| “ | The popularity and cultural impact of comic books in our time cannot be overstated. Superheroes were out, horror and crime comics were in, and me and my friends were obsessed. | ” |
— Jughead
| ||
"Chapter One Hundred and Nineteen: Skip, Hop, and Thump!" is the second episode of the seventh season of Riverdale and the one hundredth and nineteenth episode of the series overall. It premiered on April 5, 2023.
Synopsis[]
RIVERDALE SOCK HOP — Riverdale High's sock hop is around the corner and Archie has his sights set on taking Veronica to the dance. Betty is confused when Kevin appears uninterested in taking things to the next level with her. Elsewhere, Jughead takes aim at Pep Comics, and Toni attempts to convince Cheryl to let Fangs perform at the sock hop.[2]
Plot[]
Jughead heads to school, where he informs Ethel, Ben, and Dilton how Pep Comics stole the story that he submitted. He threatens to sue them, but Dilton doubts he can prove it, and Ben proposes simply calling, though Jughead intends to pay them a visit.
Cheryl discusses the annual sock hop
Over the morning announcements, Cheryl reveals that the annual sock hop is taking place this Friday night in the gym, with Kevin and the Crooners headlining. Archie decides to ask Veronica to be his date, but before answering, she requests proof of his dancing ability.
Cheryl becomes flustered when Toni sarcastically asks if she will accompany her to the annual sock hop. In reality, she's hoping to convince Cheryl into giving Fangs an opportunity to perform at the event. Cheryl denies her request and informs Toni that Kevin and the Crooners will be performing as initially announced.
Jughead accuses Pep Comics of stealing his story
Jughead heads over to Pep Comics, where he accuses Mr. Fieldstone, the editor-in-chief, of stealing his story that he submitted and was subsequently rejected. Mr. Fieldstone claims that there are no original idea, explaining that he gets hundreds of submissions a week consisting of the same slop. He's got a backlog of stories waiting to be farmed out to any writer who can string together a coherent story. If Jughead would like to be considered for an opportunity, Mr. Fieldstone instructs him to drop the persecution against Pep Comics and turn a log line he's been given into a seven-page story by the following morning.
Betty shows Archie how to dance
Archie enlists in Betty's help to learn how to dance after lying to Veronica. She begins by teaching him the twist, but moves on to slow dancing when Archie is unable to keep up. As the two of them slow dance in her bedroom, a spark is ignited between Archie and Betty, though they are interrupted by Alice, who sends Archie home.
Ethel reads Jughead's story
Jughead asks Ethel to read his story for Pep Comics. Admittedly, she's jealous, revealing that it's her life goal to draw a story for Pep Comics. Should he finish his story and make a good impression, Jughead offers to put in a good word for Ethel with Mr. Fieldstone.
Cheryl goes car to car at lover's lane, attempting to sell tickets to the sock hop. There, she makes the startling discovery of Midge in the car with Fangs, a common greaser. She orders her out of the car immediately and escorts her away.
Friction in Betty and Kevin's relationship
Kevin's mind is elsewhere, which doesn't go unnoticed by Betty, who points out that he still hasn't officially asked her to the sock hop. With him performing, he assumed she'd come to cheer him on. Betty then throws herself at Kevin, kissing him aggressively, but he pulls away, claiming that he's performing and that he doesn't want to risk catching a cold, but Betty isn't convinced. She and Kevin have been dating for months, but they still aren't going steady, and he hasn't even pinned her yet. Kevin refers to her as a sex maniac, but all Betty is looking for is a little bit of affection from her supposed boyfriend. That said, she declares that she won't be cheering him on at the sock hop as she exits the car.
Mr. Fieldstone hires Jughead
The following day, Jughead takes his story to Mr. Fieldstone at Pep Comics. Although it's not perfect, he welcomes Jughead to the team as their latest writer. As promised, Jughead puts in a good wood for Ethel, claiming that she's a cheap artist with an interest in gore.
Kevin finds Clay playing the piano in the music room, where he intends to rehearse his set for the sock hop. Clay has just transferred in, as his dad was in the military, but in his short time at Riverdale High, he has managed to do his research on Kevin, who then asks if Clay's going to the sock hop, but he doesn't have a date and doesn't have many friends, looking to Kevin to ask him out, but he simply suggests that Clay go stag.
Archie tells Veronica that he's prepared to demonstrate his dancing skills. However, she's entertaining other offers. Being her escort requires more than mere dancing. It also requires scintillating conversation. So, she tells Archie to come by the Pembrooke at 6:00 tonight to discuss politics, art, and current events.
Veronica tells Betty to make Kevin jealous
Betty asks for Veronica's help in dealing with boys. She lacks Veronica's confidence despite being a catch. She and Kevin aren't official, and they may even be on the rocks. Veronica suggests Betty invite another boy to the sock hop to make Kevin jealous.
