Secrets don't always stay buried, but when you have FP Jones on your side, they'll definitely disappear. At least he learned his lesson from the last time. (I'm looking at you, Jason Blossom.)

Riverdale Season 2 Episode 13 had a new dead body lurking around that could've caused some serious drama.

Luckily for the group (and unfortunately for us), the mystery quickly washed away in a batch of chemicals and a game of phone tag.

We shouldn't be surprised that Chic killed the man. We already knew that something was off about him and the man was there to visit him, after all. Still, it was a huge missed opportunity for Alice not to be the killer.

That would've opened up more doors to the plot and explored new topics of Alice killing for someone else. Chic being the killer followed the standard progression of the plot. It was obvious, and a tad boring.

Hopefully, the next part of the plot won't be as generic as this reveal.

I loved how Betty and Alice coped with the trauma of this murder. Betty indeed is her mother's daughter. She jumped right into cleaning mode and did whatever she could to hide the body.

Though, between the two, I preferred Betty's storyline of remorse and investigation. Alice pretending like nothing happened fit her character's personality perfectly, but Betty's plot had a great, full circle plot direction.

She didn't simply sweep this murder under the rug; she felt the pain of what she did and wanted to learn more about the man her brother killed.

Still, it was not her brightest move to steal the phone and fold up the rug with her bare hands. Anyone who has ever seen a forensics or cop show knows that everything can be traced. Her actions would've traced the dead body back to her.

She needed to be less Nancy Drew and more CSI.

Betty: You lied to us! That shady guy wasn’t one of your customers, he was a drug dealer. It’s all in here, hundreds of messages from junkies looking for a fix, including one from Chic the night of.
[She shows the phone]
Alice: Betty, why in God’s name would you go back there?
Betty: To make sure in broad daylight that no one could see him from the trail.
Alice: Okay, give that back to me before someone tracks that back to the house.
Betty: No, Mom, I already turned off the GPS and you’re missing the whole point here. Chic lied to us about the shady guy. What else is he lying about, huh?
[Chic stars crying]
Betty: Excuse me? Are you kidding me?! NO ONE is buying the waterworks!
Alice: That’s enough, Elizabeth.

• Permalink: NO ONE is buying the waterworks!

Would you have told Jughead about the dead body? If we ignore everything that happened after the fact, just the idea of telling someone. Would you have done the same?

I understand why Betty told her boyfriend. She was wracked with guilt and needed to come clean to someone. However, she was lucky it was Jughead because if she had told the wrong person, things could've gone terribly wrong for her.

And, if it had been Archie or Cheryl, things could've turned from bad to worse.

FP saving the day was an excellent full circle moment for his character. He did the one thing he swore he wouldn't do again (i.e., hiding a body), but he did it to help his son and the people he cared about. That was a big show of support from him.

It also confirmed that he and Alice had a romantic past. Their hands sealed any doubt in the rumor mill: Chic has to be FP's son. There's no way Hal is Chic's father.

FP: It’s done.
Jughead: Jeez, Dad, you reek.
FP: It’s sodium-hydroxide. In a week there will be nothing left...nothing but his teeth.
[He grabs Alice’s hand]
Alice: Thank you, FP. I’m sorry for involving Betty, and that she pulled Jughead into this.
FP: We take care of our own. The circle ends here. No more loose ends.

• Permalink: The circle ends here. No more loose ends.

Speaking of Chic, I don't trust him. He may be handsome with a chiseled jawline for days, but you can't trust a man with a creepy smile like that. That is a red flag we can't ignore.

I don't buy for a second anymore that the attack was spontaneous. He was texting with the drug dealer and knew something was going on; he barely even reacted when Betty confronted him with the truth. He is playing a masterfully manipulative game, and Alice is entirely under his thumb.

The person who should be worried next is Hal.

Hal looks like he will be Chic's next target, and, from the way he killed the drug dealer, it could be a gruesome act.

I'm starting to believe the fan theory that Chic might be the REAL Black Hood. All the signs are coming together.

Cheryl coming to Betty's aid was a surprisingly sweet side to her we don't see often. She's usually throwing barbs or snide comments to her frenemies. Though, she seemed genuinely concerned about her and wanted to talk it out.

