‘Riverdale’ Recap With Spoilers: “The Midnight Club”

The episode begins with Weatherbee and other administrators trying to round up all of the copies of the Gryphons and Gargoyles handbook. But as Jughead points out, the students still had a lot more hidden handbooks, and were playing the game as a way to escape from their current troubles.

Hermione speaks to a class at Riverdale High, warning them not to play G&G. She admits that the game killed Ben and Dilton, and decides to ban the game and launch a hotline about people playing the game.

Veronica and Betty talk about the game, and about how Betty and Jughead can’t figure out why their parents were so nervous about the game. Betty gets a call from Dr. Curdle, who reveals that the circumstances around Dilton’s death lines up with another case from the 1990s.

Betty confronts Alice about the case file, and Alice decides to tell the truth.

The episode flashes back to Alice in her junior year. She nervously takes a pregnancy test in the high school bathroom, which comes out positive. Hermione hears her, and offers her help, as Sierra listens on. Alice complains that her baby daddy – FP – has been ignoring her, and Hermione and Sierra are genuinely surprised. Penelope walks into the bathroom, asking for everyone’s hall passes. Penelope and Alice antagonize each other, and Alice ultimately slaps her. They continue fighting each other, as Hermione and Sierra attempt to break it up.

In the Bulldogs locker room, FP is being pressured into streaking. Fred agrees to accompany him, and they streak down the hallway. As Alice explains, this and the fight in the girls’ locker room ultimately led to everyone being thrown in detention.

Principal Featherhead calls roll in detention. Alice talks about what FP was like in high school. The pair can be seen hooking up together.

The principal passes out pieces of paper, instructing everyone to silently write a 1000 word essay while in detention. He goes to his office across the hall.

Everyone works on their essays, while Alice scratches her initials into a nearby windowsill. Tom Keller shows up to bring Sierra lunch, and the pair kiss. Fred asks how none of the group actually knows anything about each other, and the group agrees to play a game called Secrets and Sins.

During the game, Sierra reveals that she and Tom have to keep their relationship secret because of their racist parents. Hermione complains about her mother’s views on Hiram Lodge, who Penelope calls a “petty criminal”. Fred reveals that he wants to stay in the town his entire life and possibly run for mayor, while taking care of his sick father. Alice is next in the game, and she decides to tell the truth about FP really living on the South Side. FP reveals that he told his father he didn’t want to be part of the Serpents, and his father hit him. Penelope reveals that she isn’t really a Blossom, and she actually grew up at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. As she explains, she was actually adopted by the Blossoms, who were grooming her to eventually be Clifford’s wife. Hermione questions how Penelope can put up with that, and the pair end up fighting again.

Featherhead punishes the group by giving them three more Saturday detentions.

Alice carves the remainder of the group’s initials into the windowsill, while Hermione breaks into the teacher’s desk to get her GameBoy. They find a board game version of G&G, and quickly agree to play it together. Penelope serves as the dungeon master of sorts, and the group picks their characters and plays the game. The group becomes enamored with the game, and Penelope ultimately suggests that they play the game in the halls of the school. Penelope pairs up FP with Hermione and Alice with Fred, and asks them to find a gemstone from Thornhill somewhere in the school.

Hermione and FP find the gemstone inside a vending machine. FP acts like he wants to kiss Hermione, but she pushes him away.

Fred comforts Alice, as she explains that the game has become a way for her to escape her life.

Hermione asks FP about his relationship with Alice, and he says it’s just physical, but that he wouldn’t mind it being something. Hermione suggests he try to tell Alice the truth.

Fred tells Alice how playing the game has helped him get through his father’s illness. The pair begin kissing.

In the present day, Betty is shocked that Alice and Fred kissed. Alice confirms it was just a one-time thing.

Back in the flashback, Sierra leaves a window open at the school, which they all sneak in to later that night. The group dresses up in various costumes and acts out their quests in the school.

As they walk down the hallway, the group is confronted by Tom, Hiram, Marty, and Daryl, who are also playing G&G. They agree to play together.

At school, the group gets invitations for the next phase of the game — an Ascension Party. Hiram decides to make things interesting by having everyone take Fizzle Rocks, a new form of drug. The group – aside from Alice – takes the drugs and prepares to play the game. Daryl pulls Penelope aside and compliments her plans for the Ascension Party, but Penelope reveals that she’d thought he was the one who did it, as the stuff was already set up when she got in the room.

The Fred Heads play “Dream Warriors”, as everyone begins to trip on the Fizzle Rocks. Alice watches everything in disgust, before running to the bathroom and throwing up. She finds two chalices in the bathroom, alongside a message scrawled on the mirror to flip for her fate. She finds that same writing — as well as a bunch of culty symbols — scrawled on the bathroom walls. She freaks out and walks down the hallway, before briefly seeing the Gargoyle King. Alice hides around the corner, as she sees Principal Featherhead enter the building. Alice leaves.

As Alice explains in the present day, she regrets not doing more. The next day, Alice sees that the rest of the Midnight Club is missing, as well as Featherhead. Alice then runs into Hermione, who reveals that Fred’s dad died during the party, and Fred found him when he got home.

The group sits at Pop’s after Mr. Andrews’ funeral, as Fred regrets not being there for his dad in his final hours. They talk about how Featherhead has been declared missing, and Alice reveals she did see him the night of the Ascension Party. Penelope tells the group to lie about what happened on that night.

The group walks down the hallway a week later, bothered by a rotten smell and flies everywhere. A janitor finds Featherhead in the supply closet — dead, and with blue lips.

Alice confronts the group about Featherhead’s death, as the group accuses her of being the one who did something. The group reveals that the chalices were empty, and Alice argues that whoever really organized the Ascension Party was trying to kill someone in the group. The group agrees to destroy the G&G manuals, and hide the other pieces of the game in various places. The group makes a spit pack to agree not to talk about G&G ever again.

Alice explains that the group essentially went their separate ways after that day. Fred sells his guitar and began working in the construction business. Hermione is given a strand of pearls by Hiram. Sierra and Tom promise to wait for each other, and possibly continue their romantic relationship when they’re older. Penelope agrees to live in Thornhill with Clifford forever. FP becomes a member of the Serpents, while Alice decides to become more preppy — and begins to flirt with Hal Cooper. As Alice explains, the group essentially became strangers again.

In the present day, Betty asks who ended up poisoning Featherhead. Alice says that his death was ruled a suicide, but that she suspects someone in the group was ultimately who poisoned him — and probably wanted to poison someone else in the group. Betty asks Alice to help her stop people from playing the game now, and Alice argues that that’s dangerous. Betty says that she can’t promise to stop investigating, and reveals that she saw the Gargoyle King in the woods as well. Alice makes Betty swear that she won’t play the game, and she agrees.

The next day in school, Betty finds the windowsill with the Midnight Club’s initials on it. She finds the chalices hidden in a trophy cabinet at the school.

Betty goes to find Jughead in the bunker — and finds him playing the game with Cheryl, Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs. Jughead explains that he’s at a level three and about to ascend, and that he’ll get to meet the Gargoyle King.