Riverdale: “The Stand” finally defeats Percival Pickens

“The Stand” finally addressed the battle that was suggested many episodes previously. The war between good and evil came to be in a fight of mental powers between Percival Pickens and Jughead Jones, but what really happened?

At first, it seemed like the battle between good and evil would come down to a physical or supernatural fight between Percival and the gang. However, Percival declared war by decapitating Alice, Frank, and Tom. Possessing Reggie, Jason, Glen, and Veronica’s grandmother proved how far Percival was willing to go.

But, that did not stop the heroes for long, and they prevented their attackers from gaining the upper hand. Still, the group had two main objectives during “The Stand.” Defeating Percival was one, and the other was regaining the heads of their late loved ones so Cheryl could bring them back to life.

Riverdale takes full advantage of Tabitha’s abilities as the town’s guardian angel with time-traveling powers to have her know when Archie is about to die and pull off another impossible move. Toni’s suggestion that her son Anthony join the Serpents in taking down the Ghoulies and Percival is a bold move, especially considering Anthony is a baby and is not capable of fighting. However, Toni’s suggestion that Tabitha speeds up his development so Anthony can join the fight also gives them an advantage considering Percvial’s fear of the immortal child.

With Toni, Fangs, Kevin, and Anthony working on retrieving the heads, it is up to the others to go to war. But, when Percival beats Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Reggie reasonably quickly, he is faced with Jughead and another use of the growing Riverdale Multiverse.

Percival believes it is a battle of mental wills between him and Jughead, but that is not the case. Instead, Jughead reveals his plan encouraged Percvial to go into his mind because it would leave Percival’s body unprotected in the real world. Returning to Pop’s, Percival realizes he has lost to Jughead’s Rivervale friends.

When Percival walked through the doorway to Pop’s, he had walked through Jughead’s portal, leading to Tabitha’s time-traveling Percival back to Rivervale in 1580. Leaving Percival in the past with Mr. Cypher should have effectively concluded his storyline.

Although Percival is not killed, he supposedly has no way back to Riverdale or the present day. However, neither of those stops him from causing one last plot twist. Percival used a spell to change the comet’s direction, sending it straight for Riverdale in a last-ditch attempt at revenge.

Having a comet meant to crash into Riverdale means a massive season finale ahead for Archie and his friends. Tabitha had already revealed the destruction Riverdale would face from the comet. So, what will the group do? How do people defeat a comet? Do they run from town? Jump through the portal to Rivervale? Are their powers permanent with Percival returning to Rivervale?

“The Stand” pulls out many stops on the road to defeating Percival Pickens. But, what will the town do now as it faces what may be the biggest threat Riverdale has ever faced?