| “ | Gather around, kiddies. It's time for a ghost story. No, a few ghost stories, actually. The first begins with a conflict as ancient as Cain and Abel. For as long as the Serpents have existed, so too have the Ghoulies. Over the years, they fought for a myriad of reasons. Tonight they're rumbling because Serpent Princess Xandra fell in love with the Ghoulie Prince, Daniel. And in a town like Rivervale, that is more than enough reason to spill some blood. | ” |
"Chapter Ninety-Seven: Ghost Stories" is the second episode of the sixth season of Riverdale and the ninety-seventh episode of the series overall.[2] It premiered on November 23, 2021.
Synopsis[]
THE HAUNTING OF RIVERVALE — A vengeful spirit from folklore, la Llorona arrives in Rivervale to terrorize the rainy town. Betty and Toni find themselves in the specter's path and must seek Cheryl's help to protect the children in Rivervale, including Baby Anthony. Meanwhile, Jughead and Tabitha, along with Veronica and Reggie, experience their own hauntings that begin to put a strain on their respective relationships.[3]
Plot[]
Tabitha kills the Ghoulie Prince
The Serpents are at war with the Ghoulies due to the fact that the Serpent Princess Xandra fell in love with the Ghoulie Prince, Daniel. This leads to an all out brawl, with Toni and Fangs leading the Serpents in battle against Darla Dickenson and the Ghoulies. When Darla pulls out a gun and aims it at Fangs, Toni grabs her pocket knife and throws it at Darla, intent on disarming her, but Darla's son, Danny, shields her from Toni's attack and dies from being stabbed in the chest.
Toni goes to counseling
Three months later, Toni is going to therapy with Dr. Whitely to openly discuss the fact that she unintentionally killed Daniel and how his death is haunting her. Dr. Whitely asks if Toni has considered reaching out to Darla, which Toni hasn't, reasoning that Darla is a grieving mother and that there is nothing Toni can say to comfort her.
On her way out for work, Tabitha wishes Jughead luck on his writing and tells him not to forget to hang up the pictures.
Reggie gets a new Bella
Veronica calls Reggie at Mantle Motors to see if there's any word on his dad. Unfortunately, Marty is ill and his nurse advised Reggie against coming to see him. What truly saddens Reggie is that he and his father were doing better, and he thought they had more time. After hanging up with Veronica, Reggie heads outside to the lot, where a man is looking to sell his car, which just so happens to be the same make and model as Reggie's high school ride, Bella. So, he buys it off the man for double the Blue Book value, in all cash. After purchasing the car, Reggie takes it to Rivervale High and parks it in the garage. He turns the key in the ignition, and Bella appears next to him in the passenger seat. Reggie snaps back into reality when he gets a call from Veronica, checking in on him. Reggie claims he got caught up with paperwork and is on his way out now.
Jughead and Tabitha find a room
Tabitha returns home and discovers that Jughead has not hung up the photos, despite promising he would. So, she does it herself and accidentally knocks a whole in the wall with the hammer. However, in doing so, they discover a secret room that was boarded up. Inside, they find a miniature room filled with tiny ships inside Scotch bottles.
Reggie returns home but says few words to Veronica, telling her that he stinks and that he's about to take a shower.
La Llorona rises from the dark depths of Sweetwater River and heads into Rivervale.
Cheryl saves Juniper
Cheryl informs Nana Rose that the maple groves are bursting with sap, so much so that she infused their drinks with some. After toasting to Archie, Dagwood comes running into the room in a panic, claiming that his mother is trying to take Juniper. Dagwood claims that he can hear splashing from the bathroom. When Cheryl goes to investigate, she discovers that the door is locked and tells Juniper to unlock it. Unbeknownst to Cheryl, Juniper is being drowned in the tub by La Llorona. Cheryl then unlocks the door herself with the key and enters the bathroom, helping Juniper up from the water and seeing the strange bruising along her arm.
Betty tells Kevin her baby names
Betty shares her baby names with Kevin. If it's a boy, Archie, but if it's a girl, she's thinking about naming her Polly. Cheryl interrupts and tells Betty that she needs Alice to take the twins for a couple days after Juniper was attacked by a spirit at Thornhill.
