[Jughead] The week started like any other.
[clock ticking]
Who would've guessed where I'd be by the end?
["Someone Tonight" playing]
[alarm blaring]
[alarm stops]
♪ Lone passenger ♪
♪ Out on the road ♪
♪ With a million more miles to go ♪
[inaudible dialogue]
♪ An ache deep inside And wide as the sky ♪
Thank you for watching the center during the day, Ms. Moore.
I promise it's only temporary.
Hell, after you helped get my baby Munroe into Notre Dame, it's the least I can do.
I'll be back after school, once I've checked in on Andrews Construction.
A young man like you must have colleges knocking down your door.
How can I help you, Mr. Andrews?
Mr. Honey, I know it's late in the game,
but is there any way I can still apply to college?
The application period closed months ago.
And moreover, based on your grades from the past two years,
I have serious doubts about whether or not you'll graduate with your class.
Can I at least walk with my friends at the graduation ceremony?
I find the notion of an undeserving student being allowed
to walk with his peers,
without fulfilling the basic requirements to graduate, quite absurd.
It is dishonest, and it is a hollow gesture.
Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Andrews?
[Hermione squeals]
-Daddy, let me get that for you. -I got it. I don't need your help.
No, of course not. Which is why I'll never offer it to you again.
["Belong to You" playing]
What's up, Ronnie?
Good morning to you, too.
Less talking, more touching, Andrews.
♪ You ♪
♪ I belong to you ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ I belong to you ♪
Thanks for the early morning delight.
I'm not complaining, but what's the occasion?
As much as I loved visiting NYC, it reminded me of how...
little time we have left together.
We haven't really talked about what we're doing after graduation.
What are you saying, Ronnie?
I'm saying...
I don't really wanna think about the future right now.
I just wanna enjoy these last few months at Riverdale High with you.
And I wanna have fun.
Can we do that, Archie? Can we just have fun?
That's music to my ears.
You rang?
I won't mince words with you, Forsythe. You're out of Quill and Skull.
Why?
Because Betty broke into the sanctum sanctorum?
Well, as a matter of fact, yes. That's a violation of our code.
That's not all, I'm afraid.
We're also terminating your Baxter Brothers contract,
for failure to deliver satisfactory material by March 15th.
This Friday? As in the Ides of March?
It's only Monday, I still have time.
Your rejected novel took you months to write.
What makes you think you could write an entirely new one in five days?
Watch me.
[line rings]
-[Betty] Hello? -I'm in need of my real-life Tracy True.
How quickly can you get to Stonewall Prep?
I have to write the best damn Baxter Brother novel ever by Friday,
which, coincidentally, is the Ides of March.
Stonewall Prep celebrates the holiday
by throwing a big blowout in the woods.
Okay, well, then...
Why don't you write about what's been happening to you here at Stonewall?
-Like a roman à clef, let's say. -Yeah.
-Like a prep school thriller. -Sure.
We could start with my-- We could start with Moose's arrival.
-Exactly. -You're brilliant. You know that?
I like what you've done with the place, Archie.
Mr. Lodge.
What's up?
I'm here to work out. Train.
Don't you have a nice gym at The Pembrooke?
-And belong to Solstice? -Yeah, but I'm looking for a real gym.
Like here.
Gotten away from myself, Archie.
Spent too much time in suits, behind desks, but no more.
No more weakness.
Okay, Mr. Lodge. Sure.
You can make your check out to Fred Andrews Community Center.
[Jughead] "The boys themselves couldn't see it yet,
but it was a suspicious coincidence, to say the least.
Two new scholarship students arrived at Brickbridge Prep
after being recruited by the same teacher, Mr. Shepherd.
The old acquaintances settled into their new lives,
unaware that one or both of them were destined to be a sacrificial Iamb.
The perfect victim to the perfect murder."
That's where the chapter ends.
Mr. Jones...
ten pages of autobiographical hokum won't save you.
Well, just you wait.
I'll have more tomorrow.
[phone rings]
Ellie's Essential Oils. Don't hate, alleviate. How can I help you?
And who is she?
