| “ | Oh, God. Where to start? Look, I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I haven't called. I'm just sorry for everything. If you're blaming yourself about me wandering off, don't. I was high out of my mind. I'm fine. I'm safe, more or less. I'm heading to New York. There's something I need to confront. I'm not sure what, but I know I wouldn't have got this far without you. When I get back to Riverdale, maybe we can finish that dance. Okay. | ” |
"Chapter Eighty-Seven: Strange Bedfellows" is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of Riverdale and the eighty-seventh episode of the series overall.[2] It premiered on August 11, 2021.
Synopsis[]
RETURN TO RIVERDALE — In the aftermath of the prison break at Hiram's jail, Archie leads the charge to round up the remaining convicts on the loose. Tabitha reaches out for Betty's help when she realizes Jughead is missing. When Penelope re-enters the fold, Cheryl becomes suspicious of her true intentions.[2]
Plot[]
Archie, Alice, Kevin, and Weatherbee assess the damage
Archie, Alice, Kevin, and Weatherbee arrive at Riverdale High to find the school completely destroyed by the escaped convicts from Hiram's prison. It'll take weeks to repair, and in the meantime, they will move back to remote learning.
Veronica receives her blue opal
Veronica returns to the Pembrooke, where she is greeted by Smithers, who attempts to speak to her about her father, but Veronica is more concerned with the arrival of her blue opal from Ethiopia. Veronica intends to use the commission to start paying back Chad's investors. However, before she can, Smithers reveals that Hiram's prison was compromised, and Riverdale High was hit the hardest.
Veronica meets with Archie after learning of the breakout. However, Archie is more interested in whether Veronica is divorced from Chad, which she isn't. So until Veronica and Chad are legally divorced, Archie wants to put a hold on their relationship.
Penelope announces her plans to continue her ministry
Penelope reveals to Cheryl and Nana Rose that she started her own ministry while in prison and intends to continue doing so from Thornhill. Additionally, she's a free woman due to her spiritual work while behind bars, as she was already up for parol. However, Cheryl isn't convinced her mother's plans are genuine.
The diner is robbed
While steaking out the truck stop, Betty gets a call from Tabitha, informing her that Jughead is missing. Betty isn't too concerned but offers to come in to the diner tomorrow to check it out. After hanging up, an escaped convict by the name of Jeremiah Peterson enters the shoppe and holds Tabitha at gunpoint. He is distracted when a customer enters, allowing for Tabitha to knock him unconscious.
Archie joins Sheriff Keller as he interviews Jeremiah. Keller makes him a deal, so long as he's willing to give up the location of his fellow escapees. Jeremiah claims that most are gone, but the ones that remain he will only give up if allowed meds and a chance to talk to his lawyer.
Darla robs Veronica
As Veronica is showing off her opal to a stockbroker, Darla and Dodger Dickenson barge into her shop and steal everything of value, including her blue opal.
Hiram and Governor Dooley hold a press conference to discuss the escapees; a reward is being offered to anyone who can help capture them, much to Archie, Kevin, and Fangs' disbelief.
Govenor Dooley demands his palladium
With the school needing money, Archie decides to take Hiram and Governor Dooley up on their bounty. Hiram offers a list, and Archie exits. Dooley then confronts Hiram for blowing up the prison, as that was never part of the plan. Dooley simply wants his cut of the palladium. However, Hiram reminds him that they didn't find anything under the prison, but Dooley isn't convinced and gives Hiram 24-hours to deliver his cut.
Veronica asks Reggie for help
Veronica calls Reggie down to her shop and reveals that the Dickensons got away with half her stock, not to mention her opal, which she needs Reggie's help in retrieving. Reggie explains that he only works for one Lodge, that being her father. When Reggie's dad got into some money trouble, he turned to Hiram for help, and now Reggie's working off his father's debt. Veronica offers him a chance to change sidea and fight with the good guys, but "the bad guys pay better," Reggie replies. Although, he will help her with the opal.
Betty meets with Tabitha, who reveals that when Jughead was high, he made a pass at her, and when she turned him down, he said "Don't be such a Betty. First sign of fun, you try to kill it." Betty seems a bit bothered but shakes it off and agrees to help Tabitha find him, starting at the bunker.
Darla attacks Sheriff Keller
Sheriff Keller enters Jeremiah's room just moments after Darla, who while dressed as a nurse, injects him with a deadly toxin. When Keller becomes distracted at Jeremiah's hoarsed breathing, Darla beats Keller over the head with a tray, leaving him unconscious.
