- Betty: "Since the explosion... I've started to see... How do I describe this? Um, I can see people's energy, if it's threatening, like their auras. Is that crazy?"
- Archie: "No. No. Betty, I'm getting heavier, denser. Also invulnerable. Until I figure out what's happening to me, I am afraid I might hurt people. I might hurt you."
- ―Archie and Betty discuss their powers
"Chapter One Hundred and One: Unbelievable" is the sixth episode of the sixth season of Riverdale and the one hundredth and first episode of the series overall.[2] It premiered on March 20, 2022.
Synopsis[]
THE AFTERMATH — As news begins to spread about the bombing at the Andrew's home, Archie, Betty and Jughead begin to deal with mysterious side effects from the explosion. Elsewhere, Veronica spirals after learning that Hiram may have been involved, and Cheryl is consumed with guilt when she believes she may have had a hand in the explosion.[3]
Plot[]
Archie, Betty, and Jughead recount the explosion
Archie and Betty explain to Alice and Frank how they were in Archie's room when Betty got a call from a mysterious male caller, telling them to get out of the house because there was a bomb under the bed. Archie claims that they ran downstairs and slid under the table just as the bomb went off. All the while, Jughead was in the garage. Alice recommends they go to the hospital. Archie and Jughead insists that they're fine, but Alice takes Betty nonetheless.
Frank takes Archie back to the house, or at least what remains of it. He questions the integrity of Archie's story, as the dinning room table that he claims he and Betty hid under is completely crushed. Before Archie can respond to Frank's inquiry, they discover Bingo beneath the rubble.
Jughead heads over to the diner, where he informs Tabitha and Pop that Archie's house blew up. He asks to stay at Tabitha's for a few days so that he can work on writing up a story. On his way out, the bell above the door rings, which appears to irritate Jughead's hearing.
Toni and Fangs are a couple
Kevin tells Toni and Fangs that he plans on leaving Riverdale to give New York City and Broadway another shot. In the spirit of honesty, Toni and Fangs reveal to Kevin that they're dating, but they're both still very much bisexual for the record and proud to be part of the queer community. Kevin is taken by surprise but is ultimately receptive to this news. It's the next bit of news that he gets when his dad calls that throws him for a loop. Kevin learns that a bomb went off at Archie's. He then proceeds to share this news with Veronica and Reggie.
Cheryl wants to reverse the curse
Britta informs Cheryl and Nana Rose that a bomb went off at the Andrews house. Archie, Betty, and Jughead all narrowly escaped with their lives, leaving Cheryl to suspect that Abigail's curse, which she invoked, may be the reason for the bombing. She asks for the parchment with the curse on it to reverse the spell, but Nana Rose claims that she burned it. Fortunately, the Blossom library is full of arcane text about witches and their wicked ways.
As Frank advises Archie to call his mom and inform her of the bombing, the vet comes out to inform them that all four of Bingo's legs were broken in the fire. She'd like to keep him for a week to monitor the healing process.
Tabitha asks Jughead about his article
While typing up his story about Tabitha's, Jughead's ears begin to ring, an obvious side effect of the explosion. Tabitha arrives with dinner and asks him about the story, which started as an article about the destruction of a cherished family home, but it has evolved into a Hiram Lodge exposé.
Toni and Fangs discuss their next course of action regarding the Ghoulies, who not only firebombed Pop's, they also blew up Archie's house. While Toni understands Fangs' impulse to attack, she reminds him that they have baby Anthony to consider. She has intel that the Ghoulies have a new leader from Chicago by the name of Twyla Twyst. Toni wants to call her in for a sit down to prevent a war from erupting.
Cheryl burns reversing candles
Cheryl is attempting to nullify Abigail's curse by burning reversing candles made from beeswax. As the candles burn down, the curse melts away. Britta questions if they now believe in magic and curses. Cheryl replies that she believes there was once a time when magic and superstition were a part of the daily fabric of their lives. And given recent events, she believes a new Age of Wonderment is upon them.
Archie checks in on Betty at the hospital. Aside from a couple cracked ribs, Betty is perfectly fine. Archie shielded her. Despite the story they told Alice and Frank, Archie and Betty were actually in the room when the bomb went off. Archie pulled Betty in tight and shielded her with his body, but he's not sure how either of them are alive.
Cheryl threatens Nana Rose
Cheryl confronts Nana Rose and Britta after someone blew out her reversing candles. Britta claims that she's innocent, while Rose, on the other hand, claims it was the night breeze. Cheryl suspects it was her grandma and warns Nana Rose against ever touching her altar again.
On her way out of the hospital with her mother, Betty notices a strange red aura around an orderly named Trevor.
Jughead's hearing is getting worse, to the point where he can barely even hear Tabitha speaking across from him at the table. He then gets a call from the Wall Beat Journal, who want to run his article nationally, as they too have been trying to take down Hiram Lodge.
