| “ | After a brief hiatus, Riverdale's Watcher in the 'burbs had released his much-anticipated follow up. In the dead of night, a second round of voyeuristic videotapes had been left on doorsteps across town. Once again, VCRs were dusted off with dread. And once again, they played hours upon hours of footage of the viewers' home. Only this time, the camera was much, much closer. The implications were terrifying. What was next for the Watcher? Breaking and entering? And as if those deliveries weren't unsettling enough, colleges and universities had started sending out their first wave of envelopes. Some thin, some thick. All life-changing. Making it a particularly stressful time for Riverdale High seniors. Which is why Principal Honey asked the school's guidance counselor, Mrs. Burble, to offer extended office hours. So whatever anxiety the students were feeling, they'd have a licensed professional to go to for confidential comfort and/or advice. Something, it turned out, many of us were long overdue for. | ” |
— Jughead
| ||
"Chapter Sixty-Five: In Treatment" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of Riverdale, and the sixty-fifth episode of the series overall.[2] It premiered on December 4, 2019.
Synopsis[]
GINA TORRES GUEST STARS AS RIVERDALE HIGH'S GUIDANCE COUNSELOR — As residents across Riverdale begin receiving more mysterious videotapes on their doorsteps, the seniors of Riverdale High eagerly await their college decision letters. Concerned that the stress may be getting to them, Mrs. Burble, the school's guidance counselor, meets with Betty, Archie, Veronica, Cheryl and Jughead to discuss what's plaguing them.[2]
Plot[]
FP discovers another tape
After a brief hiatus, a second round of video tapes are left on the residents of Riverdale’s doorsteps. FP, Veronica, Archie, and Mary watch the videos from their respective homes. Just like before, they played hours of footage of the viewers’ home. Only this time, the camera was much closer. Also, colleges and universities had started sending out their first wave of envelopes. Making it a stressful time for seniors. And so Principal Honey asks the guidance counselor, Mrs. Burble, to extend her office hours.
Alice confronts Betty after reading her mail and discovering that she was rejected by Yale. Concerned with where Betty attention lies, Alice searched her bedroom and discovered birth control pills. Betty refuses to put up with her mother’s overbearing behavior any longer and informs her that they’re no longer on speaking terms.
Betty seeks guidance from Mrs. Burble
Following the fall out with her mother, Betty visits Mrs. Burble to discuss her problems. Before they can start, Alice interrupts, though she claims she’s there for insight on how to talk to Betty, who points out her mother’s control complex and overreactions. Alice argues that Betty was rejected from college because she’s too preoccupied with having sex, leaving Mrs. Burble to question if shortcomings is what Alice associates with sexuality. Alice claims that it is Betty who needs an intervention for the disregard for her future. After hearing Alice and Betty go back and forth, Mrs. Burble invites Alice to sit down with them.
Alice exclaims she loves Betty the most
Betty admits to hiding things from her mother, however, she feels her mother keeps a lot more hidden from her, such as joining the Farm, not telling her about Charles being alive and working for the FBI. Alice claims that everything she’s kept hidden from Betty was done to protect her. Giving away her college fund however was not intended, though admittedly, Alice was under the Farm’s influence. Adding onto the list of things that she was lied to about, Betty mentions her having the serial killer gene and Polly being committed into the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, where Betty was also committed and force-fed drugs. Betty explains that she started taking birth control because she didn’t want to end up like her mother and sister. Pregnant at 16 and married to a psychopath. Betty fine taking care of herself when Alice abandoned her for the Farm, yet her mother continues to treat her like a child. Alice still perceives Betty as a child, and the things she has written in her diary only heightens Alice’s concern for her. Betty demands that Alice stop invading her privacy and accept that she’s an adult. Mrs. Burble concludes that Betty’s education, her relationship, and behavior, make Alice afraid that she’s growing up. Alice tearfully explains that she’s afraid of losing Betty like she lost Charles and Polly. Betty questions why she’s been the target of her mother’s overwhelming affection. Alice unintentionally reveals that it’s because she loves Betty most.
