Riverdale – Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town

By: Courtney Groom

Jughead (Cole Sprouse) is sat writing on his laptop at Pop’s about how things are slowly getting back to “normal” in the town of Riverdale, or as normal as they get around there. But the mysterious video tapes are still being sent to the residents. We get a glance into each household watching the tapes in their homes as they simultaneously sing the episode’s opening number “Wicked Little Town” from the play Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

The next day Betty (Lili Reinhart) is with Jughead in the Blue and Gold office giving him a pile of books to enable him to catch up with classes he has missed (now he has transferred back to Riverdale High). Jughead says he’s so far behind that he doesn’t see the point in trying to catch up, but Betty insists that he goes through with it so that he can graduate with her and the rest of the core four.

Elsewhere, Kevin (Casey Cott) is handing in the sign-up list for the latest variety show to Principal Honey (Kerr Smith). Honey seems to be fine with most of the acts except for one…Kevin. He tells Kevin he won’t be allowed to do any numbers from his chosen musical because he deems it to be inappropriate for the students and their families. Honey suggests that he should do a number from a classical musical instead but Kevin refuses stating that Hedwig is a musical that celebrates identities and genders. He says it speaks for his entire generation, which he calls them “Generation Z.” This cues up Kevin up to sing “Random Number Generation.” He sings down the halls and into a classroom. All the students get involved including Archie (K.J. Apa), Betty, Veronica (Camila Mendes), Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) and Toni (Vanessa Morgan). They are all wearing blue numbered shirts trying to convince Mr Honey. Still refusing, Honey tells Kevin he can either pick a different song or take himself out of the variety show.

Later on in the music room Fangs (Drew Ray Tanner) comes in and asks Kevin what he is singing for the show. He says he is now singing “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning’ from Oklahoma! Because Mr Honey made him change it. Fangs tells him not to listen to him and even thinks he shouldn’t wait until the show to perform and should go rogue instead.

The next day Archie meets Betty, Jughead and Veronica in the student lounge, telling the core four that he’s signed them up for the variety show to perform as a band. They all agree to join, including Jughead. Betty asks what the bands called. Archie reveals that is called The Archies and Jughead makes a joke. Suddenly, they hear Kevin’s voice over the PA system. “What’s up, Riverdale? Are you trying to tear me down?” Kevin is in the office, wearing a full-on Hedwig outfit. He demands everyone go to the music room where they find Kevin, Fangs, Toni and Cheryl all performing “Tear Me Down.” Honey; however, is less than thrilled to find Kevin performing yet another song from Hedwig, this time with even more students. Honey cuts the power just as the song ends and tells Kevin he’s done.

That night Betty, Veronica, Cheryl, Toni and Kevin are having a sleepover at Betty’s. However, Kevin is not in a very sleepover mood. He tells the girls that being part of the variety show helped him reconnect with pre-farm Kevin and finally he felt included again at school. Betty says she knows a way to cheer him up and stars singing “Wig in a Box.” After the first verse Kevin is still not feeling it. He says he hears what she’s saying, but he’s not even sure a makeover montage will help. Cheryl, Veronica and Toni then join in singing and dancing around, trying on wigs and having fun. They end up all laying on the bed laughing when Betty suggests that they should all perform songs from Hedwig as a sign of solidarity. Cheryl says as she is the president of the student body and Riverdale High’s LGBTQIA Alliance leader, she promises to sit down with Mr Honey and make this all right.

So, the following day Cheryl, Toni and the Vixens meet Honey at Pop’s. Cheryl tells Honey that Hedwig is not some fringe, down-beat musical and that it’s a fun red-blooded American musical comedy with something for everyone. Pop (Alvin Sanders) turns on the jukebox and as “Sugar Daddy” starts Cheryl, Toni and the Vixens get into formation. Cheryl and Toni start singing the up-beat duet while the Vixens serve as backup dancers, trying to convince Honey. However, he keeps telling Cheryl that it is enough. After the number Honey tells Cheryl she just proved his point that Hedwig and the Angry Inch is highly sexualized and inappropriate for families to come and watch. Toni asks Mr Honey that if every student of Riverdale High changed their variety show act to a number from Hedwig, what would he do then? Honey says he would make the following announcement – that any student who performs a song from Hedwig will be barred from Senior Prom.