Don't worry, we'll vet her.
What was that, babe?
There's a high roller at La Bonne Nuit who's caught wind of the Maple Club
and wields a blank check with our name on it.
I hate to ask, Tee-Tee, but will you scrutinize this enigmatic patron?
-Sure. -Great.
You'll find a frosty haired woman at the bar tonight.
I'm on it. And I'll be sure to lay on the charm.
["Who Do U Love?" playing]
-Love you. -Love you.
♪ I'm just trying to say ♪
♪ Who do you love? ♪
[over speakers] ♪ Is it him or me?... ♪
I'm Antoinette.
I understand you've been asking about our other establishment.
Why, yes. I'm Rosa Jevön.
I consider myself a connoisseur of rum,
and I've heard rumblings
of a secret rum bar with ties to this establishment.
Needless to say,
I'm intrigued.
Tell you what,
since I like your vibe so much,
I'll talk to my partner about it.
She'll wanna meet you, too.
Maybe tomorrow night?
Right here?
It's a date.
♪ 'Cause I can't take the pressure Anymore ♪
♪ Who do you love? ♪
♪ Girl, it's killin' me ♪
♪ If you can't say that I'm the one For sure ♪
♪ Then I'm walkin' out the door, yeah ♪
♪ Who do you love? Who do you love? ♪
♪ Said, who do you love?... ♪
Two Cokes, please.
-Okay, I needed that. -We're just getting started, Archiekins.
Ronnie, I have to be at the site by 5 tomorrow morning.
Boo! I thought you said we were gonna have fun?
Good night, Veronica. I'll see you tomorrow.
Fine.
[Jughead] "It was All Hallows' Eve at Brickbridge Prep.
Jarhead was burning the midnight oil, studying, when suddenly,
his vision narrowed.
He crumpled to the ground and awoke to a real-life nightmare.
He was locked in a solid oak coffin.
'My classmates drugged me,' he realized groggily.
But why?
The truth was sinisterly simple.
It was so he wouldn't be a witness to the perfect murder.
For you see...
the seminar students were plotting to kill his roommate Bison
on that very Devil's Night."
[paper rustling]
Admit it.
You guys are on the edge of your seats, aren't you?
Can I ask you something, Mr. Lodge?
It's actually a business question.
Really?
Interesting.
Shoot.
I'm not as good as your daughter, Mr. Lodge.
I can't... run multiple businesses and do well in school
and everything else Veronica's so good at.
If you're talking about this place and Andrews Construction,
-have you thought about shedding one? -Yeah.
But my Grandpa Artie founded Andrews Construction
and passed it down to my dad.
It's my legacy.
Well, both of your businesses bear your father's name.
You'll be keeping his legacy alive, no matter what.
[Archie] Thanks for meeting with me, Mr. Keller.
Yeah, of course, Archie. So, what's been going on?
Truthfully, a lot.
I've been thinking about the future of Andrews Construction
and the community center recently.
Vic has offered to buy Andrews Construction a few times.
I don't like the guy, personally, but my dad did.
If I sold it, I could use that money to pay you a proper salary
to help me run the center full-time.
If that's something you'd be interested in.
Well, I've been hopping from job to job since I lost my post as sheriff.
A more permanent gig would be a nice change of pace.
I'd like that, Arch.
Does anyone know why DuPont summoned us?
No need to wonder, Ms. Berkeley.
I will tell you.
The headmaster has just given me some very unsettling news.
One of you has been accused of the worst crime a writer can commit.
Plagiarism.
Mr. Jones,
it seems that the short story that qualified you for Yale,
"On Featherless Wings,"
was in fact written by another student.
In this seminar.
Let me guess who accused me. Was it Bret?
No. It was me.
-What? Why? -Because I wrote "On Featherless Wings."
-No, you didn't. -Yes, I did.
And I've got a time stamp on my computer proving that I wrote it two months ago.
I wrote it during the summer. It's on my computer.
The story you wrote last summer is on the laptop I gave you three weeks ago?
No, it's on my old one. It's in my room. Can I get it, please?
