| “ | On the eve of war, we gathered in Archie's house. Percival didn't know that we were back from the dead, and that gave us a slight advantage. Though he remained the ultimate man of mystery. | ” |
— Jughead
| ||
"Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen: Return to Rivervale" is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of Riverdale and the one hundredth and fifteenth episode of the series overall.[2] It premiered on July 17, 2022.
Synopsis[]
THE ULTIMATE MAN OF MYSTERY — Archie and the gang gather intel about Percival so they can better understand where he came from and use that to their advantage. However, when their plan results in an unexpected outcome, the gang is left having to pay a terrible cost.[2]
Plot[]
Archie and the Gang discuss their next move against Percival
Archie and the gang gather at his house to discuss their next move against Percival, who they know very little about; all they know of him for certain is that he's a sorcerer, whose powers grow as Bailey's Comet gets closer. There's also Baby Anthony, who he sees as a threat to his future and the ghost train that will grant him power, though they remain uncertain why he seeks to gain control over the dead. But what alarms them the most is the fact that there seems to be no record of Percival ever existing. Veronica recalls Heraldo saying that Percival essentially didn't exist before coming to Riverdale, which was coincidentally around the same time their powers began to manifest. They need to be smart about their next move and plan, but in the meantime, they need to make Percival believe that nothing has changed in town.
Cheryl pulls Betty into the kitchen and instructs her to pay a visit to Thornhill, as someone near and dear to her heart wants to see her. Before revealing to Betty that she resurrected Polly, Cheryl first makes her promise not to freak out or tell anyone.
Jughead tells Tabitha about his theory
Jughead and Tabitha make their way to the bunker, where he shares his theory with her that he opened up portals to another dimension. In his readings, he came across a theory that some mind readers also possess the ability to open portals into psychic landscapes. When his powers were going crazy, Jughead believes that's when he unintentionally opened up a portal to another universe, recalling how he heard voices that sounded a lot like their friends. Jughead seeks to explore this other dimension, reminding Tabitha how their powers manifested after the explosion at Archie's. That was the epicenter. And the first time that any of them saw Percival was Archie at his house as well. Not to mention, they all developed supernatural powers after Percival arrived, leading Jughead to believe that there's a connection between the events, the answers to which he believes they may find elsewhere.
Percival wants Archie to interview him
With his inevitable victory almost upon them, Percival seeks to document his history by granting Alice an exclusive interview. And afterwards, the new station can broadcast the live execution of Kevin, Reggie, and Marty. Alice is taken aback by the mention of an execution, but Percival uses his powers to regain control and remind her that they're on the verge of terror and need to exert control.
Frank and Tom kick Veronica out
Veronica arrives at the Babylonium, where she is confronted by Tom and Frank, as they prepare three guillotines at the center stage of the casino. They reveal that in her absence, the board had a no confidence vote and relieved Veronica of her duties. After they refuse to take her to Reggie or Percival, Frank instructs Veronica to leave, flashing his gun as a show of intent.
Betty and Cheryl arrive at Thornhill, where Betty is left speechless at the site of Polly standing before her. Perhaps just as surprising, Polly's aura glows gold, alluding to her pure intentions, just before Betty faints.
Jughead and Tabitha come through the portal
Tabitha stands alongside Jughead as he opens a portal to another dimension. "Hello darkness, my old friend," he remarks before entering the portal with Tabitha and coming out on the other side in Rivervale, where he accuses Rivervale Jughead of stealing his stories. However, he counters that Jughead's stories were simply stolen from what he was overhearing from Rivervale. Bunker Jughead proceeds to explain to Jughead and Tabitha about how Riverdale and Rivervale are conjoined parallel universes that started to bleed into each other, and how they would've self-destructed if the explosion in Archie's bedroom hadn't separated the two. Additionally, he has to stay in the bunker and write stories in order to keep Rivervale going, making him a living battery that fuels his universe.
Bunker Jughead explains the birth of Rivervale
Then the portals opened to Riverdale, where he discovered Jughead writing. Bunker Jughead intended to borrow Riverdale Jughead's stories for inspiration, only to discover that they were recycled stories from Rivervale. But then the portals closed with Jughead's death. Speaking of which, they inform Bunker Jughead of Percival and ask if he has a Rivervale counterpart, but Bunker Jughead has never come across him if he does. Jughead and Tabitha want to go looking into the Blossom archives for answers, but Bunker Jughead warns them against going to the surface in fear they may disrupt the flow. However, they have no other choice, as Jughead suspects that Rivervale is bleeding into and wreaking havoc in Riverdale. Still, Bunker Jughead fears that if someone sees them interacting with their counterparts, that it could precipitate another crisis. Tabitha insists they'll be careful in route to Thornhill, but before they do, Bunker Jughead informs them of how Nana Rose's consciousness went into Cheryl's body, which is actually Abigail's immortal body.
