"Riverdale"'s Creator Just Answered Your Most Pressing Questions About the Mid-Season Finale
Warning: Riverdale spoilers ahead.
Will an episode of Riverdale ever end without leaving us dumbstruck, on the floor, desperate for the next ep so we can begin to unravel the millions of questions we are left with? Honestly, prob not, because then it wouldn't be Riverdale, would it? So, it's no surprise that ep eight of the season left us in this same state, filled with millions of questions about the fate of our fave characters. Unfortunately, the show's been on a brief hiatus - but it's returning tonight!
As you count down the hours to the next episode, here's every loose end left from the mid-season finale, which I'll be thinking about until episode nine airs.
Why is everyone having seizures?
OK, seriously, what's up with those seizures? They seem to be contagious, affecting so many Riverdale students and even Penelope Blossom. Veronica thinks they connect back to Hiram, which they prob do because, let's be honest, everything that goes wrong in Riverdale is the man in black's fault. But how could Hiram be causing people to have seizures? That seems unbelievable, even for him.
What really is Hiram's plan?
We get a lot of info from Cheryl and Veronica's interrogation of Penelope (Hiram's turning Riverdale into a "place where we can all pursue our various enterprises unmolested," i.e. drug dealing and prostitution). Unfortunately, when Veronica asks for specifics and Penelope agrees to tell them, the scene flips and we never get back to Cheryl and V's questioning. So, what are the specifics of Hiram's plan? We will have to wait to see.
What's Going to happen to the Patients of Sisters of Quiet Mercy?
Ethel and Betty break out of the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, bringing dozens of other patients with them. So, where are all these poor boys and girls to go? Betty asks Alice if they can stay at the Cooper residence, but that doesn't seem too plausible. Also, Alice is barely stable enough to take care of her own daughter right now, let alone dozens of misplaced teens.
What's going to Happen to Archie?
After that super emotional scene between Archie and Fred (it's not a goodbye, it's a see ya later), Archie goes on his way, to the border specifically. But the border of what? Riverdale? America? The mysterious state in which Riverdale is located?
He's later seen trekking through the woods at night, which honestly seems super dangerous. So, where did he go? What will he do when he gets there? And will he ever come back to Riverdale?
Luckily, Riverdale's creator, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa revealed to Entertainment Weekly that Archie hasn't left Riverdale behind forever. "I will tell you, he does return to Riverdale. I don’t think Riverdale could exist too long without Archie." Of course, while he's gone, Veronica may have some fun of her own, namely with Reggie Mantle. In a teaser for the next episode, there's a shot of Camila and Charles embracing. So, will the IRL couple become an onscreen couple? According to Roberto...probably not.
"That’s definitely brewing," Roberto said to EW about a possible Veggie 'ship. "I will say though, in my mind, though Archie and Veronica had that tearful goodbye at the payphone, that was all circumstantial. Neither of them wanted to break up with the other. The question is: When those circumstances change, are they together or broken up? I would say to the Varchie fans, it ain’t over till the fat lady sings!"
What did Gladys Jones do to Penny Peabody?
Everyone's least favorite Riverdale character, Penny Peabody, paid us a visit in the mid-season finale, attacking Archie in an attempt to collect Hiram's bounty on Archie's head. Things don't go as planned for Penny (thanks to the badass Jellybean Jones), and Mama Jones is left to take out the trash.
So, what happened to Penny? The next time we see Gladys she's washing A LOT of blood off her hands and she seems pretty stressed in general. Later, she remarks, "I don't think we have to worry much about Penny anymore." OK, that was sinister af. So, we can all agree that Gladys killed Penny, right??
According to Roberto, that might be the case. "I can tell you we’re pretty deep into the rest of the season and there’s been no sign of Penny," he told EW. "So, the assumption is, since they’re living in a junkyard, Penny might have been dropped into one of those huge car compactors." Oh, wow.
What Exactly does Riverdale's Quarantine mean?
The mid-season finale ends with Riverdale being placed under quarantine under the directive of the Governor (once again, what state is Riverdale in?!) with help from Hiram and Mayor Hermione. Hiram most likely took this precaution so he could go through with his master plan without the threat of the outside world - keep it all in Riverdale, ya know? But, will Riverdale ever come out of this quarantine? And how will it affect the residences? Obviously, nothing good is going to come of this. As Jughead said at the end of the ep, it's "time for us to brace for a terrible impact."
Unsurprisingly, Roberto says that when we come back from the winter break, we're going to find "a very changed Riverdale." There's going to be a time jump, so the characters will have been living in the quarantined town for some time when we see them again.
"It’s almost like a town under occupation," Roberto told EW. "It’s very totalitarian. It’s very lawless. And there are a lot of people who are really scared. It’s about our forces of good kind of coming together to face the various threats."
Will Jughead and FP be allowed back in Riverdale?
When Riverdale goes into the state of quarantine, FP and Jughead are just getting home and they miss getting back into town before the border closes. At the border, the father/son pair is threatened by the police and told not to enter the town, despite their residence there. So, will the Jones boys ever be able to get back into Riverdale? And where will they wait out the quarantine? Also, Fred was helping Archie escape at the time, so is he also stuck outside of town? Bring back my boys, please!
Who is the Gargoyle king??
And, of course, the most burning question of all: Who is the Gargoyle King? We now know that the concept of the king was created at SOQM, in the mind of some patients, but who is the terrifying creature who is wrecking havoc on Riverdale and who seems to be literally everywhere. Is it Hiram? That's the obvious guess, but since he is seen sharing a drink with the King at the end of the ep, he's prob not the culprit. Either way. Hiram def has GK in his corner (who isn't he controlling?). So then who is the man (or woman) behind the mask? I can't take the suspense anymore.
Carolyn Twersky is the Editorial Fellow at Seventeen.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram!
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