‘Riverdale’ Recap With Spoilers: “Chapter Twenty-Three: The Blackboard Jungle”

Jughead types about the Svenson reveal on his computer.

Veronica watches as the Lodges meet with Mayor McCoy.

Penelope tells Cheryl that she’s raised enough money to pay for their Christmas decorations — by becoming a sex worker.

Veronica’s parents make sure that she is following along with their plan, and she says she is.

Fred confronts Archie about his medical bills being paid. They figure out that it was probably Veronica who paid it off. Archie brings his guitar with him to school, and jokes about wanting to start a band. As Archie leaves for school, someone takes photos of him.

Archie confronts Veronica about the hospital bill. She mentions that her parents helped pay for it, and he thanks her by kissing her. Betty watches them walk into the student lounge, and smiles.

Weatherbee comes over the school PA system. He reveals that Southside High has been shut down, and some of the school’s students have transferred to Riverdale High.

Betty realizes that this means Jughead is probably coming back to Riverdale High. The rest of the crew wonders what to do, and Veronica decides to be positive about the situation.

Jughead shows Toni some of his writings. The rest of the Serpents come outside, telling them about the school transfer.

Mayor McCoy meets with the Lodges. They reveal that they want to buy the land underneath Southside High, and will give her a commission for her reelection campaign in return.

Betty returns home, worried that someone is upstairs. She arms herself with pepper spray, but it ends up just being Polly. Polly reveals that she had her babies, who are named Juniper and Dagwood. She collects some of her things and then leaves.

Archie is approached by FBI Special Agent Adams.

ACT 2

Adams asks Archie about his relationship with Hiram and the Lodges. He says that they’re investigating Hiram’s ties to various crimes. He cites the St. Clair’s accident in particular, and asks Archie to uncover the truth about it. Archie denies it, but Adams suggests that Fred could be suspicious as well. He leaves the offer open for Archie, and then leaves.

Later that night, Fred reveals that Hiram and Hermione covered the hospital bills. Archie argues that that puts their family more in debt to them.

Alice speculates about what Mayor McCoy is doing with Southside High. Betty brings up Polly, but Alice says she hasn’t heard from her, so Betty doesn’t tell her anything.

Jughead reads the announcement about Southside High, and doesn’t understand why it was closed down. FP argues that Jughead doesn’t want to go back to Riverdale because of Betty.

Betty arrives at Pop’s, and asks Jughead to help her get in touch with her long-lost brother. She argues that Alice needs something good in her life, especially if Polly is keeping the babies a secret. Betty then tells Jughead she’s glad he’s coming back to school.

Archie eats dinner with the Lodges, and thanks them for the hospital bills. Veronica asks Archie to help with the Southside students, and he accepts. Archie then asks Hiram about Southside High and the St. Clairs, but both Hiram and Hermione are vague.

Archie lays in bed, contemplating. He grabs Adams’ business card.

The next day, the Serpents arrive at Riverdale High. Veronica welcomes them to the school, but is overshadowed by Cheryl, Reggie, and a group of students protesting. Cheryl and Toni are about to fight, but Archie tries to make the peace.

Cheryl pulls Archie aside, reminding him that she saw the kiss between him and Betty.

ACT 3

Cheryl and Archie meet in the music room. Cheryl threatens to tell the truth about the kiss with Betty if he doesn’t convince Veronica to join their side.

Archie then asks about Nick St. Clair, but Cheryl doesn’t want to really talk about him. Cheryl does reveal that Nick almost assaulted Veronica, and Archie threatens to murder him.

Jughead’s social worker reveals information about Betty’s brother. His name is Charles Smith, and he was stuck in the foster care system most of his life.

The students introduce themselves to the Serpents. They’re interrupted by Weatherbee and Reggie, the former of whom accuses the new Serpents of painting a snake onto the school floor. Weatherbee outlaws any gang activity.

Betty tells Alice and Hal that Polly had the twins. She then reveals the information about Charles, which starts to make Hal upset.

Jughead and the Serpents hang out in the Whyte Wyrm. He argues that Weatherbee is being too harsh on the Serpents, but Toni and Sweet Pea argue that the transfer is a good thing.

Archie meets with Adams. He reveals what he knows about Nick’s injuries — and that it might not be an accident. He asks Adams to keep Fred safe, and he accepts. He then reveals that Nick assaulted Veronica, and Adams suggests coming up with a fake story to justify visiting Nick.

Archie visits Cheryl, and suggests getting another check from Nick. He asks to borrow one of Jason’s blazers.

Alice wakes Betty up in the middle of the night, revealing that she wants to see her son.

ACT 4

Jughead wears his Serpents jacket at school the next day, prompting a lot of people to stare. Reggie asks him to take the jacket off, and then begins to fight him and the other Serpents. Veronica sees it, and tells Weatherbee.

Weatherbee gives everyone a week of detention, and suspends Jughead for wearing the jacket.

Archie dresses up in a nice shirt and tie.

Veronica’s parents ask her about the integration of the Southside students. She suggests that her parents donate money to help the Southside students dress appropriately.

Betty and Alice visit a motel, asking for Charles. They find him in his room, where he confronts Alice for giving him up. He then reveals that he goes by Chic, and leaves.

Alice goes out to her car and cries.

FP finds Jughead at the Whyte Warm. He explains why he got suspended from school. He then argues that Southside High was a home for the Serpents, and he doesn’t feel at home at Riverdale High. FP argues that keeping a low profile is a good thing in this case, and doesn’t mean that Jughead stops being a Serpent.

Archie visits Nick at his boarding school. He confronts her about Cheryl, and tells him to write a check for double the amount. Nick agrees. Archie asks him how he got hurt, and he says it was a skiing accident. Archie then grabs Nick’s leg, confronting him for what he did while he was in Riverdale. Nick suggests that Veronica will eventually turn on Archie, and Archie begins to beat him up.

Jughead finds Toni and Sweet Pea wearing Riverdale uniforms, which Weatherbee basically requires.

Veronica reads a text from Nick about the attack from Archie. Cheryl reveals that she told Archie about Veronica’s assault, and apologizes for telling Veronica’s secret.

Betty goes through Polly’s stuff, finding a night light. She goes to Chic’s motel, where she finds a guy beating him up. She pepper sprays the guy, and then he leaves.

Veronica confronts Archie about why he visited Nick. He argues that Cheryl is blackmailing him about the kiss with Betty. Veronica forgives Archie, and thanks him for being honest with her. They say that they love each other, and then kiss.

Betty brings Chic into the Cooper house, where they begin to patch him up.

ACT 5

Jughead calls the first meeting of his “Swords and Serpents” group, which is a cover for the Serpents to meet while at school.

Cheryl shows Penelope the check from the St. Clairs, and argues that Penelope can stop being a sex worker. Penelope disagrees.

Alice tucks Chic into bed. He looks over and finds Betty’s night light, plugged into the wall.

Veronica and Archie cuddle. Archie asks about the assault from Nick, and Veronica explains why she didn’t tell him before.

Archie asks Adams for Veronica to also be protected. He agrees, as long as Archie keeps his cool while investigating. He then asks Adams about the Black Hood, and reveals that he’s uncertain about whether or not the real Black Hood was caught.

Chic stands in the doorway of Betty’s room, watching over her.