Another Black Hood? Really, Riverdale?

Riverdale pulls the ol’ bait and switch with the Black Hood in an episode that defies logic and good sense. It’s a tough town, and it only seems to be getting darker.

The problem with Riverdale, friends, is that when it’s good it’s so freaking awesome. It’s clever and campy, and it’s a juicy bit of pulp we can really sink our teeth into.  But when it’s bad, it’s convoluted, illogical, and way too busy. Coming off two solid episodes that included a (near perfect) musical number and a huge reveal (which Riverdale is already walking back), this week’s “Chapter Thirty-Three: Shadow Of A Doubt” was absolutely lackluster.

If I must, I guess I’ll start with the Black Hood sighting. Or was it the Black Hood? Are there two now? Was that just a diversion set up by Hal because he knows Betty is on to him? Inexplicably, the shooter misses everyone in the crowd, not even grazing any by-standers. Either the Black Hood is the world’s most inept serial killer, or it was just another red herring, meant to throw us off, a la Svenson in the first half of the season. Either way… I just can’t.

I will hand it to Riverdale for pairing up Cheryl and Betty. Their crime-fighting energy is such a refreshing turn away from Veronica’s constant scolding and reprimands to be logical. Cheryl does the straight-man bit much better, eating up the mystery and intrigue like a guilty pleasure. Of course, she turns out to be the more level-headed of the two, but we get lines like “Dear Cousin, you look harrowed,” and “serial killer lair.”

Speaking of the lair, Hal’s ShareBNB is far less cryptic than the writers tried to make us believe. Aside from its grubby disarray and lonely-single-guy stench, it doesn’t reveal much, besides the Nancy Drew book — a call back to the Black Hood’s earlier reign of terror. Couple this with Hal’s calendar matching up with the Black Hood’s murders, and Betty seems pretty convinced that her Dad is a murderer.

Until, curiously, she doesn’t. All it takes is an anemic excuse from Hal about the book being a birthday present, and Betty believes him. Or does she? Honestly, I can’t really tell, at all, what Riverdale is trying to do with this storyline. Towards the end of the episode, Betty makes a phone call to her dad, channeling the creepy tone and language of the Black Hood, asking him to meet her “where it all began.” Hal doesn’t even ask why she’s being so weird.

Then we get the faux (???) Black Hood at the debate which makes us think Hal might not be the one, but then Riverdale doubles back, once again, making Hal stand Betty up at the same time a hooded gunman shows up at Cheryl’s door. What the heck, writers?

All of this Betty/Cheryl/Black Hood business takes place parallel to all the other stuff happening. And let me tell you, there is a lot happening. Elections, a Ghoulies threat, Hiram double-crossing Archie, a mob outside Fangs’ jail cell, Veronica’ getting into casino business, the Dark Circle, an accidental shooting, a threat on Fred Andrew’s life and an antiquated courting ritual. Whew … it’s too much to sort through.

The big story, or the story I wish they would tell, is the constant rumblings of a full-on class war. Riverdale hints at it, dances around it, and then just leaves viewers to take their words for it. Why does everybody hate the Serpents so much? The writers have positioned them as the most likable and relatable characters on the show, yet they are constantly asking us to invest in a storyline that makes them the villains — or at least the riff raff. I’m getting narrative whiplash.

The letterman jacket wearing meatheads are the real idiots here, and the Serpents might be the only thing holding Riverdale together at this point. So, please, writers, tell why we’re supposed to actively root against them? Just because Hiram does? Or Alice? I really don’t know.

Has the show run so far afield of the original Archie texts that we’re supposed to just throw it away altogether? Riverdale is quickly becoming a town with incredible dread and foreboding instead of pep, and no amount of kitschy camp (paging Cheryl Blossom) can pull us out from under it.

It’s not a great place to live, and it’s quickly becoming a hard place to watch. Someone call the National Guard, because the town of Riverdale is a disaster. Everybody has the “darkness” which, according to the Coopers, could mean anything from situational depression to homicidal tendencies. Yet, all this gore and grit is grinding out the very thing we love about the show …  emotional payoff.

More so, the writers are asking us to invest in things we certainly don’t (and shouldn’t have to) care about. This election business is just a waste of energy, and pulling attention away from folks we need to see more of — Toni, Joaquin, Fred Andrews and FP. None of these kids are even old enough to vote, so why should we care that Veronica declares her support for Fred in the mayoral race?

With only one episode until the season 2 finale, Riverdale is picking up the pace. However, I’m not sure what we’re driving toward. Have you got any ideas? Tweet me.

Related Story: Riverdale gives up the Black Hood’s identity, opening a floodgate of brutality

Catch up on Riverdale on the CW app and website, then head back here for our post-Riverdale rehash and confab.