Cheryl is offering buy one, get one free tickets to the sock hop. She stops Dilton in the hall and asks why people are trying to return her tickets. Dilton reveals that the Serpents, led by Toni, are threatening to throw rotten eggs at anyone who tries to enter the dance.
Mary helps Archie get ready
Archie asks for his mother's help with getting ready for the dance. Mary finds him a blazer that belonged to his dad. She suspects it's for dance, but it's actually for a gathering at Veronica's. She wants to give Archie a test run, which Mary doesn't like the sound off, but Archie simply explains that her standards are different given that she's from Hollywood. Seeing Archie in Fred's suit makes Mary teary-eyed as she reminisces about when she and Fred attended the sock hop together. He even wrote her poems.
Archie tells Betty that Veronica invited him over tonight, and in an attempt to impress her, he wrote Veronica a poem, which he asks Betty to read beforehand. She's impressed, saying that Archie has a poet's soul.
Cheryl confronts Toni
Cheryl makes her way down to the Dark Room, where she confronts Toni for trying to ruin the sock hop. Toni agrees to not only leave people alone, but to pack out the gym as well. All Cheryl has to do is agree to allow Fangs to perform. Cheryl reminds Toni she already booked Kevin and the Crooners, but Toni reveals that the Crooners are over and welcomes Cheryl to stay and watch Fangs perform.
Archie arrives at the Pembrooke, where he discovers that he is not Veronica's only suitor. Among the other young men in the room is Julian, who lifts his glass to Archie.
Betty confesses to her mother that she's starting to have weird feelings for Archie. While they were dancing, she felt a bizarre flutter in her stomach, which Alice suspects is more so a reaction to Betty feeling underappreciated by Kevin.
Ethel asks Jughead to the sock hop
Jughead is amazed by Ethel's drawing and is certain Mr. Fieldstone will hire her, despite the fact that she's a girl. He's so certain that Jughead says he'll eat his own crown if Mr. Fieldstone doesn't. With the sock hop a day's away, Ethel asks Jughead to be her date, though he presumes they're merely going as friends. Ethel's mother then enters and accosts Ethel for having a boy in her room, telling her that she's lucky her father is working nights at the factory. Realizing that he's outstayed his welcome, Jughead leaves.
Archie almost fights Julian
Archie seems a bit out of his comfort zone at Veronica's gathering, where he is unusually quiet. Julian seems enamored with Veronica's painting and says that his family goes on an art buying tour in Europe every summer. However, Veronica is more interested in Archie's thoughts. While it's beautiful, he prefers artist more like Norman Rockwell. Julian begins to take aim at Archie, insulting his father's suit, which upsets Archie, though Veronica intervenes before it can escalate. Given the rising tension, Archie decides to leave early.
Veronica tries to apologize to Archie
Veronica stops by the Andrews house the following day to apologize for the prior night's events. Mary informs Veronica that Archie is a simple boy, so much so that he's mad at Julian and himself for what happened, despite Veronica being the true villain, with Mary sarcastically asking what kind of person auditions boys to go to a sock hop. She jokes that her parents are actors, though Mary isn't amused and warns Veronica not to hurt Archie.
Alice advises Kevin
Alice calls Kevin over after learning that he and Betty have had some troubles as of late. Betty has expectations of Kevin that he's not sure if he can provide, which Alice insists is perfectly normal. She gives Kevin a pin and explains that Betty simply wants to be pinned and feel appreciated. And then all of her feelings will settle. Kevin fears a pin will lead to higher expectations, though Alice insist it will only take off the pressure. A pin is a promise, and Alice is now giving Kevin the actual pin that Hal gave her back in high school. The pin answered a desire they both were feeling, and things were fine and pure from that moment forward. Alice believes that it may help Kevin and Betty in a similar manner.
Toni assists Cheryl with selling tickets to the sock hop, pressuring Dilton into buying five tickets, while informing him that Fangs will be performing. She then asks if Cheryl has broken the bad news to Kevin that he won't be performing. She hasn't, but Cheryl promises that she will.
Ethel is sent to the principal's office
Ethel is sent to the principal's office, where she is reprimanded by Featherhead and Dr. Werthers for drawing horrendous pictures during Dr. Doiley's class. She explains that they're for a comic book that she's on a deadline to finish, which is why she was drawing during class, as she's trying to get a job at Pep Comics. Nevertheless, this does not justify her behavior, and Featherhead punishes her with a week's detention.
Veronica is going stag
Archie apologizes to Veronica for rushing out of her party, though he couldn't say much longer given the tension between him and Julian, who Archie feared he would hurt, not that he didn't deserve it, Veronica remarks, as she's still mortified by what Julian said to Archie. That said, she did have a good time getting to know him better. In that case, Archie is still willing to take her to the sock hop. While she would love that, Veronica has already decided not to go with anyone, which upsets Archie, who has jumped through hoops to impress Veronica. She explains that it was simply a game, comparing herself to the queen of the hive who gets all the worker bees to buzz and then flies away before anyone is stung too badly.
