Chapter Eighteen: When a Stranger Calls

"Chapter Eighteen: When a Stranger Calls" is the fifth episode of the second season of Riverdale, and the eighteenth episode of the series overall.

Synopsis
GRAHAM PHILLIPS ("The Good Wife") GUEST STARS AS VERONICA’S OLD FRIEND NICK ST. CLAIR — When Alice publishes a fiery piece in the Riverdale Register blasting the Southside, Jughead is forced to take matters into his own hands to try and keep the peace. Betty turns to Archie for help after receiving an ultimatum that could potentially destroy some of her closest relationships. With their SoDale open house fast approaching, Hiram and Hermione enlist the help of an unlikely to get some potential investors on board. Finally, Veronica welcomes her old friend Nick St. Clair to Riverdale, but his plans for a wild night with the gang quickly takes an unexpected turn.

Plot
SPOILERS AHEAD


 * NOTE: PLOT IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION

It starts off just where it LEFT off. Betty Cooper received a call from an unknown number, which turns out to be the Black Hood. He repeats that he will strike where it all began, which was the 75th Anniversary Jubilee, and says that it was all about Betty. Betty asks Black Hood of his desires, and states that it's the same as hers: "To set Riverdale on the righteous path again. To cleanse it of sinners." He continues by asking if that is what she wants, and Betty responds with agreement, but not the way that the Black Hood is doing it: by killing people. He says he kills only those who deserve it, and says "like your sister", which is referring to Polly Cooper, who is unwed and with child. That catches Betty's attention, and she becomes concerned. He continues by saying that he knows where she is, which is "at a farm, two hours north." He goes on by saying that if she warns Polly, he'll know, and if she tells the police or her "mystery-loving boyfriend", Jughead Jones of his endeavors and about the contact they've made, he'll "carve her like a Jack-O-Lantern". She becomes extremely worried, and begs the Black Hood to not harm her. Her mother, Alice Cooper, walks in with laundry, and Betty abruptly ends the call. She sees her face, teary-eyed, and suspects her mood is because of Jughead, saying that she gave him the benefit of the doubt, but now that he's moved to the Southside, and he's living "amongst those criminals and degenerates", he's become more of his apparent "true colors".

She thinks that he influenced her actions at the town hall, of pulling the fire alarm, and Betty fires back, saying that there was nothing that she could do, given the letter that was given to her by the Black Hood. Alice is unsure if he even wrote it, and says that Sheriff Keller thinks something seems off about the letter, and will have the letter analyzed, along with the one that Alice received. In order to ensure Betty's safety, Alice orders her to go home straight after school.

At the Andrews house, Archie Andrews is having a conversation at the table with Fred Andrews, who is fully recovered from the shooting at Pop's. Archie says that he wrote the apology letter that Weatherbee asked Archie to write about the Red Circle. He went through some more and posted an apology video. Fred is happy that "this Red Circle business" is finally over, and he says that he's missing his son. Archie's phone dings, and it's Betty texting him, asking if he could walk her to school.

Betty tells Archie about the Black Hood making contact with her, and promises him to not tell Veronica, Jughead and his dad. She thinks that it's even risky talking to him about it, but the fact that they're walking together, two best friends that live right next door to each other, it wouldn't look the least bit suspicious to someone that is happening to be watching. Archie becomes increasingly concerned, saying that she has to tell the police, even if the other person on the phone wasn't him. She reassures him, saying that it was, and she goes on, and repeats what he said over the phone. She says that if, or when, he happens to call again, she HAS to answer, and Archie concludes by saying that he won't let her go through this along.

At the Lodge residence at The Pembrooke, the Lodge family is in Hiram Lodge's study, as Hermione Lodge reads the article in The Riverdale Register, which is the local newspaper of the town. The article states that the true threat to the town is NOT the Black Hood, but the Southside and its corruptive forces. The article goes on by talking about Hiram, calling him an "ex-con", saying that he boasts of his SoDale project revitalizing the so-called "forsaken neighborhood", but says that the reporter believes that he doesn't want to fix our problems, but merely PROFIT from them. Hiram Lodge becomes despondent of the situation, considering that the open house is very soon, and due to the article being aired, it could hurt their chances of a low turnout, and says that he can't let anything derail this project, not Alice, and definitely not the Serpents, and absolutely not the Black Hood whom he says is "some hooded psychopath". Hermione fires back by saying that their biggest problem currently is capital (wealth in form of money), saying that they're running out of it and fast. Hiram has a possible solution to this problem, saying that he's invited potential investors to the event, which is revealed to be the St. Clairs, who are from New York, the former home of the Lodges. Veronica Lodge finally bumps in, shocked. She seems particularly fond of one of the family members, Nick St. Clair, and calls him Nicky. Hiram says that he is a budding music producer now, and says that his father is King Midas rich. An advantage to the wealth is that if he is led to invest in the project, others will begin to follow. Hermione butts in, saying that Nick has his father's ear, saying that in order to earn a seat at the table, Hermione and Hiram want Hermione to lure Nick to closing this deal, saying that Hermione should go show the family all the good things Riverdale has to offer.

At Southside High, Jughead walks outside to see some of the Serpents gathering around a table, engrossed in conversation. Jughead becomes curious, and walks over. Sweet Pea looks up with a black eye, and is somewhat mad, saying that he found out about the article that his girlfriend's mother wrote, which talked bad about the gang. He knows, replying that Dilton Doiley said that he was stabbed when a bunch of the Serpents jumped him. A fellow Serpent Fangs Fogarty, says that the idiot stabbed himself, and with his own knife. Sweet Pea butts in, saying that they didn't jump him. In fact, there was a fight, Bulldogs VS. Serpents. He points to his black eye, saying that Archie gave it to him, just before Veronica shot a gun into the air, leaving the Serpents to scatter in fear. The Bulldogs were let off free, whilst the gang were hauled in by the police. Sweet Pea says that it's time to take action, and Jughead is confused. Fang's cousin served in the army, and he's had previous knowledge with pipe bombs. They're planning on taking down the Register once and for all.

Starring

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

Co-Starring

 * Mark Brandon as Xander St. Clair
 * Michelle Brezinski as Simone St. Clair
 * Scott McNeil as Tall Boy
 * Alvin Sanders as Pop Tate
 * Drew Tanner as Fangs Fogarty

Guest Starring

 * Asha Bromfield as Melody Valentine
 * Jordan Connor as Sweet Pea
 * Martin Cummins as Sheriff Keller
 * Hayley Law as Valerie Brown
 * Graham Phillips as Nick St. Clair
 * Charles Melton as Reggie Mantle
 * Lochlyn Munro as Hal Cooper
 * Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz

Trivia

 * The title for the eighteenth chapter comes from the 1979 cult classic horror film of the same name, which was remade in 2006.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of Nick St. Clair.
 * This episode marks the straining of Betty and Jughead relationship.
 * Jughead Jones goes through initiation and becomes an official, full member of Southside Serpents.
 * Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa said on Twitter that Jughead "gave a powerful performance" in this episode.

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