Percival in 1580
As planned, Alice conducts her televised interview with Percival, who begins his story in the year 1580, when a ship named the Ruby Pearl arrived at the shores, carrying passengers who left the Old World for a variety of reasons. These settlers founded the first colonies of the New World by Sweetwater River. Percival was among those early settlers. Making the journey with him were the ancestors of those who reside in Riverdale currently; Asher Andrews, Blessing Cooper, James Jones, and Charity Blossom. They began building up Sweetwater Village while Percival pursed witchcraft and sorcery.
The devil makes Percival an offer
Every night, whilst his neighbors slept, he disappeared to the Sweetwater woods to perform arcane rituals. But one night, when he was performing a ritual involving a girl from their settlement, Percival was interrupted by Asher, who exposed him to the village. For his crime, he was brought before Sweetwater's council, consisting of Asher, Blessing, James, and Charity, and they sentenced him to be executed for his crime, specifically to be left in the woods to die slowly from starvation. Percival's exact crime was attempting to conjure the devil. While his ritual wasn't completed, he did gain the devil's attention. And that night, he appeared to Percival, attracted by his spell and enticed by his fate. He offered Percival freedom in exchange for his soul.
Polly comforts Betty
Betty wakes up to find Polly watching over her at the end of the bed. She assures Betty that she is who she says she is, and the sisters embrace, with Betty immediately apologizing for the fight they had, which ultimately led to Polly running away from home and into the path of her killers. Polly tells Betty that all the pain and suffering fell away. Furthermore, she tells Betty that she has nothing to apologize for. Still, Betty blames herself for Polly's death. She believes this is the reason she won't get into the heaven and why she's being likened to the Harlot of Babylon. Polly used to feel similarly about herself, but she's come back to assure Betty that she's worth far more than that. However, Betty's having trouble letting go of the past due to her darkness within. And so, Polly advises Betty to be a vessel and let grace wash over her and fill her.
Reggie threatens Tom
Veronica has retreated to the Pembrooke, where she accesses the Babylonium's security cameras remotely and discovers Kevin, Reggie, and Mr. Mantle locked away in the vault, unaware that the three of them are in the process of staging their escape. Marty collapses to the ground, claiming to have fallen ill, but when Tom enters, Reggie grabs him from behind and holds a blade to his throat, however, Frank isn't convinced that Reggie actually intends to kill him. In fact, he draws his own gun on Tom, claiming that he's prepared to kill Tom himself, explaining that they're soldiers who are prepared to kill and die for the cause. Frank then proceeds to count to three. Should Reggie fail to release Tom, Frank will shoot him, forcing Reggie to retreat. Kevin pleads with his dad to fight Percival's control, to which Tom replies that with this execution, Percival is going to make Kevin more famous than he ever would have been on his own.
Britta tells Jughead and Tabitha about the Superteens
Jughead and Tabitha arrive at Thornhill, where they come across Britta's Rivervale counterpart. They ask to take a look at the Blossom archives, but Britta informs them that they were transferred to Highsmith College two years ago. So they ask to talk to Nana Rose instead, but she's in a non-responsive state. Britta explains that when her consciousness was transferred into Abigail's body, her old ailments transferred as well. So while her body is young, her brain has succumbed to Rose's dementia. And so, Jughead instead tries to go into Nana Rose's mind to see what she knows about Percival. Unfortunately, he doesn't find anything of use, as her memories are too damaged. Before they leave, Britta asks Jughead to sign her "The Superteens" comics. As it turns out, Narrator Jughead has written a series of comics about a group of superheroes who resemble them and share their powers. Even more fascinating, the Superteen's arch nemesis is a man named Percy the Perverse. Jughead then asks if still does all his writing at Pop's, which Britta confirms that he does in fact.
