| “ | Mr. Pickens, I know you're new here. But I have spent my entire life in service to Riverdale. After high school, I graduated college with a degree in social work. I then became guidance counselor at Riverdale High. I kept its doors open as Hiram Lodge fought to shut us down. I then used my position as a small business owner and proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community. To help with various charities and organizations. And if there's any doubt about my integrity, just know that I'm raising my son here, and I'm invested in Riverdale because of him. And I hope you all let me continue to advocate for you and this town. Thank you. | ” |
— Toni at the council meeting
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"Chapter One Hundred and Four: The Serpent Queen's Gambit" is the ninth episode of the sixth season of Riverdale and the one hundredth and fourth episode of the series overall.[2] It premiered on April 10, 2022.
Synopsis[]
PERCIVAL MAKES HIS MOVE — After suspecting that Percival is about to make a big play, Archie, Betty and Jughead warn their friends about his potential threat to the town. Meanwhile, Toni also finds herself a target after Percival announces his plans to rid the town of gangs, including the Serpents. Finally, Cheryl makes her move against Archie, Betty and Jughead.[3]
Plot[]
Archie kicks Percival out
Archie returns home to find his Uncle Frank speaking with Percival, who is conducting a town-wide consensus with the council's approval. This allows Percival to meet his neighbors in a more personal setting. He asks if Archie would be willing to answer some questions, but he isn't and tells Percival to get out. After he leaves, Frank expresses his disappointment with Archie, as he doesn't approve of his behavior, stating that Percival has many ideas on how to make Riverdale a better place to live.
Abigail tells Britta about her plan
Abigail and Britta are at the Riverdale cemetery, where Abigail visits Thomasina's grave and explains to Britta that the time has come for her to vanquish her enemies and be reunited with her love. She will reincarnate Thomasina's soul into Toni's body on the night of a blood moon. And once her beloved is returned to her, they will slay Fangs and seal their love for all eternity. In addition to Fangs, Abigail also intends to kill Archie, Betty, and Jughead.
Reggie joins Veronica at the table and tells her that his dad wants to visit the casino. He's recovering, but he's lost his mojo. So, Reggie intends to make his dad feel like a big shot, which Veronica agrees to assist with.
Percival questions Toni about the Serpents
Percival announces at the council meeting that the town-wide consensus is complete. With the homeless gone, their main sense of anxiety stems from the gang war between the Serpents and the Ghoulies. Percival singles out Toni and asks for her opinion, given her position as Serpent Queen. Toni claims that there is no war and that she's been in constant contact with the Ghoulies' leader Twyla Twyst in an effort to de-escalate tension. They're close to declaring a cease fire. Percival proposes simply disbanding the Serpents, but Tabitha interjects and reminds Percival that Toni isn't on trial and that they should move on to the next item on their agenda.
Toni and Fangs remind Kevin that they were raised as Serpents
After the meeting, Toni and Fangs discuss how she was ambushed by Percival. They are then joined by Kevin, who reluctantly hands over Baby Anthony, as he's nervous given the brewing gang war. He's also not sure about Anthony being raised around gang culture. However, both Toni and Fangs were raised as Serpents.
Veronica welcomes Marty to the Babylonium and escorts him to their best table and dealer, where she welcomes him to have fun.
Archie, Betty, and Jughead plan to recruit
Archie asks Betty and Jughead to hang back after the meeting to discuss Percival. Archie suspects that he's trying to recruit people. Ever since Percival sensed Jughead in his mind, Jughead has been doing research on heightens psychic abilities. Some people think that mind control is real, leading Betty to question what exactly it is he's persuading people to do. Whatever it is, Archie knows that it's not good. Given that he likely made Doc attack Kevin, Archie fears that Percival may have also compelled the people of Sketch Alley to leave. Betty can't arrest him as they can't prove he's broken any laws, and Archie doesn't want to simply beat him up, as it would make him no better. So instead, he suggests the three of them recruit people as well. In the short term, it would prevent Percival from amassing too much power too quickly. Archie suspects that the reason they may have been given their powers was to protect the town from Percival.
Abigail kicks Archie, Betty, and Jughead out
Archie, Betty, and Jughead stop by Thornhill to ask "Cheryl" if she's had any private contact with Percival Pickens. He stopped by, but she couldn't receive him at the time. They fear that he's recruiting people for a nefarious agenda, but Abigail, who is posing as Cheryl, remarks that she isn't concerned about Percival and is more worried about meeting the same fate as her ancestor. Regarding Percival, Abigail will keep her own council as she always has and asks the three of them to leave. Once they're gone, Abigail asks for Britta's help in preparing arsenic-laced scones, as she needs a corpse for her reincarnation ritual.
