Riverdale – Chapter Sixty-Nine: Men of Honor

By starrymag | February 5, 2020

By: Courtney Groom

 

 

Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Jughead (Cole Sprouse) are in Jughead’s bed at Stonewall cuddling. Betty is wondering why Jughead is smiling and Jughead says because of everything happening. He tells Betty he turned in his draft for the Baxter Brothers book and that Yale said yes. But Jughead realizes he hadn’t told Betty until now. He sits up in bed, asking Betty if she’s okay. Betty tells him she is and she’s just processing, but she’s happy for him and proud of him.

 

Betty gets changed and leaves Stonewall to go back to Riverdale when she runs into Bret (Sean Depner) in the corridor. He mentions that he will see her in New Haven the following year, but she’ll just be a visitor. Betty asks if he got into Yale and, with the smug smile that Bret always pulls, he tells her not to be surprised. He also mentions that he will crush her in the Quiz Show finals, if Riverdale makes it that far, seeing as they don’t have a team yet.

 

Back at Riverdale High Veronica (Camila Mendes) and Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) are talking to their Chemistry teacher, Dr. Beaker (Chris Cannon). After Hiram (Mark Consuelos) stopped Veronica from using his rum recipe she joined forces with Cheryl to incorporate Maple instead. They ask Dr. Beaker to analyze their maple-based concoction to ensure that their recipe is different enough from Lodge Rum. That way, Veronica tells Dr. Beaker, they can’t be sued or ceased-and-desisted by her father.

 

Later, Riverdale makes it to the Regional semi-finals in The Quiz Show. Veronica, Cheryl and Toni (Vanessa Morgan) win and will go on to face Stonewall in the finals. Charles (Wyatt Nash) comes up to Betty afterwards telling her she did great. Betty says great might not be enough to beat him, a/k/a Bret. She asks Charles if there’s any way he could help her with him. She wants Charles to find any dirt she can on him so she can crush him at the finals. Charles wants to know if it’s because Bret got into Yale and she didn’t, saying Alice told him. Betty says she worked her ass off for four years and has done extra work at The Blue and Gold and she still didn’t get in. Charles tells Betty his former mentor at the FBI teaches criminal law at Yale and he’ll see if he can get some answers about Yale and Bret.

 

Veronica and Cheryl meet with Hiram, giving him a bottle of their rum. Hiram is confused because he still thinks this is his rum recipe. Cheryl shuts him down by explaining that the main ingredient is 51% maple syrup and they had a scienctist analyse it. Veronica adds on to say, legally, Hiram can’t sue or stop them and the rum war is back on.

 

At Betty’s house Charles arrives to tell Betty he did some digging on Bret and that her instincts were right again. He gives her a folder with information. Charles also find out why Betty didn’t get into Yale. It had nothing to do with her outstanding grades or writing skills, but Yale didn’t want to accept the daughter of the Black Hood because it could ruin their reputation. Betty doesn’t say a word but grabs her coat and leaves the house.

 

Betty barges into Jughead and Bret’s room at Stonewall and tells Bret she’s so onto him. Jughead wants to know what’s going on and Betty tells him his roommate’s father paid someone to take the PSATs for him, but his father covered it all up. He then bought his way into Stonewall as she’s sure he did with Yale as well. Bret grins and asks why she’s making him out to be the bad guy when Jughead is selling her story about her father being the Black Hood to the Baxter Brothers. Jughead tries to explain that the publishers wouldn’t accept any of his other ideas but Betty storms off.

 

Veronica and Cheryl are talking at La Bonne Nuit. Veronica tells Cheryl they now have a truly enviable product, but they still need to get the word out to potential customers. Veronica suggests they make La Bonne Nuit their base of operations, but Cheryl points out that Hiram already revoke the liquor license here so how would they sell anything. Veronica says they wouldn’t sell rum, they would hand out free samples and instead of being a speakeasy that they’d reopen La Bonne Nuit as a dance club. They would hand out free samples while getting their coat check girl to take down names for potential customers, that way they won’t get caught.

 

That night, Betty is at her father’s grave. She’s crying and speaking to her father saying he will never be satisfied. Even when he is dead, he still finds a way to ruin her. Betty picks up a sledgehammer and starts hitting the grave with full force. Alice (Madchen Amick) runs up to her from behind, stopping her and they hug as Alice tells Betty it’s okay and she’s sorry.

