Riverdale – Chapter Sixty-Four: The Ice Storm

By starrymag | November 27, 2019

By: Courtney Grooms

 

 

Thanksgiving has arrived in Riverdale and it is proving to be a difficult time for everyone. Dodger’s (Juan Riedinger) family are in town plotting revenge for whoever beat him into a coma. Veronica (Camila Mendes) is dealing her family being “back together” and Hiram (Mark Consuelos) becoming the Mayor of Riverdale overnight. And Archie (KJ Apa) and his Mom, Mary (Molly Ringwald), are struggling to get through the day as it is the first Thanksgiving without Fred. However, an Ice Storm is on its way. So, what horror and twists could this latest Riverdale episode bring us?

 

At Stonewall Prep Jughead (Cole Sprouse) is attempting to solve the suicide (or murder) of Professor Chipping’s death. He attempts to talk to Professor Dupont (Malcolm Stewart) to uncover the truth, but he says Chipping had an alcohol problem and it was only a matter of time before it tipped him over the edge. But Jughead being Jughead knows that is not the full story, so he calls Betty (Lili Reinhart) explaining that he wants to dig into Chipping’s death further when she comes over for Thanksgiving.

 

Back in Riverdale Toni (Vanessa Morgan) is still coming to terms with her accidentally killing Uncle Bedford in the chapel last episode. Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) tells her not to worry as she is plotting to toss his body into the river before the storm hits so it can then freeze over.

 

And at Veronica’s house she turns down an invitation from her father to have a family Thanksgiving meal at the country club. She instead brings food from the country club to not only get back at her family, but to help Archie put together a Thanksgiving feast for all the boys at the community center. But it isn’t long before Hiram figures what she was doing and sends FP (Skeet Ulrich) to shut down the center due to “safety concerns.” However, FP urges Archie to subtly keep it open as it is what Fred would have done.

 

Betty arrives early at Stonewall Prep to do some “catching up” with Jughead. She soon realizes they can’t order any takeout due to the storm. So, Jughead runs out to the vending machine to create their own Thanksgiving feast. In the reflection of the machine he sees a figure standing with an ax and a bloody bunny mask on. Before the mystery bunny can even do anything, Betty has already hit them over the head as she saw them run past the bedroom window. Another masked figure appears and it turns out to be no other than Bret Weston Wallis (Sean Depner) and Donna Sweett (Sarah Desjardins).

 

After stitching Bret back up a note falls out of his pocket. Jughead reads a part of it out loud before Bret snatches it off him, explaining it was an exercise to write Chipping’s suicide note. But Jughead never was told about that exercise, which can only mean one thing – they’re lying. Betty and Jughead decide to give them a taste of their own nasty medicine by finding out what they’re hiding about Chipping’s death. The foursome play a game of “Never Have I Ever.” Once the flask is empty Betty volunteers to refill it. She uses the time to snoop in Donna’s room and finds a tie pin with the initials “RC” on it. We know that stands for Rupert Chipping.

 

At the community center everything is running smoothly with the help of Veronica and Mary. Archie decides to deep fry a turkey as it was a tradition that his dad used to do every year. Dodger’s family shows up to check out the community center to see who hurt their boy, but don’t tell anyone who they are. One of the kids alerts Archie that it’s Dodger’s family. Archie quietly confronts them saying he wants no trouble, but they have other plans. Dodger’s mom Darla (Azura Skye) flashes a gun and says they aren’t leaving until they find out who hurt their son because they know sooner or later the culprit will turn up.

 

One of the kids tries to snatch the gun from the mom and a fight breaks out. The mom is convinced it is Archie who beat Dodger into a coma and demands that he get on his knees and pay for “what he did to her son.” She tells him to confess or she will start harming the people in the room. Suddenly, one by one the kids in the room stands up and tries to take the blame.

 

She aims the gun at Archie’s head as Veronica is holding Mary to calm her down. As Dodger’s mom is about to pull the trigger the turkey fryer explodes. Archie grabs the gun and throws it onto the floor and then hits Dodger’s brother. Veronica takes care of the other brother by sticking a fork through his hand onto the table. Mary grabs the gun telling the Dickinsons she has the right to defend herself and the place against intruders, giving them five seconds to leave before she pulls the trigger.

 

Back at Thistlehouse Toni finds out that Cheryl’s Aunt Cricket (Arabella Anderson) has been spying on them from the streets, so the two devise a plan to throw her off. They invite her for a Blossom’s Thanksgiving – with a twist. Nana Rose (Barbara Wallace) tells a story about the Blossoms turning on one another one winter by going full cannibal, but her Auntie is not buying the story.

 

Fester (Alexander Lowe), Cheryl’s Cousin, bites into his meat pie and finds his Uncle Bedford’s ring. Cheryl them they should leave because the Uncle is gone and any evidence he was ever here is in the process of being digested. Toni then rolls Jason’s dead body into the dining room, blackmailing them into leaving by saying she will tell everyone they’re cannibals.

 

Archie and Betty confront Donna and Bret about the tie pin, saying it’s evidence of murder. Donna runs off into her room and Betty quickly follows, asking her to confess to what she did. But with another classic “Riverdale” twist, Donna claims that she and Chipping were having an affair. She wanted to break things off, but he became abusive so she threatened to expose him. However, the next day he killed himself by jumping out the window. Do you buy that story? Because Betty doesn’t.

 

Betty and Jughead discuss their suspicions and she tells him to let the headmaster know something strange is going on at the school. In the corner of the room there is a recording device, recording their every move.

 

Archie and everyone at the community center finally share a warm meal and raise a toast Fred before digging in. Archie’s mom tells him she thinks Fred was looking out for them when the turkey fryer popped at just the right moment. Archie agrees and in the final scene they pay tribute to Fred by placing a plaque in his honor in the community center along with his portrait.