and no one knows where Archie is. They are all expected to take this to the grave.

As planned, Betty and Jughead take the first watch. They note that Archie’s brand looks a lot like a runic symbol from Gryphons and Gargoyles. Betty also recalls the Warden calling Archie a Red Paladin. This means he too was playing G&G. They begin to suspect that maybe Warden Norton is the Gargoyle King. Before jumping back in, Betty suggests that Jughead go home and get some sleep. Before leaving, he tells Archie to sleep well as his troubles are likely only beginning.

In Dilton’s bunker, Betty watches over a sleeping Archie, wondering what the runic symbol branded on his rib cage could possibly mean. Before long, Jughead returns to inform her of his run-in with Gargoyle King. Jughead followed it through a clearing only to learn that the Gargoyle King is not alone. He was accompanied by ten of his disciples around a bonfire. They were all wearing mask, and Jughead describes them as being a gang of gargoyles. Betty wants to go after them, but Jughead would rather not take the chance. When they begin to wonder who the disciples might be, Archie utters Joaquin's name. He recalls Kevin telling him that Joaquin spoke of joining a new gang. Given what they now know about Warden Norton playing G&G and Joaquin doing his bidding, this only further confirms Betty and Jughead’s suspicion that Warden Norton might be the Gargoyle King.

Betty returns home after a long night out only to be immediately confronted by her mother. Alice informs Betty of the manhunt currently underway to find Archie. When Alice asks of Betty’s involvement, Betty denies any connection to Archie’s breakout. Alice then reveals that Warden Norton killed himself last night and that he was found with blue lips. Given this revelation, Betty asks her mother if she knew Warden Norton because he had ties to Hiram Lodge, who is also a member of the Midnight Club, much like her mother. Alice claims to have no knowledge of the Warden.

Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Cheryl, Josie, Kevin, Reggie, Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Evelyn sit as Sheriff Minetta confronts them with his suspicion that Archie had help in escaping Leopold and Loeb Juvenile Detention Center. Sheriff Minetta informs them that hiding a convict and information from the law is a felony offense. So, whoever aided and abetted Archie is just as much a criminal as he is. A few students in particular catches the sheriff's attention. When he asks where Josie was during the time of the breakout, she struggles to come up with an alibi, eventually settling with her being alone in the music room. Sheriff Minetta will be looking into all their alibis. As he continues to antagonize Josie, she suddenly has a seizure. Cheryl rushes to her aid, catching Josie and telling the sheriff to back off.

Betty convenes with Jughead in the Blue and Gold, where she informs him of Josie’s seizure. First Betty, then Ethel, and now Josie. They wonder what the connection could be. Just as Jughead was ready to write off Warden Norton’s connection to the Midnight Club and the Gargoyle King, Betty makes a discovery. Warden Norton was the RROTC instructor of Riverdale High twenty five years ago. This proves that their parents have only continued to lie to them. Featherhead was the first blue lip death on record. Somehow, Betty has to figure out how to force their parents into telling the truth, though this will involve Veronica’s speakeasy. In the meantime, Jughead will rally the Serpents as they have to find Joaquin. He was the Warden’s accomplice, making him their best chance at figuring out what was going on in the Warden's mind.

Betty gets a call from Kevin, who informs her that Archie's wound is getting worse. So, she directs him to Dr. Curdle Jr. She insist that Kevin bring small bills. Betty then heads down into the speakeasy, where the Midnight Club, that being Alice, FP, Hiram, Hermione, Penelope, Fred, Tom, Sierra, and Marty are awaiting her arrival. She had sent them all invitations. However, they were under the impression that the invites were from the Gargoyle King. Betty wants to get all the secrets out, and she sees this as her only option.

Hermione reminds Alice of their pact, how they promised that they would never talk about the Midnight Club again. Alice reasons that she told Betty in order to protect her from playing the game, which she isn’t. However, Betty's friends are playing, leaving Betty to question if any of them actually care, to which Sierra replies that she should be with Josie, who just had a seizure earlier that morning, instead of rehashing their past which she seems to be irrelevant, at least to her. Betty argues that their past is very much relevant as Josie is by playing G&G, along with Kevin, Cheryl and Reggie. Betty then makes everyone aware of just how abusive Marty Mantle is towards Reggie, such as giving him a black eye. Fred remarks that it was bound to get out at some time, their secret that is, so he’d much rather address it so that their kids at least know the truth. Betty wants to start with Warden Norton, who was also the RROTC instructor at Riverdale High twenty five years ago. Given that Tom was a cadet back then, Betty asks if the two ever played the game together, but they didn’t. Hiram had business dealings with Warden Norton leading up to his death. Betty wants to know the specifics of those dealings and whether not not Hiram knew that he was playing G&G. While Hiram refuses to inform Betty of his business dealings, he does tell her that he had no clue Norton was playing.

Betty then asks about ascension night, wondering if Norton was present. FP explains that they have no way of knowing as they were high, hallucinating gargoyles. Hermione decides to indulge Betty. Betty wants to know who poisoned the chalice. Hermione informs her that given the fact that the Game Master is responsible for setting up the game, her instinct is telling her that the culprit is Penelope. Hermione suspects that she grew the poison in her greenhouse. However, Penelope reveals that Darryl Doiley poisoned the chalices. He was secretly in love with her and wanted the two of them to ascend together. But, Penelope said no. She assumed the chalices were emptied afterward but clearly they were not. Years later, Darryl came to Penelope, riddled with guilt and seeking comfort. Penelope refused him again, and so Darryl left. The next day, he was found dead in his garage, with the engine to his car running and windows up. Betty isn’t buying Penelope’s story. Even if this is true, that doesn’t explain who the current Gargoyle King is. Betty and Jughead saw it in Fox Forest and they’ve been trying to track him down ever since, which is why Jughead began playing the game. All this is news to FP, who grows increasingly aggravated. He then leaves to deal with Jughead, with everyone else following him out. Before leaving, Alice asks Betty if she’s satisfied, but she’s not. Not even close.

Betty enters the trailer to find Jughead handcuffed to the refrigerator. Fortunately, she has a bobby-pin and is able to free him. Jughead informs Betty that his father did it as he doesn’t like Jughead playing G&G, which Betty takes fault for as she unintentionally revealed this to FP during their sit down. Speaking of which, Jughead wonders how that went. Betty informs him that Penelope Blossom claims Darryl Doiley poisoned the chalices, which is pretty convenient given that he’s dead. Neither Jughead nor Betty are buying this story, which is why Betty has already contacted Dr. Curdle Jr to ask if he can pull Darryl Doiley’s autopsy report. Betty will have to handle this on her own as Jughead is off to meet with Sweet Pea and Fangs.

Betty discovers that Darryl Doiley’s autopsy report shows no mention of carbon monoxide poisoning after meeting with Dr. Curdle Jr, who reveals that carbon monoxide was not the cause of death. While Darryl Doiley was indeed found in his car with the windows up, there was no traces of carbon monoxide in his system, meaning he was dead beforehand. It turns out that Darryl Doiley was actually poisoned with Oleander. Dr. Curdle Jr. thinks that Doiley’s death was a murder disguised as a suicide. Betty then asks who was the active sheriff at the time of the murder as she wants to question the person who closed the case. Dr. Curdle Jr. informs Betty that Tom Keller was the current sheriff.

Betty arranges a meeting with Tom at Pop’s. She address the fact that Darryl Doiley’s case was ruled a suicide despite the fact that no carbon monoxide was found in his lungs. Tom realizes that this is nothing more than another one of Betty’s ambushes. However, he states that the didn’t kill anyone. However, Betty believes that he’s at least complicit in a cover-up and wants to know who he’s protecting. Tom is protecting the Midnight Club, he claims. Even still, someone murdered Darryl Doiley and whoever was pulling the strings back then could be responsible for the recent deaths. Tom tells Betty that it could’ve been any member of the Midnight Club, but only Penelope grows Oleander in her greenhouse. He knows this because he saw it when he was investigating Jason Blossom’s murder. Tom then gets a call from Fred and exits abruptly.

Betty arranges another meeting, but this time with Penelope Blossom, who requests that Betty call her auntie. Given that Darryl Doiley actually died of Oleander poisoning rather than carbon monoxide poisoning as initially reported, Betty asks if Penelope grows that in her greenhouse. Even if Penelope wanted to poison Darryl Doiley, she claims that she wouldn’t use Oleander as it leaves traces. She came to see Betty out of the kindness of her heart, but since Betty’s looking for someone to accuse, Penelope points her in the direction of her mother, Alice, who wrote the article reporting Darryl Doiley’s suicide.

Betty confronts her mother about covering up Darryl Doiley’s murder. Someone staged his death to look like a suicide and thanks to Sheriff Keller, there wasn’t a murder investigation. They all have a hand in the cover-up. So, Betty wants to know who her mother is protecting. Before Alice can reply, the lights go out. Someone is banging at the front door. She opens the front door only to see that no one is out there. As they shut the door, the Gargoyle King is standing behind them. Someone then tries to force their way in through the front door, but Alice manages to lock it. Terrified, the two of them run upstairs into Betty’s room, where they find a skull and Darryl Doiley’s headstone laying on Betty’s bed. Darryl’s name has been crossed out and Betty and Alice’s name has been spray painted on it. FP then comes climbing through Betty’s window. He was looking for Jughead, but Alice slammed the door in his face. Alice then reveals that the Gargoyle King is in the house with them.

They’re no longer safe and Alice believes that attack was only the beginning. It’s become apparent that Betty has on intentions on stopping her investigation no matter the consequences. With the house no longer being safe, Alice is moving to the Farm with Polly and the twins. However, Betty refuses to go, which Alice knew would happen. So, Betty, unfortunately is being taken to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Sister Woodhouse enters the Cooper house with two orderlies, who take Betty away. Alice feels as if she has no other choice. As Betty is taken out, her phone rings. It’s Jughead. Alice presses decline.

After getting situated at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, Sister Woodhouse sees Betty to art class. In route, she speaks of her and Betty’s past issues, in which Betty hasn’t always agreed with their practices. Regardless, she assure Betty that they will make her well and that she’s safe with them. Once in art class, Betty immediately realizes that everyone there is painting pictures of the Gargoyle King.

At the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, Betty is administered the Rorschach test by Sister Woodhouse. She answers in a manner that’ll make her seem sane by telling the sisters what she believes they want to hear. The first inkblot reminds her of the Shady Man though she claims to see a teddy bear with a bow tie. The second one looks like the Black Hood, but she says monarch butterfly instead. The final inkblot resembles the Gargoyle King, but Betty says it reminds her of the old jungle-gym at Riverdale Elementary. She used to play on it every recess.

Betty is now in line to receive her candy. Sister Woodhouse informs her that every patient receives Fizzle Rocks for good behavior. However, Betty’s very much aware that they are laced with drugs, leaving her to wonder why the Sisters are dosing them up with the same drug the Midnight Club was on the night of Principal Featherhead’s murder. Betty smiles and takes the candy with her so not to arouse suspicion.

Betty throws her Fizzle Rocks in the trash immediately after entering her room. Ethel then enters the room as she is Betty’s new roommate. Sister Woodhouse thought Betty might benefit from having a roommate who is familiar with the system around there. Ethel hangs her warrior board on the wall. It’s a collage. A visual collection of her destiny. It also helps her manifest her goals. As soon as Betty finds what she needs, she secretly plans on finding the door marked "X" in the basement that Veronica and Toni used when they broke Cheryl out.

Ever since Ethel arrived at the Sisters, she claims to have been having conversations with the Gargoyle King. Betty wants Ethel to introduce her to the Gargoyle King, but Ethel can’t as that’s Sister Woodhouse’s job. The Sisters take patients into the Gargoyle King’s chamber when they misbehave. The other girls are scared of him, but Ethel isn’t. Betty asks for the location of the chamber, but that too is Sister Woodhouse’s job. Betty remarks that Ethel would tell Jughead. Speaking of Jughead, Ethel reveals that she and Jughead shared a kiss, which Betty is already aware of as Jughead told her how Ethel blackmailed him into kissing her. Ethel becomes upset, accusing Betty of always acting as if she’s better than her. As well as her "shallow friends" acting as such. Ethel states that the Sisters isn’t like being at Riverdale High. The rules are different and Ethel is the queen bee. If Betty wants to get better, she has to change her attitude and be honest with herself and others. Ethel wants to start with the fact that Betty threw her Fizzle Rocks in the trash. Betty apologizes. She says that she wants to be Ethel’s friend and asks that Ethel keep this between the two of them. Ethel agrees.

While trimming the hedges outside the facility, Betty notices Claudius Blossom pull up in the Blossom Maple Farms truck. This is odd as the Sisters don’t serve maple syrup in the cafeteria. She then spots Hiram Lodge pull into the facility, leaving her to wonder what kind of business he could possibly have with Sister Woodhouse and how the Blossoms are connected to it. Betty asks one of the other patients if she knew who Hiram was. The patient replies that they call him the Man in Black. He’s an angel donor who helps the Sisters with anything they may need. Betty then recalls her mom telling her that Hiram was the one who brought the Fizzle Rocks to ascension night.

Betty is now wondering what Hiram gave the Sisters and what Woodhouse gave him in return. In search of answers, Betty goes door-to-door, looking for the records room, hoping that she can find her answers in the patient files. At the end of the hallway is a door with a glowing cross above the frame. She concludes this must be the Gargoyle King’s chamber, as previously mentioned by Ethel. Betty can hear a girl’s scream from just inside the door. Betty is frightened. So, she hides in a nearby room as Sister Woodhouse exits the chamber with a deeply terrified patient. Once the coast is clear, Betty approaches the chamber door once more. However, Ethel catches her before she can enter. Betty comes up with a excuse, claiming that she was looking for the medical archives. The lie goes that Sister Agnes sent her to fetch some files and she got lost. Ethel tells Betty that only the infirm are allowed in the infirmary. She and Ethel then return to their room.