Cheryl tells Archie about Percival's plan
While painting a new portrait of Jason, Cheryl asks if he's happy to be back. Jason assures her that he is. Even more so, he's thrilled that he doesn't have to fight in the war. From Jason, Cheryl learns the truth behind Percival's plans and heads over to Archie's to share her discovery. She reveals that General Pickens is going around the Sweet Hereafter drafting dead soul to fight a war against the living in Riverdale. And Percival's using the ghost train to ship them into town. They don't have much time, so Archie wants to blow up the train tracks, but before he can, he gets a call from Veronica, who reveals that Kevin, Reggie, and Mr. Mantle have been captured by Percival, who intends to execute them, meaning that they first have to get them out before they can blow up the tracks, but Veronica isn't sure how they could possibly pull off such a rescue mission.
The Harlot of Babylon
While recovering at Thornhill, Betty has a vision, in which she is depicted as the Harlot of Babylon, as well as TBK, and as a child covered in blood. She then awakens from her sleep to find Polly at her side. Taking stock of her life, Polly asks Betty what is it that she thinks she did that is so unforgivable. Betty starts with killing their family cat with a rock, but Polly reminds her that she was eight and being influenced by their dad. Betty also feels awful about kissing Archie in high school. She betrayed both Jughead and Veronica, but Polly tells Betty to liberate and forgive herself for falling out of love with Jughead. Lastly, Betty recalls reading up on all things Biblical when Percival struck the town with plagues. In her readings, she came across Cain, who was forever marked by his sin. Betty believes that she's marked in a similar fashion, referencing the serial killer gene. But Polly isn't convinced and tells Betty that she knows something that could help.
Jughead and Tabitha outside of Pop's
Tabitha recalls Bunker Jughead's warning of what could happen if they confronted their selves. Unable to go inside the diner where Narrator Jughead sits and writes his comics, they have to wait for Rivervale's Tabitha to take out the trash so that Tabitha can put her in a time loop. Once she does, Tabitha will grab Narrator Jughead and meet with Riverdale Jughead at their apartment.
Percival comes through the rift
Percival confirms to Alice that after a bit of negotiation, he managed to procure immortality from the devil. He left Sweetwater Village and spent the next 400 years going from town to town, acquiring forbidden knowledge, which he intended to use to conquer the town of Rivervale. Alice is shocked by his use of "Rivervale" with a V. Percival explains that he was headed back to where Sweetwater Village was founded to take his revenge 400 years later, but as he neared the town's limits, he heard an explosion and then noticed the town's sign, which previously said Rivervale, but then said Riverdale. Percival realized that he somehow stepped through a rift into Riverdale. While Riverdale is similar to his home universe, it is devoid of the supernatural. In this, he saw an opportunity, as he was the most powerful being in Riverdale, having magic and immortality when no one else did. He also realized that versions of his enemies' descendants remained in town, meaning his plan for revenge could still happen. So he decided to stay and wove himself into the fabric of Riverdale. But as he took it over, he learned that the descendants of his enemies began developing gifts, which complicated matters, though he continued his plan to build his ghost train in the final battle for Riverdale's soul. As for those who developed powers, Percival's surmises that as he slipped through the veil, some of its arcane energies must've come through along with him and seeped into the town. Nonetheless, he's had his powers much longer and with the comet arriving, he will be at his most potent.
Polly has filled a bowl up with water and places it in front of Betty, who takes a seat in the chair and places her feet in the bowl as Polly literally washes her sins away. She insists that it's gone and that Betty is no longer marked for damnation. All she did was wash Betty's feet, as someone did for her when she walked into the Sweet Hereafter. And so, Betty can now enter it too.
Tabitha and Jughead view the Superteens finale
Rivervale's Tabitha exits the diner to take out the trash, during which point, Riverdale's Tabitha calls out to her and traps her in a time loop. With her Rivervale counterpart otherwise occupied, Tabitha approaches Narrator Jughead at his booth and brings him back to the apartment, where Riverdale's Jughead await, and he and Tabitha explain that his comics are influencing actual events in their world. They ask where he got his inspiration for the comics and the powers. Narrator Jughead explains that the powers were a good fit for the characters as extensions of their personalities. As for Percy, he came from a recurring nightmare. When Jughead asks how the Superteens defeat him, Narrator Jughead shows them the final pages from his latest issue, in which the Superteens are killed by Percy after a final epic battle. When Tabitha asks why he would write something so bleak and dark, he explains that it was part of a deal he made. He wanted to be the greatest comic book writer in the world. In exchange, he agreed to only write stories that would ultimately darken the world. He was offered this deal by Mr. Cypher, who Tabitha recalls Raphael warning her about, and who is currently playing in a chess tournament that's being called "the Ultimate Battle of Good and Evil."