Mrs. Burble asks Archie how he's dealing with his father's death
Archie falls asleep in class. Kevin attempts to wake him up, but fails to do so, and Archie is sent to the guidance counselor’s office, where he shares with Mrs. Burble that he’s been having trouble sleeping. Archie hasn’t applied to any colleges, and she wonders why. Archie believes that he’s needed in Riverdale to clean up the town. Like his dad would’ve. She asks how Archie is managing following his father’s death. Archie has been trying to carry on his legacy, starting with the community center for at risk kids. His attempt to save the town hasn’t come without failure, and it’s his job to fix it so that no one else gets hurt. Mrs. Burble reveals to Archie that if he admits to a crime or tells her that he’s putting himself or anyone else in danger, she is required to report it. Archie insists that he’s fine. However, he’s missed a lot of football, and she can’t help but notice the cuts and bruises on Archie’s hands.
Archie's hurting inside
Archie reveals that he goes out at night in a mask and helps people. He also stops people like Dodger Dickenson and his means of doing business by using kids. She questions who protects a vigilante while he protects the town as the hero tends to suffer a great tragedy and create their persona out of rage. She believes this resonates with Archie. With all the terrible things that has happened to Archie and his loved ones, he can’t help but feel angry. He also hurts all the time, and all he wants to do is ensure that no one else feels that pain, but he got found out, and as a result, his mother almost got killed in a drive-by. She was also held at gunpoint during Thanksgiving. Archie questions just how he’s supposed to clean up the town and protect his friends and family if he’s putting them in the cross-hairs. Mrs. Burble notes that the behavior Archie’s discussing sounds like an addiction. She advises that he stick with running the community center rather than chasing bad guys down in the streets. She even offers to volunteer at his community center. She also suggests that Archie start a tip-line to give him further reach.
Archie returns home and tells his mom that while he doesn’t want to give up on his work on the community center, he doesn’t want to continue to put her life in danger either. So, he’s moving out and into the center until Dodger is captured. Archie moves into the community center as planned. He makes a tip-line recording, as suggested by Mrs. Burble. He then throws his black mask away.
Cheryl is in danger of losing the Vixens
While in the student lounge with Toni, Cheryl is called to Principal Honey’s office, where they discuss her attendance. She’s missed 26 days. Mr. Honey has failed to account for the numerous deaths in her family. Not to mention her mother disappeared. She’s also raising twin toddlers, and she’s the sole caregiver for her Nana Rose. It is for those reasons that Honey has decided to put a certified adult in charge of the cheerleading squad. He’ll allow Mrs. Burble to interview Cheryl and make a recommendation, but if she deems Cheryl unfit, then she’ll be removed as captain.
Cheryl meets with Mrs. Burble to protect her status with the Vixens
Cheryl reluctantly attends a guidance sessions with Mrs. Burble. She asks if Cheryl has seen professional help regarding everything she’s endured; her mother’s abuse, her brother’s murder, her father’s suicide, her time in conversion therapy, the Farm, and her near death experience at Sweetwater River, which Cheryl insist was an accident. Mrs. Burble is amazed at how resilient Cheryl is given the lifetime of trauma she has endured. She wonders how Cheryl’s been coping. Cheryl reveals that she talks to Jason corpse, and he answers her back. She’s admittedly lost her mind and doesn’t know when it happened. Mrs. Burble assures Cheryl’s that she's not crazy. She simply misses her bother. While that may be so, it doesn’t explain the hauntings in Thistlehouse. She’s being haunted by her other brother Julian, whose resurfaced as a doll after Cheryl consumed him in the womb and is tormenting her at home. No matter what she does, he keeps coming back.
Cheryl thinks she's going crazy
Mrs. Burble doesn’t believe that Cheryl is crazy nor does she believes she’s being haunted. She suspects that someone is trying to make Cheryl think she’s going crazy. They can find out the truth about Julian’s existence with a swab or Cheryl’s saliva for a chimerism lab. A test that shows whether a person absorbed a fetus in the womb by analyzing if they have one set of DNA or two. Mrs. Burble guesses that Cheryl won’t test positive. She gives Cheryl the number of a doctor she knows that can perform the test. As for the Vixens, Mrs. Burble intends to recommend to Honey that he bring in a coach to supervise the Vixens while Cheryl focuses on herself. Cheryl grabs her HBIC shirt from her locker and screams into it.