Betty begins looking for a pen, a bobby pin that hasn’t been dulled down or a paper clip. She steals one that she finds attached to a batch of papers. As she attempts to leave with the paper clip, Ethel invites her over to play G&G with the other patients. Betty then provokes an altercation with Ethel in order to gain access to the infirmary. She addresses how Ethel is a fake friend for kissing Jughead. Ethel replies that she only kissed Jughead because the Gargoyle King wants them together. She states that Betty is jealous that both she and Jughead are worthy while Betty will never be. Furthermore, she’s never going to meet the Gargoyle King. Betty then fakes have a seizure. Gaining the attention of the Sisters. Sister Woodhouse comes to Betty’s aid, calling for a nurse to take Betty to the infirmary.

Betty fake sleeps in the infirmary while Sister Woodhouse speaks to the nurse. She wants to re-evaluate Betty’s dosage as soon as possible. Once she is alone, Betty gets out of bed and begins searching for the patient files. She picks open the file cabinet and finds her file. Inside, she finds her evaluation report, which reads the following; two doses of Bullio Lapis, mornings only. Sporadic seizures. Patient seems to be responding well to testing. Per H.L, increase dosage after first week. Betty deduces that Hiram Lodge is using patients at the Sisters’ as lab rats and that Bullio Lapis is Fizzle Rocks. Now that she has her proof, Betty plans her escape.

Betty heads into the basement to find the door marked with the "X". She finds the door, however, it has since been bricked up, preventing Betty from escaping. She is then cornered by Ethel, Sister Woodhouse and two orderlies. Betty is held down as as Sister Woodhouse force feeds her Fizzle Rocks. As this occurs, Ethel recites a phrase. "My King. My savior. Guide me through the night. Bless me with your darkness, gift me with your flight." Sister Woodhouse then takes a barely functional Betty to see the Gargoyle King. Betty is pushed inside the chamber and the doors shut behind her. She screams out in fear. Afterward, she and Sister Woodhouse engage in another session of Rorschach test. This time around she is truthful about what the inkblots appear to be. The first inkblot appears to Betty as a dead body. The second one as the Black Hood. And the final one as the Gargoyle King, who stands behind Sister Woodhouse as the test is conducted.

At the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, Ethel leads a quest in a game of G&G. Betty joins her. Sister Agnes then comes over to give them their daily ration of Fizzle Rocks, which Betty consumes whilst in the Sisters’ presence, but immediately rushes to the bathroom, where she pukes it up.

Betty receives a brief visit from her mother after Alice got a call from the school board telling her that they’re having an emergency meeting regarding a mass seizure at the school, similar to Betty’s. Whatever caused Betty’s seizure spread to the Vixens. Much to Betty’s dismay, Veronica was one of the fallen. Alice is just glad that Betty’s safe with the Sisters and wasn't at the school for the incident.

Betty convenes with the other patients, and shares with them just how close she had come to the Gargoyle King. Betty claims that he tells her all his secrets and gives her personal quests. When Ethel overhears Betty’s conversation with the others, she confronts her, though Betty persist with her claims of having gotten to know the Gargoyle King, which only angers Ethel. Just to get under Ethel’s skin, Betty lies and says that the Gargoyle King called her his favorite. Ethel calls Betty out, under the suspicion that Betty’s lying, just to make fun of her. Betty denies doing anything of the such. She then baits Ethel into unlocking the Gargoyle King’s chamber. Once Ethel unlocks the door, Betty pushes her inside and locks her in. Her reason for doing so is to convert Ethel. Betty explains that the Gargoyle King isn’t real and that the Fizzle Rocks given to them by the Sisters are causing them to hallucinate. Once the drug wears off in a few hours, Betty is certain Ethel will see the truth. Until then, Ethel will remain locked up. Inside the chamber, Ethel sees what she believes to be the Gargoyle King, and screams out in fear.

Betty returns to the chamber hours later to check in on Ethel. Now that Ethel has come down from her high, she realizes the Gargoyle King she thought she saw was really just a gargoyle statue. Betty explains that the Sisters feed them drugs to make them susceptible to visions that they suggest. They let the patients play the game and use their delusions to scare them into submission. Ethel still has doubts, but Betty assures her this is all true. The Sisters are in league with Hiram Lodge as well. Betty thinks that he’s paying the Sisters to test his drugs on patients. Even if this is true, Ethel recalls seeing the Gargoyle King in real life, before being admitted into the Sisters. She saw him in her hospital room. Betty admits that she saw him too. Or at the very least someone dressed as him. At any rate, it doesn’t change the fact that in there, it’s just a statue. Betty now needs Ethel help to learn all that Sister Woodhouse knows about G&G. If they know more, they can prevent more deaths like Ben and Dilton’s from happening again.

Betty calls Veronica from the Sisters. Veronica’s surprised as she hadn’t heard from Betty in days, under the impression that Betty was at the Farm. Betty doesn't have much time to talk, but she does have a plan that’ll require Veronica’s help.

While Ethel distracts Sister Agnes, Betty sneaks up behind Sister Woodhouse with a sharpened stick and holds it to her neck, threatening to hurt her unless she complies.

Betty and Ethel tie Sister Woodhouse to a chair inside the chamber. Enraged by her entrapment, she threatens to strap them to their beds and electroshock the sin out of them. Betty’s seen real darkness, so monsters don’t scare her and neither does Woodhouse, Which is why she couldn’t break Betty. Betty reveals that she knows all about the Sisters’ scam and alignment with Hiram Lodge, how they’re using the patients as test subjects for his new drugs. Sister Woodhouse reveals that Hiram is a generous donor and believer in their mission. Ethel questions if by mission, if Woodhouse is referring to G&G and how they use it and the Gargoyle King to scare the girls and torture children.

According to Sister Woodhouse, the children that come in are broken and it is her duty to mix them using whatever tool necessary, including Gryphons and Gargoyles, which they created in a way. Misbehaving children have been brought down to the chamber since the asylum opened. That gargoyle statue scared them into submission. Some of the more disturbed patients created a fantasy world to cope with the fear of the one they named the Gargoyle King. The Sisters simply embraced it as a therapeutic tool. If that’s true, Betty wonders how the game got out into the real world. Sister Woodhouse claims it was never meant to leave the asylum as it is too powerful. A game made of madness that the Sisters helped nurture, Ethel remarks. Betty insists that Woodhouse tell the police what she told them about G&G as well as Hiram Lodge’s donations. However, Sister Woodhouse only answers to one authority. With Sister Woodhouse’s keys, Betty and Ethel plan to escape and take the other patients with them. Sister Woodhouse however doubts they’ll leave of their own free will. She then proceeds to scream out for help as Betty and Ethel lock her inside the chamber alone.

Much to Betty and Ethel’s surprise, the patients don’t want to leave. They feel safe there. They play G&G and the Sisters give them candy. Sister Woodhouse was right. They’re all brainwashed just as Ethel was, forcing her and Betty to reassess the situation. Betty refuses to leave them behind, not to mention all the kids in the gay conversion wing. Betty devises a plan to use the game, turning their escape into a quest. The Gargoyle King inspires fear and Betty wants to give them the opposite, that being the Gryphon Queen. The patients gather around Ethel as she starts the quest. She tells them that their goal is to escape from the Gargoyle King’s fortress. And to help them do so is a Queen to lead them into the light, that Queen being Betty, who while dressed up as the Gryphon Queen, tosses on the floor the head of the gargoyle statue, stating that the King is dead. As planned, the patients play along, escaping the asylum with Betty and Ethel leading the charge.

Betty and Ethel, while guiding the patients to freedom, have not the slightest idea what they’ll do with them now that they’re free. Alice pulls up. With all hell breaking loose, she had come to get Betty out of the Sisters. While Alice is just in time, it’s not just Betty she’ll be taking with her as the patients needs somewhere to go as well.

At the Cooper house, Betty and Jughead awake to the sound of panicked screaming. It’s Hannah, one of the girls Betty rescued from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Betty wakes Hannah up from her nightmare to comfort her, reminding her that the Gargoyle King is dead. Tyler, another patient, reminds Hannah that Betty, the Gryphon Queen, saved them. Hannah then asks Betty if they can play a game of Gryphons and Gargoyles, to which she hesitantly agrees. However, under the game board box, Betty discovers a bag of Fizzle Rocks. Hannah reveals that it belongs to Tyler. Betty questions where Tyler got Fizzle Rocks, to which he reveals that his dealer is an unnamed Serpent.

Betty relays this info to Jughead, who blames himself for the Serpents dealing Hiram Lodge’s drugs as he was gone too long. He left both Betty and the Serpents without a leader even though his reason for doing so was to protect Archie. Fizzle Rocks are now everywhere because Jughead wasn’t in Riverdale to stop Hiram when he made his play. On top of all that, they still don’t have a sheriff. Jughead and Betty question the reason behind the quarantine. Betty recalls that Hiram was paying the Sisters to test his drugs on the patients. So, she doesn’t see him getting away with that. However, she and attorney McCoy must first convince Sister Woodhouse and the rest of the nuns to turn on Hiram. In doing so, Archie could finally come back, Betty says.

Betty is forced to make a tough decision as her mother informs her that they don’t have the room or resources to house all the kids. But the Farm does, Alice remarks. Though, Betty is very much against sending them to the Farm, asking if this can wait until after the trial. They only left the Sisters because Betty convinced them to trust her. Alice concedes, but not before telling Betty that the kids are her responsibility alone.

Betty goes to meet with attorney McCoy at the Five Seasons. Unfortunately, the meeting doesn’t go well. Regardless of the fact that the Sisters abused children and tested Hiram’s drugs on them, which is why they’re in jail, awaiting trial, the Sisters' lawyer doesn’t want Betty or Sierra harassing them. Furthermore, Sierra told Sowerberry that they’d give the Sisters immunity if they agreed to testify against Hiram, but he informed attorney McCoy that the nuns have taken a vow of silence. To make matters worse, Betty has already admitted that they were all on drugs while at the asylum, drugs that are known to cause hallucinations. Nonetheless, Betty knows what she saw. While Sierra believes her, a jury won’t.

Betty and FP stands at Jughead's side as he calls a meeting of the Serpents at Sunnyside Trailer Park after it came to his attention that at least one of them has been selling Fizzle Rocks, which is not what Serpents do. Cheryl, Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs are in attendance, among others. Starting that moment, there will be no selling or doing of drugs. And no crime of any kind will be tolerated. Anyone that breaks the Serpent code will be exiled permanently. Cheryl, for one, is outraged. She calls into question Jughead's latest decision. He vanished for a month, only to return to lecture them about responsibilities. Also unreleased by Jughead’s decree is Fangs. With no money coming in, he wonders what they’re supposed to do to survive. FP replies that they’ll figure it out, but in the mean time, he recites Serpent law #6 — "In unity there is strength."

Betty returns home to find Polly and Evelyn attempting to recruit the kids from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy to the Farm. Polly explains that the Farm helped her. There, everyone’s equal, Evelyn says. Polly informs Betty that she was called in by their mom, who perceived Betty to be in over her head. Betty then takes back the Farm t-shirts that Evelyn is passing out, explaining that this is their attempt to bribe them. Polly denies doing anything of the sort. When she fled from her the Sisters, the Farm became her salvation and family. As their Gryphon Queen, Betty promises to protect them. The Farm is not safe. Polly calls into question just how safe they are by asking if Betty revealed to them how the Gargoyle King broke into the house and terrorized them, which she hadn't. Evelyn then asks about the Fizzle Rocks she and Polly found at the house. Betty replies that she doesn’t know where they are getting the drugs from. Polly explains that’s because she’s a Serpent, so the kids didn't want to tell her, but they revealed to Polly and Evelyn that Fangs Fogarty is the unnamed Serpent dealing Fizzle Rocks. Betty then relays this info to Jughead.

Betty’s called Jughead’s former case worked Ms. Weiss over to ask if there was any luck in finding the kids a home. However, but it’s going to be hard to find one given that people are concerned about the emotional trauma the patients have suffered. And they have still yet to convince the Sisters to turn on Hiram. They’ve taken a vow of silence. It’s part of their religion. Ms. Weiss has had dealings with the Sisters over the years and there’s something she thinks Betty should know about their relationship with the church.

Betty’s learned Sister Woodhouse’s secret from Ms. Weiss, and so she and attorney McCoy confront that Sisters at the station. The church disbanded the Sisters of Quiet Mercy during the Vatican II over allegations of cruel and inhumane practices. The Sisters haven’t been nuns for over sixty years, which means their vow of silence won’t hold up in court. Should Sister Woodhouse agree to testify again Hiram, she’ll be granted immunity. Sister Woodhouse reluctantly agrees. Her immunity will be granted only if she swears in court that Hiram gave them money and drugs for testing.

Betty comes home to find Tyler badly beaten. He accuses Betty of lying to them about the Gargoyle King’s death. Tyler saw him in Fox Forest, where the Gargoyle gang beat him up. Tyler begins to question if Betty also lied about them being safe at her house. Betty insists that they’ll all be safe after the Sisters testify against the Man in Black. Hannah asks where they will be safe. A question Betty doesn’t have the answer to.

Betty, along with Jughead and Veronica briefly appear in Archie's dream/hallucination. Betty asks if he’s been working on any new songs. However, Archie isn’t that person anymore, he says while teary-eyed. Archie doesn’t want to play, but it’s his only way back to Eldervair, Riverdale and innocence. They then guide him through his finale quest.

Betty has call Fred, Cheryl, Nana Rose and Sierra over to the Five Seasons to discuss with them the patients from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, who have been orphaned. While Betty has been housing them, that has become untenable. So, she’s called them over to ask for shelter just until the Sisters testify against Hiram. Fred agrees to take in some of the boys since he has the room now that Archie is gone. Rose also agrees. She’s saved many children from there before and will gladly do so again. With that, Nana Rose and Cheryl will board some of the girls at Thistlehouse. While all Sierra has to offer is a pullout couch, she agrees to take in a couple too.