At the bunker, Betty suggests they read Jughead's manuscript in an effort to find a possible lead, such as where he may have wandered off to.
Jughead on Sketch Alley
Jughead finds himself on Sketch Alley, where he is approached by a couple of businessmen, who offer him some money. When he goes to reach for it, the men pounce on Jughead and beat him mercilessly.
Archie informs Frank that his mom's building a case that should grant him an earlier release due to his role in the prison break. If he can help find the convicts, it could bolster his chances. Fangs then reveals that he heard about a group of convicts plotting in an old tuna fish warehouse on the docks. Kevin joins them, and he is slightly worried about his father, who hasn't returned his call.
Tabitha and Betty read Jughead's manuscript
Tabitha reveals that Jughead got the shrooms from Jessica and decides to call her to see if she had heard from Jughead. Unfortunately, she hasn't. Jessica thinks he's just on a walk-about, but Betty insists that it's more than that. So, Jessica offers to meet them tomorrow so they can search for Jughead together.
Cheryl interrupts her mother's meeting with her ministry and inquires about just who they are worshipping. Penelope speaks of Jason. She now realizes that Jason was a sacrifice, and now it is up to them to shepherd the soul of their township back into the light. However, Cheryl remains extremely skeptical.
Kevin, Archie, Frank, and Fangs find the escapees
Without a gun in hand or the sheriff as backup, Archie, Kevin, Fangs, and Frank barge into the old warehouse, where they find five escaped convicts. Unbeknownst to them, Dodger is hiding in the closet and one of the convicts is armed with a gun. Fortunately, Reggie and Veronica arrive with a gun drawn and help capture the convicts. Veronica then tells Archie that she was robbed by the Dickensons. When Reggie reports that Dodger slipped out when they entered, Veronica pleads with Archie to retrieve her opal stone as well.
Doc helps Jughead
An old homeless man named Doc has bandaged Jughead up and given him aspirin as well as a place to recover for the night. Jughead then comes to recognize the old man as someone he used to know and who he allowed to get beat up by businessmen without even trying to assist many years earlier. Ashamed, Jughead lies and says that his name is Henry. Jughead reveals he had a bad trip and somehow wandered onto Sketch Alley.
Hiram calls Dooley and asks him to meet at his office. Standing behind Hiram is Ted Bishop with a barbed wire bat. Much like Dooley, Ted wants his share of the palladium.
Jessica, Tabitha, and Betty in Archie's garage
Betty, Tabitha, and Jessica look through Archie's garage, where Jughead has been holding up. Jessica wonders if he was taking anything else, as her shrooms shouldn't have sent him overboard. She begins looking through potential hiding spaces but comes up with nothing and heads to the school. Betty, Tabitha, and Jessica check all over but turn up empty-handed and decide to check the bunker.
Cheryl accuses her mother of swindling people and defiling Jason's name. Cheryl states that there is no invisible world, just eternal rot. There was a time when she believed in more, but her mother's gaslighting and lies showed her that there is nothing eternal. Any faith she had, went up in flames when she gave Jason his viking funeral. Penelope offers Cheryl a chance to join her, but she refuses.
Ted calls Veronica
Veronica gets a call from Ted, who reveals that they've taken Hiram, Governor Dooley, and Sheriff Keller hostage. In exchange for their safe return, he wants palladium, along with Darla and Dodger. When Hiram tells Veronica not to cooperate, Dodger shoots Dooley in the stomach, resulting in a slow bleed out. Veronica agrees to make the deal, but she also wants her opal. She then turns to Reggie and asks about palladium.
Archie gets a call from Veronica, who has the location of Ted and the Dickensons. She then asks for Archie, Kevin, Fangs, and Frank to meet her at her father's SoDale office. Reggie surmises the palladium is inside a safe, and Archie uses the tools in his truck to remove it from the wall.
Betty, Tabitha, and Jessica in the bunker
Betty and Tabitha take Jessica to the bunker. Once there, she asks about the manuscript, which Betty has in her possession. She asks the read it, but then comes up with a new idea to take the shrooms together in hopes of experiencing what Jughead did, but the girls are very much against the idea. Jessica then comes up with a mother idea that Jughead may be headed back to New York to confront his demons and suggests that she go after him. However, before she goes, she wants to grab a bite at pop's.
