Riverdale – Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen: The Stand

With the events of the prior episode in play, Jughead (Cole Sprouse) narrates how the gang is preparing for their battle with Percival (Chris O’Shea). As Percival has shut the borders to the town to keep everyone from leaving, Archie (K.J. Apa) prepares battle plans. Tabitha (Erinn Westbrook) helps Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) and Heather (Caroline Day) re-seal the hellmouth below Pop’s Diner. And since Percival has abandoned his curiosity shop and taken all his weapons from the premises, Cheryl proceeds to burn it down with the aid of Reggie (Charles Melton).  

Meanwhile, at Thornhill we see Betty (Lili Reinhart) lament to Polly (Tiera Skovbye) how distraught she is over the death of their mother Alice (Mädchen Amick) and refuses to listen to anything that would provide solace. And as Kevin (Casey Cott) mourns his father’s death, Toni (Vanessa Morgan) and Fangs (Drew Ray Tanner) provide him with one glimmering surprise: Moose (Cody Kearsley), who was able to get back into Riverdale before the border closed.  

Pre-Battle 

Before the battle tomorrow the group agrees to a meeting to determine their next course of action. Prior to the meeting Veronica (Camila Mendes) meets with Archie and he asks her to accompany him to meet with Percival at Babylonium. Given Veronica’s skills of persuasion, there is possibility that this may help in negotiating for the bodies of Alice, Tom and Frank (Ryan Robbins). After the meeting Tabitha reminds Veronica and Archie that in the several scenarios she has seen with Percival, it may benefit them to try and shoot him to end the war.  

Archie and Veronica go to Babylonium and are greeted with the sight of Ghoulies everywhere. But as Twyla Twyst (Alaina Huffman) points out to them, the Ghoulies are none other than the citizens of Riverdale under the power of Percival. Clearly, Percival is ready for a war tonight at Pop’s no matter what. And during their negotiation that even includes Archie working for him, Percival will accept nothing less but complete surrender and bowing down from the gang. Veronica reminds Percival that the last baddie she had to deal with was her father, Hiram, and proceeds to take Percival out in a similar fashion, only for the gun to have a flower on the end. However, Percival does allow Veronica and Archie to take the bodies back to their friends, but in a cruel twist of fate decided to keep the heads so that Cheryl was unable to bring them back to life.  

As the group disperses Jughead and Tabitha are in their apartment where Jughead is casually making a sandwich while an anxious Tabitha watches him. She reminds Jughead of the scenarios that she saw where his death is a fixed point and how he refuses to get out of there before the final battle. But Jughead is calm, professes his love to Tabitha which she reciprocates and they spend a quiet moment of bliss together….until Tabitha realizes something is very wrong. Unbeknownst to the gang, Percival had yet another trick up his sleeve to go after the group once more by using those they know to destroy them. 

Reggie and Archie are casually drinking beer at Archie’s house when Reggie asks Archie for another beverage….before attacking him with one of Percival’s daggers. Betty hears a noise from within her house and finds that Glen (Greyston Holt) has been brought back a la Frankenstein meets “The Walking Dead” chasing Betty throughout her house. Veronica’s Abuelita (Ana Mercedes) pays a surprise visit with a shotgun and anger over the death of her son and Heraldo while Cheryl and Heather are met by an angry Jason (Trevor Stines) who is just as steady with a bow and arrow as his sister….shooting Heather in the shoulder before coming for Cheryl.  

Yet the group makes quick work of their assassins by incapacitating them. Archie manages to take Reggie down and is healed by Bingo when Tabitha arrives. Betty gets to the garage and grabs a chainsaw hacking Glen back up into pieces and leaving them twitching on the garage floor. Veronica gives her Abuelita neurotoxins via the touch of a doorknob so that she can briefly paralyze her and break the trance. And for Cheryl, she makes the painful decision to burn Jason and send him back to “The Sweet Hereafter” once again, later patching up Heather who tells her that the comet that Percival keeps talking about is coming a day after their battle.  