Betty arrives home to find that Hannah, Tyler, and the others are gone. After Tyler was attacked, Alice called Edgar for advice and he came to take them to the Farm.

Betty gets a call from attorney McCoy, who from the sheriff station, informs her that the Sisters are gone. An anonymous donor posted their bail, that being Hiram of course. But they left a message on the cell wall. "We go to join thee." Sierra has no idea what this could mean, but Betty does. She rushes to the chamber within the Sisters’ asylum only to find all of them dead from cyanide poisoning, evident by their blue lips.

Betty and Jughead meet with Veronica and Archie at Pop's after his surprise return to Riverdale. Jughead notes the dramatic changes with Archie both inside and out. As for what he missed while he was gone, Veronica informs him of the town quarantine orchestrated by her father, which resulted in Pop’s being shut down and just recently re-opening. Hiram’s also been attacking shipments to the speakeasy, but thankfully, Veronica’s hired the Serpents as her full-time protection. And that service extends to Archie. Jughead assures Archie he has no need to worry about Hiram as he has the Serpents looking out for Archie 24/7. Also, Jughead has a possible lead that may bring an end to it all. He had Fangs go undercover in the Gargoyle Gang. While he hasn’t met the Gargoyle King yet, when he does, they are going to take the him down. Jughead is certain that Hiram is the man under the mask, which would come as no surprise to Veronica. Betty then mentions the SATs, which has completely slipped Archie’s mind, and they are coming up Saturday. Betty assures Archie that they will all help him study. Pop Tate then returns to their table to inform Betty that her card has been declined, and so Veronica steps in to take care of the bill.

Betty returns home and confronts her mother after learning from the Bank of Riverdale that all of her accounts, including her college fund has been completely drained of assets. Alice explains that her funds were transferred. Most of it was blood money that Betty inherited from the Blossoms anyways. Alice tells Betty that it was wired to the Farm as a tax-deductible donation. To help support the children that Betty freed from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Betty is distraught that her mother just gave away her tuition money, to which Alice replies that Betty can always study at the Farm for free. However, Betty refuses to be cornered into joining the Farm.

Betty visits attorney McCoy at the Five Seasons in search of counsel. She's wondering if her mother transferring her funds to the Farm can be reversed. Sierra explains that Alice can do this so long as both of Betty’s parents sign off to release her funds, and according to the documents, it looks like her father signed, however, that would be impossible as Alice never goes to see Hal. She must’ve forged his signature. In that case, Betty’s needs to get her father to sign an affidavit, attesting to the fact that he never agreed to liquidate Betty’s funds.

Betty and Jughead help Archie study for the SATs as promised. Unfortunately, Archie performed terribly on the practice test, scoring in the bottom ten percentile. Jughead then gets a message from Fangs, warranting his immediate attention, and so Archie and Betty stay behind to finish studying. However, Archie is starting to feel hopeless. But Betty reminds him that he said the same thing in the 2nd grade when he couldn’t read, and eventually Betty got him caught up. Archie contemplates on whether Weatherbee was right and that he has changed too much. In one respect, that may be true, but Betty knows that the Archie she knew still exists.

Betty has convinced Archie to wash out the dark colored dye from his hair, restoring it to its natural fiery color. She then takes him to La Bonne Nuit, where a welcome home party awaits him. In attendance is Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Kevin, and many others. Archie, Betty, and Jughead take a seat as Veronica sings on stage for Archie. Not far away, Reggie sits visibly annoyed, though this goes unnoticed by all. As Veronica continues to sing, Archie seems to become overwhelmed by all his grief and suffering, taking off right in the middle of Veronica’s performance.

Betty visits her father in prison for the first time. She shows him the documents with his forged signature on it, explaining that her mother stole her college funds and so now Betty needs Hal to sign an affidavit that says the signature is a forgery. In reading the papers recently, Hal’s found himself compelled by the Gargoyle King, whose claimed 14 souls, which Hal states as being remarkable. He knows that it greatly angers Betty that she hasn’t caught him yet and even offers to help her. However, Betty’s only interested in her funds being returned. Hal tells Betty to bring him the Gryphons and Gargoyles manual that he’s heard so much about and then he’ll be more than willing to sign the affidavit.

As requested, Betty brings Hal a manual for G&G, and as promised, Hal signs the affidavit. Betty takes the document and attempts to leave without so much as a goodbye, though Hal reels her back in with the mention of ascension night. He claims he was there for it even though he wasn’t a member of the Midnight Club. He was aware of them and claims that he sent out the invitations for ascension night, dressed up as the Gargoyle King, and poisoned the chalices. Hal’s plan was to kill as many members of the Midnight Club as possible as they were all sinners, but Principal Featherhead crashed the party and drank from the chalice. This is why Hal believes he can solve the mystery of who the present Gargoyle King is. It’s because he was the Gargoyle King of the past. As Betty signs out, the guard informs her that she and her mother keep missing each other. However, as far as Betty knew, her mother hadn’t come to see her father in months. Though, the guard tells Betty that Alice comes by to visit Hal every Monday.

Betty returns home to find her mother all dressed up, asking if this is what she wears when she goes to see Hal. However, Alice has no idea what she’s talking about. Alice is prepping for an interview with RIVW, the local broadcast news. It has always been Alice’s dream to work for it. Betty reveals that she went to see her father after her mother forged his signature, but it was during that time that he revealed that he murdered Principal Featherhead. Alice states this as being impossible as Hal wasn’t there. However, he knew details about ascension night, which means he was either there or someone told him. Alice swears that in 25 years of marriage, she never mentioned ascension night to Hal. Furthermore, she hadn’t gone to see Hal since before G&G resurfaced.

Betty calls the prison to find out more about whose been visiting her father since it wasn’t actually her mother. Betty asks for a description of the woman claiming to be her mother and visiting Hal. Betty discovers that Penelope Blossom has been assuming her mother’s identity and so she calls Penelope to meet her at Pop’s. Betty asks if she’s one of those sickos who fantasize about serial killers. As a young woman, Penelope admits to having wrote letters to Jeffrey Dahmer. Betty now wants to know why Penelope has been posing as her mother, to which Penelope answers that it’s the only way for conjugal visits. Betty then asks if Penelope’s ever told her father about ascension night, which she has. As for why he told the lie, claiming that he was there for it, Penelope believes it’s as simple as self-aggrandizement.

Betty confronts her father with the information she’s gathered, that he wasn’t at ascension night and that he only knows what he knows because Penelope told him. But still, Betty wonders why he would lie about killing Featherhead. Then, Betty realizes that he did it to keep her coming back to her. Hal claims to have missed Betty and their talks, though Betty has no desire to talk to him any further.

Saturday has finally arrived and the gang must now take their SATs, this includes Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, and Kevin. Archie immediately begins to struggle with his test, so much so that he ups and leaves class without so much as a word. Veronica attempts to go check on him, but if she does, it’s an automatic zero. Archie rushes into the bathroom, hoping to regain a sense of reality. However, the more he thinks about all Hiram put him through, the angrier he becomes, to the point where Archie shatters the bathroom mirror with a single punch.

Betty enters the dining room to find her mother hosting some sort of get-together with several members of the Farm, Evelyn included. They’re celebrating. With a little help from Edgar’s connections, Alice got the job at the broadcasting station. Also, the Farm has found and bought its new headquarters. The Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Evelyn thanks Betty as it was her "donation" that paid for it.

Despite being so adamant against seeing her father again, Betty does just that, by going down to the prison to vent. No one else understands what her mother is capable of except her father. She gave all Betty’s money away as if her education meant nothing. Hal is sorry as her education means everything, but the good news is that Betty will have colleges lining up to give her scholarships. He recalls that the SATs has just passed, asking how Betty did. She thinks she did well.

After discovering that Claudius Blossom has died while in his cell, Betty became infuriated, taking her anger and concern to her father. The Lodge Ledger is calling Claudius’ death a suicide, but Betty believes he was murdered, and suspects that Penelope Blossom was the culprit. Hal remarks that poison does in fact suit Penelope. But he can’t help but wonder why Betty is asking questions to begin with when no one else is. Betty explains that it’s wrong and that Penelope’s been getting away with murder for years. Darryl Doiley was poisoned with Oleander. Featherhead and the Sisters of Quiet Mercy were poisoned as well. Betty’s already found the pattern of murders disguised as suicides, so now Hal asks who else close to Penelope has died by suicide. Betty realizes that the only other person was Clifford Blossom, who hung himself. Hal wonders if that’s the entire story. Aside from Penelope, Cheryl was also there. So if there’s a witness then it’s not a perfect murder and Betty has a chance at proving her suspicions.

Betty attends Claudius’ funeral at Thistlehouse. There, she joins Cheryl, Toni, Penelope, and Nana Rose. At the podium, Penelope states that Claudius was never welcomed to Riverdale and that this is likely why he killed himself. Betty takes a seat next to Nana Rose, who is unconvinced by Penelope’s supposed grief. Afterward, Cheryl confronts Betty as she is well aware that Betty has ulterior motives for attending. Betty admits that she came to talk to Cheryl because people connected to her mother keep dying by poison or strange suicide, including her father. However, Cheryl has no interest in entertaining Betty, stating that her father’s death was nothing more than a suicide. Toni then approaches Betty, telling her to back off as Cheryl’s been through enough.

Together, Betty and Jughead pick up the trail on Hiram’s mysterious blonde mistress. Starting at the Five Seasons. She may have wanted revenge after Hiram broke it off with her. Betty’s investigation into Claudius’ death is on hold until she hears back from Dr. Curdle Jr. Turns out there wasn’t an autopsy on Claudius. Penelope had him cremated, but Betty is hopeful that there’s something of use in Clifford’s autopsy report. The two of them come cross a room with a glowing red emblem on the door. They knock, and when no one answers, they decide to let themselves in. They seem to have stumbled onto some kind of sex club. They meet a young lady named Laura. She explains they’ve entered what is know as the Maple Club. Jughead shows her a picture of Hiram’s mistress, and while initially reluctant, after Jughead bribes her with money, Laura reveals that she’s seen the woman before, telling them to try room 311. As they’re on their way out, Betty and Jughead bump into Penelope, who demands that they both leave. Betty and Jughead confront Penelope over her brothel, threatening to inform his dad should she not cooperate. In hopes of keeping Betty and Jughead quiet, Penelope agrees to answer their questions.

When Betty accuses Penelope of exploiting women, Penelope retorts that the women whom she chooses to employ aren’t victims. At the Maple Club, it is the men who suffer, as they specialize in domination. The ladies are making enough money to start new lives. While this may be true, Betty accuses Penelope of only helping herself, which she doesn’t deny. No one else has, Penelope explains. When she was eight years old, she was plucked from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy by the Blossom family. Jughead wonders if this could be motive and if Penelope killed the Sisters, though she claims to have done no such thing. Furthermore, it was the Monsignor who sold her, not the Sisters. As for Claudius, all Penelope knows is that he committed suicide. Even if it was murder, she maintains that it wasn’t her doing as she was right there at the Maple Club.

Afterward, as Betty and Jughead leave the hotel room, Betty is still very much suspicious of Penelope. Just as Jughead asks her to join him as he goes to check out room 311, Betty gets a message from Dr. Curdle. Jr., calling for her immediate attention, so the two part ways.

Betty arrives at the coroner’s office, where she meets with Curdle, who informs her that Penelope Blossom requested that there be no autopsy on Clifford. But Dr. Curdle Jr. ‘s father did one regardless out of sheer curiosity. While there was bruising around the esophagus, consistent with that of a hanging victim, tetrodotoxin, pufferfish venom, was also found in his bloodstream, meaning Clifford Blossom was already dead when he hung himself.

Betty returns to the Maple Club to confront Penelope for murdering Clifford and Claudius. Betty knows everything, how she faked Clifford’s hanging and lied to the police. Betty presents Penelope with the proof; Clifford’s autopsy, which states that he was poisoned by pufferfish venom. While Betty may think she knows what Penelope has done, Penelope wonders if Betty has ever questioned why. Betty surmises that it’s simply because Penelope’s a serial killer who poison people. Penelope corrects Betty in saying that she poisons men. She’s not admitting anything but they are the true poison. Clifford killed her son. Darryl was a Judas. And Claudius was a terrible man. He was responsible for all the seizures. Claudius was running a Fizzle Rocks operation from the Blossoms maple factory and dumping the runoff in Sweetwater River. The runoff from the manufacturing of the drug caused all the seizures, not the drug itself. As for why it only affected girls, not even Penelope had the answer to that. However, tests of Sweetwater Reservoir were ordered and faked. But Claudius had every intention on continuing to poison the town with drugs. Just because someone’s a horrible person, doesn’t give her the right to kill them, Betty says. However, Penelope disagrees. Moreover, Betty did just that by handing Chic over to the Black Hood. So, if Betty insists of turning Penelope in, she’ll gladly do the same to Betty.

Betty’s encounter with Penelope has shaken her world view and there was only one person she could talk to about it, that being her father. Betty reveals to Hal that she found proof of Penelope killing Clifford. Hal is impressed, asking what Betty plans to do next. But, not even she knows. She thought that she would turn Penelope in, but hearing her talk, seeing how she’s living her life and how she’s been twisted, Betty almost feels pity for her. Hal explains that he and Penelope are products of their environment. Raised by those who taught them a twisted sense of right from wrong. Hal asks if Betty still believes that Penelope’s a monster who deserve to be in jail. However, Betty isn’t sure. Maybe not every murderer is guilty and maybe not every victim is innocent, Betty says. She starts to interpret the world in shades of grey rather than black and white. Hal wonders if one day Betty will ever manage to see him in that same compassionate light.