Drive-by at Pop's
Twyla and the Ghoulies ride past Pop's and shoot up the diner in a drive-by, while Tabitha and the customers inside duck for cover.
Tabitha calls Toni from Pop's to inform her that Alice and Frank are convening an emergency meeting of the council to remove Toni from the council. It's Percival's idea. He's using the drive-by last night as an excuse. Tabitha suspects that he sees Toni as a threat, which is why she wants Toni to join her at the meeting.
Archie, Betty, and Jughead learn more about Percival from Veronica
Archie, Betty, and Jughead warn Veronica that Percival is up to something dastardly. Percival, who Veronica refers to as "the male Mary Poppins," is definitely shady, she confirms after having Heraldo look into Percival and discovering that he doesn't exist. She also reveals that he said something to one of her clients, who later went on to kill himself.
With this latest revelation, Archie, Betty, and Jughead question how Percival even has powers, as he wasn't in the explosion. All three of them then get a message from Tabitha, telling them to meet at the El Royale.
Toni pleads her case
In response to the gang-related shooting at Pop's the night prior, the town and council gather for Percival to submit a motion, which insists that Toni immediately be removed from the council. Tabitha interjects and gives Toni the opportunity to speak. Toni reveals that she's spent her entire life in service to Riverdale. After high school, she graduated from college with a degree in social work. She then became a guidance counselor at Riverdale High and kept its doors open when Hiram Lodge tried to shut them down. She then used her position as a small business owner and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community to help with various charities and organizations. And if there's any doubt about her integrity, she reminds everyone that she's raising her son in Riverdale, which is the same reason she's so invested. Alice then decides to put the motion to a vote.
Veronica gets word that Reggie's dad is back and is in debt a total of $7,000.
Alice reveals that Toni was voted out
Archie, Betty, and Jughead arrive at the community center, where Alice and Frank inform them that Toni was voted off the council. Except for Tabitha, it was a unanimous vote.
Veronica approaches Marty at a table and pulls him to the side to ask how he's feeling. Marty insists that he's fine and that his luck is turning, but he needs a $5,000 loan in the meantime, which Veronica cannot provide. Instead, she suggests that he cut his losses, but Marty doesn't wish to leave.
Abigail fails to poison Betty
Abigail arrives at Riverdale High with apologies and arsenic-laced scones for Archie, Betty, and Jughead. However, Betty sees Abigail's glowing red aura and turns down the treat, suspicious that Cheryl is attempting to poison her. After Abigail retreats, Betty rushes to Archie's classroom to stop him from eating the scone, but she's too late. Fortunately, Archie's invulnerable. Unfortunately, Jughead is not. So, Betty retrieves him from the Riverdale Choice office and takes him to the bathroom, where she and Archie tells him to drink a cup of salt water before forcing him to throw up the scone.
Fangs grabs Kevin
Toni has been thinking and tells Fangs over dinner and that the Serpents should shed their skin and rebrand as a political activist group. They'd focus more on community driven programs and helping the town's youths and seniors. In doing that, they'd be handing the town over to the Ghoulies, Fangs fears. He questions where all this is coming from. Toni explains that doing this would take the wind out of the witch hunter sails. However, Fangs doesn't think the Serpents will go for it, especially since he doesn't agree with her proposal. Suddenly, their door is kicked in by the Riverdale Sheriff Department, led by Percival, Kevin, and Tom, after getting a report that illegal weapons are being stored in the apartment. Unbeknownst to Toni, there are in fact guns in the house. And when Fangs roughs up Kevin, who is attempting to check on Baby Anthony, Tom orders his arrest, and Fangs is placed in cuffs. Toni asks Kevin why he is doing this, but he doesn't respond, though she gets her answer after meeting Percival's gaze.
Toni learns the truth from Fangs
Toni visits Fangs at the sheriff station to ask where the weapons came from. Fangs admits that the guns belong to him and reveals to Toni that he was storing them for a battle royal with the Ghoulies. Twyla reached out to Fangs and challenged him to a rumble. And it's not just him. The other Serpents want to fight, too.
When Reggie returns home, Veronica reveals that she and his father had a moment after she asked him to step away, as he was losing a lot of money. It has her wondering how his dad got into debt with her dad, leading her to suspect it may have been gambling. However, Reggie claims that he wanted to make improvements to the car lot, which the banks wouldn't approve a loan for. Reggie becomes upset and accuses Veronica of wanting to stop his dad's fun, but she insists this isn't the case.
Abigail will try again
Abigail returns to Thornhill and informs Britta that Archie, Betty, and Jughead are still alive. No matter, she will pay Toni a visit, as she needs her blood for the ritual. This said, this doesn't mean she's done trying to kill them. It's just a matter of how she will go about vanquishing her foes.