Veronica offers to help
Veronica presumes the bombing at Archie's was her father's doing, which Betty suspects as well. At least now, the FBI is making Hiram's capture an immediate priority, which Veronica seeks to help with by reaching out to Hermosa to get information on her father to help bring him in.
Archie is lifting weights at the community center and discovers that he's gone from 165 lbs to 193 lbs in the span of a week.
Alice tells Betty about the dead nurse
Alice gets a call from RIVW, and apparently, a nurse was killed at Riverdale General. Her throat was slit and the body was left in a dumpster.
Veronica informs Hermosa that their father blew up Archie's house, which has sparked a nationwide manhunt. She advises Hermosa to help her, help the FBI. Ensuring that she would first be granted immunity, Hermosa asks for a few hours to look into their father's whereabouts.
Betty asks Agent Lin to look into Trevor
Betty and Glen report that as of two days ago, Hiram is now on the FBI's most wanted list. Betty then asks for Agent Lin's help with looking into something separate from Hiram's case. After a nurse was murdered at Riverdale General, Betty asks her to check out an orderly named Trevor.
Reggie just got done talking to his dad about stepping back from the dealership so that he and Veronica can work on the casino. But at the moment, Veronica is going through all the intel she has about her father's criminal empire; furthermore, after giving it some thought, she no longer wishes to see her father apprehended, she'd rather see him dead and has reached out to the underworld to place a bounty on his head. No matter what he's done, Reggie reminds Veronica that Hiram is still her dad, but her mind is made up.
Glen's aura
Glen returns to the FBI field office drunk and makes a move on Betty. Just like with the orderly at Riverdale General, a red aura forms around Glen as he tries to force himself on to Betty. She punches him in the face before leaving
Mary arrives in Riverdale to see what remains of the house. She is completely distraught and cries over the thought of Archie dying in the explosion. When she begins to question how he even made it out alive, she comes to the conclusion that Archie and Betty were saved by Fred, who was looking out for them.
Veronica meets with a Russian Assassin by the name of Anatol. She hands him a folder of information about her dad and reveals that the bounty on her father is for $2,000,000. Veronica then gets a call from Reggie, who reveals that his dad just had a heart attack and is at the hospital.
Toni and Fangs meet with Twyla
As planned, Toni and Fangs meet with the new Ghoulies leader, Twyla, to propose a cease fire. With Hiram gone and the feds tracking him down, there's no one funding their crew. However, Twyla reveals that before Hiram left town, he made them a deal — as long as they keep doing what he asks, he'll make a monthly deposit into a private account for them. In exchange for his payment, all they have to do is destroy Riverdale and kill Archie. Twyla only took this meeting out of courtesy and to see what threat the Serpents pose. From the looks of it, they're not much of a threat at all. Angered by her insults, Toni tells her to leave.
Archie has powers
While cleaning up the rubble at the house, Archie's shirt is snagged on an exposed nail, but he is otherwise unharmed, leading Archie to suspect that he may have developed some kind of enhanced durability or invulnerability, so he tests out this theory and uses the palm of his hand to push an exposed nail from a piece of wood without suffering any damage to his hand. He then proceeds to completely obliterate a door frame with little difficulty. Shortly after making this discovery, Archie gets word from Toni and Fangs that the Ghoulies are coming after him, after having made a deal with Hiram. They advise Archie to leave town, but he has no intentions of leaving and asks if the Ghoulies are still held up by the docks, which they are. However, neither Archie nor Toni and Fangs have the firepower to go against them. They'll need to call reinforcements first, which is why they've taken the liberty of calling FP.
Cheryl and Britta discover that her reversing candles have been blown out once more.
Betty learns the truth about Trevor
Agent Lin informs Betty that her instincts about Trevor, the orderly, were spot on. Trevor Collins has a sketchy employment history. He's worked at multiple hospitals around the country and always seems to leave after a few months. Sometimes he quits, other times he's fired. He's spent some time in juvie and did six months at Shankshaw Prison for drug possession, leading Betty to questions if perhaps there's been any in-house thefts at the hospital. On a separate note, Agent Lin reveals to Betty that while they were working out this morning, Glen claimed that he and Betty hooked up and that she accidentally elbowed him in the nose.
Archie goes down to the docks and confronts Twyla and the Ghoulies by himself. He asks which one of them put a bomb under his bed before initiating a fight.
Hiram is dead
Veronica joins Reggie at the hospital as he watches over his ill father. What bothers Reggie the most is that they were finally in a good place. He hoped they would have more time. With Reggie planning to stay the night, Veronica returns home to call Anatol and call off the bounty, but before she can, he reveals that her father is already dead and e-mails her a photo as proof of his demise.
Archie returns to the community center covered in blood, but it's not his blood, rather that of the Ghoulies. He assures Betty that he's fine, and she asks for his help.
Tabitha notices that something is off with Jughead when he doesn't respond to a customer asking for coffee. She pulls him to the side, and he reluctantly reveals that the explosion messed up his hearing, and he's afraid it's getting worse.
