‘Riverdale’: 7 Questions Raised by “The Noose Tightens”

A lot happened in tonight’s episode of Riverdale. While that can generally be said for nearly every episode of The CW drama, tonight’s episode was packed with surprise turns, a few unexpected reveals, one daring caper, and plenty of drama. It also left audiences with some big questions.

Spoilers for tonight’s episode of Riverdale, “The Noose Tightens”, below.

Tonight’s episode saw the situation in the Cooper home reach its tipping point as evidence that Betty (Lili Reinhart), Alice (Madchen Amick), Jughead (Cole Sprouse), and Chic (Hart Denton) thought was gone for good resurfaced. Archie (KJ Apa) found himself even further involved with the Lodges’ affairs while Toni (Vanessa Morgan) and Veronica (Camila Medes) discovered the truth about what happened to Cheryl. While certain things resolved — Chic has to move out and Cheryl was rescued — there are still so many things that we want to know.

Here are seven questions we have after tonight’s episode.

Why did Chic call Darla?

When you kill a man and dispose of his car only for that car to be discovered and claimed by the dead guy’s girlfriend, calling said girlfriend is probably not a particularly great idea. However, in tonight’s episode, that is exactly what Chic does. Instead of staying silent and letting things be, Chic contacts Darla, the girlfriend of the drug dealer he murdered and had Alice and Betty cover up. This leads to Darla showing up at the Cooper house to blackmail Alice — $10,000 or she goes to the sheriff.

While Darla’s blackmail scheme doesn’t quite go as planned, even if she does manage to get the cash, why did Chic even reach out to her in the first place? He claimed to have never met her before when telling Alice and Betty about who the drug dealer’s car belonged to, yet he seemed to have no issue going to her and endangering Alice and Betty in the process. We can’t help but wonder if that’s been part of his Chic’s plan all along. It seems kind of suspect, really. Chic reaches out to the shady girlfriend of the drug dealer he killed who agrees to leave things be for chunk of change so soon after Betty inherits part of the Blossom fortune? It kind of looks to us like maybe Chic is conspiring with Darla, though what his endgame is remains a mystery.

Is Alice a Serpent again?

We already know that Alice Cooper has Serpent history, but other than a brief moment earlier this season, that side of her life has remained firmly in the past. It seemed like that’s where it would stay, too, until the Serpents came to save Alice, Betty, and Chic from Darla and Chic’s ex-landlord. After the Serpents saved the day, Alice went to thank them in person for helping her despite all of the negative things she has said about them in the past.

However, Alice went even further. She also acknowledged her own Southside roots and embraced the Serpents. We couldn’t help but notice the change in her appearance as well — the smokier, more sultry makeup made a return along with a distinctively snake-like pattern on her shirt. Add that to her showing up at FP Jones’ (Skeet Ulrich) trailer at the end of the episode and we have to wonder if Alice is a full Serpent again and, if so, what that means for Betty. Earlier in the episode we saw Betty struggle with perception that she was an outsider who only cared because of Jughead. If Alice is no longer a traitor, it could pave the way for Betty to be a real Serpent herself.

What’s next for Cheryl?

Last week, Cheryl’s (Madelaine Petsch) mother had her committed to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy for what was essentially a gay conversion program then, Penelope (Nathalie Boltt) lied to Cheryl’s friends about where she was. Toni and Veronica quickly saw through the lie and, thanks to a tip from Nana Rose, located and subsequently rescued Cheryl.

But what happens to Cheryl now? If Penelope literally had her committed against her will and was content to leave her there forever as part of her plan to take Cheryl’s money it doesn’t really make sense that Cheryl would be able to go home to Thistle House. Penelope doesn’t seem like someone who would take well to being bested by her daughter. That being said, Cheryl has vowed revenge and getting revenge would be a lot easier if she were back at home. The only thing we know for sure about what’s next for Cheryl is the Riverdale High musical — she claimed the lead role for herself almost as soon as she returned to school.

How is Archie going to explain that car?

In the season premiere, audiences saw Archie drive his father’s truck to the hospital despite not having a driver’s license. Now, after coming up with a temporary solution to Hiram Lodge’s (Mark Consuelos) protection problem, Archie was rewarded with a very expensive, very fancy, classic car.

As, to the best of our knowledge, Archie doesn’t have a driver’s license yet, and a car that flashy is something that is bound to get quite a bit of notice, we have some major questions about how Archie plans to explain that car to not just his friends, but his father, Fred (Luke Perry). That can’t possibly go well.

Did a group of teenagers really just scare off the mob?

About that temporary solution Archie came up with. When the Lodges found themselves without any protection and some of Hiram’s organized crime colleagues trying to move in on his plans for Riverdale, it looked like Hiram was going to have to cut the mob in. At the last moment, though, Archie enlisted the football team to become what he called “the Dark Circle” to intimidate the mobsters as Hiram’s protection — intimidation that included blowing up a car.

Did a group of teenagers really just intimidate two mobsters? Considering that Hiram didn’t have to take the mob’s offer and he rewarded Archie with that fancy car, it looks like yes, but we can’t see that working for long.

What’s next for the Lodges?

Tonight’s episode revealed that there could be issues with the Lodge’s plan to bring a for-profit prison to Riverdale. It also revealed that Hiram doesn’t have the power or the resources he once did. It’s revealed Hiram’s former associates have turned against him and are now trying to leverage him to get a cut of things in Riverdale. Archie was able to fend the mob off for now, but it’s pretty clear that the Lodges could be in real trouble. It’s trouble that could only escalate should Hermione lose the election, particularly if Fred wins instead.

So where do the Lodges go from here? They can’t rely on Archie and his friends to protect them forever.

Could Fred really end up the next mayor of Riverdale?

Fred Andrews officially declared his candidacy for mayor of Riverdale in tonight’s episode. It’s a bold move considering that Hermione Lodge (Marisol Nichols) is running, too. So could Fred actually win? Hermione might have Lodge money and influence on her side, but there is something to said about the hometown boy who has not only worked hard to build a business in Riverdale, but Fred did survive the Black Hood. That pretty much makes him a hometown hero — and voters love hometown heroes.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.