Betty, Jughead, Archie, and Veronica sit in a booth at Pop’s, enjoying their meal and having conversation. Later, as Betty and Jughead are in the middle of having sex, they both get calls from their parents, asking where are they.

Betty becomes concerned when she learns that her moher is getting baptized by the Farm. Edgar says that Alice is finally ready, so all the women of the Farm are gathering together at the new facility.

While on their way to class, Betty informs Jughead of her mother’s upcoming baptism with the Farm. Usually, she would be rubbing the Farm in Betty’s face, but now it is as if her mother is shutting her out, which terrifies Betty even more. Betty failed in her attempt of digging up dirt on the Farm. She couldn’t even find a single photograph of Edgar Evernever. Jughead suggests that Betty pretend to embrace the baptism as it may allow for her to keep a closer eye on her mother. He and Betty then enter the class for a meeting of the Swords and Serpents only to find that their numbers have greatly depleted. Sweet Pea and Fangs inform Jughead that they’re down another eight members. All girls. They’ve all deceived to join Toni and Cheryl’s gang, the Pretty Poisons. Jughead orders everyone to fallback as it is his duty to make things right considering that this is only happening because he exiled Cheryl and Toni. Jughead believes that if he can talk to Toni and get her back into the Serpent fold, then the others will follow.

Betty watches from the couch as her mother prepares for the baptism with Evelyn and Polly, extending her support or at least pretending to, unbeknownst to the others. Betty then discovers the release forms that her mother signed that exculpates the Farm in case of bodily harm or death during the baptism. Alice snatches the form away from Betty, claiming that it’s standard. Evelyn explains to Betty that Alice is on the verge of discovering something that some people spend their whole life looking for and never find, so Betty shouldn’t stand in the way of that. Polly then adds that Betty is behaving just as Edgar said she would as she is a detractor.

Betty approaches Kevin in the student lounge to ask for his help. The Farm is a cult and no one else but Betty seems to be worried about it. The only way to get dirt on a cult is to find an escapee. While researching online, Betty found dozens of articles of stories of people who have escaped the Farm. Betty has in her possession a list of over thirty people who have escaped. Betty needs Kevin’s help in calling them, but he refuses. After Moose left town, Evelyn began helping Kevin and said that she would introduce him to some cute gay Farmies. Betty can’t believe that Kevin is considering joining the Farm, and so he tells Betty to stop seeing the worst in people.

From the Blue and Gold offices, Betty begins to call the list of escapees from the Farm, but most aren’t so willing to talk. Betty then gets a call back from one of the escapees, who doesn’t want to talk over the phone as the Farm may be listening, but is willing to meet with Betty in person.

Betty convenes with Martha, the escapee from the Farm, in the bunker. She recalls that the Farm had locations similar to the bunker. Martha left the Farm six years ago. She and her sister Marigold joined at the same time. Martha ran away after she died. It happened during one of their ceremonies. The Farm believes that if you can get close enough to death, you’ll see the truth. They claim that you have to survive an extreme ordeal to achieve ascension. Martha continues to explain that the promise of the Farm and the first step towards it is the baptism. Martha’s sister Marigold, drowned during hers. Realizing that her mother may be next, Betty rushes off to stop the baptism. Betty races down to the Farm’s new facility to stop the baptism. She calls but her mother doesn’t answer.

Betty, having ran across town, finally makes it to the facility, barging into the chamber and demanding that the baptism be stopped. Betty pulls her mother from the tub and performs CPR. Fortunately, she manages to revive her.

After getting her mother home, Betty calls Martha, but she does not answer. She wanted Martha to tell Alice about just how dangerous the Farm is. Betty takes a seat next to her mother and carefully explains how Polly held her under water and tried to kill her. However, by Alice’s account, she was reborn. She saw it all. Her purpose and destiny, just as Edgar said. And now that she’s been baptized, Alice can purge the last thing in her life holding her back, that being the house. Alice wants to sell the house so that they can all be together at the Farm, herself, Betty, Polly, Juniper, Dagwood, Evelyn, Edgar and all the other Farmies.

Much to Betty's disdain, she and her mother move forward with the plans to sell the house. Alice shows off her home of three bedrooms and four baths to a couple of potential buyers. In an effort to block the selling of the house, Betty informs their guests that the room they’re currently standing in is where her father, the Black Hood not only showed them creepy snuff films but also where her mother knocked him out with a shovel. Betty insists that she’s telling the truth and encourages the potential buyers to google it under "Alice Cooper" instead of "Alice Smith". They can also find this under "Murder house on Elm Street".

In the student lounge, Betty and Veronica play catch up, during which time Betty tells Veronica that her mother still intends to sell the house and Betty’s still trying to sabotage her, but it’s only a matter of time until she finds someone who wants to live in a death house. Betty then waves at Kevin as he passes with Evelyn and the Farmies, but he does not wave back. When Archie asks about Kevin’s odd behavior, Betty explains to the gang that the Farm got Kevin and soon enough her house. Jughead reminds her that his offer still stands. While his trailer is cramped, she’s more than welcome to stay. Veronica and Archie extend the same welcoming to their respective homes. Archie then tells them about Ricky, the homeless kid in his garage, who ran away from a group home and was squatting in the gym. Jughead remarks that this sounds an awful lot like him during sophomore year. Archie then informs them of the branding on Ricky’s arm. The same one Warden Norton gave him. Archie isn’t sure if he’s playing G&G, but he left him at Pop’s for the day. Betty recommends that he call Ms. Weiss, whose helped both Betty and Jughead in the past.

Betty finds Kevin at his locker and confronts him on joining the Farm. She doesn’t want to see him disappear like her mother did. Kevin tells Betty to back off as she is a detractor.

As Betty is leaving the Blue and Gold, she passes by the Chemistry class, where the Farm is having their meeting. She takes a peak through the glass window. From there, she sees Evelyn watching as Kevin and the Farmies burn themselves by holding their hands over Bunsen burners.

Betty and Archie meet up with Ms. Weiss at Pop’s to discuss a possible home for Ricky. Ms. Weiss explains that with runaways, they typically end up hitchhiking to Centerville and joining gangs. Often it’s because they’ve rejected the state's efforts to help. However, Betty and Archie inform Ms. Weiss that Ricky ran away from Santa Lucia Shelter, which she is familiar with. They’re one of the better homes in town. Although, Ricky claims that the people there had hurt him by branding a symbol on his arm. Ms. Weiss has been seeing that quite often as of late. G&G may not be in the news anymore, but it’s everywhere else. Ms. Weiss is accompanied by a sketch artist who draws a fairly accurate picture of Ricky to show around. If they can find a match in the database, they’ll be able to track him down. Before leaving, Archie asks if he can make copies of the drawing.

Betty asks Josie if she has noticed that Kevin has gotten very involved with the Farm at an alarming rate as Betty has become concerned. And last night, when Betty was leaving school, she saw him and a bunch of the other Farmies holding their hands over a Bunsen burner. Betty explains that cults like the Farm prey on emotionally vulnerable people like Kevin. Josie hasn't told her mother or Kevin's father, but she admits that over the last week, she had heard Kevin sneaking out at night. She assumed that he was going back to Fox Forest, but now she thinks that he’s been going to meet them.

Betty follows Kevin from his house to the woods, where he has met up with Evelyn and the rest of the Farmies. Betty watches from afar, cloaked in the bushes as a ritual is about to commence. It would seem that Kevin has to cross a bed of hot coal without shoes. Evelyn tells Kevin that once he crosses the threshold, he can’t stop. He must believe that he’ll be protected and forged. Only through the fire can they be cleansed and leave their past behind. Conquer their fears, expiate their sins, and exorcise their demons. Betty jumps out the bushes telling Kevin not to go through with the ritual, but he does so regardless, seemingly without any pain or injury.

Betty is confronted by Evelyn and Kevin while writing her Blue and Gold article detailing her encounter last night in the woods. Evelyn tells Betty that she shouldn’t have ran off afterwards. Betty asks if they’re there to go on record about what she saw. Kevin tells Betty that last night was scary, fun, and euphoric. It felt like nothing he’s ever felt. Evelyn and Kevin then tell Betty that she won’t be publishing that article because they will tell everyone about the shady man that her mother killed in the kitchen, how Betty and Jughead dumped his car in Swedlow Swamp, and how FP dissolved the body with lye in the woods. Thanks to Betty’s mom, everyone at the Farm knows her secrets.

Betty returns home to find her mother packing. They’ve apparently sold the house to, in typical Riverdale fashion, an anonymous buyer. Her mother tells her to start packing.

Betty sits in her room, and though she is supposed to be packing, she seems more interested in the candle that sits in front of her. Just as Betty is about to try the fire test that she saw Kevin and the other Farmies doing in the Chemistry class, her mother enters the room. She’s about to go out for more bubble wraps and will expect more progress in packing by the time she returns. Betty comes downstairs with the candle, looking around at her home as packed boxes fill the room.

Betty arrives at the Gargoyles' lair, which Jughead intends to turn into the Serpents' new HQ. Archie and Jughead discuss Archie's fate and hois next move. Jughead suggests that maybe it’s time that Archie make this thing come to a head. This Gryphons and Gargoyles game that Archie’s still apparently playing. Jughead even agrees to help Archie play. As does Betty. Jughead comments that Betty’s looking cheery and gives her a kiss. Betty claims that she just feels a lot better about things.

With moving boxes in hand, Betty exits the house with her mother to find Jughead just outside, along with FP, Gladys, and Jellybean. They head inside, where FP inquires about the scorch marks, which Alice claims to be the result of a minor mishap with a candle. Betty questions how her mother could sell the house to the Jones, but it was solely Gladys who made the purchase. She made an all-cash offer online. Both Jughead and FP are hesitant with moving in given that it is the Cooper house. FP wants to walk away from this, but Alice doesn’t think it’s necessary. The house is her past and she wants to be done with it.

Betty and Jughead take a seat on the front steps, where they further discuss their current dilemma. Jughead doesn’t think that they’ll actually move in, but Betty believes otherwise. Her mom wants to sell it and his wants to buy it. If that is the case, Jughead tells Betty that the one good thing that comes from this is that she gets to stay in her room and live with them. However, Betty is unsure about living with Jughead’s family as she barely knows his mother. So instead, she’ll crash at the Pembrooke with Veronica.

Betty and Jughead then meet with Archie at Pop’s. Jughead checked with his dad, he pulled up all the files on Warden Norton after he committed suicide, and Jughead cleared out his office and found a "Kill the Red Paladin" Quest Card. This card from Warden Norton’s office is identical to the one Ricky had. This indicates that someone printed out multiple cards and put them out into the world. And now it’s their job to find out who.

Betty, Archie, and Jughead meet up in the bunker, where Archie reveals that Hiram made 12 of the Red Paladin Quest Cards. That means there could be as many as 10 cards in play. So, they have to figure out how to track them and whoever’s holding them. Hiram, fortunately, gave Archie a list of where G&G players like to congregate, such as Sudd Laundromat, Innuendo, and the comic book shop, where Betty would like to start at to see if they can tap into Riverdale’s gaming network.

Betty, Archie, and Jughead head down to MLJ comics, where they interrupt a game of G&G. They ask if the players recognize the Quest Card. Not only do they recognize the card, they recognize Archie as the Red Paladin. Betty asks who gave them the card, to which the Game Master reveals that it was given to them by one of the King's disciples i.e. the Gargoyles. They delivered the card for him. As for what the disciple were actually delivering, Jughead presumes Fizzle Rocks. Archie asks who has the card now, but none of them in the room have it. Jughead wonders why the card handlers haven’t made a play against Archie yet. The Game Master reveals that the Red Paladin is an advanced quest. It takes time to adequately prepare for it. But they’ll act on it sooner or later.

As planned, Betty stays over at Veronica’s. Veronica asks how Betty’s relationship with Jughead’s been since his mother has returned. Betty reveals that all is good, but he told her that she could stay in the house with them, in her old room, which is too weird for Betty, though it would give her the chance to get to know Jellybean and Gladys better. Veronica only asks because there’s something she has to tell Betty about Jughead’s mom. Veronica can’t risk Betty getting caught up in this and so she reveals that Gladys is taking over the drug trade in Riverdale. Fizzle Rocks is getting ready for a comeback with Gladys leading the charge. Betty wants to know everything so that she can in return share this with Jughead.

Betty, Archie, and Jughead regroup in the bunker. Spread across the table are photos of both victims and symbols related to the game. Archie is still taking in the fact that there are stranger out there who want to kill him. Betty explains that the game makes people crazy. Jughead adds on, stating that the hardcore gamers are so obsessive that they take any message they receive from the Gargoyle King as gospel. He wants to harness that. They know the only way to complete Hiram’s quest is to kill the Red Paladin. But, no one said that the Gargoyle King can’t add on to his own quest and offer a different outcome. Jughead asks if they remember when the three of them were in elementary school and it was snowing, and they played the game "King of the Mountain". Archie remembers, but Betty does not. Archie won every time, so Jughead wants to play to his strengths. He’ll write an addendum to the quest that says the Red Paladin will defend his mountaintop for 12 hours, dusk til dawn. Anyone that has the "Kill the Red Paladin" card can try and take Archie down, but if they don’t by the time the challenge ends, the mark of the sacrifice is lifted. Archie agrees to do it. He also agrees to Betty’s terms of no weapons, hand-to-hand combat only, and one challenger at a time. With that being said, they’re going to need a space. A mountaintop that’ll increase Archie’s chances of winning. Archie knows of someone who can help provide that. He tells Jughead to get to writing and that he’ll call him when everything’s in place. Once Archie is gone, Betty reveals to Jughead, without giving up her source, that Fizzle Rocks may be coming back to Riverdale. Jughead bets its Hiram, but Betty’s source says that it’s Jughead’s mom stepping in. While Betty can’t give up her source, she insists that they’re trustworthy. Jughead takes this in and decides that he’ll look into it alone.