Tabitha meets with the real estate agent, Ms. Grover, about the hidden room she and Jughead uncovered. Ms. Grover had already told Jughead, but apparently he neglected to tell Tabitha about Sam and Diane — the young couple who died in the apartment from a murder-suicide. She killed him and then herself.
Reggie tells Veronica about Bella
Veronica calls Reggie after he is late for a meeting with a client. Reggie claims that he's at the hospital, as there was an emergency with his dad, but Veronica realizes that he's lying when she hears the school bell in the background. So, she heads down to Rivervale High, where Reggie reveals that he bought a car of the same make and model as Bella. When his dad handed him those keys for the first time, it was the greatest day of Reggie's life. And when she came back to him, he just wanted to relive some happy memories, but first he brought her to the shop class garage at the school to tune her up and give her a little TLC. When Veronica remarks that she could use a little TLC as well, Reggie comes up with an idea.
Tabitha learns about Sam and Diane
Jughead has turned the hidden room they discovered into his writing den. However, Tabitha isn't nearly as interested in that as she is a recent discovery, confronting Jughead for not only failing to hang up the pictures but also not telling her about the murder-suicide that took place in the apartment. Jughead explains that he didn't tell her because he knew how much she loved the apartment, also because he thought that he could write about the couple. Sam was an obsessed painter, and Diane bludgeoned him with a hammer before hanging herself, and no one knows for certain why. Tabitha isn't upset about something that happened 50 years ago. She's upset that he hid something from her, which Jughead insists that he won't do. The entire ordeal has him feeling inspired for the first time in a long time, and now he is almost ready to start writing again.
Lucinda tells Toni about La Llorona
Betty seeks out Toni's help with a domestic violence case. It's looking like a mother drowned her daughter in a bathtub. The mother is a Serpent named Lucinda Villa, and her daughter Xandra is dead. The FBI wants Betty to charge Lucinda with murder, but Toni insists that she's innocent, which is why Betty has come to her, in hopes she will open up to Toni. Betty then takes Toni to the FBI field office, where Toni asks Lucinda for the truth. Lucinda claims that Xandra was drowned by La Llorona, which Toni relays to Betty, explaining that La Llorona is a spirit of vengeance that preys on young children by drowning them. However, Betty isn't convinced Lucinda is telling the truth.
Veronica wants to go home
Veronica and Reggie make out in his car in the parking lot of Pop's, but Veronica loses interest when a few of her students pull up beside them.
Tabitha awakens from her sleep to the sound of Jughead's typewriter. When he doesn't reply after she asks him to keep it down and to stop, she takes the hammer and bashes Jughead over the head, similar to how Diane killed Sam, but then Tabitha jumps awake, realizing it was simply a dream.
Tabitha confronts Jughead
Tabitha wakes Jughead from his sleep and confronts him for leaving the toothpaste uncapped, but Jughead claims it wasn't him, sarcastically suggesting it could be the ghost she heard banging in the closet when she woke him up in the middle of the night, but Tabitha isn't amused.
Veronica wants to talk about last night and how uncomfortable she was hooking up in his car. Reggie accuses Veronica of having her own kinks and warns her against calling Bella stupid, suspecting that she may even be jealous, but Veronica insists she isn't.
Pop tells Tabitha about the haunting at Pop's
Pop Tate checks in on Tabitha, who has dropped three plates since her shift started. Tabitha admits that she hasn't been sleeping well and asks her grandfather if he believes in ghosts, which he does, telling Tabitha that for a while, the diner was haunted by the ghost of a waitress who died in an accident with the deep fryer. When they opened back up a couple days later, strange things began to happen: the jukebox would start playing on its own and pots and pans would fall off hooks. Tabitha asks how he got it to stop. Pop recalls the riots in the 1980s, when every window was broken. After that night, they didn't have another incident, as if the racket scared the ghost off.
Veronica tells Hermosa about her dilemma with Reggie, and she suspects that Reggie is going through a quarter-life crisis. Hermosa advises Veronica to simply cut Reggie some slack.