Jughead isn't feeling too well after his salt-water induced vomit, but it was the best way to flush the poison out of his system. Jughead questions why Cheryl is trying to kill the three of them suddenly. Archie suspects that maybe it was Percival, so Betty suggests that Jughead read Cheryl's mind in hopes that he can confirm Archie's theory.
Abigail gets Toni's blood
Abigail brings Toni a bouquet of flowers, claiming that she had a sixth sense that Toni was in need of help. Toni grabs the roses and pricks her hand on one of the thorns. Abigail wipes the blood away with a napkin she intends to use for later. Toni reveals that she got voted off the council, Fangs is in jail, and that the Ghoulies are determined to start a war. She also suspects that they may still be trying to kill Archie, which Abigail seems particularly interested in.
Reggie meets with his dad at the car lot, where Marty reveals he lost the dealership in a private poker game with a few wise guys. Marty simply couldn't stop, and the more he lost, the more he had to keep playing. Marty is hoping that Reggie can talk to Veronica and convince them to give the dealership back.
Toni learns that Anthony was taken
Toni receives an unexpected visit from Janet, who has come by to do a wellness check after being informed that her home may be an unsafe environment for Baby Anthony. Toni then seems to have the strange sense of Déjà vu, recalling a similar conversation with Janet, but in Rivervale. Toni insists that she would never do anything to put her child in harms way and takes her to see Anthony, whose supposedly sleep in his bedroom, but when they enter his room, they discover that he's missing and that the window is open.
Archie exits the community center to find Abigail standing on top of the building in Blossom red Ghoulie attire. She calls out to Archie and sets him on fire with a Molotov cocktail.
Archie tells Betty and Jughead that Cheryl tried to kill him
Betty, Tabitha, and Toni have orchestrated their own search for Baby Anthony and have divided the town into a grid with a 24-hour operation. As the community heads out, Jughead reads the minds of those in the dinner, whom all seem to be under the same consensus that Toni is an unfit mother and that Riverdale is unsafe. Betty and Jughead then meet Archie in the parking lot, where he reveals that Cheryl, dressed as a Ghoulie, threw a Molotov cocktail at him. Betty and Archie will continue the search for Baby Anthony while Jughead goes to read Cheryl's mind.
Reggie asks for Veronica's help
Reggie tells Veronica how his dad lost Mantle Motors to one of Heraldo's wise guys in a game of poker and asks for Veronica's help. She's agrees to talk to them, but she also hopes Reggie can admit that his dad has a problem and needs to be cut off. From this, Reggie takes great offense, reminding Veronica how her dad killed people and blew up the town, only for Veronica to still hang up his portrait in their office. And on second thought, Reggie decides to handle this himself.
Twyla calls Toni
Toni receives a call from Twyla, who has Baby Anthony in her possession. Unbeknownst to Toni, Twyla is being controlled by Percival, who holds the baby in his arms while Twyla arranges a shoot out. The Serpents vs the Ghoulies. The winner takes Riverdale. Toni agrees to meet her only under the condition that Twyla deliver baby Anthony to Pop's. And once she gets word from Tabitha that Anthony is safe, only then Will she fight.
Tabitha isn't comfortable with Toni's plan to meet with Twyla and the Ghoulies and asks if they can loop in Betty, but Toni insists that they don't. Toni isn't worried about Baby Anothy, as Twyla means him no harm. She simply wants bragging rights for taking down Toni and the Serpents. So, Tabitha agrees to wait for Baby Anthony and to call Toni.
Reggie approaches the wise guys
Reggie approaches the wise guys and reminds them of the game they played with his dad, who is heartbroken that their family business is gone. Reggie hoping to buy it back, but it has already gone up in value. They're expanding some of their operations and has been looking for businesses similar to the car lot. So, if Reggie were to buy it, they would include the projected income for the next five years on top of the $100,000. Reggie questions what kind of operation they're planning for, as he was boot licking when he was in high school. And they might want someone familiar and trustworthy to interface with the public to keep the trains running so that no one gets suspicious. Ultimately, Reggie is proposing that they help each other.
Jughead reads Britta's mind
Jughead heads over to Thornhill to read Cheryl's mind, but Britta answers and tells him that Cheryl is occupied. Jughead questions with what, and in her head, Britta says a ritual. But she tells Juguead that she cannot say, as Cheryl knows when she's lying. And so, Jughead tells Britta to simply think what she wants to say to him and he'll read her mind. From Britta, Jughead learns that Cheryl is actually possessed by Abigail, who is trying to kill them on the eve of the blood moon to reincarnate Thomasina into Toni. Jughead asks if Britta is going to be okay until the blood moon and leaves.