Hiram encases his first bottle of Rum
Hiram places the first bottle of Lodge Rum that he ever produced in a glass case in his office, behind only Veronica and his diploma from Harvard, which Veronica applied early to, this is his greatest achievement.
Veronica runs out of class during Kevin’s presentation after getting a call from Dean Kingsley, who refers to Veronica as Ms. Luna. He wanted to give her a personal heads up that she’s been accepted into Harvard’s class of 2024. Veronica celebrate, jumping frantically in the hall. Unfortunately, her celebration is short-lived after realizing that her father sent the Dean a bottle of Rum and bought her way in.
Veronica reveals to Mrs. Burble that her dad has interfered with his college acceptance
Veronica sits down with Mrs. Burble. She congratulates Veronica on her acceptance into Harvard. It was her dream school until her father meddled into her affairs and apparently bought her way in. She’s infuriated because now she’ll never know if she can do it on her own. And she doubts that her father did it out of the kindness of his heart. He did it to prove that he can control her. He’s done so repeatedly, with pretending to sell her two businesses and conning her into running them for him. Veronica also hasn’t forgiven how he lured Archie into crime and later tried to kill him. Not to mention he had Veronica’s mother arrested and brought his secret, illegitimate daughter to Riverdale to make Veronica jealous.
Veronica denies being obsessed with her father
Mrs. Burble questions if Veronica is in fact jealous of Hermosa. Veronica claims to despise her father, however, Mrs. Burble diagnoses what Veronica’s feeling as obsession. She and her father are obsessed with each other. Their connection goes far beyond that of the typical father-daughter relationship. He sees her as an extension of himself, which is why he’ll never entirely let Veronica go. And she sees him as her ideal future self. She’s a straight A student with two flourishing businesses, and early admittance to Harvard. He has instilled in Veronica a drive that is perhaps the reasons she’s so successful. Mrs. Burble has two diagnoses — The Oepidus and Electra complexes. Veronica’s locked in a constant battle for identity with her father. Driven by compulsive forces like love, sexuality, and obsession. She suggests that Veronica completely cut ties with her father. Despite Hiram’s interference, Mrs. Burble advises Veronica to say yes to Harvard, and no matter what, not to engage with her father on his terms. Veronica’s locked in a dance of death with her father, so Mrs. Burble’s last question is who’s leading?
Jughead is turned away by DuPont
Jughead arrives late to class. Mr. DuPont scolds Jughead not only for his tardiness, but for his lack of academic achievement. He was supposed to turn in pages this week and failed to do so. He also hasn’t applied to any colleges. While he can still apply for regular admission, DuPont doubts any teacher at Stonewall would write a letter of recommendation for him. He suggests that Jughead beg the indulgences of his former teachers at Riverdale High.
Mrs. Burble accuses Jughead of being insecure
Jughead attends a guidance session with Mrs. Burble while waiting for Ms. Bell to write his transcript. Mrs. Burble heard about Jughead’s teacher Mr. Chipping committing suicide. Jughead suspects that Chipping was murdered, coerced into doing so by DuPont and a few of the students because he’s on the cusps of bringing down their Baxter Brothers empire. His grandfather wrote the first book and DuPont stole it out from under him. And now, he’s got them competing to ghostwrite the next one. But Jughead no longer sees the purpose in competing as DuPont has a grudge against his family. Mrs. Burble accuses Jughead of having a persecution complex. She wonders if he’s afraid or insecure about his own talents as writer.