Toni calls Betty
While looking through the lore of La Llorona, Toni calls Betty to check in on Lucinda, who's sticking to her story about not having killed her daughter. Toni is starting to believe that she's telling the truth. Ghosts like La Llorona exist in different cultures. There are different versions of the legends, but they're always mothers and they always go after children. Toni even reads one story where La Llorona could go after an unborn child. Toni warns Betty that something bad is happening in Rivervale, but Betty still isn't convinced.
Jughead claims he isn't drinking again
It's taken him all day, but Jughead has finally figured out how to get the ships in the bottle so that he can add on to the collection he found. Tabitha is upset that this is how he's spent the day, as he was supposed to be writing instead. Jughead claims that this is simply his process, as for the empty Scotch bottles, Jughead claims that he got them from behind the Whyte Wyrm and that he isn't drinking again.
La Llorona takes Betty's baby
La Llorona enters the Cooper home whilst Betty sleeps and places her hand over Betty's stomach before leaving. Betty then awakens to find a dirty, black handprint on her shirt.
Tabitha opens the fridge to find the hammer sitting inside, on top of a pizza box. She goes to confront Jughead but gets distracted when he tells her that he's back in writing mode and that he's been writing all night. He's nearly finished an entire novella, which he'll allow her to read after it's revised, as he doesn't let anyone read his "vomit draft."
Veronica finds a photo of Bella
Veronica goes to Rivervale High and hangs a pair of fuzzy dice in the window as a gift for Reggie. She pulls down the visor and a picture falls into her lap of a pretty woman. The back of the photo reads "Here whenever you need a shoulder to cry on. Xoxo." Veronica goes to confront Reggie but bumps into Weatherbee in the hallway. He surprisingly recognizes the woman in the photos as Ms. Soprano. She was a driver's ed teacher until she was fired over allegations of inappropriate relations between her and some of the boys.
La Llorona appears at the school
While grading papers, Toni notices water leaking down from the ceiling and rushes out into the hallway, where she makes contact with La Llorona, though she is seemingly the only person who can see the ghost. Toni pulls the fire alarm and grabs an axe, but La Llorona disappears within the crowded halls, and Kevin asks Toni what she is doing.
Dr. Curdle Jr. reveals to Betty that she's no longer pregnant despite him previously telling her that she was pregnant, leading Betty to realize that Toni and Lucinda are right about La Llorona being in Rivervale.
Tabitha learns that Betty got to read Jughead's vomit drafts
Betty calls Toni from Pop's and tells her that she's going to help Lucinda after realizing that La Llorona is in fact in Rivervale. Tabitha then checks in on Betty, who insist that she's fine and asks how life with Jughead is doing. Tabitha admits that it's been intense. Betty recalls how single-minded he could become when he got into one of his stories, but it was always fun to read one of his early vomit drafts. Tabitha can't believe that Jughead would let Betty read his in initial drafts not her, which she takes great offense to but hides from Betty.
Janet does a wellness check
Toni gets a visit from Janet Weiss, who received an anonymous report and has come to do a wellness check. Toni insists that Baby Anthony is safe and questions who made the report, but Janet can't disclose that information. Unbeknownst to the two of them, La Llorona is in Anthony's and attempts to take him until he screams and Toni comes barging in to find Baby Anthony crying on the floor.
Reggie tells Veronica that his dad died
Reggie returns to the high school to discover that Veronica has completely destroyed Bella. When Reggie asks why, she reveals that she knows all about the real Bella — Isabella Soprano, who had inappropriate relationships with her students, including Reggie, Veronica presumes, but Reggie insists that he was never intimate with Ms. Soprano. She was the one adult he could trust and the only one he ever told about the abuse at home. She listened and helped him. Reggie then reveals that he just got back from the hospital and that his dad died 20 minutes ago. Veronica consoles Reggie and tells him that she will always be there for him.
Betty, Toni, and Fangs plot their move
Betty, Toni, and Fangs plot their move against La Llorona. Betty has discovered a pattern. La Llorona is following a direct line from Sweetwater River. Toni suspects that Baby Anthony is the main target and tasks Fangs with taking the baby to the Wyrm and surrounding him with the Serpents for protection.
Veronica and Reggie will go to the funeral home tomorrow morning to finalize arrangements for his father. Hoping to cheer Reggie up, she gifts him a 1969 Camaro SS 4-speed. Reggie thanks Veronica and tells her that nothing can ever come between them.