After her cleansing, Betty looks in the mirror, where she sees a bright gold aura around herself, as opposed to the red she previously saw.
Mr. Cypher wins
Jughead and Tabitha watch at the Babylonium as Mr. Cypher and Rivervale's Raphael play a game of chess, which Cypher ultimately wins. The crowd applauds as Veronica introduces him as the winner. Jughead and Tabitha then break into Cypher's suite, where they wait for him to return and discuss the bad omens of the Superteens losing to Percy and her guardian angel losing to the devil. Mr. Cypher then enters. Initially hostile, he's at least willing to answer their questions. They ask if he knows Percival, which he admits that he does, revealing that Percival was one of Rivervale's founding fathers, who sold his soul to the devil centuries ago.
Jughead and Tabitha question Mr. Cypher
Percival isn't the first person who has tried to use the loophole of immortality to cheat his way out of giving up his soul, though he is the first to hide in another dimension. Unfortunately, Cypher can't get more directly involved, as those are the cosmic rules. Not that it matters, as he suspects they'll lose. Tabitha mentions how they stalled Percival by moving Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, though according to Cypher, they played right into Percival's hand. After Jughead reads his mind, Cypher reveals that it's not the diner that's important to Percival, rather the land, as it's where he was left to die and it's where Cypher came upon him when they made their deal. It's also the site of a Hellmouth. In the old days, churches used to be build over Hellmouths to contain the dark forces underneath, which is what Pop's was intended for until they moved the diner. And with it gone, Percival's powers grow.
Percival wants to rule
Once the battle is over, Alice asks what will Percival's version of Riverdale look like. He recalls their voyage from the old country and how the men spoke of hopes and dreams in a new land of freedom of opportunity. He kept quiet during such discussions, as these things were lies. Given enough time, society always corrupts. Percival desires a land where he rules as he sees fit, and his enemies are at his mercy. He wants a land controlled by the dark arts and free from the laws of that stifle the rest of the country — the Sovereign State of Percival, which he wants to control in full, even the dead.
Ethel inquires about the rift
Jughead and Tabitha return to the bunker, where Bunker Jughead and Rivervale's Ethel await. She explains that when Riverdale and Rivervale split, that it was supposed to be a clean break between the universes, but there's been a bleed. She suspects that something happened that corrupted the split and asks Jughead if Archie and Betty said anything beyond the explosion. Jughead recalls Betty saying she received a phone call, specifically a warning to get out of the bedroom, which Ethel realizes must've been Bunker Jughead. His interference has resulted in the rifts and seepage between universes. The phone call compromised everything. Ethel calls Jughead weak and suspects that he called her because he still loves her, even though it's over, but Bunker Jughead claims that he was just trying to save their lives, as they're his best friends. Jughead then opens a portal back home to Riverdale, for him and Tabitha to escape through.
Veronica explains that Kevin, Reggie, and Mr. Mantle are being held hostage
Jughead and Tabitha arrive at Archie's, where he, Betty, Veronica, and Cheryl are in the middle of discussing their next move. They reveal that they know where Percival came from and how they got their powers, but before they can do anything else, Veronica explains that Kevin, Reggie, and Mr. Mantle are being held hostage at the Babylonium, where Percival intends to execute them. Fortunately, Jughead has a planned.
Jughead rescues Kevin, Reggie and Marty
Jughead enters the vault at the casino through a portal and rescues Kevin, Reggie and Marty. With the prisoners free, Veronica gives Archie the signal to blow the train tracks, thus deferring Percival's plan for the ghost train.
Percival enters the vault to discover his prisoners gone. Unfortunately for Percival, that's not his only problem, as Frank reveals that someone blew up the train tracks.
Archie and the gang
Archie and the gang reconvene at his house after breaking out the vault and blowing up the tracks. Thanks to Jughead and Tabitha, they know more than they did at the start of the day, and they know what they have to get done before the arrival of Bailey's Comet. Betty, Veronica, Cheryl, and Tabitha then get a group text from Percival, who has messaged them an image of Alice, Frank, and Tom in front of the guillotines at the casino. Attached to the images is a message from Percival, claiming that at midnight, he executed the three of them for treason.
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