Archie meets with Veronica, who is worried because Hiram (Mark Consuelos) collapsed. He says he missed a step and stumbled, but for her it’s still scary and confusing. Archie then confesses that Hiram’s been hanging out at the gym and the bar slipped when he was bench pressing. He doesn’t think Hiram’s been going to the doctor as regularly as he says. Veronica asks Archie why he didn’t tell her this because, after all, it is her dad. But Archie says Hiram told him not to say anything and when Hiram Lodge asks you to shut your mouth and mind your own business, you do.

Meanwhile, Jughead is in the bunker looking through tapes when Betty comes down. She came to surprise him with a study break and instead finds him lying to her about doing his homework while he tries to crack some new unsolvable mystery. Jughead says he was doing both, but Betty says she went to the mat for him with Honey and with all of his teachers to help get him back into class and caught up. Jughead states he didn’t ask her to do that, but Betty says she’s just trying to make sure that he graduates. Betty asserts that she’s just trying to make sure they stay together and have a future together, in which Jughead asks in what future are they not together. Jughead and Betty then sing “Exquisite Corpse” to get all of their anger out, kicking and throwing things in the bunker.

Back with Archie and Veronica we see Archie tell her he was trying to do the right thing, but she explains to him he wasn’t thinking. He asks Veronica to give him a break because it’s been a crappy year. Then, the two of them join in singing “Exquisite Corpse.” In the end, Betty leaves the bunker and Veronica departs Archie’s room, both in rage.

At Riverdale High Honey finds nearly the entire student body in the hallway wearing Hedwig costumes. Mr Honey isn’t impressed to say the least and says he’s going to have to make the most prudent action and cancel the variety show altogether.

Betty shows up at Archie’s for band practice, apologizing for being late. It seems though that Archie had forgot to text them that rehearsal is cancelled. Archie admits he kind of screwed up with Veronica and Betty confesses she and Jughead got into a fight as well. Betty tells Archie that just because Veronica and Jughead aren’t there it doesn’t mean they can’t rehearse. Archie starts playing guitar and sings “The Origin of Love” with Betty soon joining in. Veronica starts singing at the Pembrooke with Jughead singing at the bunker after looking through another tape. Archie and Betty start getting closer, having flashbacks of the two of them from season one to now. They kiss.

Later that evening Jughead comes into Betty’s room, who is still thinking about her kiss with Archie. Jughead brings in one fully researched, thoroughly proofed, MLA formatted essay on the Salem Witch Trials. Jughead apologizes, saying he shouldn’t have been as ticked off as he was that Betty had faith in him. Jughead tells her that he really needs to finish his essay on The Call of the Wild, but Betty can distract him any time she wants. Betty starts crying after Jughead leaves because she knows she betrayed him because she was angry.

Archie is having the same thoughts when Veronica comes back, bringing him cupcakes from Pop’s. Veronica says she is sorry and that she was just scared and lashing out at the wrong person. Archie didn’t need to come clean to her, but he did. Thanks to that Veronica got a doctor who said it was lucky he saw Hiram when he did because it could have been much worse than a fall. And some more good news, though Honey cancelled the variety show at school Kevin called Veronica with an amazing idea to host it at La Bonne Nuit and The Archies will get to perform after all.

After Veronica leaves Archie sees Betty looking through her bedroom window and the two of them start to sing a reprise of “Wicked Little Town.” Archie and Betty are brought back to the dance sophomore year, switching back and forth to the dance and just slow dancing and singing in Betty’s room. Betty and Archie both look at each other out of their bedroom windows, wondering what this means for them.

At La Bonne Nuit’s variety show Cheryl introduces, for the first time ever, The Archies…Kevin included. They start playing “Midnight Radio.” Everyone soon stands up, singing along with them. However, they all soon end up outside with The Archies standing on Pop’s roof. The students are waving candles, watching them from the ground, waving their hands.

That night in back the bunker Jughead puts in another tape to try and find any evidence to lead him to whoever is creating them. Instead of a tape of a house, this time is a person wearing Jughead’s clothes and a cartoon mask of him staring at the camera. Someone wearing Betty’s clothes, wearing a cartoon Betty mask, comes up behind him and hits him in the head with a rock multiple time.