Betty learns that Archie doesn't have a date
Veronica reveals to Betty that she will be going stag to the sock hop. She's in the midst of a rude awakening and realized now that she's been careless and thoughtless with the boys at Riverdale High, none more so than Archie, which she regrets. Betty asks if Veronica liked his poem, but he never gave it to her, leading Betty to question who Archie is going to the sock hop with, though Veronica isn't sure.
Kevin pins Betty
Just as Betty is about to ask Archie to the sock hop, Kevin asks to speak with her, apologizing to Betty for not realizing how special she is and taking her for granted. He gives Betty a pin, and asks her to go steady with him and attend the Sock Hip with him. Betty accepts and kisses Kevin.
Dr. Werthers informs Featherhead that Ethel skipped out on detention and proposes speaking to her parents.
Jughead gets Ethel hired
Jughead and Ethel meet with Mr. Fieldstone. He is initially reluctant to believe that a girl drew such gruesome comics, but Jughead insists she did. Not to mention, she's skipping detention to be there. That said, Mr. Fieldstone congratulates Ethel on drawing the most putrid pages he'd seen in a long time, welcoming her to the team, referring to her and Jughead as "freckles" and "boy wonder" respectively. Mr. Fieldstone then asks if they're dating, but they're simply creative partners, though Ethel adds they are attending the sock hop together
After emptying the bins, Smithers delivers to Veronica Archie's poem he found in the trash.
Ethel is confronted by her parents
Ethel returns home, where she is confronted by her parents for her recent behavior. They accuse her of acting like a delinquent, drawing dirty pictures, and inviting boys into her bedroom on top of skipping out on detention. Ethel retorts that her mother is a drunk and that her father is miserable. She then heads to her room to prepare for the sock hop with Jughead.
The night of the sock hop has finally arrived. Clay approaches Kevin to extend his condolences after learning that he will no longer be performing. Clay then makes his attraction to both Kevin and Fangs known before suggesting that Kevin offer him a private concert at some point, though Kevin nervously excuses himself from the conversation.
Toni and Cheryl dancing
As planned, Fangs performs during the sock hop with his band, sending the ladies into a frenzy while Archie and Veronica make eyes at each other from across the gym. Meanwhile, Toni tells Cheryl that she was right about Fangs and promises to stop hassling her so long as Cheryl agrees to one dance, which doesn't go unnoticed by Principal Featherhead.
Veronica approaches Archie and reveals that she found his poem, reciting several lines. She proposes a do-over and asks to dance. However, Archie turns her down and joins his mother on the floor, at which point, Julian joins Veronica and extends his hand to dance, which she reluctantly takes.
Ethel arrives to the sock hop covered in blood
As Kevin dances with Betty, Clay watches from afar. Much like Clay, Cheryl watches Toni longingly from across the gym, knowing the two of them could never be together. Featherhead joins her and remarks that boys and girls are dancing in chaste harmony, just as god intended, with Cheryl muttering that everything is as it's supposed to be. Halfway through the dance, Ethel barges into the gym covered in blood. She collapses into Jughead's arms and reveals that something terrible has happened.
Cast[]
Starring[] |
Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
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Soundtrack[]
- We Are Dark Angels - Going To Days
- Al Hazan - Count Ten
- Scene: Betty tries to teach Archie the twist.
- The Innocents - Be Mine
- Scene: Betty teaches Archie to slow dance. Alice storms in.
- The Penguins - Baby Let’s Make Some Love
- Jerry Fuller - Teenage Love
- Scene: Betty tries to get Kevin interested in kissing her. He tries to dissuade her and insults her, so she storms out of the car.
- College - The Scarlett Empress
- Scene: Betty approaches Archie to ask him to the dance but Kevin interrupts before she can.
- The Native Boys - Strange Love
- Scene: The sock hop. Clay flirts with Kevin.
- Drew Ray Tanner - Tutti Frutti (Little Richard cover)
- Scene: Fangs performs and flirts with a smitten Midge.
- Drew Ray Tanner - Only You (The Platters cover)
- Scene: Betty dances with Kevin as Clay watches them. Veronica asks Archie to dance, but he rejects her.
Trivia[]
- The phrase where the chapter takes its name from dates from the early 1700s. It originally referred to an exercise or game involving hopping, skipping, and jumping. Since the mid-1800s, the expression has been used figuratively to mean short distances.
- The hallway scene with Archie and Betty is a reference to the hallway scene of "Chapter One: The River's Edge", an episode also featuring a semi-formal school dance.
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