Riverdale Round Table: The Farm's Dirty Little Secret
Justin Carreiro
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Archie fought Hiram in one final boxing match, Betty discovered The Farm's biggest secret, and Ethel revealed a shocking truth about The Gargoyle King on Riverdale Season 3 Episode 21.
Below, TV Fanatics Becca Newton, Kat Pettibone, and Brandon Vieira debate Veronica getting back together with Reggie, Polly working with Edgar to deceive Betty, and Hiram's big arrest.
Hiram got arrested in a sting held by Veronica, Archie, Mary, Reggie, and the FBI. Could this be what finally stops Hiram once and for all?
Becca: No. The best we can hope for is this wraps up Hiram's storyline for the season. Prison hasn't stopped Hiram before and won't stop him now, assuming he even gets sent to prison.
Kat: It's doubtful. As Becca said, the jail hasn't stopped Hiram before, so why would it stop him now? Hiram during Riverdale Season 3 feels relatively wrapped up, but he is way too popular of a character with the writers to be gone for good. It did feel nice to watch Veronica win for once, though.
Brandon: Unfortunately no. Unless Hiram's leaving Riverdale for good, this is just a stop gap in his neverending quest to rule the town. It was likely the last time we would see him for the remainder of the season as there are more important storylines to wrap up heading into the finale.
I've been done with all this Hiram nonsense for a very long time, and while I'd love for this to be his final stand, I'm afraid that isn't the case.
Polly pretended to be "Dark Betty" to manipulate and mess with Betty's mind as part of Edgar's therapy session. Does this mean Polly is involved in all the evil crimes of The Farm or is she getting manipulated too?
Becca: Both. Polly has been through her fair share of trauma, and Edgar exploited it. She has been under Edgar's care the longest, so understandably it would be harder for her to snap out of it compared to Cheryl.
However, as with Alice, I'm not giving Polly a free pass for her behavior. The Farm doesn't/can't override free will.
Polly got manipulated, but she also chooses to be complicit in The Farm's schemes. Does she know about absolutely everything The Farm does remain an open question, but what she already knows and is okay with is bad enough.
Kat: Whether Polly is fully involved with the Harvest Program hasn't totally been made clear yet. It's possible she isn't aware, but she has been with The Farm long enough to know the truth. Plus, involving herself with Betty's hypnosis feels as if she's in on the secret.
Regardless, it would be hard to redeem Polly at this point.
I understand she's been brainwashed, but what she did to Betty was fairly unforgivable. I'm hoping Alice is at least ignorant to what Edgar is doing; she's been coincidentally absent from any scenes that reveal information about the harvesting or abuse of Betty.
Brandon: I assume she's being manipulated, and since she's been with The Farm the longest, she's in way deeper. That being said, she's never sounded very grateful to Betty for all she's done for her so it wouldn't surprise me if she's actually just awful.
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If Betty finds it in herself to forgive Polly for her horrible actions, she has way too big a heart.
Reggie and Veronica got back together before Archie was able to profess his feelings for Veronica. Did Veronica settle with Reggie or will it last? Or, will the love triangle only get messy from here?
Becca: It's hard to say how long an Archie/Veronica/Reggie triangle will last because you never know which plots Riverdale will wrap up at the speed of light and which ones it drags out.
What is certain is Veronica/Reggie won't last because of Veronica's feeling for Archie. Poor Reggie, Veronica continues to treat him as someone it's convenient to be with as opposed to someone she's in love with.
Kat: I was convinced Veronica and Archie were going to reunite during Riverdale Season 3 Episode 20, so the twist of picking Reggie was genuinely confusing. It could go one of two ways: either Veronica was picking Reggie for the wrong reasons, or the two of them were lying about being together.
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Veronica chose her words carefully when discussing Reggie with Archie, and looked genuinely upset by her choice. Maybe if Archie has gotten there first, it would have been a different outcome?
Chances are she picked Reggie because he was the safer choice after everything with Hiram, and he told her he wanted to be with her "no matter what." Exactly what Archie didn't do.
Mary: So, you and Veronica are quite the dynamic duo. Are you?
Archie: I don’t know. Sometimes it feels like we’re going to get back together, but then...
Mary: Personally, I think you’re endgame.
Archie: Endgame?
Mary: Oh yeah, but it doesn’t really matter what I think. Maybe you should ask her what she thinks?
Archie broke up with Veronica while he was on the lamb and she felt abandoned. It could be Veronica feeling like she can't trust Archie anymore. Or, she's lying about being with Reggie. They had a heavy emphasis on "keeping up with appearances," so it could be a ruse.