Go and get it. We shall wait.
What the hell?
Jones, so, where's this magical, exonerating laptop?
It's not in there because someone stole it.
That seems rather convenient.
Mr. DuPont, I'm going to fight these accusations tooth and nail.
You had better.
Stonewall Prep takes the crime of plagiarism very seriously.
As such, you will go before the headmaster and disciplinary committee on Friday.
On the Ides of March,
fittingly enough.
Mr. DuPont's turning out to be worse than any villain
in his precious Baxter Brothers series.
It's clear he wants me expelled.
You can't let your name be tarnished by these trust-fund brats.
Hell, it's my name. It's our family name.
If I let my reputation be destroyed by a baseless accusation,
my career as a writer is going to be over before it even begins.
There's no way that's happening, Jug.
I think I have an idea.
[Kevin sighs] That test was brutal.
Why does anybody need to know what primogeniture is?
-Wait, that was one of the questions? -[snaps fingers]
Ms. Lodge.
During a routine search, I found this flask of rum in your locker.
Excuse me.
When did Riverdale High become a fascist police state, Principal Mussolini?
It is my responsibility to look after my students' well-being.
How do you think Barnard will react when they hear about this incident?
The recruiter already saw me drinking at my speakeasy.
They're not a bunch of prissy, power-tripping asshats.
Stop. You don't have to do this. You don't have to protect me.
[gasps]
Principal Honey, I'm so sorry.
The lock on my locker broke, and I know Veronica's combination...
so I stashed that flask, my flask, in there before the test.
So, this is your liquor, Mr. Andrews?
It's been a rough year, sir, as you know. Sometimes I need to take the edge off.
Archie...
You'll have a week's detention.
-I'm gonna call your mother about this. -I understand.
Yeah.
[sighs]
[chattering]
-Maybe because he isn't there. -I don't know.
-Exactly. -Jones.
And, Betty, to what do we owe the pleasure?
We know Jonathan's lying about writing "On Featherless Wings."
And we know that one or all of you stole my laptop
and are conspiring against me.
-So, we're here to prove it. -With a lie detector test?
[laughs] Okay, well, I refuse to participate in this charade.
Fine.
Then you all can watch while Jughead takes the test.
Is your name Forsythe Pendleton Jones III?
Yes.
When did you start writing "On Featherless Wings"?
At the end of last summer, before I'd even heard of Stonewall Prep.
Did you get rid of your old laptop because it contained incriminating evidence?
Of course not. It was stolen.
And what, exactly, do you think this is proving?
Well, Jonathan's guilt,
by process of elimination.
I hate to break it to you, sweetie,
but this isn't gonna prove Jughead's innocence.
Do you think I don't know that, bitch?
This lie detector test is only the beginning.
Once we're done with all of you one-percenters,
none of you will be left standing.
-Hey, handsome. -What are you doing here?
Just wanted to say thanks for your gallant gesture earlier.
I was happy to do it.
I got nothing to lose. But you do. You have everything.
Ronnie...
Ronnie, stop. Dr. Beaker could be back any minute.
[sighs]
What's going on with you?
-What do you mean? -This isn't you.
What's happening?
Nothing. We made a vow that we would make the most of our time together.
And now clearly you're backing out of that deal, so...
If you don't want to have fun, then I'll just go have fun by myself.
-Ronnie, I... -I have to meet Cheryl and Toni anyway.
[door opens, then closes]
["Don't Start Now" playing]
[over speakers] ♪ I'm all good already So moved on, it's scary... ♪
You came.
Well, when a beautiful vixen calls,
I have no choice but to answer.
Did you talk to your partner?
-She's on her way. -Mm.
-[groans] I love this song. -Hm.
I know exactly what we can do while we wait.
♪ Don't show up, don't come out ♪
♪ Don't start caring about me now ♪
♪ Walk away, you know how ♪
♪ Don't start caring about me now ♪
♪ Aren't you the guy who ♪
♪ Tried to Hurt me with the word "goodbye"? ♪
♪ Though it took some time to Survive you ♪
♪ I'm better on the other side ♪
♪ I'm all good already ♪
♪ So moved on, it's scary ♪
♪ I'm not where you left me at all, so ♪
♪ If you don't wanna see me Dancing with somebody ♪
♪ If you wanna believe that Anything could stop me ♪
♪ Don't show up, don't come out Don't start caring... ♪
Babe, this is the woman I was telling you about. Rosa.
