Riverdale Season 4 Episode 2 Review: Fast Times at Riverdale High
Justin Carreiro
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Jughead Jones: a prep school student? It seems to be.
For the third time this series, Jughead has changed schools on Riverdale Season 4 Episode 2. He's heading to the prestigious Stonewall Prep to let his writing abilities flourish. It all sounds so perfect and a great opportunity.
Though, this is Riverdale, after all. Drama is just waiting in the wings ready to strike.
Mr. Chipping, the intelligent and handsome professor at Stonewall Prep, gave Jughead a once in a lifetime opportunity that he should've jumped on right away. People dream of getting a scholarship to a great school. Jughead, on the other hand, seemed indifferent to it all.
Sure, he didn't want to get his hopes up and he was being realistic about it all. But come on, Jughead fit right in with the school.
Seeing him put Brett and the rest of the group in their places with one under-his-breath observation was the perfect mic drop moment. Jughead can compete with the best of them. He's going to do great things.
I'm glad that FP and Betty encouraged him to take the opportunity.
Did anyone get the vibe that Stonewall Prep is up to shady shenanigans?
FP's story about his father dropping out of school, and how his life went downhill after that, isn't something that we should ignore. That story is the definition of foreshadowing. Riverdale is handing us the Jughead plot on a platter.
There's probably a secret society or a hazing ritual that will put Jughead's life at risk. Plus, it's probably a longstanding ritual that has been going back for generations.
Whatever is happening at the school will no doubt be connected to his disappearance during spring break. If the story is heading in that direction, it will be exciting to learn how evil and how deep its connections go.
Riverdale Season 4 Episode 2 proved once again that Cheryl Blossom is the queen, and we are all merely peasants bowing under her greatness. She embraced her "full-blown Kill Bill red revenge screen" fantasy against her newest enemy, Mr. Honey.
If looks could kill, Mr. Honey would be as dead as Jason Blossom ... or Clifford Blossom ... or Claudius Blossom. (Yeah, Riverdale isn't kind to the Blossom men.)
Your name may be “Honey,” but I will always be the queen bee. You have no power over me.
Cheryl
[Cheryl hair-flips and walks away]
Once Mr. Honey canceled the back-to-school dance, Toni and Cheryl gave him the coldest death stare that could've brought on winter early. You knew they weren't going to let anyone stop them from holding a dance, especially the principal. Cheryl doesn't accept "no" when she has something in mind.
And while Mr. Honey had a valid reason for canceling (come on, there was a serial killer!), he exerted his power a little too seriously.
He's the new principal at Riverdale High. Canceling the traditional back-to-school dance destroyed any goodwill he wanted to build with the students. Now, he's become the enemy for everyone.
Cheryl's queen bee war against Mr. Honey is only getting started. There's no way he'll stop after the live honeycomb prank on his desk.
I'm not saying that he asked for it, but he overstepped his boundaries when he called the police about the party. He underestimated "Cheryl Margaret Blossom." (Still, it was strange that FP willingly gave over Mr. Honey's name to Cheryl. That's sloppy police work, Sheriff Jones.)
But, there's one foreshadowing piece that nagged me after Cheryl's speech: she made a promise about "taking his head" before spring.
With the spring break timing being a key piece for Riverdale Season 4, could this be a situation where Mr. Honey is murdered and someone has framed Cheryl? Foreshadowing lines like this shouldn't be ignored, and it has happened before.
I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Honey buzzes off before the season finale.
Marty Mantle has been a pain ever since he was introduced on Riverdale Season 3 Episode 4. He has placed too many expectations on Reggie, and he's shown time again that he's an aggressive man who does shady things.
Plus, his constant shouting during every football practice got super annoying fast. Does he not have a day job?
Related: Riverdale Round Table: The Season 4 Wishlist
Archie finally standing up for Reggie was a beautiful scene that needed to happen.
Reggie may be pompous at times, but he doesn't deserve the treatment from his dad. Someone needed to step in and speak out because Reggie would've continued putting on a brave face and dealing with the abuse in silence. And, he would've lashed out at people, like how he treated Monroe ("Mad Dog").
Now, Reggie knows that he has Archie and Veronica by his side whenever he needs to talk.
The problem, however, is that Riverdale tried to wrap this storyline up in a bow after Reggie destroyed his father's car.
Based on Reggie's conversation, he said that he talked it out with his dad and they're moving forward. Change doesn't come that quickly, and Marty Mantle showed a consistent trend of abuse for over a decade. Destroying a car might be the trigger to get help, but it doesn't solve the issue.
Hopefully, Riverdale approaches this plot again in the future and provides an update on his situation. This ended a little too neatly and abruptly.
