“Riverdale” reminds us that the Coopers and the Blossoms have a rivalry almost as old as the town itself as a baby shower is organized for Polly. They aren’t the only families feuding. Alice Cooper isn’t happy that the Lodges have given her daughter a place to stay. The Blossoms aren’t happy that Andrews Construction is breaking ground where the drive-in used to be either. As a result, it seems like everyone is ready for a fight in “The Outsiders.”
Betty and Veronica throw a baby shower
Polly just wants everyone to be as happy about the fact that she’s having Jason’s baby as she is.
Unfortunately, her parents don’t want her to keep the baby and Jason’s parents want the baby, but nothing to do with Polly. Of course, Polly wants her baby, leaving her caught in the middle. It’s Veronica who suggests throwing a baby shower to help Polly see how much everyone cares about her, but it doesn’t exactly go as planned.
Of course, the Coopers and the Blossoms don’t have it in them to play nice, even for the sake of Polly and her baby. A yelling match between the two mothers cuts the festivities short, though it does have the bonus of both Polly’s own mother and Jason’s mom wanting her to live with them. Polly finally has options for her and her baby that were taken from her when her parents sent her away, and that alone is worth the predictable argument.
Archie tries to save the day
Archie attempts to play the hero a whole lot in this episode. Not only does he recruit a few of his friends to lend a hand at Andrews Construction after the crew takes a better offer from the Blossoms, but he also decides to track down those he thinks are responsible for taking a crowbar to his father’s equipment and injuring one of his friends.
He decides to go to the bar where the Serpents hang out because if something is bad in Riverdale, it must be the fault of the guys into shady stuff on the wrong side of the tracks, right?
What this means is that Archie discovers Jughead’s father is a Serpent, and that none of the Serpents were involved in the vandalism (that, revealed much later, is courtesy of guys working for Hiram Lodge, unhappy that his wife has found someone to spend time with).
It also leads to Archie, as usual, selfishly interrupting an event that isn’t about him when he tries to confront Jughead at Polly’s baby shower. Luckily, the tension between these two bros doesn’t last long, and HP Jones even comes through with some Serpents to work construction, making him more of the anti-hero in this situation.
How do we get Josie and the Pussycats their own show?
At this point, it’s criminal that this trio of Pussycats is glorified extras. Valerie gets her date with Archie interrupted, and she shows up in the background at the baby shower as well, but the rest of the Pussycats don’t even get a line, though Melody at least gets to attend the baby shower. What does it take to get these popular comic book characters their own story?
A few more reveals
Kevin’s new boyfriend is playing him! I’ll admit I didn’t see that one coming, but it does make me doubt just how truthful HP was with Jughead and Betty about his involvement with Jason. I was, however, right about Jason running drugs for the Serpents, so HP was probably cleaning up his mess, not murder.
Polly chooses the Blossoms. After the reveal that her father wanted her to get an abortion, not giving her a choice, and not telling Alice (something he also forced Alice into, presumably when they were in high school as well), Alice kicks her husband out, solidifying her siding with her daughter. Polly still chooses the financially stable Blossoms in their mansion, which probably isn’t the best option, but can we blame her?
The verdict and what’s next
Who knew family feuds would make “Riverdale” even more entertaining when there's still a murderer on the loose?
4 out of 5 stars
Next week, Archie and Cheryl get closer, so surely, she wants something from him, particularly as it’s been seeing Valerie.