Betty, Archie, and Jughead wait at the gym for Archie’s challengers to arrive. Just as they start to question if maybe they didn’t give it enough time for word to get around, Archie’s opponents arrive. Jughead welcomes all challengers to the Iron Mountain. He instructs them to approach the hallowed battleground, submit their Quest Card, and bring the Red Paladin to his knees in three minutes to win the quest. However, should they run out of time or fall to the Paladin’s hand, then their quest is over. The first fighter enters the ring after passing Betty his Quest Card. Archie ends the first fight with a single punch. Dropping his the challenger. However, the fights that follow are not so easily won. Jughead and Betty watch as Archie goes blow for blow with each challenger.

Archie has somehow miraculously survived 9 fights. In total, including Ricky’s card and Warden Norton’s card, Betty has a count of 11, meaning one is missing. The final fighter arrives. Captain Golightly. A guard at Leopold and Loeb Juvenile Detention Center. Beaten, cut, and bruised, Archie accepts the final fight as he wants the sacrifice mark off him. Golightly enters the ring and he and Archie immediately go at it. However, in his weakened state, Archie is barely able to defend himself. He gets Archie on the ropes and as he goes in for the final blow, Archie hits him with a surprise uppercut, knocking Golightly unconscious. Betty and Jughead cheer Archie on, joining him in the ring after having ended the quest.

As planned, FP’s 50th birthday party is held at La Bonne Nuit. Betty and Jughead, respectively, wishes him a happy birthday and gives him a hug. Gladys gets on stage to thank everyone for coming out as Betty, Jughead, FP and Jellybean sit at a table together, with Archie, Veronica, Fred, and Tom just behind them. Once, FP was a great king. But by Gladys’ account, the greatest role that he’s ever held is that of a father. She then invites Jughead to say a few words. Before he goes up, Betty asks if he even has an idea of what he’s going to say, to which he replies that he doesn’t. Afterward, Betty and Jughead discuss his speech, only most of which was true. They then look over to Jughead’s mother, father, and sister, and wonder what his next move will be. Jughead’s plan is to save Jellybean, protect his dad, and run his mom out of town. And he enlists in Betty’s help.

At the Jones house, formerly known as the Cooper house, Jughead shares with Betty that he had a dream of him searching for a needle in a haystack. Betty assures Jughead that his plan is a good one. His mom can’t start dealing drugs without a lab to make them in. So, all he has to do is find the lab and shut it down to stop her from getting a toehold. Betty and Jughead then start singing.

At school, Betty and Veronica stand aside Cheryl and join her in song. Cheryl was distraught after her break up with Toni, but then she gave herself the role of HBIC. Veronica and Betty are playing the other Heathers, Heather McNamara and Heather Duke. Cheryl, Veronica, and Betty resume their act, that is until Toni, Peaches 'N Cream, and the Pretty Poisons arrive at school. Reggie, Sweet Pea, Fangs, Archie, Josie, Peaches, and Evelyn then come down the hall to join in and make their way to the auditorium. Betty, Kevin, Cheryl, Veronica, Reggie, Sweet Pea, Fangs, Archie, Josie, Peaches, and Evelyn get on stage, where they conclude their performance.

Afterward, Kevin announces that there’s been a slight change to their creative team. While Evelyn has been helping him produce the musical, he’s recently asked her to step up and be his co-director, much to Betty’s disdain, as she points out that Kevin has always directed the musical alone. Which Kevin reveals has always been incredibly stressful, especially after last year’s incident, with Midge being killed by the Black Hood.

Betty, Archie, Veronica, Cheryl, Toni, Josie, Sweet Pea, Fangs, Reggie, and Peaches lay on their backs in the student lounge as Evelyn tells them that everything in their lives matter. There are universal truths within each of their experiences. In rehearsal, they’re going to explore their own personal traumas and experiences and exercise them through their art. Kevin interrupts to inform Cheryl, Veronica, and Betty that "Candy Store" set and costumes are ready.

Once in the auditorium, Kevin explains to Cheryl, Veronica, and Betty that this number is about the Heathers undeniable power that each of them can get at any given time. Toni, Peaches, and the Poisons are also on stage. Toni, as choreographer, wants to start with some simple steps, but Cheryl, still upset over their breakup, doesn’t want to hear it, telling both Toni and Kevin that she, Betty, and Veronica have already worked out their own choreography. Toni’s attempt at being professional is undermined by Cheryl, who along with Betty and Veronica, begin their musical number. Toni, Peaches, and the Poisons join in on the number, which upsets Cheryl, leading to a showdown between the two, who go back and forth on stage.

Betty confronts Evelyn on her suspicions of Evelyn’s less than pure motives with joining Kevin in directing the musical. Betty suspects that Evelyn’s using the musical as a recruitment drive for the Farm, who are sponsoring the play. Betty came to this conclusion after Evelyn strong-armed her way into directing the musical. Also, her warm-up sermons and exercising trauma through art screams cult recruitment to Betty. Evelyn wants to dissect Betty’s trust issues. Evelyn claims that the Farm is producing and she’s co-directing the musical for one simply reason. To have big fun. In fact, Evelyn makes an announcement, inviting everyone to a cast party at the former Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Also, while it may seem weird, Evelyn tells everyone to come in costume.

The cast meets up at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy compound as planned. Betty continues her investigation of Evelyn. She wonders what Evelyn’s father would say about all this. Evelyn replies that there is no need to wonder as her father’s approving of their get together. She, Reggie, Sweet Pea, Fangs, Kevin, Cheryl, Veronica, Josie, and Archie then start to sing and dance. With the exception of Betty, who watches from afar, everyone comes back together to finish the musical number.

Betty, Archie, Jughead, Veronica, Cheryl, Toni, Josie, Sweet Pea, Fangs, Reggie, Peaches, Evelyn, and Kevin meet back up in the auditorium the following day. They’re each going to share something they’ve never told anyone before. Betty looks to Archie for answers after discovering that he and Josie have been hanging out. Under the suspicion that he may have been nothing more than a rebound, Reggie asks Veronica if she knew of Archie and Josie’s relationship. Veronica had no idea, she claims. Evelyn then asks if Veronica has anything to share. She tells the group that her parents are separating. Admittedly, her family is unconventional, but she always thought no matter what that they’d stay together. Hearing this, Betty goes over to comfort Veronica.

With Sweet Pea and Fangs on musical detail, Jughead calls in the rest of the Serpents to the bunker, where he has put them in groups and tasked them with finding his old family trailer. If he’s right, the trailer is being used for a drug lab, and they need to shut it down. As the Serpents head out, Jughead asks Betty if she wants to go hunting with him, but she can’t as Evelyn’s called a closed rehearsal for select cast members in the Gargoyle Chamber, and Betty wants to investigate, asking Jughead to borrow his camera.

Betty sneaks into the Sisters of Quiet Mercy compound. She peaks through the doors of the chamber to the sight of Evelyn standing before Kevin and Fangs, who are down on their knees singing. Betty takes photos of the rehearsal as Kevin and Fangs rise to their feet and kiss, and Evelyn leads the rehearsal.

Betty goes to Weatherbee with the photos she took from the Gargoyle Chamber of Evelyn, Kevin, and Fangs surrounded by members of the Farm. Betty claims that the musical is being used to indoctrinate students into a cult. From Weatherbee’s perspective, it looks like they’re simply rehearsing. Betty insists that the photos capture some kind of ritualistic ceremony. However, Weatherbee would beg to differ. The Farm is a fully sanctioned club, approved by Weatherbee after he read Edgar’s doctrine. Which Weatherbee found to be fascinating. After being dismissed by Weatherbee, Betty calls Jughead as she suspects that he’s a part of the Farm. Jughead has news as well and asks Betty to meet him at Junkyard Steve’s.

Jughead gets word from one of the Serpents that they’ve found his trailer, and so he and Betty decide to investigate. As Jughead suspected, inside the trailer they find all the makings of a drug lab. Jughead is distraught as his own mother destroyed his childhood home. He looks around the trailer in disgust at what it’s become. He wonders at what point did their lives get so crazy to the point where they have to worry about drug lord mothers and serial killer fathers. Jughead is stressing out as he has no idea what his next move will be. Betty starts to sing "Seventeen", suggesting that they just be normal, like seeing bad movies, sneaking beers, and watching TV. She comforts a wallowing Jughead, offering nothing but to bring him happiness. The two then proceed to dance and kiss in the trailer.

Betty and Jughead head to Pop’s to discuss their next course of action. Jughead wants to steal the trailer back while everyone’s at the play. He can get the keys from Archie’s dad’s truck and move it to get it out of his mom’s hands. Betty points out how this idea is more emotional than practical. She would rather Jughead just let it go.

Betty hangs out with Jughead at his house along with his mioither and sister. FP returns home from an incident at work. He’s bleeding from being scratched and asks Jellybean to get him a clean shirt. FP reveals that some tweaked-out Fizzle-head was playing Gryphons and Gargoyles in the middle of the road. The candy store is definitely back open and FP intends to find whoever is cooking the Fizzle Rocks. As Gladys cleans FP’s wounds, Betty and Jughead get ready to leave. He claims that they need to make a quick stop before heading to the play. A little pre-show tradition.

Betty and Jughead later arrive at the play just before opening with dirt all on their face, just short of opening. Kevin and Evelyn instructs them to get to make up and to make sure that Jughead knows his line and choreography for the finale. Jughead questions when he received a line as he isn’t part of the cast. Betty explains that it’s kind of a big statement song that Kevin wants everyone in on. She assures Tells Jughead to follow her lead as it’s basically just a costume change.

The musical ends with Betty, Jughead, Archie, Sweet Pea, Toni, Reggie, Josie, Veronica, Cheryl, Kevin, Evelyn, and Fangs on stage singing "Seventeen". Betty takes an uneasy Jughead’s hand. As it turns out, when the two of them left the house for their pre-show transition, they actually burned down his childhood home. As the trailer goes up in flames, Betty asks Jughead if he’s okay. He replies that he’s surviving, because Betty’s there with him. The two of them proceed to make out in the car as the trailer burns. As the musical concludes, Edgar Evernever rises from the audience, clapping slowly and very dramatic-like. He is joined by over a dozen members of the Farm, who are all wearing white and join in on the slow clap. From the stage, Evelyn states that she knew her dad would like it. Weatherbee and Mrs. Klump appear to be one with the Farm as they too are wearing white and applaud the performance.

At Pop’s, Betty asks Veronica if there’s any way she can see her parents’ divorce as a good thing. Veronica has tried, but her parents have raised her to believe that family is the most important thing. Evelyn enters the diner with fliers for the Farm's upcoming open house. They’re opening their doors to visitors. Everyone is welcome to tour their renovated premises, meet with Farm elders and learn about their values and practices.

Betty and Veronica attend the Farm’s open house. Kevin is their tour guide. At the Farm, they like to nurture everyone’s unique talents. Betty makes a snide remark in regards to the Gargoyle chamber before asking about a particular room labeled 317, to which Kevin claims is just the janitor's closet. As Kevin prepares to take the group to the garden, Betty crosses paths with her mother, who in typical Farm fashion, is wearing an all white outfit. Alice didn’t think Betty would come, to which Betty replies that everyone is welcome. With that being said, Alice tells Betty to enjoy the rest of her tour. However, they haven’t spoke in a while and yet her mother doesn’t seem too happy to see her. Betty questions why. Alice explains that Betty forsook her, not the other way around. Betty then decides to participate in the Farm’s interviewing process. As she enters the chamber, Evelyn informs her that these interviews are reserved for those actually interested in joining the Farm. Betty claims that she is before asking about Evelyn's father, Edgar, who Evelyn says is around. The interview begins. Evelyn asks for name and occupation. She then asks if Betty ever bites her fingernails or feels stressed. Betty replies yes to both. Lastly, she asks if Betty would consider herself a cold person. Betty says no. And on that note, Evelyn concludes the interview.

Betty and Cheryl convene at Pop’s, where they discuss Cheryl’s willingness or perhaps lack thereof to help Betty. Betty wants Cheryl’s help with infiltrating the Farm. Betty already tried to do it herself, but Evelyn doesn’t trust her. However, Betty did notice that she was trying to recruit Cheryl during the musical. Cheryl questions Betty’s obsession with the Farm. Betty explains that they’re a cult. Plus, it’s not just her friends and family they’ve targeted. Juniper and Dagwood, Cheryl’s niece and nephew, are being raised as toddler Farmies. Although, by Cheryl’s account, they looked perfectly happy and healthy the last time she saw them. Betty reminds Cheryl of Jason, and how he and Polly had plans to run away to the Farm together. Cheryl must want to know why, Betty presumes. And so, Cheryl reluctantly agrees.

At the Blue and Gold, as Betty hides a tiny microphone within Cheryl’s broach, Cheryl questions just where Betty acquired all her detective equipment, to which Betty replies that she got it from when her mother worked at the Riverdale Register. Betty then sends Cheryl in as she listens from the Blue and Gold. Evelyn starts the interview off by asking Cheryl’s favorite color. Of course which is red, specifically Pantone’s "Flame Scarlet." Evelyn then asks if she ever bites her fingernails or cuticles when stressed. Cheryl does not. Edgar then enters to take over the interview. Edgar asks if she’s ever lost someone. Cheryl admits that she has. Her brother Jason. Although, she doesn’t remember much of what followed his passing. She was in a dark place. Jason was her twin and when she lost him, she lost a piece of herself. She wanted so desperately to reunite with him that she found herself on the frozen bed of Sweetwater River. When Cheryl fell through the ice, she saw him and was changed. It was like her spirit had finally returned to her body. So much so that she burned down her childhood home. Hearing Cheryl’s story, Edgar realizes that Cheryl’s already been baptized and been reborn in fire. But yet the memory of her brother still hurts. While memories are often painful, Edgar doesn’t believe they have to be. He believes they can be a path to revival and that the Farm can help Cheryl see that.