Reggie shared a deep truth to Archie about his wishes for a close bond with his dad. Let's see if Marty will change for his son and family.
Veronica's situation is similar to Jughead's predicament during Riverdale Season 1 Episode 13, but on a grander scale with the media. She's getting hounded and talked about because of the actions of her parents.
And, of course, Mr. Honey had to offer the cliche "Wouldn't it be better for you to leave school until your personal drama dies down?" trope. (Been there, done that.)
Related: All American Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Speak Ya Clout
The difference, in this case, was that Veronica took the drama head-on. She embraced her boss attitude and controlled the narrative after getting tired of being followed. It's this version of Veronica that is so beloved; we need leader/confident Veronica to always stick around because she commands a room and goes full queen.
People would be afraid to test her.
Of course, Hiram had to be the one to spill the truth about Veronica to the tabloids. For someone who talks big and plays big business, he sure acted like a petty child. Shouldn't game respect game, Hiram?
Veronica seizing the narrative and manipulating it toward Hiram was a genius move. What she said was the truth, but she massaged the wording to suit her goals. Hiram could try to disprove it, but as he said, the words just showed the world the true person.
Hiram: Oh, are you receiving some blowback from lying through your teeth to get me arrested? How unfortunate.
Veronica: Why did you leak the story? Was it a desperate ploy to get me to come see you?
Hiram: Miha, I’m not paying for your crimes. I merely told the truth. I told the world what you are: a “Lodge,” through and through. Deal with it.
My only gripe, however, is the "All That Jazz" number from Chicago at La Bonne Nuit. We didn't need this musical number.
Camila Mendes is a great singer and Madelaine Petsch/Vanessa Morgan are great dancers, but the song came from left-field to boost a scene that didn't need to be helped; it was strong on its own. And the Chicago reference was picked up on. This is peak #RiverdaleRandomness, which has been established so well.
At least with Josie, her songs were expected since she was the lounge singer and her plots tended to be about singing. Could this be how Riverdale fills the void with her leaving?
Betty is more forgiving than she needed to be about the Kevin situation.
After everything he did to her, and how unrelentingly spiteful he was, she had no reason to forgive him. He dug his hole and caused all the trouble, even after Betty tried plenty of times to save her best friend.
Charles: You betrayed Betty after she gave you a chance.
Kevin: Yeah, I wasn’t thinking clearly. I just wanted to see Fangs.
Charles: No, no, you wanted to trade information, so you could get back in the good graces of The Farm.
Kevin: No!
Charles: You’re still one of them.
Kevin: I’m not! I swear I’m not a part of anything. And you, Betty, you ignored me all summer. I understand, but I was alone. At least Fangs texted me back! He’s all I have!
As callous as that may be, Kevin went full villain during Riverdale Season 3. He's only repentant now that The Farm abandoned him; it would've been a different tune had he left with them.
It's sad to see him in so much pain, especially being alone without his boyfriend and his friends. However, he's going to have to do a lot more to earn back everyone's trust. Working as the informant for Betty and Charles will be a good first step.
However, I can't shake the feeling that he will betray Betty and Charles in the future. He got Edgar's whereabouts a little too easily.
The lie involving Penelope Blossom doesn't sound strong enough to win over Fangs. The truth about Alice, on the other hand, would get him back in The Farm's good graces. All he wants is Fangs, so it's a tempting offer.
We shouldn't be surprised if the whole ambush on The Farm turns out to be ruse caused by Kevin.
Last Thoughts From Sweetwater River:
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Someone is bound to find Jason's body in Cheryl's house soon. People are getting closer and closer to walking into the chapel.
- Monroe will do amazingly on the football team. He could get a scholarship from the way he's playing.
Jughead: Hey, you Forsythe?
Jughead: Yea.
Brett: Brett Weston Wallis. Mr. Chipping asked me to roll out the red carpet.
[Brett shakes hands with Jughead]
Jughead: You can just call me Jughead.
Brett: I prefer Forsythe. Who’s your friend?
Betty: Betty Cooper.
[Brett shakes hands with Betty and eyes her up and down]
Brett: Cute. Very … Sweet Valley High.
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If Fangs truly cared about Kevin, he would've wanted to see him sooner. Kevin deserves better than a boy playing with his mind.
- Was Brett flirting with Betty or being condescending? Or both?
Now, over to you, Riverdale fans!
What did you think of "Chapter Fifty-Nine: Fast Times at Riverdale High"?
Are the troubles truly over between Marty and Reggie? Will Mr. Honey strike back against Cheryl? Is Stonewall Prep connected to Jughead's future disappearance?
If you missed the latest episode of Riverdale, you can watch Riverdale online via TV Fanatic. Come back here and share your thoughts in the comments.
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Justin Carreiro was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
