Ethel is willing to go on record about Chuck doing the same thing to her, which will be great for the exposé Betty is writing for the school newspaper (when does this girl sleep?). Thanks to a tip from a former football team member, Veronica, Betty, Ethel, and Kevin are able to track down the proof they need: a notebook full of Chuck’s team scoring various women they pretended to have sex with. Cheryl crashes their after hours sleuthing at school but she gets more than she bargained for when she sees Jason’s name in the book scoring Polly. This suddenly makes Betty’s determination personal. Polly being a victim of such heinous rumours and mistreatment was obviously a factor that led to her breakdown. But Cheryl isn’t believing it. She’s too busy deifying her brother when it’s increasingly apparent she doesn’t know him at all. With the evidence she needs for her story, Betty should be satisfied, but she wants to do more than just write about this, she wants justice. So she comes up with a plan. One of my favourite scenes of the night is the briefest. Betty sits in front of the mirror putting on a striking red lipstick. “It makes me feel powerful,” she says to Alice, who watches her with a disapproving glare. Alice wipes the makeup off her face, handing Betty another shade, “Pink Perfection. It’s more you.” It’s a telling moment, highlighting the rules that govern Betty’s life and how she presents herself to the world. But to pull off her plan Betty has to step out of her comfort zone and become someone else entirely. Someone who can seduce Chuck. When Betty walks into Pop’s diner with a dramatically different wardrobe and red lipstick she looks uncomfortable with the role she’s playing. But bad girls have more fun, right? She’s able to get Chuck to agree to come over to Ethel’s empty home so he can help Betty shed her good girl behavior. When he arrives, however, it’s Veronica who opens the door in nothing but a swimsuit, leading him to the hot tub. That he can’t tell he walked into a John Tucker Must Die scenario says a lot. Then Betty walks to the hot tub and the whole episode gets much darker. In a black wig and sexy outfit, Betty is a whole different woman. “Betty couldn’t make it so she sent me instead,”she says, teasing out that she’s openly playing a role. Veronica just wants to get Chuck to admit to lying on camera. But Betty takes things a step farther, making me wonder if she got her inspiration watching Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction one too many times. She drugs his drink, handcuffs him to the hot tub, and ramps up the heat. Even after he confesses, she wants more. She’s out for blood. She pushes his head underwater with her black heel, screaming, “Apologize for what you did to me!” Then she calls Chuck “Jason,” revealing that every dark emotion she’s been carrying on Polly’s behalf she’s taking out on him. She’s not just angry, she’s unhinged. When Veronica said she wanted Betty to go “full dark, no stars” I don’t think this is what she had in mind. Veronica is able to stop her, but what if she’s wasn’t there? The exposé about Chuck she wrote for the paper has a profound ripple effect. Chuck and his goon squad are cut from the team. Betty and friends are feeling utterly victorious. Even Cheryl admits she was wrong. But the fury Betty displayed lingers. Veronica is right to worry about her. If merely seeing Polly’s name set Betty off this much, what else is she capable of? The episode ends by Jughead discovering it was the Adventure Scouts’ group leader, Dilton Doiley (Kyle Stehura) who fired the shot Cheryl and Archie heard. He’s a survivalist and has no role in Jason’s murder, but he does reveal to Jughead and Betty that he saw Ms. Grundy’s car that morning near the river in exchange to keep his name out of the school paper. Looks like Archie won’t be able to protect Ms. Grundy forever. Other Gossip: -At least one of the writers must really be a big fan of Truman Capote. He gets another mention when Jughead describes his novel about Jason’s death as “Riverdale’s In Cold Blood”. -As much as I like the presence of Josie and the Pussycats, they could use a bit more development. -Black Swan at this point is an obvious reference point for Betty’s narrative. The red lipstick, visual motif of mirrors, and unexpected display of vengeance all nod to the Natalie Portman film. I don’t think Betty is going to start hallucinating, but this does bring up a lot of questions about how deeply striving for perfection has warped her. -It’s interesting to watch Riverdale comment on slut shaming, sexism, and how deeply it harms women. Is this a one-off or the kind of narratives the writers will continue to play around with?