Betty and Cheryl reconvene in the girls restroom, where they discuss Cheryl’s interview with Edgar. He’s younger than Cheryl thought he’d be. She also finds him to be very attractive and a good listener. Now that Cheryl’s in with Edgar, Betty needs her to ask him a few questions, like why he decided to move to Riverdale now, and how many members does he plan on recruiting. And most importantly, Betty needs to find out where Edgar stores the tapes from the recorded interviews. If Betty can get her hands on her mom’s and Polly’s, then the Farm won’t have any leverage over Betty’s family.

Betty listens from the Blue and Gold as Cheryl has another meeting with Edgar. Cheryl asks why he records their sessions. Edgar explains that many of their members like to refer back to them occasionally, to track their growth. Cheryl then asks where they’re stored. Edgar only will say that they’re in a secure location, though he questions Cheryl’s suspicious concern in them. Cheryl claims that she’s just curious. Edgar wants to get back to the interview, but first he wants to show Cheryl something that he thinks she’ll find illuminating. He takes Cheryl to see their files. He then goes on to explain that tomorrow night they’re having a get together for new members and asks Cheryl to join them, to which she agrees. Cheryl and Edgar then seem to enter a room, which appears to cut off Betty’s connection.

Betty approaches Cheryl at her locker the following day. Betty wants to know what was in the room that Edgar took her to. Cheryl tells Betty that it’s none of her business. Furthermore, she’s done being Betty’s mole. It’s disrespectful and illegal. Betty was going to suggest the same as she doesn’t want Edgar to catch onto Cheryl. However, Cheryl still intends to going to the Farm, she’s just done working for Betty.

As Betty and Jughead lay in bed, Betty tells him that she thinks she can get to the tapes that Edgar has on her mother and Polly. Jughead asks just how dangerous this mission is. Betty informs him of the open house the Farm is having, so it’s not nearly as dangerous as him and Archie raiding a building full of Gargoyles.

Betty sneaks in during the Farm’s open house and breaks into the alleged janitors closet, which In actuality is the storage room for all of the recorded interviews. Over the intercom, Edgar welcomes all in attendance, especially their newest initiate, Cheryl, who then gets on the intercom and says "May the one become many, and the many one." All the while listening to this, Betty searches through the files in search of her mother’s and sister’s incriminating interviews. Edgar continues to say that they’ve all come together under great scrutiny and judgement from their friends and neighbors, and possibly ever their own family. But only through great sacrifice will their lives be full. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the bounty, Edgar says. He advises them to plant their seed in the earth and watch it grow. Betty then leaves after recovering her mother’s, sister’s, and Cheryl’s interview recordings.

Betty meets with Cheryl at Thistlehouse to give her the tapes of her recorded sessions with Edgar. They now have nothing on Cheryl, so she doesn’t have to go back. However, Cheryl wants to go back. She reveals to Betty that Edgar let her see Jason. He took her to a room, closed the door, and inside she saw Jason. While it sounds crazy, Cheryl insists that she saw and talked to him.

Having learned from Cheryl that she was seeing a dead loved one, Betty arranges a meeting with her mother at Pop’s to ask if she joined the Farm because they let her talk to Charles. Alice admits this is true. She sees him and it’s like she never lost him. Betty would also love him. Alice says he’s the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen. Being with him is unlike anything she’s ever imagined. And it’s all because of Edgar. Betty asks to meet Edgar, and Alice agrees.

Betty is taken to the Farm to meet with Edgar in the Gargoyle chamber. They’ve both long awaited this meeting. He knows that Betty stole the recording of Polly and Alice's interviews. He could however always ask them to give their testimony again. There’s also the possibility that he already has copies. Edgar then asks Betty what she wants to know. Betty wants to know everything, starting from the beginning.

At the Farm’s compound, Betty continues to question Edgar and his motives. She claims that there’s no record of his existence, to which Edgar explains that he was a different man many years ago. His life was in shambles and so he left it behind and walked into the desert to die, until he stumbled onto a tree, on a hillside of a farm. Edgar knocked on the farm’s door and when he woke, he was being tended to in a white room by a kind, elderly farmer. Edgar repaid the woman by lending a hand around the farm. He watched the field grow into something beautiful and in the process, felt reborn. Thus Edgar made it his sacred duty to open his own Farm, where he could welcome lost souls. While this may be true, it doesn’t explain how Edgar has convinced Alice that she can see her dead son. Edgar claims that at the Farm they strive to create a safe place, where wounded people can heal and become the best versions of themselves. Though, this doesn’t answer Betty’s question, so she asks again how Edgar has convinced her mother that she’s seeing Charles. Betty suspects that maybe he has someone dress up like Charles.

Betty, Veronica, Archie, and Jughead gather in the student lounge, where they discuss the upcoming boxing tournament. Archie hopes that Veronica can help get his crew into the tournament by talking to Elio. Betty has explained to the others that the reason her mother and Cheryl have joined the Farm is because they are allowed to talk to Charles and Jason. Jughead tells Betty to prove to her mother that Charles is dead since she’s lost touch with reality. The best way to snap her out of her delusions may be a harsh dose of reality.

Betty takes to Jughead’s suggestions and begins making calls from the Blue and Gold office, thought she doesn’t have much luck. Toni enters the Blue and Gold as she holds Betty personally responsible for whatever the Farm has done to Cheryl. Betty explains that Edgar is a con artist who has somehow convinced everyone that they can talk to the dead. Unlike with Charles, there’s proof of Jason’s death. Betty sends Toni the video of Clifford Blossom shooting Jason. Betty’s kept a copy of it on her laptop. She hopes that showing it to Cheryl will snap her back into reality.

Betty visits her father at prison, who informs her that her mother has filed for divorce from him. However, Hal hasn’t signed yet, wondering if Alice is seeing someone. Betty suspects it may be Edgar, who her mother spends most of her time at the Farm with. Betty then informs her father how Edgar has tricked her mother into thinking that she’s seeing Charles, which Hal remarks is impossible because Charles is dead, but Betty doesn’t have any physical proof of that. Hal tells Betty that she doesn’t need a body or ashes. Just a grave.

Betty visits her mother at the Farm to ask if she’s engaged to Edgar, to which Alice replies that she and Edgar have a deep understanding of each other. Betty then extends her hand, telling her mother that she wants to show her something. Betty takes Alice to what is supposedly Charles’ grave. Betty paid someone to help her track it down, meaning Alice hasn’t been talking to him at he Farm. Charles has been dead and buried for the last five years. Betty and Alice return to the car, where Alice is still unconvinced that Charles is dead. She claims to have spoken to Charles just that morning. With no other option, Betty chloroforms her mother.

Alice wakes up in Dilton’s bunker, handcuffed to the bed. Seeing as taking her mother to Charles alleged headstone didn’t work, Betty attempts to remind her of their fond moments from the past, such as her first day at the Register. Alice counters that now she’s a reporter thanks to the Farm. Betty then shows her mother a photo taken during her 8th grade graduation. Alice states that is the past. She’s someone else now. This saddens Betty as she continues her effort to pull her mother back to reality. She reminds her of their old house and how she painted the front door red. Alice retorts that she lived with a murderer in that house. Betty replies that she also raised her and Polly in that house. Alice has endured so much pain she just wants to forget the past, but Betty won’t allow it. Alice then asks Betty to tell her the truth about Charles’ grave, which Betty admits that it wasn’t. Both Betty and Alice start to cry, hoping of nothing else to reason with the other, but to no avail. So, before leaving for school, Betty hands her mother several photo albums and tells her to remember who she is.

Betty, Jughead, Archie, and Veronica reconvene in the student lounge, where Betty informs them that she locked her mother in the bunker. Betty reasons that it’s the only place her mother will be safe from the Farm. Betty is determined to follow through with her attempt at deprogramming her mother. The four of them follow a loud, banging sound into the hallway, where they find a Vixen slamming her head repeatedly into the lockers. Foaming at the mouth from G, aka Fizzle Rocks, and blood running down her head, a couple other Vixens restrain her and take her to the infirmary.

Betty returns to the bunker to find her mother burning the family photos albums. The following day, Evelyn asks Betty if she’s seen Alice, though Betty claims to have no knowledge of her whereabouts. Considering that Alice missed bed check and the fact that Betty was seen entering Alice’s room, Evelyn suspects that Betty has something to do with her disappearance. Still, Betty maintains her innocence. As she walks off, Evelyn reminds her that they have copies of Alice’s and Polly’s tapes. Betty slams Evelyn against the locker. While the Farm may have brainwashed her mother, Betty sees right through them. She warns Evelyn to stop messing with her family and friends. Should Evelyn persist, Betty threatens to kill her.

Betty sits in the Blue and Gold listening to her mother’s tape, where Alice states that Betty is often angry and how she’s afraid of Betty. On the tape, Alice goes on to say that she thinks Betty wants to hurt her. She has the same darkness in her that Alice saw in Hal. Hearing this enrages Betty.

Betty barges into Edgar’s office demanding to know what he did to her mom and how he got her to say such horrible things about Betty on those tapes. Edgar claims that everything Alice said on those tapes were her own words. Betty refuses to allow Edgar to turn this on her, not while Edgar continues to feed her mother lies about Charles. Edgar sees Charles as a wound that needs to be healed. Alice is on a journey and she is making tremendous progress in finding her truest self, but Betty argues that her mother could’ve done that from home, without giving up Betty’s money or her childhood home and everything else. Edgar believes that Alice needs the Farm in order to heal from the pain inflicted upon her. Whether Charles is real or not, he fulfills her in a way that no one else can. So, Edgar asks why in Betty’s mind is that a bad thing. Betty does not answer, simply exiting Edgar’s office.

Betty returns to the bunker, where she places a blindfold over her mother’s head and takes her to Pop’s, where Evelyn awaits their arrival. Evelyn welcomes Alice with open arms and the two share a hug. Before leaving, Betty pleads with Evelyn to take care of her mother. Evelyn replies that that’s all she’s ever wanted to do.

Toni enters the Blue and Gold as Betty listens to her mother’s tapes. As it turns out, Toni is in cahoots with Betty to infiltrate the Farm. Betty asks Toni if she’s a monster. Toni says that she’s just a daughter who wants her mother back, just like Toni wants Cheryl back.

Betty visits her father once more. As Hal signs the divorce papers, he asks what caused Betty’s sudden change in heart. She finally realized that it’s time to let her mother go. She needs to heal in whatever way she chooses. Hal then asks if Betty would consider doing him a favor. He wants to come home.

Betty and Veronica meet with Hiram at La Bonne Nuit, where Betty asks Hiram for a favor. Her father is incarcerated two hours away in a windowless cell. He heard about Hiram’s facility and how some of the cells have a view of Sweetwater River. Betty explains that her father would like to be transferred there. Veronica assures her father of all the publicity that would come with it, and with that in mind, Hiram says that he’ll see what he can do.

In the Blue and Gold offices, Toni tells Betty that everyone is gearing up for the wedding between Edgar and Betty’s mom. After the big wedding, Edgar’s also planning to adopt Juniper and Dagwood.

While in line for her meningitis vaccination, Betty overhears Ms. Bell asking Evelyn if she’s had hers. However, Evelyn explains that the Farm doesn’t believe in putting foreign substances into their bodies. She tells Ms. Bell to check her file as her father has written Principal Weatherbee a letter, opting her out of all elective medical procedures.

While impersonating Ms. Bell, Betty calls Evelyn’s old schools, claiming that she’s just checking their records and asks what grade Evelyn was in while in attendance. Betty learns that Evelyn’s was enrolled in as Junior at her last five schools. Afterward, Betty contacts Ms. Weiss to inform her of her discovery. Betty discovered that Evelyn has been repeating her Junior year, enrolling in high schools, pretending to be 17 for over a decade. From what Betty has gathered, Edgar works on the parents while Evelyn is sent to recruit teens for the Farm. It’s a cover for their cult. Ms. Weiss is more than willing to help. She will make some inquiries to see what she can find out.

Betty informs her father that his transfer papers have been processed and that he’ll be moved by the end of the week. Betty then reveals Edgar’s plans to adopt the twins after he marries Alice, which Hal refuses to allow to happen. So, he sends Betty to Penelope for help, stating that she will be uniquely motivated.

Betty heads down to the Five Seasons, where she informs Penelope of the marriage and Edgar’s plans to adopt the twins, Penelope’s grandchildren. Polly, Alice, and Cheryl made their decisions, but the twins are helpless. Betty reminds Penelope that she knows what it is like to be adopted into a family that only wants to control you. Having taken this all in, Penelope agrees to help. Together, she and Betty infiltrate the Farm’s compound, where Penelope negotiated the freedom of Dagwood. She gets the boy, but the Farm will keep Juniper. Those were the only terms they would agree to despite Penelope’s threats to come after the Farm. Betty explains that they’re twins and that they shouldn’t be separated. Furthermore, Edgar isn’t their father. But, as Penelope points out, Polly is their mother, meaning it’s her decision. Penelope remarks that it was a miracle that they were even able to get one child, referring to Dagwood as Jason Jr.

After following Betty’s paper trailer, Ms. Weiss shows up at the Pembrooke to discuss with Betty what she’s discovered. Evelyn is much older than she appears. 26 to be exact. Ms. Weiss also discovered that Evelyn is Edgar’s wife, not his daughter. Betty then calls Toni to tell her that she has to get back into the Farm immediately.