Rosa, has anyone ever told you how beguiling your eyes are?
I get that a lot.
How about we get out of here?
We have somewhere special we'd like to bring you.
[Laura] Excuse me, Ms. Lodge.
I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have a message from Ms. Blossom.
It's fine. Just polishing off my maple-jito. Thank you.
All right, Laura.
Prepare the suite.
It's time to... snap a trap.
I'll get the lights.
[Rosa] Hmm...
[Veronica] Hermosa.
Veronica.
What are you doing here?
[Veronica] It's an emboscada...
my darling half sister.
An ambush.
And they say journalism is a dying art.
I marked you as soon as I saw you at La Bonne Nuit.
How dare you try and seduce my dear Tee-Tee like she's some backwater fool.
As if Cheryl and Toni would expose you to the Maple Club, our rum operation?
I have no idea what you're talking about, hermana.
The gall you have coming into town, trying to ruin our business,
my livelihood.
I bet Daddy put you up to this, didn't he?
Do a little recon. Scope out the competition.
I don't know what he's told you about his condition.
Everything.
He also told me you didn't know.
He told you?
And not me?
He trusted you?
And not me?
Can you blame him?
[Veronica grunts]
[softly] All right, let's hurry up.
Donna and Joan were in film studies, but they could be back any moment.
I never should have taken that laptop from Bret.
We'll get it back, Jug.
You take Joan's side, I'll take Donna's.
[Jughead] "Ready for print"?
The Boy in the River?
This is the novel that I submitted to win the Baxter Brothers contract.
-About Jason Blossom? -Yeah.
DuPont told me that the Baxter Brotherhood rejected it
because it wasn't dark or sociopathic enough.
It's definitely been rewritten.
But this is my book.
-What do you wanna do? -Well, the only thing we can do.
I thought the Brotherhood didn't want my novel.
-We didn't and we don't. -Then, what the hell is this?
You really think I wouldn't recognize my own story
after someone did a polish on it?
Ah, you should have had a lawyer take a much closer look at your contract.
You see, the Brotherhood owns everything you submit.
We kept the elements we liked
and then let another ghostwriter try their hand at it.
Oh, yeah? Who?
[chuckles] Well, actually,
all of your classmates collaborated on it.
[knock on door]
Archie, what are you doing here?
I came to make sure you're okay.
I'm worried about you, Veronica.
What are you doing?
Drinking at school? Acting like this crazy party girl?
You're pushing people away. Tell me what's really going on.
He's dying, Archie.
-Who is? -[sobbing] My dad.
He's been diagnosed with a debilitating disease...
and I don't know what to do. I feel... completely lost.
[continues sobbing]
I'm sorry, Veronica.
I know there's not much that I can say...
but one of the worst parts about my dad dying...
was that I was never able to say goodbye.
Even in the months before.
I didn't know what little time we had left,
and I regret not spending more of it with him.
I don't know if I can sit by and watch him waste away to nothing.
I don't want to see that.
Veronica, you're the strongest person that I know.
And right now you have to give some of that strength to your dad.
You know better than anyone how to get him fired up.
That's what he needs.
Happy Friday, you soul-sucking vampires.
Good morning to you, too, mija.
Before you crawl back into your coffins for the day,
I've got a little presentation I've been working on.
Red Raven's newest ad campaign.
[Veronica clears throat]
Consumers are now more interested in quality than name brands,
which is why we conducted a blind taste test,
in which nine out of ten test subjects picked Red Raven Rum
over the competitors Lodge Rum and Lodge Spiced Rum.
As we like to say at Red Raven, "Quality always."
And this is only the first wave.
We'll run print ads in the Riverdale Register,
the Greendale Gazette and the Seaside Sentinel to start.