Jughead admits that he's been inconsiderate of his father's feelings
Jughead explains that this is about recognition and not letting DuPont steal his family’s achievement. Jughead’s grandfather could’ve been immensely rich. Instead, he was a drunk, who beat his father in a trailer. She suspects that Jughead’s intentions are to fulfill their expectations that he’s a bum then claim that they didn’t give him a chance, an easier path than beating them by being smarter. Jughead’s dad on the other hand, took a more difficult path. Now the Sheriff — he came from a poor household with an abusive father and did the work to transform himself. And sacrificed, so Jughead could succeed. And yet Jughead repays his father by going on this quest to prove that the man that caused his immeasurable pain is a wronged hero. She suggests that instead of lionizing his grandfather, that Jughead try seeing him through his father’s eyes. Jughead admits that Mrs. Burble is right, deciding to drop the conspiracy theories and just do his work. However, if he intends to see the mystery through of the Baxter Brothers novels, she warns him against falling back on conjecture or righteous anger.
Jughead hugs his father
Jughead goes home where he continues his version of the Baxter Brothers novel until FP arrives, whom he gives a hug. He tells his father that he loves him and how much he appreciates everything he’s done.
Betty returns home. Alice is in the kitchen cooking and ask for her help in setting the table. On the table sits Betty's mail, unopened, as well as a check for her college fund. She looks to her mom and tells her she loves her most.
Archie retrieves his black mask
Archie gets his first tip on the tip-line. It’s a young boy calling in from his apartment building at the north end of Sketch Alley. He thinks the man that lives down the hall is hitting his mom. Archie grabs his black mask from the trash can and a baseball bat.
Cheryl meets with Toni at Pop’s after getting back the results for her chimerism test. The reports reads negative, meaning that Cheryl isn’t haunted and that she didn’t consume Julian. However, there’s still the matter of the weird happenings in Thistlehouse. Mrs. Burble enlightened Cheryl that most likely someone is trying to drive her mad, though she’s yet to figure out who.
Veronica denounces her father
Hiram confronts Veronica after getting a call from Dean Kingsley that she turned down her acceptance into Harvard. She’ll be attending Yale instead. She refuses to allow her father to dictate her life any further. She’s finished living his version of her life. He’s not convinced that Veronica will be able to just walk away from him as she never has been before. Taking her guidance counselor’s advice, Veronica’s going to kill him in the battlefield that he cherish above all others — business. She’s going to take him down and be free of him once and for all. She proclaims her Rum will be far superior to that of her father’s, after having opened his first bottle and drank it.
Jughead and Betty uncover the deceased members of Quill and Skull
Betty reads Jughead’s version of the Baxter Brothers novel. She’s impressed. Not only has he caught up on his work, he’s done so with college applications as well. He then shows Betty an article he found from 2002. The headline reads "Novelist Theodore Weisel Drowns In Yatching Accident." He was in the Quill and Skull literary society with Jughead’s grandfather. Jughead tracked down all the original members, and Theodore is not the only one who suffered an accident. He pulls up another article from 1978 that reads "Children’s Author Jane Dallas Brown Dies In Automobile Accident." Another one from 1994 involving a jet crash. Alleged mechanical failure. DuPont and Jughead’s grandfather are the only members of the society not dead. Which begs the question are they all horrible, suspicious accidents or murders. In fear for Jughead’s life, Betty wants him to transfer from Stonewall Prep as he may be too close to uncovering something.
Flash forward — FP brings Archie, Betty, and Veronica in for a line up. Bret and Donna identify them as the three individuals they saw kill Jughead.
Cast[]
Starring[] |
Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
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Soundtrack[]
- The Nutmegs - Story Untold
- Scene: Cheryl shares the results of her chimerism test with Toni at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe.
Trivia[]
- The episode title is a reference to Rodrigo García's American HBO Drama of the same name.
- Veronica references King Lear, a fictional character in the written tragedy King Lear.
- Mrs. Burble references Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis.
- Cheryl references Ingrid Bergman, a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films.
- Jughead makes two references:
- Jay Gatsby — A fictional character in the 1925 tragedy novel the Great Gatsby.
- Holden Caulfield — A fictional character in the 1951 coming-of-age novel The Catcher in the Rye.
- FP picks up a newspaper with the headline “Carcosa Carnival Comes To Riverdale.” The carnival appears in Part 3 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
- Toni reads The Amityville Horror: A True Story (1977) by Jay Anson.
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
Screencaps[]
Videos[]
