*Warning: Spoilers ahead*
Last week on Riverdale, Ethyl (Shannon Purser) finally came clean about the true identity of the Gargoyle King: Jason Blossom (Trevor Stines). And now, Jughead (Cole Sprouse), Archie (KJ Apa), Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Veronica (Camila Mendes) team up to solve the mystery once and for all.
Here’s what went down in the season three finale, titled “Survive the Night.”
The episode begins right where Chapter Fifty-Six left off, with Toni (Vanessa Morgan) escaping from The Farm and running to Penelope’s (Nathalie Boltt) house. Penelope welcomes her inside, gives her a cup of tea and demands to know what happened. Toni spills the tea (literally) before getting extremely drowsy and passing out.
“Thank you for the information, my dear,” Penelope says. “Very timely, indeed.”
Cut to Penelope visiting Edgar (Chad Michael Murray) at The Farm. In a surprising turn of events, she’s not interested in exposing his “shenanigans.” Instead, she wants to buy his organs in bulk.
At Pop’s Diner, Jughead, Archie and Veronica reveal that they each received a box with instructions.
When they arrive at the given address, they’re seated around a large table with Betty, who was purchased from The Farm by Penelope herself. Just then, Penelope reveals that there are two other guests joining them for dinner: the Black Hood—aka Hal (Lochlyn Munro)—and the Gargoyle King—aka Chic (Hart Denton).
That’s right, Betty’s brother, Chic, is the real Gargoyle King. And now, he has red hair—just like Penelope’s dead son, Jason.
Penelope admits to being the mastermind all along. Not only did she bring Griffins and Gargoyles into Riverdale, but she also made Chic dress up as the Gargoyle King to avoid being seen. The Black Hood is just icing on the cake.
Now that the cat king is out of the bag, Penelope tasks Jughead, Archie, Betty and Veronica with one final quest: Survive the night. “I’d start running if I were you,” she says before leading them to the edge of the forest.
Later on, the foursome stumble upon a note that instructs each of them to drink one of four chalices. The catch? One of the cups contains a “lethal, rapid-acting venom.”
After Veronica, Archie and Jughead take their turns, Betty is left with the final (and likely poisonous) chalice. Right when she’s about to drink, Veronica snatches it from her hand and chugs it.
Just then, Penelope appears out of nowhere, saying, “Remarkable, Enchantress. You’ve completed your challenge. And proved your loyalty.”
But there’s a caveat: All of the cups were laced with a slow-acting poison. And the only way to obtain the antidote is to finish the game.
Seeing this as a near-death experience, Archie pulls Veronica aside and confesses his love for her. She eats it up (natch).
When they reach the final leg of the quest, Betty is tasked with an impossible duty: She has to shoot her dad, Hal. And she does…in the leg. So, Penelope finishes the job and fires directly at Hal’s head.
Elsewhere, Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) is trying to warn her peers about The Farm’s big secret. (You know, how Edgar is casually harvesting organs.) Things only get worse when she finds out that Jason’s body is missing from his grave.
Later on, Alice (Mädchen Amick) frees Cheryl from her holding cell and helps her escape. “Don’t stop running until you get to town,” Alice says.
When Cheryl arrives home, she finds Toni and the Pretty Poisons planning a rescue mission for Jughead, Archie, Betty and Veronica. And it works.
The episode concludes with a series of important scenes. Here are the key takeaways:
Well, we didn’t see that coming.