Mija, do you really think you'll get the upper hand?
Over me?
You're a little specialty brand.
Oh, haven't you heard?
Cheryl's already begun renovations on her family's maple factory.
We'll be producing 300 percent more maple rum by the end of the year.
Well, then I only have one thing left to say.
-Congratulations, mija. -Hmm.
You have successfully awoken the dragon.
Prepare to be eaten.
What is wrong with you?
Why would you intentionally provoke him? You know how ill he is.
In times like these, family members should be supporting each other,
not antagonizing one another.
Seems to me that Daddy's doing just fine.
Just one minor ad campaign
and he's more fired up than he's been in days.
So don't for a second think you understand Daddy better than me.
If anybody is going to save Daddy from this crippling disease,
it's going to be me...
Veronica Lodge.
Now stand back and watch, ladies. You might learn something.
[Betty] I've been thinking about Mr. Chipping's tie pin, Jug.
And how Donna had it. It doesn't add up.
If the affair with Chipping was just another one of Donna's fabricated stories,
then how did she get it?
Let's assume that someone else took Mr. Chipping's tie pin.
Someone like Mr. DuPont?
Exactly.
It's possible he gave it to Donna to add credibility to her story
about them having an affair.
Then she would have the tie pin and the story of the affair at the ready
in case anyone got too close to the truth.
Hmm. That Mr. Chipping was driven to suicide by Mr. DuPont.
[Betty] It's a theory, by any rate.
I wanted to clear the air between us, Donna.
And hopefully resolve this whole Jughead witch-hunt thing.
Just the two of us.
See, I think that you and Bret, Joan and Jonathan...
are just pawns
being manipulated by Mr. DuPont, who I think is the real villain here.
I'm intrigued.
Go on.
I don't think you had an affair with Chipping.
["I Can't Bring Myself To Smile" playing]
If I'm right and you didn't
and DuPont somehow put you up to saying that you did...
I implore you...
come forward.
Don't let yourself be a victim of his machinations, Donna.
You think you're close to the truth, don't you?
You and Jughead, teen detectives?
Are we?
I guess we'll see.
[Bret] Still working on that book, huh?
Hm. Well...
I do hope you enjoy your last night in this room.
You are so smug, it just hurts, Bret.
You don't know what I'm going to say at the tribunal,
but I promise you, it's not just going to be about some short story
I didn't plagiarize, Bret.
It's going to be about everything that is going on here.
It's going to be about Chipping, and Moose, and Quill and Skull,
and about my novel.
I am going to let all these toxic little genies out of their bottles.
Do you understand me?
No, you're not gonna say a damn thing.
Do you know how I know?
Because as it turns out, I do have a tape of you and Ponytail doing the nasty.
[Betty giggling]
And if you so much as utter a single j'accuse,
I will release it, wide.
You think blackmail is gonna stop me?
Yes, because you're a hopeless romantic.
That tape might not hurt you, Jones. But it will destroy Betty.
Something like that will haunt her for the rest of her life.
So, what's it gonna be?
You wanna continue this sad attempt at martyrdom,
or are you gonna protect the honor of your precious girlfriend?
[Archie] Wait.
Something wrong, Arch?
I can't do it.
What the hell?
Vic, my grandpa started this company.
And my dad kept it going. It's not gonna be sold on my watch.
[DuPont] Make no mistake,
the stealing of another student's work will not be tolerated at Stonewall Prep.
If the accusation is found to be true,
the penalty is immediate expulsion.
But we're going to give you a choice today.
One that you do not deserve.
Nevertheless...
you can either gracefully, quietly withdraw from Stonewall Prep,
which will save yourself
and us the embarrassment of a hearing.
Or you can stay and fight the accusation of plagiarism in a public forum,
where you could win, but most likely you'll lose...
tarnishing Stonewall's name and destroying your future.
I'll leave.
What the hell happened in there, huh?
I thought you were gonna bring down the temple,
and instead, you let them run roughshod all over you.
What choice did I have?
Not like you to walk away from a fight, a fight you could win.
You don't know that, you don't know these people.
