| “ | The fog had cleared and the world had changed. For Betty and Archie, the results of her pregnancy test had come with mixed emotions. All tinged with a hint of what might have been. | ” |
— Jughead
| ||
"Chapter One Hundred and Eight: Ex-Libris" is the thirteenth episode of the sixth season of Riverdale and the one hundredth and eighth episode of the series overall.[2] It premiered on May 8, 2022.
Synopsis[]
MIND GAMES - The next steps of Percival's plan catch Archie, Betty, Jughead, Veronica, Cheryl and Reggie off guard and forces them to face their past trauma.
Plot[]
Archie and Betty discuss their negative pregnancy test
Archie and Betty discuss their negative pregnancy test. Betty is relieved, recalling her parental examples growing up, citing her extreme mom and her serial killer dad. However, Archie's a bit disappointed. While the timing is terrible, he was excited about the chance of starting a new life with Betty. Their baby would've been a new light. Archie recalls his dad loved being a young dad, as he talked about it often. Betty assures Archie it'll happen when the time is right, but perhaps the universe wants them to stop the bad guys first.
Veronica kicks Reggie out
Veronica helps Reggie pack his things at the Pembrooke. The more she thinks about the ultimatum he gave her, the less well it sits with her, especially since he stole from the Babylonium, but Reggie claims he was going to share the income from the satellite casino, not that Veronica is convinced. Reggie remarks that it's a good thing he's leaving now, as he doesn't want to end up dead, reminded of Chad and Hiram's untimely deaths at Veronica's hands. Veronica grows iterated, but Reggie continues, saying that now she can hook up with Heraldo. He's certain Veronica will text him as soon as he leaves, as she's incapable of being alone.
Percival takes Jughead's book as collateral
With Tabitha in Albany, working to get Pop's declared a historical landmark, Jughead is at the apartment, typing away when he receives an unexpected visit from Percival, who with the Riverdale Sheriff's Department as back up, reveal to Jughead that the library is closing to make room for the new hotel to service the railway. And so, Percival has been going over the library's outstanding accounts and tracking down books that were never returned. According to his records, Jughead has an outstanding copy of Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Jughead checked that book out ten years ago, when he was homeless. He has not the slightest clue of its whereabouts, nor does he have the money to pay off the thousands of dollars of late fees. Percival claims that the replacement will have to be an exact version and takes collateral in the meantime, the collateral being Jughead's inscribed Baxter Brothers book from his grandfather.
Percival visits Archie
Percival visits Archie next to collect on a late book, which he checked out in high school and never returned. He suspects Archie checked the book out on the recommendation of Geraldine Grundy and tells Archie that he'll need to replace the book. Until then, he needs collateral and takes the guitar from the wall, the very same that Ms. Grundy taught Archie to play. However, Archie blocks Percival's path and threatens to break his arm until Percival reveals that he has palladium in his possession.
Veronica offers to pay the late fee
Percival pays Veronica a visit next, in search of Kiss of the Spider Woman, the book she checked out during high school. The late fees run into the thousands, which Veronica is willing to pay until Percival tells her that she could also face criminal misdemeanor charges. But all late fees will be waved if she finds the book. In the meantime, he takes Hiram's portrait as collateral.
Cheryl tries to scare Percival off
Next on his stop is Cheryl, who checked out Flowers in the Attic and never returned it. Unfortunately, she doesn't have it, and the last time she read that book, she was with Heather, who Percival is aware of. Until she finds it, Percival needs collateral, taking Cheryl's trunk with Jason's bones inside. Cheryl threatens to set him on fire, but Percival warns her that his men have been informed beforehand to aim for her head should he experience even the slightest discomfort.
Alice gave Percival Betty's diary
Betty gets a call from her mom, asking her about a book she checked out of the library when she was 12. Alice explains that Percival is collecting all overdue library books and needs it back. And until Betty finds it or an exact copy, Alice has given Percival Betty's diary as collateral.
Percival surprises Reggie at Mantle Motors to collect the work book he checked out to help children with dyslexia learn how to read. Unlike his friends, Reggie has the book on hand, despite having checked the book out 15 years ago. Percival is impressed, long having suspected that there's more to Reggie than what meets the eye.