Jughead awakens to find Doc being beaten senseless by a single businessman. Jughead sneaks up from behind and smashes the man over the head with a crate before falling unconscious.
Archie and the gang devise a plan
After arranging the meet up with Ted, Archie and the gang devise a plan for Veronica to act as a distraction as they drop in through the roof.
Cheryl approaches a chest in her room and opens it to reveal what appears to be charred remains. After she shuts the trunk back, a robin enters through her window, which she takes as a sign.
Betty plays the message Jughead left her
Jessica buys Betty and Tabitha a plate of fries. During their sit-down, Jessica brings up the fact that Betty got with Archie and just how much that hurt Jughead. Betty retorts by replying that Jughead isn't so innocent and plays them a voice message from 2 years ago, with Jughead yammering on about how she bailed on him. He said that she pretended to be kind, but she's truly cruel, referring to Betty as a "cold, fake, duplicitous bitch." Jessica had no idea and says that she was living with Jughead then. Their relationship started out good, but then his writing started to get the best of him, causing him to spiral, as did Jessica. They weren't good for each other, so Jessica moved on. When Tabitha starts feeling hot, Jessica reveals that she sprinkled dry maple mushrooms in their food. Her plan was to wait for them to start tripping and ask for the manuscript because Jughead wouldn't ever allow her to read it. She then offers to get them to some place safe.
Jessica helps Betty and Tabitha back to the bunker. After Jughead used Betty as fodder for his book, Jessica was afraid he intended to do the same with her. And she doesn't want her friends and family reading that. Sympathizing with Jessica, Betty hands her the manuscript. Jessica advises them to let the trip take them and ride it out together.
Jason appears
Cheryl decides to join her mother's next ministry meeting, where she sees Jason standing next to Penelope. Meanwhile, Betty and Tabitha ride out the trip together in the bunker.
Veronica arrives at the community center with the safe. Darla pats her down as Archie, Kevin, Fangs, Reggie and Frank comes zip lining down through the roof. Within moments, they're able to restrain Ted, Darla, and Dodger and free Hiram, Sheriff Keller, and Govenor Dooley, who is slowly bleeding out.
Veronica asks Archie about their future
At Pop's, Veronica celebrates recapturing her opal and thanks Archie. When the Governor regains consciousness, he will be giving Frank a pardon. Archie then assures Veronica that he plans to hold off on their relationship until her divorce is final.
Hiram joins Governor Dooley in the hospital and reveals that he has no intentions of sharing. He threatens to kill Dooley should he ever return to Riverdale.
Jughead says goodbye to Doc
Jughead awakens and joins Doc outside the tent. He asks if he killed Doc's attacker, which he didn't. Doc then advises Jughead to go home, but he can't yet because something happened to him in New York that he can't seem to recall, and he can't go home until he figures it out. Jughead then reveals that his true identity. but Doc already knows and tells Jughead that there was nothing he could've done to help him that day.
Jughead leaves Riverdale
Betty and Tabitha awaken in the bunker after their trip to find Jessica gone with the manuscript. While they may not have found Jughead, Tabitha tells Betty that she wants to help with the search for the missing girls. Tabitha then notices a message from Jughead. He apologizes for everything and reveals that he's heading to New York to confront his past.
Cast[]
Starring[]
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Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
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Soundtrack[]
- Walking in Space - Riverdale cast feat. Lili Reinhart, Madelaine Petsch, Nathalie Boltt & Erinn Westbrook
Trivia[]
- The episode title comes from Shakespeare's play The Tempest, meaning an unusual alliance.
- When Betty plays Jughead's voicemail, he mentions that it has been seven years since their relationship. However, before she played it, she mentioned that she first received it two years ago, thus Jughead should've said five years ago, which makes it an continuity error.
- It's possible, though, that by "seven years ago," Jughead meant when he and Betty first started dating.
- The episode made several references to DC Comics:
- Jughead's Superman T-shirt.
- Veronica referring to her father as Lex Luthor.
- Archie suggesting they drop in the gym like Batman.
- Superman punch from Archie to one of the cons, and the big fight paid tribute to 1966 TV series Batman.
- Cheryl saw an American robin at her bedroom's window and interpreted it as a message from Jason. Robin is Batman's sidekick.
- This episode premiered on Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's mother's 75th birthday.[3]
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
Screencaps[]
Videos[]