 

Alice takes Betty home and she’s laid in bed when Jughead comes in. Betty tells him he didn’t have to come and he tells her of course he did, especially after what Alice told him downstairs. Jughead apologizes that he wasn’t there for when she needed him and he really hates when they fight. Betty tells him he deserves Yale and she’s happy for him, but she just finds it hard to believe she won’t be going too. But Jughead says he’s been thinking – Stonewall got him into Yale so what if he could do the same for her?

 

On the same night the operation at The La Bonne Nuit is a huge hit as Cheryl tells Veronica they already have a long list of interested buyers. Suddenly, the power turns off and Hiram, along with a few cops, come barging in. Hiram tells his daughter it’s a raid and shows her a warrant, saying it’s been brought to his attention that there is alcohol being sold on the premises. Cheryl says they aren’t selling anything. A cop opens a door with bottles of rum to prove it. Hiram tells Veronica and Cheryl when they play against him that they’ll lose every single time and takes a sledgehammer to the bottles of rum.

 

Later, Cheryl tells Veronica they have a new batch brewing at Thistlehouse, but Veronica knows her father. He’ll just keep raiding this place and they will never be able to sell any of the rum. Cheryl comes up the genius plan to keep La Bonne Nuit open as a nightclub as a distraction while they relocate their rum business elsewhere – The Maple Club.

 

The Maple Club was run by Cheryl’s mother, Penelope, and it’s the most exclusive gentlemen’s club in town. It has everything they need alongside a premium security system and a book full of Riverdale’s richest. Veronica and Cheryl start making some calls to invite people to the reopening, but remind them to keep it a secret. Veronica suggests that they need someone as a full-time manager while they go to school and Cheryl has just the person. The two get down to the bunker to meet with Penelope. Veronica says she doesn’t like the idea because she is a murderer and Cheryl reminds Veronica that her dad is, too. Cheryl offers her a change of venue and a way to work off her debt to society and her as long as she’s willing to play by their rules.

 

It’s Quiz Show time and as everyone is getting ready Jughead walks up to Betty introducing her to Mr. Brooks (Tyler Gibson), the Yale recruiter. Mr. Brooks tells Betty that Jughead was insistent he sees her in action and Jughead reveals this is his plan to help get Betty into her dream school. Alice comes over saying she heard about the recruiter and that if Betty wins she might get another shot. Alice tells Betty she left her a present in the greenroom and then walks away. Betty finds the present and it turns out to be the full set of questions and answers for the Quiz Show.

 

Riverdale ends up winning the Quiz Show after a tight race with Betty answering most of the questions. Jughead comes up to her and Betty says she doesn’t know what’s better: The win or the look on Bret’s face. AND SHE GOT INTO YALE! Later, when Betty is placing the trophy on the mantle at home, Alice tells her she’s glad to see that she’s not beating herself up as she did what she had to do. But Betty says she didn’t use the answers Alice stole. She explains she tore them up and threw them away. She wanted to beat Bret fair and square.

 

Back at Riverdale High Betty is walking down the hall and everyone is cheering for her. However, Mr. Honey (Kerr Smith) is waiting for her at the end of it not looking happy with her. Betty asks what’s wrong as Mr. Honey holds up a ziplock bag with the torn answer sheet, put back together. It was found in the trash inside Betty’s greenroom. Mr. Honey demands Betty go to his office.

 

When Betty gets home Alice tells her the school called and she tried convincing Mr. Honey that Betty had nothing to do with it. Betty says she knows and then asks Alice why she’s not at work. Alice says someone told her station manager and she’s been put on leave without pay for who knows how long. Alice thinks she was so careful and doesn’t understand how anyone could have found out, especially after Betty tore the answers up. Betty suggests someone dug through her trash, probably Bret. Betty didn’t even use those answers, but it doesn’t matter because no one believes her. Betty tells Alice that Riverdale’s victory has been overturned, Stonewall wins again and she’s been suspended. pending further investigation.

 

The episode ends with another flashforward to four weeks later. This time Betty is at Pop’s and Archie (K.J. Apa) meets up with her. Betty tells Archie she doesn’t think she can do this anymore. She keeps waiting for Jughead to come back, but he doesn’t. And he won’t ever come back.