Archie and the gang meet to discuss Percival
By night fall, they realize that Percival has paid them all a visit and so, Jughead convenes a meeting at the apartment with Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Cheryl, where they discuss Percival's closing down of the library. Jughead explains that books promote ideas and free thinking. If people stop reading, thinking, and dreaming, it makes it easier for them to simply follow Percival. Leading them to their next point about how they're being pressed by Percival's goons to turn in their late library books or else they'll be arrested. And unfortunately, none of them know the whereabouts of their old books. Jughead lent his to Doc, but Percival compelled him and the other unhoused of Sketch Alley to leave. Cheryl stands quietly near the front door without saying so much as a word until being spoken to directly. She suspects that Percival is using sorcery. Books are objects of immense power. Every reader imprints on the book they read, every book changes the reader in some way. If Percival knows what books they read during their adolescence, he could do immeasurable damage with that knowledge.
Percival recites a spell
Kevin is beginning to question Percival's intentions. Percival explains that Archie and the gang can't claim that they love the town when they're stealing from it by not returning their books. For this, they must be punished accordingly. When Kevin expresses concern for their well-being, Percival informs Kevin that he too has an outstanding book, Lord of the Flies, which Percival orders him to find. After Kevin exits, Percival strikes a match and lights several black candles while muttering a spell around the objects he took from Archie and the gang.
Cadets reading the yearbook
Archie enters his classroom to find the cadets look over an old yearbook, specifically the musical section, which shows Archie playing at the Variety Show. They claim to have found it on a table in the library.
While playing a game of cards with the wise guys, Reggie realizes that he's having trouble reading and bails on the game. He grabs a comic from his desk to confirm that he is in fact unable to read due to his dyslexia.
Betty sees her father
Agent Lin approaches Betty with the profile the psychologist came up with for TBK, which describes him as a loner. Betty then gets a whiff of a potent smell that nearly causes her to throw up. Agent Lin explains that what she smells is bleach from the janitor's mop bucket and offers to get Betty some water. Betty looks over to the janitor, who, for a brief moment, appears to her as her dad.
Veronica calls Heraldo to check in on her abuelita, but immediately hangs up after noticing a spider on her portrait. She attempts to kill it with a newspaper, but it is as if the spider magically disappears.
Jughead's hands are raw
Jughead spends his morning on his laptop hunting for copies of The Metamorphosis, just when he notices that his fingers are bleeding.
Betty heads over to the Curiosity Shop to recover her diary. That's when she notices a bottle of bleach sitting on the counter. Percival claims that he's doing a bit of cleaning and reveals to Betty that there's no more powerful memory trigger than a potent scent. Betty demands he hand over her diary. He refuses but is willing to at least allow her to read it at the shop.
Cheryl searches for Heather
While reading near the fireplace, Cheryl starts to hear the innocent laughter of children, following it to her bedroom, where there appears to be a person sitting upright under the blanket. She suspects that it's Heather and yanks the blanket off the bed, but the figure under the cover dissipates, leaving nothing behind but a pile of roses.
While walking the halls of Riverdale High, Archie comes across the ghost of Ms. Grundy playing the cello is the music room. Meanwhile, Percival plays the cello himself from the Curiosity Shop.
Jughead searches for medicine
Jughead goes straight to the bathroom to tend to his bleeding hands, which are getting itchier and rawer. He is either coming down with a horrible case of eczema or he is turning into a cockroach, similar to Metamorphosis, as his nail falls off. Either way, he realizes that he has to find the book.
Reggie pleads with Percival to give his book back, explaining how he was diagnosed with dyslexia as a kid. He never thought he would need it again, but now he does. While Percival can't give the book back, he offers Reggie a Glamerge egg, having learned that Veronica collects them, but Reggie explains they broke up. When he refuses to take it, Percival uses his powers to force Reggie to take the egg to Veronica.
Betty tells Archie about her resurfaced memory
Betty reveals to Archie that she had an episode today. She was working the TBK case at the office, and there was a janitor there mopping the floor with bleach, which trigger a visceral response in Betty, dislodging a memory in her. So, she went to Percival's shop to read her diary, where she came across an entry when she was 12, around the time she checked out her book from the library. She was so excited to show her dad what she learned and went down to the garage, where she found her father cleaning out the back of the car with bleach. Looking back on it now, it seems obvious that Hal was covering up his murders. When Betty was a little girl, she was smelling the bleach her dad was using to scrub away the evidence from their family car. And she missed it. Archie reminds Betty that she was only 12 and had every right to trust her dad. Still, Betty is upset and suspects that this is all part of Percival's plan. As for Archie, he claims that nothing out of the ordinary happened to him today.