With Toni’s help, Betty sneaks into the Farm’s compound to kidnap Juniper. Betty grabs the baby and together, she and Toni make a run for it. However, Betty is led straight into a trap by Toni, who has succumbed to the Farm’s allure. Edgar, Alice, Polly, Cheryl, Evelyn, Kevin, Weatherbee and the other Farmies surround Betty. When Betty asks why Toni betrayed her, she explains that she’s been in search for a family her entire life, first with the Serpents, then the Pretty Poisons, but she’s never felt such belonging, as she does at the Farm. Betty reveals to her mother that Edgar is already married to Evelyn, but Alice is well aware. There are no secrets at the Farm. They’ve all come together to get Betty to join them. Edgar explains that everyone Betty cares about is in the room, her mother, sister, best friend, cousin and sister. In unison, the Farmies recite "Join us." If only for a second, it seems that Betty begins to consider the offer, but she declines it nonetheless and takes off running, with Toni, Cheryl, Kevin, Evelyn, and the other Farmies just behind her. Betty just barely makes it to her car and pulls off.

When Betty returns to the Pembrooke, Veronica informs her that her dad and a few other inmates who were being transferred to the new prison were involved in some kind of accident that left no survivors.

Betty and Veronica arrive on scene of the prison bus crash to find charred remains lined along the road by deputies. FP is already on site, and he tells the girls to stay back. Betty informs him of the Black Hood’s return as her father was on the bus, and likely caused the crash to escape. However, FP tells her no one survived the crash. There were five inmates and one driver on the bus. Six in total, which is the number of heads they’ve found. DNA tests will confirm their identities. Betty grows concerned that her father escaped, and is now loose in Riverdale.

Betty rushes down to the Farm's compound to warn her mother of her father’s escape. However, Alice is very much aware as FP has already called, and told her there were no survivors from the bush crash. However, as Betty points out, Dr. Curdle Jr. has yet to identify the bodies. This is precisely what Alice means when she says Betty should let go of her past. She has to stop indulging in her delusions that her father is still alive. Betty then notices the tattoo of her mother’s wrist. Alice explains that Edgar asked her to get it. Alice likes to think of it as an engagement ring.

Betty, Jughead, Archie, and Veronica meet up in the student lounge, where Betty shares with the group her conclusion that she was used by her father so that he could escape from prison. Veronica was with Betty, and having seen what was left of that bus, she doubts that Betty’s father survived the crash. However, if he did, Jughead assures Betty that she has him, the Serpents, and Archie’s fight club looking out for her. Jughead also extends Betty another invitation to move back in with him considering things have calmed down since his mom left. Archie asks how Jellybean is faring during this time. Jughead is surprised by how well she has taken to everything. She’s even filled in some key blanks. Apparently, there’s a Gospel of the Gargoyle King out there somewhere. Could be important, so Jughead’s dad has been sweeping Junkyard Steve’s. Cheryl interrupts to inform them of the upcoming Fire and Ice Junior Prom. She and Toni are running for Prom Queens, and Cheryl would appreciate their vote. This, however, is the first that the gang is hearing about Prom. Betty asks Jughead to go to Prom with her, to which he agrees.

Betty fires at a target at the gun range. She then gets a call from Dr. Curdle Jr., who tells her that while the corpses where charred beyond recognition, he was able to work with one semi-intact hand, which matches that of her father, DNA and fingerprints. Betty goes through a whirlwind of emotions after hearing that her father is dead.

At the Serpents den, Jughead informs Betty of all his mythological readings from the Gospel as she looks upon their suspect board. He reads to her a story of the Gargoyles and the Gryphon Queens. Betty states that while all this lore builds the Gargoyle King up to be a supernatural creature, in reality they’re facing a serial killer. The Gargoyle King is flesh and blood, which means that he can die. Jughead tells Betty that it would be okay if she took a couple days off, but she refuses. Jughead then gets a message from Dr. Curdle Jr., who has results from Kurtz’ autopsy.

Betty and Jughead arrive at the coroner’s lab, where Dr. Curdle Jr. informs them of Kurtz’ tattoos, which he surmises are no more than a month old. The same runic symbols that were carved into Ben, Dilton, and Baby Teeth. Jughead read in the Gospel that those markings are needed in order to ascend to the Kingdom. Whoever gave Kurtz the tattoos could be their next lead.

Betty and Jughead enter the local tattoo parlor with a $20 bribe and a photo of Kurtz’ tattoos. The tattoo artist recognizes the symbols. He claims Kurtz came in asking for them a few weeks ago. He showed the artist the design and payed cash, just like the first guy, the tattoo artist says. Jughead asks about the "first guy". The tattoo artist explains that he gave that same tattoo to someone about a year ago. Same symbols. Also on his back. Betty asks did he get the guy’s name, but he didn’t. Normally, the artist likes to take photos of his finished work, but this guy wouldn’t allow it. Betty asks for a description. The tattoo artist describes the guy as having blonde hair, blue eyes, and being weirdly magnetic.

Betty and Jughead head back to the Serpents den, where they discuss all the information they’ve gathered. The tattoo artist said that a guy with blonde hair and blue eyes got a Gargoyle King tattoo about a year ago, which is around the same time the Farm came to town and right before G & G resurfaced. Add the fact that her mother just got a tattoo per Edgar’s request. But if the Gargoyle King is Edgar, Jughead wonders how that explains her mom seeing it during ascension night, nearly two decades before Edgar came to town. Betty has come to the conclusion that it isn’t the same Gargoyle King. Her mother gave testimony about the Midnight Club to the Farm. Maybe Edgar took on that persona. Betty is confident that he is the King. Edgar bought the Sisters, where the game originated. Both he and the Gargoyle King preach ascension, both also have followers who they manipulate, and both are really creepy by Betty’s account.

Betty and Jughead interrupt one of the Farm’s meetings and accuse Edgar of being the Gargoyle King. He invites Betty to join them so that they can unpack her obsession with the Gargoyle King. Betty instead tells Edgar to take off his shirt so that she can see his tattoos. Edgar claims that he only has one tattoo. An infinity symbol on his wrist, like many members of the Farm. Betty's talking about the runic symbols she believe are on his back. With nothing to hide, Edgar takes off his shirt, revealing a bare back with no tattoos, asking if Betty is satisfied.

In the Blue and Gold offices, having ruled Edgar out, Betty and Jughead continue their investigation into the Gargoyle King. Their only chance of catching him is on his own terms. Jughead wants to use a ritual from it to invoke him. Jughead reads one ritual that sounds similar to Prom. In this scenario, Betty is the Gryphon Queen, and they have to ensure that she’s crowned Prom Queen. They also have to switch the theme to something G & G related. They then go to Cheryl, chair of the prom committee, for approval of their G & G themed prom proposal. While the theme of Fire and Ice was decided months ago, Betty and Jughead attempt to persuade Cheryl to specify the theme with something more medieval. With zero resistance, Cheryl agrees. They can change the theme to whatever they like. She no longer cares since she can’t be Queen.

Betty and Jughead has called a meeting between the Serpents and Pretty Poisons, with whom he has a proposition for. Peaches 'N Cream states that they don’t take orders from Jughead, though Betty pleads with her to make a prom night truce so that they can all work together to catch the Gargoyle King. During prom, groups of them will be stationed at every entrance. Once the announcement for Prom Queen begins, they’re going to keep everyone from exiting the gym. The Gargoyle King will be there, and this is their one chance at getting him, though they don’t know if he’ll be in costume or not. At the minimum, he will have some kind of kingly signifier, like a crown or antlers. He’s going to make his move after Betty is crowned Prom Queen. The Serpents and Poisons then come together as one.

Prom has finally arrived. Betty and Jughead arrive not long after. Peaches N’ Cream asks if they want to run for Prom court. Betty has been running unopposed. As an extra measure, Betty has cooked up dozens of fake votes, which Peaches proceeds to add to the count. With the Serpent and Poisons in place, Betty and Jughead now have to wait for him to make his move. They decide to dance while they look for him.

While getting some punch, Betty is given a letter for the Gryphon Queen, from a masked court jester. Betty’s been summoned to the place ascension night was held. She is told to come alone or else everyone else at the Prom will pay the price. Looking to prevent anyone else from getting hurt, Betty abides by the Gargoyle King’s rules, and sneaks out the gym. Jughead, Archie, Veronica, Kevin, Fangs, Evelyn, Cheryl, Toni, and Peaches stand in the crowd as Betty is announced as the Prom Queen, though no one seems to know where she is. Jughead asks Archie and Veronica, but they are unaware.

Betty makes her way through the dark halls of Riverdale High alone. She enters the girl’s restroom, where she finds finds the walls riddled with runic symbols and writing, instructing her to flip for her fate. On the sink sits two chalices and a coin. The scenario is strikingly similar to that of ascension night when Alice found herself in the same position. Much like her mother, Betty decides not to play and exits the restroom. Standing in the hallway, Betty finds the Gargoyle King. She did as it asked. Came alone. But now she wants to know what it wants. Betty then pulls a gun from her purse, demanding to know who is under the mask. However, she is ambushed and knocked to the ground by the Black Hood. He stands before her with a hook in hand. Just a few feet behind him stands the Gargoyle King, who watches as this unfolds.

The Black Hood lunges at Betty, but she avoids his attack, and makes a run for safety. She enters the Blue and Gold, and shuts the door behind her. Inside, on the floor, lays the body of a female classmate. Just outside, the Black Hood bangs on the door, attempting the gain access. Betty pleads with the Black Hood, whom she assumes is her father, to stop but he continues to pursue her, forcing his way in, and grabbing Betty. Betty does however fight back. She stuns the Black Hood long enough for her to get out the Blue and Gold, though the exit is chained lock, and so Betty is forced to find another way out, running through the halls, calling out for help, with the Black Hood not far behind her, dragging his hook along the lockers as he stalks Betty.

Betty runs into the boy’s locker room, where she finds another dead classmate inside the showers. As the Black Hood enters, Betty attacks him from behind with the hockey stick and makes her way out the locker room. She then hides in the storage closet under the steps. Inside that closet, Betty finds yet another body but this one is headless. Betty screams, which alerts the killer of her location. He attempts to fight his way in but Betty manages to keep him out. He eventually leaves, and not long after, Jughead arrives. Betty rushes out the closet, into Jughead’s arms. She tells him how the Black Hood is back and that he attacked her.

After the attack, Jughead calls his dad and the three of them sit down to recount the attack. Betty informs Jughead and FP that it was a set up from the beginning. The Gospel that they found, it was all to get Betty alone with her dad again. Now they have two serial killers in town, possibly working together.

Betty rushes to the Farm’s compound to inform her mother of her father's return. He survived the crash and attacked her at Prom. Alice tries arguing against Betty, but she has to deal with this. The Black Hood is back, and Betty suspects that the Farm may be his next target because Betty told him about her mother’s engagement to Edgar, and how he plans to adopt Juniper and Dagwood after the marriage. Alice questions why Betty was even talking to her father, to which Betty admits that she was fooled, and now she has no idea what they’re going to do. Edgar, having listened in on their discussion, tells Betty to stay at the Farm. Their walls are strong and their members are stronger. He wishes to protect both Betty and Alice. With very few options, Betty agrees to stay at the Farm.

Betty has become situated at the Farm. As she walks down the hallway, she passes Evelyn’s room, noticing that Evelyn is hooked up so some kind of medical machine.

Betty, Polly, and Alice have been brought together by Edgar as they have something to tell Betty. Alice reveals that when Betty was 8 years old, she spent some time in the hospital after falling of her bike and getting a concussion. While she was there, the doctors ran test and discovered that Betty has what is commonly referred to as the serial killer gene. They tested the rest of the family, though Betty was the only one who had it. She has a predisposition to violence. But now that she knows, Edgar can help her heal. Edgar wants to start by talking. And so, he and Betty adjourn in his office for a private session. Edgar explains to Betty that the gene she was born with doesn't have to define her. Edgar then proceeds to hypnotize Betty with Newton’s Cradle. Destiny, by his account, is a false notion. Betty can either give into her proclivities or fight it. He wants to know her fears. Betty, solely focused on the clanking magnetic balls, reveals that she’s always felt like there’s another person inside of her. A person capable of doing dark, terrible things. And Betty doesn’t know how to get rid of her. Edgar tells Betty that the first step in ridding herself of this darker version is confrontation.

Betty now finds herself in a dark, bare room, though she is not alone. Betty sits in a chair, and just a few feet ahead of her stands her darker self. She’s all the dark deeds that they did in their youth, like what they did to their old cat. Caramel ran away, Betty recalls, though her darker self claims they drowned the cat. Betty denies this, along with having ever pushed Polly down the stairs, as her darker self claims they did. Dark Betty explains that she is not apart of Betty, but that it’s the other way around and that Betty is apart of her, stating that Betty is the illusion. Betty is visibly in pain as she continues having an actual conversation with her darker self. She then finds herself back in Edgar’s office. He tells her that it’s normal to feel disoriented during the first few sessions. He wonders what else she feels. Betty tells him about the stabbing pain she feels in her forehead. Edgar says that this means her body has located her trauma. He takes her hand and tells her that together, they can heal and discharge Betty’s pain.

After her session with Edgar, Betty calls Jughead to share with him her discoveries. She still can’t wrap her head around what happened in her session with Edgar. Jughead, while working from a booth at Pop’s, reminds Betty to keep her head clear of all that Farmie nonsense. Betty recalls the magnetic balls on Edgar’s desk that clacked when they hit one another. Jughead suspects that Edgar is using sound to influence Betty. He asks if Betty needs rescuing, but she would rather stay, as she has an idea for her next session with Edgar. It’s time she figure out what the Farm is about. Meanwhile, Jughead will continue his efforts to find the connection between the Gargoyle King and the Black Hood. Betty has a thought about that. The reason she walked off alone during Prom was because someone dressed as a jester gave her a letter from the Gargoyle King.