By Riverdale Season 3 Episode 22, Veronica will probably admit she still loves Archie. T
he writers most likely wanted to wait to reunite them for the finale, so they used Reggie as a conflict to keep them apart. She'll give a speech about why she was hesitant to let Archie in her heart again, and how Reggie could "see she still loved Archie," so he broke up with her.
No matter how the chips fall, this storyline is officially terrible. It's horrible for Reggie no matter how you dice it unless "Veggie" stays together, which, let's be honest, won't happen. It makes Veronica look bad and forces Archie to suffer once again.
Brandon: I would love it if Riverdale invested time in this triangle in Riverdale Season 4. Veronica will inevitably pick Archie because "Varchie" seems to be endgame, but it would be nice to see Archie have to work for her affections.
A love triangle has been missing ever since Betty went off with Jughead, and it's high time a fully developed on is brought to the town of Riverdale.
The Farm has been harvesting organs from its followers. Share your thoughts of their dirty little secret.
Becca: I'm on board for this reveal based on having a group called The Farm harvesting organs alone. It's creepy, grisly, and makes The Farm more menacing. I'm glad Riverdale went for something besides yet another person running a drug empire.
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Kat: I am obsessed with this storyline. The Farm is the first mystery/antagonist I've enjoyed watching unfold since Riverdale Season 1.
Edgar Evernever is an enigma, and Chad Michael Murray is perfectly cast for the role. The idea of a mysterious cult leader hypnotizing his followers and selling their organs on the black market is twisted, but also feels like something that could happen in reality
Strangely, it feels more grounded than any other plotline we've seen so far. I don't know what I was expecting from the outcome of The Farm to be, but this wasn't it.
I hope they don't tie in The Gargoyle King or The Black Hood. Keep this plot pure and interesting!
Brandon: Ew! These people are so weird and gross, and I want them gone.
I don't understand these Farm people or their motives. This town needs cleansing because everyone's super messed up. This dirty little secret might be one of the most messed up things happening on Riverdale, and that's saying something.
Ethel said that The Gargoyle King is Jason Blossom. React!
Becca: The supernatural option is never the answer, which leaves us with Jason faked his death or someone is impersonating Jason. Impersonation has been a big theme this season, so I lean towards the imposter theory.
Kat: Listen, it seems fairly obvious The Gargoyle King is actually Chic with red hair, who has returned to wreak havoc on Riverdale and get even with Betty after Riverdale Season 2.
The writers always left that door open, so it makes sense he would be selling drugs, etc. However, I think Jason Blossom being The Gargoyle King would be far more interesting.
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What if he didn't die in the shed that night and killed Clifford instead? What if it was his masterful way of taking over the drug trade from his father, who was never going to let him do things his way?
Has The Gargoyle King ever even messed with Cheryl? Makes sense Jason wouldn't harm his sister, who he clearly loved. Plus, we'd get to hear Jason speak. What a treat!
Brandon: WTF? We're resurrecting the dead now? I really hope this isn't the case mainly because it would erase everything that happened during Riverdale Season 1, which was the show's best season.
His death was the catalyst for everything. Bringing him back would be next level ridiculous, which is something I've said multiple times about things that happen on Riverdale.
The Katy Keene spin-off has been greenlit by The CW. What lesson(s) do you want the new show to learn and apply from Riverdale?
Becca: Things I hope Katy Keene will avoid: retconning, too fast and too slow pacing, wasting characters, choosing the wrong characters for storylines, and thinking in terms of "wouldn't it be cool if a character did this" instead of "character does this because it makes sense for the character."
Things from Riverdale I hope Katy Keene will apply: a willingness to do its own thing and not be beholden to the comics or other previous depictions, not being afraid to defy the conventions of shows about teens/twenty-somethings, and not being afraid of going over the top and then some.
Kat: I hope the writers don't try and do too much at once. I hope they have a solid POV and stick with it cohesively.
Riverdale throws out too many loose ends they never tie up; things always end up thinly developed and messy. Give me character growth, stronger character dynamics/friendships between the main cast, and don't convolute storylines just for shock factor; it doesn't pay off.
I have faith in the show. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is excellent, after all.
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Brandon: Riverdale's biggest mistakes have always been its lack of developed and fleshed out characters and its inconsistent storylines.
Josie, who will be on Katy Keene, is a prime example of this. She hardly got any story, and for many periods, all we knew was that she could sing.
Katy Keene needs to ensure that the characters on their show are fully developed, like Betty and Jughead. They also need to ensure they tell stories without so many plotholes. Consistency is key to stand out from Riverdale.
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Justin Carreiro was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