Jughead meets Hank
Jughead heads down to Sketch Alley, where he finds a single remaining homeless man named Hank, who was friends with Doc before he left. Hank reveals that Percival came and told them all to start walking west and not to stop until they hit the ocean. And that's what everyone did, as if they had no choice, Hank adds. When Jughead asks why he didn't leave, Hank explains that Percival said "walk," which Hank is unable to do, given that he's wheelchair-bound. Jughead reveals that Doc has a book he needs and asks Hank if he has any way to make contact with him. Hank claims that he has the number for a pay phone in Venice Beach.
Veronica opens her egg
Smithers delivers Reggie's gift to Veronica. Unfortunately, he's had no luck with finding a proper Kiss of the Spider Woman book replacement. Veronica asks him to try the Strand in New York, before opening her Glamerge egg, only to discover black widow spiders crawling out. She panics and drops the egg, but when she looks on the floor, there are no spiders in sight.
Kevin gets his book back from Moose
Kevin meets with Moose in the lounge, who has found Kevin's the Lord of the Flies book he borrowed. Moose didn't even remember Kevin lent it to him, though he recalls it being a wild book and remembers being in lust with Ralph, the hero. Kevin too. But he mostly resonated with Piggy, as Kevin was also a husky kid with glasses, making him feel as though the character was written for him. Moose assures Kevin that he's a Ralph now, but Kevin isn't so sure.
The gang gathers to discuss Percival
Cheryl calls Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead to Thornhill, where she has gained further insight on Percival's machinations. When spell casting, an enchanter uses personal items to focus on their targets, in their case being the collateral he took for their missing library books. And Cheryl believes that he's using these items as totems to harness and manifest phantoms from their past to haunt and torture them. Jughead reveals that Percival took a book that his grandfather had written and given to him. The same grandfather who died when Jughead was in New York. His grandpa was covered in eczema, especially his hands, which were completely disfigured, similar to Jughead's currently, and one of his greatest fears is that he'll die alone, only having written one book, like his grandfather. The only way to stop this is to return their missing library books and get back their confiscated items. He'd have to return them, Cheryl explains, as there are rules when spell weaving. A certain order that must be maintained. What if they can't find their books, Archie asks. Cheryl replies that they'll have no choice but to face their demons and hope to survive the encounter.
Archie breaks into the shop
Instead of facing his demon, Archie breaks into the curiosity shop to steal back his guitar. However, he finds a cello waiting for him, as a gift from Percival, who left a note, suspecting that Archie would attempt as much
Jughead returns to Sketch Alley, where Hank reveals that he got a hold of Doc, who sold the book to a place called Barney's Book Barn in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Archie warns his cadets
Archie enters the class to find his cadets reading the yearbook yet again, but this time, they've gotten a glimpse of Ms. Grundy, crediting her beauty as the reason Archie got involved in music. Archie isn't amused and threatens to kick them out of the RROTC program if he sees any of them with another yearbook.
Archie has taken the cello to the community center, where after reminiscing about his time with Geraldine, he smashes the cello in a fit of rage.
Percival kisses Kevin
Kevin returns his overdue book to Percival. He tried to read it but it made him sick to his stomach, likely due to the fact that it reminds him of someone he never wants to be again, Percival suspects. Percival tells Kevin to let that part of him go that feels unworthy of love. He assures Kevin that he's gorgeous and welcomes him to align with him. Percival knows all of their darkest secrets and claims that only he can release Kevin from them, before kissing him.
Betty tells Archie that he was groomed by Grundy
Archie is sitting on the couch when Betty returns wearing a part of red and black heart shaped glasses, the same pair Geraldine wore. Archie tells Betty to take them off and confesses that Percival is bringing back up all his memories with Grundy, including the glasses that Betty has, which is triggering him. This has now gotten Archie to think about how he stopped playing music, despite it being such a big part of his life once upon a time. Every time he picks up a guitar, he fears it'll send him back to Grundy. Betty comforts Archie and explains that Grundy grooming him must have had a lasting effect on him. Percival is invoking these painful memories to hurt them. Archie then informs Betty that he got a text from Jughead, who has a lead on their books from a book barn in Pennsylvania.
Jughead arrives at Barney's Book Barn in search of his book, as well as Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Cheryl's.