I liked that she told Betty what Hal was doing with Penelope.

If she had kept the secret, she would've been condoning what her mother was doing with Hal, and it's been established before that Cheryl was against it. That move fit her character's personality perfectly, and because of it, we got a lot of great visual scenes with Cheryl.

Cheryl: Back so soon, Mr. Cooper?
Hal: Cheryl, what are you doing there sitting in the dark?
Cheryl: Do you know my mother is a harlot, don’t you? A modern day ‘Mofflanders’?
[She gets up from her chair]
Cheryl: What you’re doing could destroy your family. That’s why I’m not going to tell Betty, but I suggest you hurry home to your wife and daughter before I change my mind.

• Permalink: Back so soon, Mr. Cooper?

My favorites are tied between Cheryl shooting the arrow, and Cheryl sitting in the armchair waiting for Hal. Being framed by the moonlight and tapping her nails when Hal arrived had a great undertone of menace and malice. She was ready to hurt Hal if he didn't make the right move.

I'm on the fence about Veronica's actions. Her heart was in the right place, and she wanted to achieve her goals through diplomacy instead of threats, but she was also playing with fire.

Things could've gone badly with the meeting between Hiram, FP, and Jughead. Mayor McCoy could've also retaliated knowing that Hiram and Hermione were ready to strike at her first; she could've come clean about the affair and done something drastic. That's all hypothetical, but it's the reality of the situation.

Her parents are criminal masterminds who don't like losing. Veronica delivered two failed attempts and lied to them within the same day.

On top of that, Veronica had shown that she might not be trustworthy. And, from what we saw between Hermione and Archie, the Lodges value trust. She's lucky that she's their daughter.

Did you believe for a second that Agent Adams was FBI?

It's been a heated debate among fans for a while now. I was even questioning the validity of this plot at times, but I kept somewhere in the middle because it sometimes seemed plausible. I should've followed my gut and not trusted anything.

First off, regardless of connections or not, Archie is 16 years old, and the FBI would've needed to contact a guardian; in this case, it would've been his mother. If something terrible happened to Archie, the department would've had a field day with bad press. Also, Agent Adams was acting too strangely for an FBI agent, and he dressed like an investigator from a Dick Tracy comic.

(If you've never heard of Dick Tracy before, I recommend reading up on him. It's a perfect opportunity to learn about new comic strips.)

I'm happy this plot turned out to be a red herring.

Agent Adams was a frustratingly annoying character who kept popping up at the worst times. Plus, he would conduct his "secret" rendezvous moments with Archie in broad daylight. Did he want to get caught? Riverdale is a small town!

Thankfully, this should be the last we see of him.

I have so many questions about the cliffhanger twist with Hermione.

Recently, I had the chance to chat with Marisol Nichols about Riverdale Season 2 Episode 13 and her character. She had teased that something big was happening with the business and Hermoine; she said she loved what was coming up.

The reveal explained everything.

For a second, I thought she was Hiram's assassin and killed Papa Poutine herself. I also thought she would be involved in the murder of Mayor McCoy. I didn't predict this, and I'm pleasantly surprised. Though...

Does this mean Hermione is the real person in charge and not Hiram? Are they both leading the group? Is she going rogue? Was everything from Riverdale Season 1 just an act? Is Hiram secretly the good guy?

So many questions with so few answers available.

Archie: Mrs. Lodge, I...would never ever do anything to betray your family. I swear.
Hermione: So you’ve proven to me these last few weeks. Hiram and I, unbeknownst to our daughter, enlisted one of our closest associates to approach you, say he was an FBI agent investigating Hiram. Agent Adams isn’t real. He works for me. One of my capos. I asked him to apply a lot of pressure to you, threaten your father even. See if you would crack.
Archie: Wait, this whole thing, it was all some kind of test?
Hermione: Yes, it was...and you passed. Welcome to the family, Archie.

• Permalink: Welcome to the family, Archie.

What did you think of "Chapter Twenty-Six: The Tell-Tale Heart"? Will Chic succeed in hurting Hal? Did the group truly cover-up the dead body?

If you missed the latest episode of Riverdale, you can watch Riverdale online via TV Fanatic. Come back here and let us know what you think.

Justin Carreiro was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.