Betty joins Cheryl, Toni, Kevin, and Fangs at the table. Fangs in noticeably in pain. He reveals that he had a minor procedure done, which left him soar. Betty inquires further about the procedure. Cheryl states that it’s a purging of the pain that’s crushing them. She further elaborate that this is part of Edgar’s methods. He transforms their emotional pain into physical pain so that it’s easier to treat and banish. Toni is next in line for the procedure, followed by Cheryl. Kevin has already gotten his. The tenderness in his back lasted for a few days, but he thinks it was worth it. Betty lifts up Kevin’s shirt to see a large scar going up the left side of his rib cage. Betty notes that the scar looks far more major than Kevin is leading on. He is upset with Betty, telling her not to ever do it again, before leaving, with Fangs not far behind. While Cheryl and Toni remain at the table, they simply turn their backs to Betty.

Polly expresses how proud she is that Betty is taking care of her demons. She then asks if Betty’s darker half mentioned how she pushed Polly down the stairs so many years ago, which Polly has since forgiven Betty for.

During Betty’s second session with Edgar, she uses ear plugs made out of candles wax to block the sound of the clanking magnetic balls. Edgar asks why Betty has returned. She tells him that she wants to see her other half again, to gain a better understanding of what she wants. This time around, Betty is much more conscious as Edgar escorts her to the dark, bare room and sits her down in the chair. Betty’s darker self appears, and tells her that soon she will be her truest self. Having bypassed Edgar’s hypnosis, Betty’s mind is clearer, and she is able to see her darker self for who it actually is, that being Polly, who is dressed in Betty’s clothes, pretending to be her. She then calls Betty a killer, just like their dad.

Betty has called Kevin, Fangs, Cheryl, and Toni together to share with them what she’s found, that Edgar is hypnotizing them. Cheryl doesn’t care, reasoning that hypnotherapy is a standard practice that most people have to pay good money for. Kevin and Fangs add that whatever Edgar is doing works as he’s taken their pain away. Toni can’t wait for her procedure so that Edgar can take her pain away. Betty suspects that Edgar is purposefully inflicting pain on them during hypnosis. She believes he’s doing it so that he has more power over them. However, Cheryl, Toni, Kevin, and Fangs are faithful followers of the Farm and refuse to believe that Edgar has done anything wrong without proof, which Betty does not have.

Betty confronts Evelyn as her curiosity has gotten the best of her. Evelyn tells Betty that the machine she is hooked up to is for her dialysis. Evelyn’s kidneys failed when she was younger. Upon a closer look, Betty discovers that Evelyn is on anti-rejection meds, which is what they give you when you have an organ transplant. From there, Betty begins to piece things together, like the scar of Kevin’s back and Fangs’ treatment. She concludes that Edgar is butchering his disciples, though Betty’s aware that this all can’t be just for Evelyn, who exclaims that Betty doesn’t know anything beyond her own unconfirmed suspicions. Seeking validation for her suspicions, Betty breaks into the lab. Inside the freezer, she finds blood bags and organs.

Betty, who makes her way through the Farm with a stolen organ from the lab, gets a call from Jughead, who reveals Jason Blossom is the Gargoyle King, at least according to Ethel. He doubts this is possible, but isn’t entirely sure. Normally, Betty would immediately say no, but there’s only one way to know with certainty, and that is to dig up Jason’s grave. After hanging up with Jughead, Betty enters Cheryl’s room and tells her the Farm is a front. Edgar took Kevin and Fangs’ kidneys. There’s a fridge filled with harvested organs. The Farm is an organ Farm. With her, Betty has a small cooler with a harvested human organ inside as proof. Betty suspects that Edgar only takes kids in to use their organs for his human chop shop. Cheryl finally believes Betty and grows even more concerned given that the nurses just took Toni to the infirmary for her procedure. Cheryl decides to go after Toni while Betty finds Kevin and Fangs.

Betty tells Kevin and Fangs that Edgar is harvesting their organs and that they’re all in danger, though they are too far gone. They believe that Edgar is simply removing the parts that are diseased. They suggests going to see Edgar to clear everything up. With Kevin and Fangs too deep under Edgar’s control, Betty attempts to leave, but they block her. Betty knees Kevin and punches Fangs, but they still manage to subdue her, dragging Betty by her feet and apprehending her with the help of a couple orderlies.

Betty wakes up in the infirmary, tied to a stretcher. Betty has caused too much trouble, leaving Edgar with no other choice. Betty saw the truth and knows that he’s harvesting organs. However, Edgar states that Betty doesn’t know what she saw. Regardless, Betty is certain that Jughead and his dad will come for her. Betty is then given an anesthesia as she is prepped for surgery, helpless to stop Edgar as she is buckled onto the stretcher, her entire body restrained.

Betty awakens in a bed unfamiliar to her. She finds a dress hanging, with a letter addressed to her, telling her to put it on and come downstairs. Betty does just that. Downstairs, Archie, Veronica, and Jughead await her at the dinner table, with Penelope seemingly as the host of the event. They’re at the Blossom hunting lodge on Thornhill grounds. Penelope explains to Betty that she bought her from Edgar just before he was about to cut her open. To Betty’s right, stands Sister Agatha Woodhouse, with a loaded gun. Apparently, she is in cahoots with Penelope. She was one of Penelope’s mentors who cared for her when she was at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. It was she who taught Penelope everything she knows about poisons. Betty pieces together that the nuns who she had previously found dead in the chamber with blue lips must’ve been Sister Woodhouse’s doing. Penelope states that the sisters were simply looses ends. Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead on the other hand are featured players. The sons and daughters of the original Midnight Club.

There are two more seats at the table that sit empty. Penelope calls in the two remaining guest, the Black Hood and the Gargoyle King. The Black Hood rips off his hood, and as suspected, it’s Hal Cooper. Before the Gargoyle King takes off his mask, Penelope gives Jughead a chance to guess his identity. Whoever is under the mask must’ve had a connection to both Hal and Penelope, but it’s not Jason because he’s dead, even though his corpse is missing. The one corpse that hasn’t been accounted for, who was last seen by the Black Hood, is Chic. The Gargoyle King unmasks, and as Jughead suspected, Chic is the Gargoyle King, though he has dyed his hair red since their last encounter. Jughead surmises he did this only after he started working with Penelope, but this was also after he got the Gargoyle symbols tattooed on his back. This is why Ethel said the Gargoyle King was Jason. Because Penelope called and dressed Chic up like Jason. Hal explains to Betty that he didn’t kill Chic because he recognized a kinship in him and spared him. He begged for mercy and pledged his life to Hal in service of his mission. But it wasn’t just Hal’s mission. He started working with Penelope, who also has a grudge against Riverdale.

Betty recalls the affair her father had with Penelope in the middle of the Black Hood attacks last year. Penelope takes credits for cultivating Hal’s murderous impulses in order to take her revenge on a town that allowed her to be sold to the Blossoms as a child bride. Their parents knew, but they did nothing but mock her. And years later, when Jason was murdered, none of them even reached out to her. Riverdale is a cruel and hideous place by Penelope’s account. She and the Black Hood were on a mission to exterminate the town’s sinners, and they were doing well until Hal was arrested. But that’s when Chic came to Penelope in search of purpose. And so, with Chic, she decided to continue her work, but instead with the Gargoyle King. Penelope introduced G&G to their parents 25 years ago and reintroduced it this year to Chic, who gave it to Ben Button, who started playing with Dilton Doiley and Ethel Muggs. From there, the game spread like a virus. This whole time, the true mastermind behind it all, the true king, Jughead says, is Penelope. Now, it’s time for one final round, with them, the Midnight Children, as she refers to them. It’s to reveal their true nature. To prove they’re as dark-hearted as the town that birthed them. If they win, they escape. If they lose, they die.

Penelope takes Betty, Archie, Veronica, and Jughead into the woods, where she presents them with their task. They must go into the woods and survive the night. Each of them will be tested. Should they refuse her test or try to escape, her Gargoyle minions, the Gargoyle Gang, will kill them. With that, the final quest begins. Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead head deep into the woods, intent on completing this final quest and proving Penelope wrong.

The first quest is staged with a Red Paladin card. This alone is for Archie to complete. The Red Paladin must conquer the grizzled beast, i.e. a grizzly bear. However, when Betty, Archie, Veronica, and Jughead arrive at the pit, he finds a gigantic man wearing the pelt and skull of a bear. Archie rushes the grizzled beast, though he doesn’t fare well at all, landing very few hits. Archie is greatly outmatched in size, though somehow, he manages to best the beast, hitting him with a combo of punches before finishing him of with a large bone. Archie returns to Betty, Veronica, and Jughead victorious. Veronica greets him with a hug. They now move on to the next quest.

Betty, Archie, Veronica, and Jughead find the next quest. On a table sits six chalices. Each filled with Gargoyle blood. This quest is for Veronica, the Enchatress. She must choose her closest companion, and they will take turns spinning the bottle and drinking from the chosen chalice, though one of the chalices contain a lethal, rapid acting venom. Should they refuse, they’ll all be killed. Given the fact that she and Veronica are best friends, Betty volunteers. They both recall prom night, sophomore year, where they played a similar game at Cheryl’s party. Veronica spins first, and from there, she and Betty take turns spinning the bottle, each time taking a sip from one of the six chalices. It’s Betty’s turn when it comes down to the last chalice, which must be the lethal, rapid acting venom. Before Betty can drink from the chalice, Veronica snatches the cup from her hand and drinks it instead because she cares that deeply for Betty. Penelope appears with two armed Gargoyles at her side. She reveals that this was a character challenge. A test towards Veronica’s loyalty. However, all the chalices were poisoned, though they’re slow acting, and the only way to get the antidote is to finish the game.

As Betty, Archie, Veronica, and Jughead search for the finale quest, they attempt to figure out how everything is connected. Penelope, Hal, and Chic have created an unholy trinity with direct links to everything bad that has ever happened in the last 3 years. It’s as if Jason’s death begat the Black Hood, which begat the Gargoyle King, which Veronica points out existed before Jason was killed. To Jughead’s point, then it’s a case of a serpent eating its own tail. A cycle of never ending madness that continues until someone breaks the chain.

Betty, Archie, Veronica, and Jughead have reached the final quest. Betty’s quest. She and Jughead express their love for one another before starting the quest. Betty finds a black box tied with a red bow. Inside is a load gun with one bullet. The Black Hood then appears. He rips off his hood and tells Betty that this has to end. Hal tells Betty that she must kill him. It’s her destiny. He then pulls out his gun and points it at her. either she kills him and gets the antidote or he kills her and her friends. He counts down from three, leaving Betty with no other option. She fires, but rather than killing her father, she simply shoots off his fingers, as she’ll never be like him. Hal falls to the ground in pain, with his gun just a few feet away. Penelope calls an end to all of it. Hal has outlived his usefulness, and so Penelope pulls out her gun and shoots Hal in the head. Jughead and Veronica console a grief-stricken Betty as Archie claims their prize and retrieves the antidote.

Betty, Archie, Veronica, and Jughead won. They survived the night and proved they are better than the town. Nevertheless, Penelope sentences them to death, instructing her minions, the Gargoyle gang, to kill them. And now it’s a race for their lives as Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead take off into the woods with the Gargoyles just behind them as the sun rises. Fortunately, as they near the road, the Pretty Poisons and Serpents, led by Cheryl and Toni, begin firing arrows at the Gargoyles. As they begin to retreat, the Poisons and Serpents charge forward. As for Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead, they’ve taken cover behind one of the trucks and Betty and Veronica have taken the antidote. Once they’re in the clear, the four of them have a group hug. Betty then asks Cheryl about her mom. Cheryl reveals that it was Alice who freed her and told her to find Betty as they’re planning to ascend tonight.

Betty, Archie, Veronica, Jughead, Toni, and Cheryl arrive at the Farm, where they find Kevin in the fetal position, crying in the chamber. He says they left him because someone had to stay behind to explain what happened. The worthy ascended. Betty asks about her mom and Polly. Kevin claims that they’re gone, along with everyone else from the Farm, and they’ll never be seen again.

Agent Smith with the FBI knocks on the Joneses door. He is looking for Betty, who is inside with Jughead. Betty and Jughead suspects this is about the Lodges, but in actuality, it’s about Alice. Agent Smith’s team has been investigating Edgar Evernever for quite some time. They almost had him two towns ago. When they landed in Riverdale, the FBI sent in an undercover, someone tasked with getting close to Edgar to gain intel. They were waiting on her word to take him down. That someone being Alice. She’s an FBI informant. She’s been helping them build a case against Edgar and his organ harvesting program. It’s vital that they find Alice as soon as possible, which is why they’re setting up in Riverdale. Agent Smith seems vaguely familiar to Betty, and so after talking to him for a bit, Betty finally decides to ask if they know each other. Agent Smith replies that it’s no coincidence that he and Alice found each other as he’s Charles. Betty and Jughead’s half brother, who was supposedly killed by Chic.

Betty and Jughead relay this information about Alice being an FBI informant and Charles being alive to Archie and Veronica at Pop’s. As for Veronica’s mom, she’s trying to cut a deal with the DA. But in the meantime, Smithers is her legal guardian. Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead decide to make a vow. With senior year ahead of them, they vow to be done with death cults, murder mysteries and everything of the sorts. Their senior year may be the last time they’re all together and Archie doesn’t want to let anything ruin that. To that, the four of them toast. Flash forward to Spring Break, senior year. Archie, Betty, and Veronica stand around a campfire, barely clothed and covered in blood. Betty tells Archie and Veronica that they have to burn all their clothes, including Jughead’s beanie, which Archie has in hand. They’ll wash off the blood in the swimming hole, and after tonight, they are to never speak of what transpired. Not to anyone. They finish their senior year, graduate, and then go their separate ways. It’s the only way they won’t get caught. Reluctantly, Archie throws Jughead’s beanie in the fire, though Jughead is nowhere in sight. Return to present day, back at Pop’s, the gang toasts their milkshakes and promise that they’ll be friends forever. }}