Riverdale

Previously on Riverdale:

Ladies, gentlemen. Been months in the making, but we're here.

Welcome to the new Southside.

You asking me to join the Serpents?

I wondered how you felt about being my queen.

I'll sell the Whyte Wyrm to you, for Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe.

No more evil.

You have no power over me.

I have someone who can help you, Mom, from the Farm.

Needs a lot of work, Dad. But I'm up for it if you are.

And your new student body president, Archie Andrews.

You got Andre to kill that boy at Shadow Lake, Cassidy.

When I do prove this, I'll just come for you.

Steps have been taken to dissolve the glue that holds them together.

Sheriff, what are you doing?

You're under arrest for the murder of Shadow Lake resident Cassidy Bullock.

It's the calm before the storm.

The summer before your junior year in high school.

And how do you spend it?

Working some brutal summer job

that actually makes you look forward to going back to school.

Or maybe you have an internship that doesn't pay much.

That's okay, because it's for a good cause.

- Focus on that. - No, no. See what I mean?

Or... maybe you spent it at Sweetwater Swimming Hole.

You... and the best friends you'll ever have.

Or maybe you spent most of June, July, August in a courtroom,

supporting our pal, Archie Andrews,

who was on trial for a murder he didn't commit,

despite the DA's closing arguments.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

the evidence and testimony

that was presented in this court tell a dark story.

That Mr. Andrews has a history of violent behavior.

That he started not one, but two masked vigilante groups.

That he assaulted an innocent boy,

who was helpless with two broken legs.

That he went wilding in the Southside of town,

and threatened to shoot a young man in the face.

That while partying with his friends in the town of Shadow Lake,

Mr. Andrews ran into the woods

and shot the victim, Cassidy Bullock, point-blank in the head.

Now, Mr. Andrews claims

that it was his girlfriend's father's doorman who shot Mr. Bullock.

A shot Mr. Andrews claims to have heard, but not seen.

Who knows the truth of what happened

that terrible night in the woods near Shadow Lake?

I'll tell you who.

That man.

Archie Andrews may be a varsity athlete,

and he may be a sensitive musician...

but he is also...

a cold-blooded killer.

Ladies and gentlemen, we know for a fact

that Archie Andrews constantly puts the needs of others ahead of his own.

We know that he helped to solve the murder of Jason Blossom.

We know that he offered both friends and enemies shelter

when they had nowhere else to stay.

We know that he punched through a river of ice

to save the life of his classmate Cheryl Blossom.

Well, let me remind you that there were no witnesses to the actual killing.

There was no murder weapon. There is no motive.

At the end of the day, all the prosecution has

is cloudy testimony from unreliable people.

Now, it is my solemn duty, as a mother, to protect my son.

But as an attorney, it's my duty to adhere to the facts,

to the evidence.

There is nothing here that proves

that Archie Andrews is anything less than an innocent boy.

Thank you.

Thanks, Mom.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the charge is first-degree murder.

You may retire to begin your deliberations.

All rise.

Okay, can you just level with us, Mom?

What do you think Archie's chances are?

Baby, I'd say fifty-fifty.

If you had to come down on a side, Mrs. McCoy?

- You were great in there, Mary. - Thank you, Fred.

It's only the most important case of our lives.

You were amazing, Mrs. Andrews.

Well, Betty, your help this summer was a godsend.

Have you guys seen Archie?

Archie?

There you are.

How you holding up?

Yeah, good, Jug.

What were you thinking about just now?

How you're gonna walk out of this courthouse a free man?

No, I...

There was this place...

we've never been before, Ronnie, but Betty and Jug,

remember Sweetwater Swimming Hole?

- We went every summer. - I was just thinking about that place.

Yeah, me too. What made us stop going?

Oh. Probably when we got covered in leeches.

Was that us, or was that a movie?

- Definitely us. - That was us.

I'd like to go.

- Hopefully you can take me, Archie? - Hopefully.

Guys.

It's time. Judge asked us back into the courtroom.

The jury is still deliberating.

But I've dismissed them.

They're sequestered, and I've instructed them

not to read anything about this case, nor to discuss it with anyone.

We'll reconvene Tuesday morning, after Labor Day.

My advice to you, young man,

is to spend this weekend with your family and your loved ones.

That's all.

This just buys us more time to figure out what we need next.

Hey, Archie.

- Have a terrific weekend. - Fred!

- Dad, stop. - No, no.

Guys, guys. Come on.

Hey, stop.

Enjoy.

Thanks, Pop.

Dilton. Ben. What are you guys playing?

- It's called Gryffins... - Shut up, Doiley.

If we could only find the gun that Andre used to kill Cassidy.

I've torn The Pembrooke apart.

After the riots, my father wiped any and all traces of Andre.

He wouldn't have brought it back from Shadow Lake.

- That's probably where he ditched it. - So, we go back to Shadow Woods?

- We've looked. - Let's look again. With metal detectors.

If we get Andre's gun, we can plant it on...

- No. - No.

I don't wanna do that, spend what could be my last weekend

looking for evidence that isn't there, planting it who-knows-where.

Archie, we have three extra days to prove that you're innocent.

- What would you have us do, Archie? - What the judge said.

After the worst summer ever,

I want us to have a great, normal Labor Day weekend.

Can we do that?

If that's what you really want, Archiekins.

It is, Ronnie.

So, what should we do?

Greetings, chums. I wanted to let you know

that after the three amazing months I had with Toni,

riding motorcycles cross-country,

we're celebrating with an epic end-of-summer pool party at Thornhill.

You're all invited.

Of course, given the fact that Archie will most likely be walking the green mile

while the rest of us are walking the stage at graduation,

I understand if you're not up for it.

Invite who you want, but give them fair warning:

I'm in the mood for some hell-raising. Toodles.

So, you've written down your words for the release ritual?

Yeah. How about you?

- I'm working on it. - Betty. Come.

Have some milk oolong tea. It's an incredible detoxifier.

No, I'm okay, thanks.

Where are you off to? Another therapy session?

No, Dr. Glass is tomorrow. I'm going over to Archie's.

Honey, before you go back to school,

I think it's important that you spend some quality family time together.

- Edgar thinks it's important. - Oh, yeah. Edgar from the Farm.

No. Yeah. We'll... We'll talk about that later, Mom.

Can I just say, Mr. Andrews,

watching you punch Hiram Lodge in the face was...

incredibly cathartic.

Almost got me landed in jail.

All right, give it a try.

You do the honors.

Yeah. There you go.

- We did it, Dad. - Yeah, we did.

We sure did.

Just in time.

Guys, excuse me a second. I'm gonna go in the house.

Betty.

I have to ask you a favor.

If I do go away...

will you check on my dad? Invite him over for dinner?

Once my mom goes to Chicago, he'll be alone.

Arch.

The jury is still deliberating. That's a good sign, okay?

You don't need to put your house in order.

Betty, promise me.

Please.

Of course.

It's not gonna work, Daddy.

Your Iago-like attempt to keep me and Archie apart?

It'll fail.

Veronica, I've no idea what you're talking about.

How about a refresher?

Framing Archie for murder.

Conspiring to keep him locked away.

You set all of this in motion.

I know it, everyone knows it.

Only you can stop it.

So, stop it.

Do it now.

But, mija, I have nothing to do with this.

That boy is a criminal with a history of violence.

He's innocent.

You know he is.

He doesn't deserve this.

He'll be alone in there. He'll die in there.

- Archie brought that upon himself. - No. You.