La Llorona speaks through Nana Rose
Betty and Toni seek out help from Cheryl and Nana Rose. The women join hands and make contact with La Llorona, also known as the Weeping Woman. La Llorona takes possession of Nana Rose and reveals that her name is Martha Mallon. Her employ was as a nurse in the children's ward in Rivervale's first hospital. During those early years, they lost many children for various reasons, including poxs, the cold, and careless doctors, but the townsfolk blamed her for their lost and accused her of being a witch. So, they dragged Martha and her children to Sweetwater River, weighed them down with rocks, and threw them into the dark waters. They drowned and Martha became La Llorona. As for who summoned her, La Llorona reveals that it was the work of Darla Dickenson, from her son's grave.
Tabitha apologizes to Jughead
Jughead returns home with a crate of Scotch and finds Tabitha reading the vomit draft of his novella, which she suspects is based on them, but Jughead claims that his story is about Sam and Diane. Tabitha is upset and tired of feeling disregarded by Jughead. She then notices the Scotch, which Jughead claims he intends to pour out and use the empty bottles for the ships, but this angers Tabitha further, as she is working for the two of them and he's wasting money. In a fit of rage, Tabitha begins breaking things, the most important of all being Jughead's typewriter, which he got as a gift from Betty. Tabitha then grabs the hammer, but before she can bring her wrath upon Jughead, she looks in the mirror and sees Diane looking back at her. Tabitha comes to her senses and drops the hammer, insisting that they are nothing like Sam and Diane. She apologizes to Jughead and tells him that she loves him for the first time, though she's been wanting to say it for a while, and so has he. As they kiss, the door slams shut. They suspect that it was the ghost leaving, having been scared away.
Darla admits to summoning La Llorona
Betty and Toni find Darla at her son's grave. She's been expecting them. Toni apologizes for killing Danny, but Darla isn't interested in her apology. Danny was her last living son. Betty commands Darla to call La Llorona off, but Darla explains that she can't be called off. Once summoned, there's no stopping her until she gets the baby she came for, that being Anthony in this case. Betty and Toni are confident that the Serpents are protecting Anthony, but Darla warns them that La Llorona will stop at nothing to claim Baby Anthony, as she's an unstoppable force.
Toni finds Fangs
Betty and Toni arrive at the Wyrm to find what remains of the Serpents. It would appear as if they were hit by a literal storm. The Serpents have all been washed up, but Fangs is conscious enough to reveal that La Llorona took Anthony to Sweetwater River.
Jughead and Tabitha board up the hidden room. Tabitha is wondering if their fighting was the ghost or them. Jughead doesn't know for certain, but it was their first real fight, which they both survived, he jokingly remarks. Tabitha fears what their next test will be, but Jughead isn't as concerned and kisses her.
Reggie leaves Mantle Motors and hops in his car. He places the photo of Bella back in the visor and adjusts the mirror, smiling at Bella in the back of the car before pulling off.
Toni is the new La Llorona
Betty and Toni arrive at Sweetwater River just in time to stop La Llorona, who has Baby Anthony in hand. Toni is sorry for what La Llorona has endured and is asking that she show mercy, but La Llorona was called forth and can't return without the child. However, Toni offers to take away her suffering by becoming La Llorona herself. She'll do this not only in exchange for Anthony's safe return, but as penance for the life she took. Martha agrees and hands Toni Baby Anthony. After Toni gives Anthony over to Betty, she trades places with Martha and becomes La Llorona. Before retreating into the water, Toni tells Betty to protect Baby Anthony and let him know that she loved him.
Cast[]
Starring[] |
Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
|
Soundtrack[]
- Future Royalty feat. AamityMae - We All Fall Down
- Scene: The Southside Serpents and Ghoulies are at war when Toni accidentally kills the Ghoulie Prince.
- The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody
- Scene: Veronica and Reggie hook up in his car outside of Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe.
Trivia[]
- Jughead references English author Neil Gaiman.
- Cheryl references Indian-American filmmaker and actor M. Night Shyamalan.
- This is the first episode in the series to not physically feature KJ Apa, though Archie appears in a photo. As of this episode, Lili Reinhart is the only actor to be featured in every episode.
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
Screencaps[]
Videos[]