This game is fixed. It's been fixed from the beginning.
There was no way I was winning that today.
[sighs]
-How does it look, Mr. Lodge? -Like it's always been there.
-Vic let you keep the sign, huh? -I didn't end up selling the company.
I couldn't. I made Mr. Keller foreman.
He said he'd work on a reduced salary until we get a few more contracts in.
Good.
It was the sex tape, wasn't it?
Bret threatened to release it if you didn't back off.
What does it matter, Betty?
To hell with Bret. To hell with this entire school.
Couldn't have been all bad, Forsythe.
Yeah, we hope there aren't any hard feelings.
There's a party tonight in the woods behind the school.
-We're celebrating the Ides of March. -You should come.
One last hurrah before you pack up your things and are gone forever.
-You're deranged. -We'll be there.
-What? -One last hurrah.
Great. And bring your friends, too. The more the merrier.
-Like hell we're going to that, Jug. -You trust me, right?
-Of course. Why? -I have a plan.
But first I'm going to need to take care of that leverage Bret has over us
and then I will tell you everything.
It's all gonna be okay, I promise.
Okay.
I love you.
I love you, too.
Penny for your thoughts?
["Lookalike" playing]
I won't be able to walk with everyone at graduation.
What?
Mr. Honey told me on Monday.
I have a plan.
Okay.
I'll go to summer school for my diploma. Take a skip year.
And apply to colleges for spring semester. What do you think?
That sounds like an outstanding plan, Archie.
♪ I know in your head You see me instead ♪
♪ 'Cause he looks a lot like I did... ♪
[cell phone chimes]
It's B.
She's inviting us to a Stonewall Prep party.
[sighs]
You wanna go?
Seriously? Those people suck.
Right you are, Archiekins,
but when's the last time all four of us hung out together?
And we did vow to have more fun.
Okay.
["Kill For Love" playing]
[Veronica] Oh, God.
It's like A Midsummer Night's Dream had a baby with Euphoria.
I gotta hand it to these jerks, they know how to throw a party.
You guys see Jughead? I said we'd meet up with him once we got here.
I'm gonna do a lap, okay? See if I can find him.
-Here. -Great.
Want to move closer to the fire?
I have a way more fun idea of how you could keep me warm.
When's the last time we made it in the woods?
Let's go.
♪ While the world just stayed the same ♪
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your beers. [chuckles]
[boys chattering]
[laughing] Yeah.
Oh, thou bleeding piece of earth...
What do we got here?
I knew you and Ponytail were into, um...
some weird kinks, but, uh...
I mean, what is this, Freaky Friday or...?
Gentlemen, would you excuse us?
Uh, the bunny and I have some unfinished business.
You want to settle this?
All right.
But not here.
Follow me.
[Betty] Donna.
Oh, good, you made it.
Yeah, I know Jughead didn't speak up at his tribunal
because Bret's blackmailing him.
But I do not care what you do to me.
So what, you have a tape? Of me and Jughead?
I am the daughter of the Black Hood.
It's gonna take a lot more than that to get me and Jughead off your case.
I promise you,
we are going to find out and expose
all of your dirty secrets,
up to and including Chipping's murder.
Do you have anything to say about that?
Actually, I do.
You see, I've been doing a little investigating of my own.
And I found out some fascinating things about you, Betty.
I even took a field trip to Shankshaw Prison
to see your old friend Evelyn Evernever.
And you know what Evelyn told me?
The magic word.
Oh, you mean "tangerine" repeated three times?
Yeah, you're a little late to that party. "Tangerine" doesn't work on me anymore.
No, she told me the other magic word.
The one that makes you fugue
and hurt the people who you love.
You wanna hear it?
["Desensitize" playing in distance]
Okay.
Hey, have you guys seen Betty and Jughead?
I think they went that way, into the clearing behind those trees.
Thanks.
-Oh, my God! Betty, what happened? -Jug!
Is he breathing?
[Jughead] It started out like any other week.
There's no pulse.
Who would have guessed that by Friday night...?
He's dead.
What did you do, Betty? hat by Friday night...?