Heraldo is dead
Veronica has invited Heraldo over for a drink. He asks about Reggie, who Veronica reveals is gone. Heraldo wonders if this makes him a rebound, but Veronica replies that it's too early for names. He's simply an attractive man who intrigues her, and she'd rather not be alone for the night. This leads to them kissing on the couch before heading to the room to have sex. Veronica awakens the following morning to find Heraldo unresponsive. She calls out to him, but when he doesn't respond, she turns him over and discovers that he's died from spider venom. Veronica then calls Reggie to inform him that the black widow spiders in the Glamerge egg he sent her bit and killed Heraldo. Reggie admits to sending the egg but he claims he didn't send any spiders. As for the egg, Reggie reveals he got it from the Curiosity Shop.
Betty's resurfaced memory
Betty learns from Agent Lin that they finally have a full statement from TBK's survivor, Katherine. She mentions that he always left the light on at night, triggering a memory in Betty of her when she was a girl, being tucked in to bed by her dad, who she tells that she's scared of monsters. Hal replies by turning the night light on to scare the monsters away. He also tells Betty that she doesn't have to be afraid of any monsters because the two of them are much scarier. This leads Betty to realize that they've had TBK's profile all wrong. They thought he was a loner, but Betty suspects that he has a family and wants to broaden the search to fathers who travel for work and also have daughters. Betty then gets a call from Archie, who reports that Jughead has their books.
Reggie asks to join Percival
Percival receives another visit from Reggie, who accuses him of being up to something. He gave Percival the book, and suddenly he can't read. Then he gave Veronica a Glamerge egg, which was filled with spiders when she received it. Reggie questions if Percival is a wizard. He replies that he's a magic man, which Reggie is hoping to get involved in.
Jughead has found all the books
Jughead has called another meeting after finding an exact copy of each of their books, explaining that he found them at a bookshop in Pennsylvania. Archie is prepared to burn down Percival's shop if he doesn't come through with his end of the bargain, but Veronica doesn't even know if she wants her father's portrait back. Cheryl warns her it would be risky to leave her totem in Percival's hands. Furthermore, once they get their objects back, they'll have to perform a ritual with them.
Archie and the gang demand their items back
Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and Cheryl confront Percival at his Curiosity Shop and demand their belongings back after handing over the replacement books. However, he notices that Kiss of the Spider Woman isn't among the books, but Veronica tells him that she isn't interested in her father's portrait, as no one has power over her.
Betty joins Archie on the couch as they prepare to leave for the ritual at Cheryl's. She's still dealing with the aftermath of Percival's mind games, which dislodged two core memories, which makes her realize that she's only just scratched the surface of what's hidden inside her.
Archie and the gang at Thornhill
Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and Cheryl gather around the fire place at Thornhill to perform the ritual, which consist of burning their totems, as Cheryl fears that they may have been tainted by Percival's dark enchantments. However, Cheryl's trunk is not among the items, as she claims to have already burned Jason, making a second cleansing unnecessary. Just as they're about to begin, Jughead has second thoughts and takes the book out of the fire place, as the book is the last remaining, tangible things he has of his grandfather, who doesn't even have a headstone. Cheryl warns him that his book may be cursed, but Jughead isn't convinced, and so, she burns Archie's guitar and Betty's diary.
Percival has added two soldiers to his army, that being Kevin and Reggie.
Veronica's kiss killed Heraldo
Veronica receives a call from Dr. Curdle Jr., who reveals that Heraldo's toxicology report indicates that he was in fact killed by black widow venom. However, a black widow spider doesn't typically have enough venom to kill a grown man. Veronica proposes that it may have been multiple spiders, but Curdle couldn't find a single puncture mark on his body. Moreover, Dr. Curdle has identified the spot where the venom entered his body, that being his lips. His death was sealed by a kiss — Veronica's kiss.
Cast[]
Starring[] |
Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
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Soundtrack[]
- Music My Pet - Consolation No. 3 in D-Flat Major, S. 172
- Deap Vally - Phoenix
- Scene: Archie and the gang gather at Thornhill to burn their totems. / Percival adds on to his list of allies. / Veronica learns from Dr. Curdle Jr. that Heraldo was killed by her kiss.
Trivia[]
- The episode title refers to a bookplate, which is typically printed or pasted as a decorative label into a book to indicate ownership.
- The title is also a reference to the episode's plot about collecting outstanding books from Archie and the Gang.
- The book Veronica lost is Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig. In Katy Keene, Josie and Jorge put on a musical show inspired by the story in the episode of the same name.
- Jughead mentions Ray Bradbury when talking about burning books, which is a reference to his novel Fahrenheit 451.
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
Screencaps[]
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