Riverdale Season 3 Episode 12: Bizarrodale Review

Dylan PhillipsFebruary 7, 2019n/a12 min

For our review of the last episode of Riverdale, click here.

Synopsis: Amidst preparations for their upcoming wedding, Sierra and Tom receive an unsettling message, which forces “The Midnight Club” to reunite. Meanwhile, Veronica and Reggie take drastic measures to clean up a mess they created. (IMDB)

Writers: Britta Lundin

Director: Harry Jierjian

Rating: TV-14

Running Time: 45mins

Airs: Wednesdays at 8pm on The CW (United States)

“Bizarrodale”starts off with Tom and Sierra discussing their marriage plans with their children at Pop’s. They run into Moose and his father Marcus and invite them to their wedding. Marcus used to be in RROTC with Tom, but after high school they grew apart. Meanwhile, Cheryl is preparing to apply to schools and Toni is there to keep her calm.

Kevin and Moose make out in secret before Marcus and the RROTC pull them away for a meeting. Cheryl sits down with Kevin and discusses his relationship problems. She suggests a dating app, but he wants Moose. Cheryl decides to take matters into her own hands and almost out Moose on the student announcements. Moose confronts Kevin about this, but he is hesitant to come out to his strict father. He later comes up to Kevin and reveals he did come out and his father seemed okay with it. They decide to celebrate that they should spend a night together.

Cheryl goes to her school interview at Highsmith College, but she learns that her alumni status won’t get her in. Turns out her mom is a board member and nixed her application. She confronts her mom and explains she did it because she doesn’t approve of Cheryl’s sexuality. After Cheryl almost outs Moose, Toni berates her and explains her broken backstory. She never had the opportunities that Cheryl had. Cheryl decides to fight back against her mother by taking photos at her brothel for blackmail. Highsmith invites Cheryl back for a second interview, but gives her time to Toni so she can also go to the college.

Josie comes to Sweet Pea and asks him to be her date to the wedding. Unfortunately, Sweet Pea doesn’t want to be just a convenience. He wants to be a priority. Archie comes by the music room to see Josie who is prepping for a Juilliard audition. She hoped Sweet Pea would drive her to it, but things fell through. Archie drives her to the audition, but she fails to get a callback. Archie decides to cheer her up by offering to go as her date to the wedding.

After destroying Hermione’s Fizzle Rocks, she has come to collect from Veronica and Reggie. They decide to rob Reggie’s dad’s car dealership to get the money. However, things don’t go according to plan and Reggie is shot by the security guard. To make matters worse the money bag is filled with a dye pack ruining the money. They arrive at Hermione’s deal to reveal that the buyer is Gladys Jones! She learns of their connection to her son and offers them a payment plan with Reggie’s car as down payment.

Things become serious when Tom and Sierra get a letter from the Gargoyle King threatening their children. The Midnight Club meet up to discuss the letters they all got. The letters want them to complete Ascension Night and finish their game. While some are hesitant, they agree to do this for the safety of their children. They sneak into the school, along with a cane-wielding Hiram and steal the chalices. However, in place of the chalices they find the King’s head and “Got You”stained on the wall. The parents all call their children who are paired up and getting it on, but Tom can’t reach Kevin.

Moose and Kevin are enjoying their night alone in the bunker when they are confronted by the Gargoyles. They are brought into the woods to the Gargoyle King who wants them to play his game. When Kevin is about to drink from the cyanide chalice, Cheryl shoots the King with the parents rushing in to save the day. They unmasked the King to reveal it’s Marcus. He was trying to scare his son straight just like he was when he had thoughts about Tom.

FP and Jughead return home from taking down another King to be greeted by Gladys and Jellybean. Turns out they’ve come back to Riverdale for the foreseeable future. Moose comes to Kevin and explains that he has to move away with his aunt for a little while. He tries to understand as they share one last kiss. Cheryl brings Toni to her newest gift, a gang of her own called The Pretty Poisons. Josie and Archie discuss life while sharing a duet that ends in a passion-filled kiss.

Questions

  • Who will wind up dead next?
  • How many Gargoyle Kings are there?
  • How long will Archie and Hiram’s truce last?
  • Will Gladys take down Hiram?
  • Will Betty forgive her father?
  • What is The Farm’s plan?
  • Will the dynamic of Riverdale change with FP donning the sheriff’s hat?

Overall, Bizzarodale was a good episode. The gang is thrown into the background to focus on the underappreciated supporting characters of Riverdale. Each of their stories are fleshed out much more than the rest of the entire season giving updates on some of people’s favourite characters. Many of them are able to lift a heavy weight off their shoulders while others feel trapped in their current situations. While it doesn’t progress the main story like other episodes have, it was a great break to play catch up. Embrace the campiness of Riverdale!

Score: 8.5/10

What did you think of “Bizarrodale”? Where do you see this season going? Let me know in the comments below!

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