'Riverdale' recap: 'Chapter Thirty: The Noose Tightens'

On this episode of Riverdale, Toni searches for Cheryl, Archie sides with Hiram again, and an unwelcome guest visits the Cooper’s.

Previously on Riverdale, friends and family feuded over running for office. Also, Penelope forced Cheryl into conversion therapy.

“The Noose Tightens” opens on the Sisters of Quiet Mercy where Cheryl is still being held. She sits through a short movie, which weirdly features Kevin and Moose. Cheryl sits near the other residents of the building and cries as the movie talks about “deviant” behavior.

At Riverdale High, Alice moderates a school hall for student body president. Sweet Pea asks if Southside High kids will be more accepted and Jughead and Betty say that is part of their platform. Midge asks Veronica and Archie if they will be okay working together as their parents are running against each other for mayor. Josie and Reggie argue they are calm and will do the job correctly.

Betty does not want to see her mom after the questions, so she and Jughead rush away. Alice catches FP instead and tells him to make Betty come home. FP confesses he is not a fan of Betty staying at his trailer either, as he is sharing the foldout couch with Jughead so Betty can have his bed. He tells Alice to not make the same mistakes he did and to work things out with Betty.

The Lodge’s and Andrews’s talk and mention documents have not been signed by either party. Veronica and Archie tell them to sign what they have to and have a clean fight for mayor. Later, the Lodge family and Archie arrive at The Pembrooke to find some of Hiram’s mob buddies waiting. Hiram sends the women upstairs and says goodbye to Archie before going to talk to the men. When Archie gets home, Mary asks him to come to his father’s mayoral announcement.

Alice gets home to find Chic watching the news intently. The police found the dead man's car. Alice calls FP, and Betty and Jughead turn on the news and see the car being pulled from the swamp. They meet at Pop’s to discuss the news. The teens claim they wiped the car free of prints and wore gloves. FP tells everyone to act normally. Alice tries to get Betty to come home, but she refuses to unless Chic leaves.

Hiram meets with Archie privately to tell him about his meeting with Carl and Lenny, the mobsters from the night before. He says they fear Hermione running for Mayor of Riverdale will bring attention to their business dealings. Hiram asks Archie to watch over Veronica. Archie asks to come to the meeting that night. Hiram says Adams and Andre will be there, but since some of his business associates are not answering his calls, Archie might be needed.

At Riverdale High, the Serpents confront Jughead about his student body president campaign. Jughead says the winner will be able to create change in the school. Sweet Pea is angry that Betty is his running mate and claims she will abandon the Serpents like Alice did years before. Sweet Pea says the Serpents will not vote for them because of Alice’s betrayal.

Reggie approaches Archie and challenges him to an arm wrestling contest for the teams' votes. Archie wins and threatens Reggie when he insults his dad.

Toni tells Josie and Veronica about Penelope’s claim that Cheryl left for boarding school. She says Cheryl’s social media has not been updated in days. The two girls agree to help Toni find Cheryl.

Meanwhile, Sister Livingstone tells Cheryl that Nana dressing her in her brother’s clothes is to blame for her problems. Cheryl says any issues she has stemmed from being abused by her family. Then the woman tells Cheryl it is time for her “physical therapy.” Later, Cheryl lugs bags across a room when a woman comes in and says she put them in the wrong place. Cheryl argues she put them where she was told, and the woman says Cheryl must learn to listen.

At Hiram’s dinner, Lenny and Carl demand a 25 percent cut from the prison business since Hermione is running for mayor. Hiram declines the offer, saying it would result in a loss. The men say they are now in charge of the other associates he was unable to get in contact with earlier. They insult him, Andre, Archie, and Adams. Archie tells the men not to underestimate him or Hiram. Later Hiram praises him but tells him to be careful.

Betty asks Jughead what she needs to do to be accepted by the Serpents. The two then talk about what to do about the dead man’s care. The two meet with Kevin at Pop’s and claim to be writing an article about people disposing of items in the swamp and its environmental impact. Kevin says the police are looking for whoever stole the car and that the car’s owner claimed it that day.

The couple meets with their parents and Chic to discuss what they learned. Alice is furious, but they claim Kevin suspected nothing. Chic says the car likely belongs to the dead man’s girlfriend, Darla. Alice demands Betty return home and Chic offers to move out. Betty says she will return the second he is gone, but Alice insists she return immediately. Betty agrees after FP stays silent.

Toni, Veronica, and Josie arrive at Thistlehouse to question Penelope. After Josie threatens to talk to Sheriff Keller about Cheryl’s absence, Penelope says Cheryl was displaying strange behavior so she sent her to a facility. She then shows Josie one of the drawings Cheryl did of the two of them together. Penelope claims Cheryl was obsessed with Josie and says she will tell the whole town if they want.

The teens leave and Josie tells the other girls that if what Penelope says is true, Cheryl was her stalker. Josie will not help them look for Cheryl anymore.

At the Cooper’s, Betty asks her mom to give her consent for a Serpent tattoo. The two argue and Chic comes home, claiming he was trying to help. A woman comes in after him and introduces herself as Darla. They all sit down and Darla talks about the dead man, Dwayne. She says she does not care what happened to him, as long as she gets the $10,000 she is owed. Betty tries to say they know nothing, but Alice jumps in saying they can get her the money if she never bothers them again. Darla says she will wait at their house until the bank opens in the morning.