When Archie and Veronica ask Reggie and Abuelita about what happened, all they know is they heard a voice compelling them to hurt them, then don’t remember what happens next. But in the fray, Toni comes to Archie’s house with a plan: if Baby Anthony is the one person Percival fears, then the Serpents and Ghoulies need to fight, and Anthony (Will Jackson) will go take out Percival….in his grown-up form if Tabitha can speed up the aging process. Both Toni and Fangs have come to terms with Anthony losing out on his childhood as long as Riverdale is saved.  

Realizing that they still don’t have a concrete plan, Jughead asks Tabitha to live on if he dies in battle. But during their conversation, Tabitha realizes that they may have one more card to play, especially when it comes to Jughead’s ability to open alternate portals. They immediately set work on a new plan and later come to tell the group the way to finally best Percival.  

The Big Battle 

With the plan set, the fight begins at Babylonium as the Serpents are ready to subdue the new Ghoulies and take back the town. Twyla tries to assert her control as a Ghoulie, only to be taken down by a badass Toni with her stars. The goal is Anthony reaching the doors of Percival’s office, which is easily achieved. As Anthony confronts Percival and Percival realizes who he is, he makes a quick magical escape and seals the doors shut to Babylonium before heading over to Pop’s. The Ghoulies are subdued but now no one is able to leave the casino, leaving it up to Cheryl, Tabitha, Jughead, Archie, Betty, and Reggie to take on Percival.  

As Percival arrives at Pop’s Diner, he is met by Archie and the fight is on! Both get in many hits, but then Percival starts to overpower the fight, thinking that Archie’s friends are still watching him from the windows of Pop’s. Yet instead of waiting at the window, Betty, Cheryl, Veronica, and Reggie join Archie and the fight turns in their favor instead as they pile on hit after hit to Percival. Yet Percival is clever, utilizing his magic once more to turn everyone’s powers against them. With Archie made of iron, Reggie a life-size doll, Cheryl in ice, Veronica dying from her poison, and Betty blind, Percival is prepared for his final showdown with Jughead as he enters Pop’s Diner.  

Sitting down at the booth with Jughead as the souls of Pop’s watch the final battle, Jughead and Percival go for a battle of the minds. While Jughead is unable to open the door to Percival’s mind, Percival starts going into Jughead’s mind and ripping apart memories bit by bit. Yet Jughead surprises Percival by coming into his own mind and telling him how they have beat him. When Percival returns to his body, he finds he has been stabbed several times and is surrounded by those he incapacitated outside of the diner….or so he thinks. Instead, Jughead had Percival walk through a portal when he entered Pop’s Diner and instead of Riverdale, the citizens of Rivervale took some brutal hits to Percival’s body while he tried to peruse Jughead’s mind.  

Still in shock, Tabitha immediately acts and brings Percival back to 1580 where he was still mortal. There waiting for them was Mr. Cypher (Oliver Rice), waiting to collect Percival once and for all. But before Cypher can take Percival with him, he tells Tabitha that if he can’t have Riverdale, nobody can, and recites something under his breath before he is taken away. With Percival defeated, Tabitha returns to present day and both her and Jughead tell their friends that Percival is gone once and for all. They rejoice and embrace one another in celebration.  

Post-Battle 

With the battle over, the doors of Babylonium open and the heads of Alice, Tom, and Frank are found and reunited with their bodies so that Cheryl can bring them back. Everyone in the group takes time to clean up, spend time with their loved ones, and celebrate the end of an ordeal. Unfortunately, when Cheryl returns home Heather shows her bad news about the comet. Both Heather and Cheryl gather their friends for a meeting and Tabitha realizes what Percival was doing before he was taken: reciting a spell to change the comet’s trajectory to hit Riverdale head on. When Tabitha had seen an apocalyptic scene in the future of Riverdale, she now understands that this future is after the comet hits the town.