Trevor's aura
Betty confronts Trevor at Riverdale General. She first asks why he was fired from St. Michael's Hospital eight months ago. He begins stammering as the red aura manifests around him. But Betty already knows the truth. He was caught stealing from the pharmacy, and she suspects that he killed the nurse for that exact same reason, because she caught him red-handed. Trevor pulls out a scalpel, but Archie restrains him from behind and warns him against making any sudden moves.
Archie and Betty both have powers
Betty reveals to Archie that since the explosion, she has begun to see people's energy. If it's threatening, a red aura appears around them. Archie then reveals a secret of his own, stabbing himself in the hand with a scalpel, only for the blade to break. Archie is getting heaving, denser, and invulnerable. He's afraid he might hurt people, especially Betty, but she isn't worried. Betty reminds Archie that she can see threatening aura, as she saw with Trevor and Glen, who Betty reveals she had a brief fling with back in Quantico. But last night, he got drunk and handsy with her, but Betty assures Archie she handled it and tells him that he doesn't have to be afraid of hurting her.
Britta is possessed by Abigail
Cheryl catches Britta in the act as she's blowing out her reversing candles, only it's not Britta, it's Abigail, who has possessed the young girl.
Cheryl reveals to Nana Rose that she caught Britta blowing out the candles on her altar and that she's possessed by Abigail. Nana Rose suspects that the spirit could've entered her body when Cheryl invoked the curse, and now, it would seem Abigail controls her body at night. To free Britta, they have to perform a banishment.
Percival Pickens arrives in Riverdale
Archie and Marry receive an unexpected visit from Percival Pickens, who is new in town and is looking for a house. He asks if they're interested in selling. While Mary is, Archie isn't. He leaves his card in hopes that they will reconsider his offer.
Betty informs Glen that per her conversation with Director Wilcox, all the male agents have been reassigned, including Glen, who is also now the subject of an FBI harassment investigation.
Jughead is almost completely deaf
Tabitha waits in the waiting room as Jughead is checked out. Unfortunately, he is 98% deaf in his left ear and 87% deaf in his right ear. Tabitha embraces Jughead and tells him that they're going to get through this together.
Archie and Mary grab a bite to eat at the Whyte Wyrm to discuss her selling the house to Archie. Between the money he has saved up from the army and his college fund, it should be enough, and he would like his mother's blessing.
Veronica is sitting on the couch, crying about her father, when Reggie returns to reveal that his dad is doing much better. He was just overly stressed and will make a full recovery. He then asks Veronica if she's okay. She claims that she is, and that she called off the bounty on her father.
Abigail is banished
Cheryl and Nana Rose have restrained Abigail to a chair to perform the banishment. As this unfolds, Abigail recalls her initial burning at the stake all those years ago and screams that "It burns!" The wind blows the windows open and Britta regains consciousness and control of her body. Meanwhile, in her hand, Nana Rose holds Cheryl's iconic spider broach.
Toni gets a call from Twyla, who declares war against the Serpents after Archie attacked her men. Toni insists they didn't do anything, but Twyla isn't convinced. She thought that Toni's days of starting wars were over now that she's a mother, but now she knows that nothing is off the table. Toni hangs up and informs Fangs that the Ghoulies have declared war.
Archie gets off the elevator and attacks Glen at the field office after learning he harassed Betty.
Abigail possesses Cheryl
It would appear that Cheryl is now blowing out her own reversing candles. However, as it turns out, Abigial has taken possession of her body with assistance from Nana Rose, who apologizes for the temporary misplacement of her soul in Britta. But thanks to the incantation she was murmuring during the banishment, Abigail is now in full control of Cheryl.
Kevin postpones his trip to NYC to watch over baby Anthony now that the Ghoulies have waged war against the Serpents. Kevin promises Toni and Fangs that he'll guard Anthony with his life. Meanwhile, Mary gives her blessing and sells the house to Archie.
Veronica gets a call from Hermosa, who has learned of their father's death. Hermosa warns Veronica to watch her back, as she's now a marked woman.
Archie and Betty kiss
Archie and Betty finish their talk from earlier, regarding their manifesting powers that were triggered by the explosion. Whatever it is they're dealing with, Betty wants to handle it together. Initially reluctant, in fear that he would be holding Betty back, Archie concedes. Just as they begin to kiss, Archie gets a call from the vet, who reveals that all four of Bingo's legs have healed in a matter of three days.
Glen exits Pop's and gets into his car, where the Trash Bag Killer awaits. He tells Glen that he shouldn't have disrespected Betty, before placing a bag over his head and suffocating him.
Cast[]
Starring[]
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Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
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Soundtrack[]
- Festival - Bind Us All
Trivia[]
- Archie's invulnerability and enhanced strength are two powers that he shares with his superhero alter-ego from the Archie Comics, Pureheart the Powerful.
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
Screencaps[]
Videos[]