Tabitha overhears Kevin and another officer complaining about being on patrol while the other officers are part of the "turkey shoot" to exterminate the Serpents. Tabitha confronts them and reminds Kevin that Toni is still the mother of his child.
Toni surrenders
Tabitha calls Toni to warn her that she and Serpents have walked into a trap orchestrated by the police. She tells Toni not to allow it to become a turkey shoot. Armed with guns, Sheriff Keller and Percival pull up with nearly the entire police department and order the Serpents to the ground. Toni commands the Serpents to drop their weapons and put their hands in the air. Despite surrendering, Percival tries to convince the officers to shoot. However, Toni is live-streaming the arrest from her phone, saving her life, as well as those of the Serpents.
Reggie informs Veronica that he cleaned up his dad's mess and got the dealership back. Also, Veronica doesn't have to worry about his dad coming back, as Reggie banned him from the casino. Veronica asks if he's going to get help, but Reggie simply replies that he's fine.
Betty grabs Abigail
Jughead arrives at Betty's to inform her and Archie of everything he learned from Britta about Cheryl being possessed by her ancrstor, Abigail. With this in mind, the three of them orchestrate a plan to banish Abigail from Cheryl's body, starting with Betty lying her way into Thornhill by claiming that Archie was burned alive by the Ghoulies and rendering Abigail unconscious with a rag covered in chloroform.
Percival visits Toni
Percival visits Toni in her cell and tells her that Tabitha has paid her bail, but she won't be released until the morning. Regarding Anthony, Percival claims that they found him while raiding a Ghoulies lair. They got him out safely, though the same can't be said about the Ghoulies, who are all dead except for Twyla, who escaped. When Toni asks for Anthony, Percival reveals that he's with his father.
Abigail is banished
Abigail awakens tied to a post, with Archie, Betty, Jughead, Britta, and Nana Rose looking up at her from the ground below. She finds herself in a remarkably similar predicament as the night she died over a century ago, when she was burned alive. She declares that Cheryl's body belongs to her, but Betty lights the fire from the bottom, and as the flames rise, all of them simultaneously read a banishing spelling to remove Abigail from Cheryl's body.
Tabitha, Frank, and Alice hold an emergency meeting as Percival has been nominated for election to the town council, filling the vacancy left open by Toni. The vote is unanimous and Percival joins the council.
Abigail exclaims that they're all going to die before releasing a burst of energy, exiting Cheryl's body, and taking haven in the Julian doll, which Nana Rose drops to the floor, insisting that it twitched. Cheryl then awakens and appears to be fully cognizant once more.
Toni learns of Kevin's plan
Tabitha and Toni are waiting in the sheriff's office for Kevin to bring Baby Anthony in. He returns the child to Toni, but warns her that he's filing for primary custody. He's been talking to Janet, and given Toni and Fangs' recent behavior, it won't be hard for him to win guardianship. Kevin claims that his only concern is for Anthony's safety, but Toni questions why he's doing this, then looking out to the hallway and noticing Percival watching from the doorway.
Reggie watches his dad
Reggie returns to the dealership, where his dad is in the middle of a game with the wise guys. Marty is happy and remarks that he's having the time of his life, which pleases Reggie, as he recalls the last visit he had with his father's doctor, who revealed that Reggie's dad is dying and unlikely to get a transplant in time. He has a year, maybe two if he's lucky. As tears filled his eyes, Reggie asked what he could do. Dr. Bell told him to make sure that his dad enjoys what little time he has left.
Betty gets a call from Dr. Curdle Jr., whose office is filled with the bodies of 22 Ghoulies. He reveals to Betty that the Ghoulies all seem to have died from self-inflicted wounds, despite the sheriff's report claiming that they were killed in a gunfight.
Cheryl locks Abigail away
Cheryl, Nana Rose, and Britta seal the Abigail doll away in a glass case. Cheryl then lights the eternal flame and explains that it's their responsibility to ensure that the flames keeps burning so that Abigail may never escape.
Archie, Betty, and Jughead reconvene at Archie's to discuss their next move against Percival, who has gotten himself elected on the town council after killing 22 Ghoulies and almost killing the Serpents. Unlike Hiram, Archie doesn't think Percival wants to take over Riverdale, rather destroy it.
Cast[]
Starring[]
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Guest Starring[]
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Trivia[]
- The episode title is a reference to Netflix's 2020 The Queen's Gambit miniseries.
- Jughead references Charles Xavier after Archie starts acting like he is leading a team of superheroes with powers, much like how the X-Men are led by Charles Xavier.
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