Archie finds Fred and Jughead working on the announcement speech. Fred says he is happy Archie is coming to the announcement. Later Archie talks to Veronica about his problems with his dad. The two walk in The Pembrooke to find a man who looks like the Black Hood beating up Andre. Archie chases the man and tears off the hood, revealing Adams. Adams demands Archie tell Hiram to take the deal and runs off. Archie tells the Lodge’s what happened. They all talk about what to do, but in terms of long-term, Hiram is at a loss. For now, he tells the family to stay home when possible and asks Archie to protect Veronica when they go to school.

The next day at Thistlehouse, Penelope leaves Nana alone watching Bob Ross. Nana craws on the floor to make it to the phone. Toni gets called to the principal's office and receives the call from Nana. Nana tries to tell her where Cheryl is, but only is able to get out the word sisters before Claudius disconnects the phone.

Later Toni tells Veronica about the call and Veronica wonders if she meant the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. She did not think they did conversion therapy. The two go ask Kevin, who confirms the place does do conversion therapy. He tells them about a tunnel that the sisters used to use during prohibition. He says the tunnel is used today as a hookup spot and he thinks he can get them there later that night.

Alice sends Betty to the bank to get the funds. Alice calls Betty while she is at the bank and tells her not to come home. The man who beat up Chic at his old apartment is there now too and she fears for their safety. Betty does not listen though and brings the money back. After giving them the money, Darla and the man then threaten them and say they are staying in Riverdale.

Seconds later, Jughead and some of the other Serpents arrive, knives out. Betty says they are friends with the Sheriff’s son. Jughead adds that the Cooper’s are respected, so no one will believe them if they bring accusations against the family. The two are told to leave and after a moment, they listen. After, Alice thanks Jughead and tells Betty she should have listened to her warnings. She tells Chic he needs to leave because he keeps putting them in danger.

Archie takes Veronica home and Hiram asks to speak with him before he leaves. Hiram says he is going to give into Carl and Lenny’s demands to receive a cut from the prison because he cannot risk the safety of his family. Archie asks if he has told the men yet, and Hiram says no. Later, Archie goes to Reggie and asks him to help him stand against the men who want to hurt Hiram’s business. Reggie hates the Southside and agrees the prison is a good idea, so after Archie offers him the team’s votes, he agrees.

In downtown Riverdale, Mary tells Fred he needs to get started on his speech even though Archie has not arrived. Fred begins his speech to announce his candidacy.

Toni, Veronica and Kevin go to the tunnels to rescue Cheryl. Kevin stands guard and will call his dad if the girls are longer than 15 minutes. While the two teens run through the tunnels, Cheryl is getting ready to go watch another movie. Veronica and Toni split up and search all the rooms. Toni calls out for Cheryl, who is watching the movie with the other residents and crying. She bursts into the room and Cheryl is surprised. Toni says they came to rescue her and Cheryl rushes to her and the two hug, then kiss. Veronica comes in and tells them the nuns are coming. The girls run away from the nuns and escape through the tunnels. They get out and Toni bars the tunnel door to stop the nuns from following as they run through the woods to safety.

Lenny and Carl wait for Hiram and the waiter appears with a message from Hiram to go outside and check on their car. They do and the car explodes. Archie and the team wear masks and confront the men, telling them Riverdale is protected by the Dark Circle. The men start towards them, but police sirens blare so they all run away. Later, Mary confronts Archie about how he is treating his father. Before she leaves, she says she no longer recognizes her own son.

Alice addresses the Serpents who helped at her house and thanks them personally. She also acknowledges she has treated the Southside unfairly, especially since it is where she grew up. She says she will fight for it, and the scene changes to her visiting FP’s home.

The Lodge’s give Archie a car for his help. Hiram says the enemies will return, and Archie says he will be ready. Veronica starts the car and the two drive to school.

At Riverdale High, Toni and Cheryl sit on one of the couches in the student lounge holding hands. Cheryl says she intends to get revenge on her mother and uncle. Cheryl walks over to Kevin and asks him about the musical production of Carrie he is directing. She tells him to cancel auditions for the lead part. She will play Carrie and says the school will burn.

This episode of Riverdale was a mixed bag. Cheryl’s storyline so far was handled better than I expected. I appreciate how fiercely Toni fought to find her and that Veronica and Kevin helped. Josie backing out was understandable and I hope she and Cheryl talk. The Cooper’s and Jones’s storyline was just okay. Alice has been going back to her Serpent roots throughout the season, so that part was expected. Chic contacting Darla and bringing her back was incredibly stupid. Chic usually shows his ability to emotionally manipulative people, so I question his motives and endgame. Archie often makes foolish choices so his decision to use his team as a gang to threaten mobsters is not surprising. Archie is quickly becoming the poster child for bad decisions.

Riverdale airs on Wednesdays at 8 pm on The CW. Riverdale is on a short break and will return April 18th at its regular time. Check out the trailer for the next episode below.