Riverdale Recap: Murder at the Sock Hop! Is a New Killer on the Loose?

Riverdale went full-on ’50s this week with a good old-fashioned sock hop… but you didn’t think we’d have a season of Riverdale without a little bloodshed, did you?

A freshly mind-wiped Jughead discovers that Pep Comics stole a story of his that he submitted and they rejected, so he walks right down to their office to complain. (That’s what you did back in those days.) The editor waves off his claim, saying there are no original stories and points to a file cabinet full of half-formed ideas just waiting for a writer. Jughead volunteers for a try-out, and Ethel Muggs (who we haven’t seen much of since Season 4) would love a chance to do the illustrations, too. Meanwhile, Cheryl announces a sock hop at school, where Kevin’s band will be performing. Toni says Fangs and his rock band could perform, too… and she does a little light flirting with Cheryl, too, which leaves Miss Blossom very flustered.

Archie needs some dance lessons before Veronica will go to the sock hop with him, so he turns to his old pal Betty, who tries to show him how to do the Twist, but he’s pretty stiff. They switch to a slow dance, then — and there are definitely some sparks here, right? Well, there are none between Betty and her boyfriend Kevin, who squirms away when she tries to kiss him while they’re parked at a prime makeout spot. He claims he doesn’t want to catch a cold, and when she says she wants to be pinned, he calls her a “sex maniac,” leading her to storm off in a huff. And when Kevin runs into a new student named Clay and the two share a love of music? Let’s just say there are some sparks there, too.

Veronica wants Archie to jump through a few more hoops before she’ll say yes to the sock hop, so she invites him over to her place for some stimulating conversation. He wears an old jacket of his dad’s (aw) and even writes Ronnie a poem that makes Betty swoon, but when he heads over, he finds Veronica has invited a bunch of other guys to compete for her attention, including Julian. He and Archie bicker, and Archie ends up leaving early. Betty confesses to her mom that she’s feeling neglected by Kevin (and feeling “stirrings” for Archie), so Alice gives Kevin an old pin of hers to give to Betty. Plus, Jughead’s comic book story gets approved, so he puts in a good word for Ethel as an illustrator, and the two even agree to go to the sock hop together — as friends. (Ethel’s mom didn’t like her getting cozy with a boy, though.)

Cheryl notices that not many people are buying tickets to the sock hop, and she hears Toni and the Serpents are threatening to throw rotten eggs at anyone who goes, so she confronts Toni about it at the Serpents’ beatnik coffeehouse hangout. Toni invites her to watch Fangs’ band play, and “you and I can get better acquainted.” Next thing we know, Fangs’ band is replacing Kevin’s at the dance, and Toni and Cheryl are selling tickets together. (Hmmm… maybe there are sparks here, too?) Ethel gets detention after the school psychiatrist sees her gruesome comic book drawings, but she sneaks out with Jughead to meet the comic book editor, who calls them “the most putrid pages I’ve seen in a long time.” (And that’s a compliment!) Her parents are furious, though, and ground her on the night of the sock hop. When Betty sees Archie isn’t going with Veronica, she nearly asks him herself, but Kevin gets to her first, apologizing for taking her for granted and giving her Alice’s pin to wear.

At the sock hop, Fangs’ band rocks the joint as Kevin has another flirty interaction with Clay — and Toni invites Cheryl to dance! Veronica pulls Archie aside and tells him she loved his poem, but he opts to dance with his mom (who’s chaperoning) instead. Ronnie settles for Julian, Betty settles for Kevin and almost everyone is looking longingly at someone who’s not their dance partner — and then Ethel barges into the dance covered in blood, telling Jughead: “Something terrible’s happened.” Yep, just another typical Riverdale High event.

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