Three major farewells on Riverdale this week, and none of them for the toughest defeat of the series

Two days ago, on his Instagram account, Riverdale The creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa announced that this week's episode was the last that Luke Perry had shot before his shocking death. (Cast members Madelaine Petsch, Gina Gershon and Ashleigh Murray all responded conscientiously with heartbroken emojis.) The rational viewer can then assume that it would be the last episode in which Perry and his character, Fred Andrews, appear. Anyone who was sufficiently involved to get wind of the news before tonight's show, who must be most of the people still aboard this crazy train, spent this hour with a nauseous sense of anticipation. It's time to say goodbye hard.

But first, we'll have to say goodbye to Josie. She is ready to explore the world on tour with her father and give concerts in Spin-Off Junction and Backdoor Pilotville. That's fine, everyone saw it coming, the latest scripts brought her into this position. Farewell sincerely with Archie, move on. "Chapter Fifty-Four" then sets up another sweet-grief separation scene, this time between a parent and his child, except that Gladys Jones is coming out. She did enough damage and was exposed. In addition, Gina Gershon's contract must be concluded – and she thinks it's high time to reinvent herself elsewhere. The emotional rhythm we are waiting for is expected, so maybe a big last minute cliffhanger is waiting for you?

Indeed, the last lines of dialogue bring the sudden and unexpected news of a force majeure accident killing the father of a character. And for the third time, it's sort of do not Fred Andrews. Not knowing what to do with him after getting stuck in a maximum-security facility to play Hannibal Lecter from time to time, the show features Hal Cooper in an abrupt and informal manner. The question of Fred's departure will have to wait a week longer, and even without the extra-textual teasing of Aguirre-Sacasa, we can feel his absence among the rest of the family disassembly. This omission is made even more striking by what appears to be Perry's last scene, in which he distributes one of the pearls of wisdom that makes him look like a ghost or angel.

But this episode only weakens in what he chooses not to do, and not in what he does. Once or twice a season, everything works perfectly, with each strand of the plot being associated with a unified fever tone that no one is left behind. The "Chapter Fifty-Four" has no weak connection, no rest, no respite in which we are allowed to catch our breath. His madness moves without stopping, until his final revelation. That's right, people: sweeps are back.

Children in danger motivate both Betty and Jughead, separated once again by discrete dangers. She wants to release her sister's twins from The Farm's clutches, which requires the help of his inner-in-house wife, Toni Topaz. Or so she thought! The twist according to which the double agent has become triple agent is unsurprisingly, that is exactly what happened with Cheryl Blossom, but the inevitability does not spoil the pace. The non-surprise that she is one of their It integrates perfectly with the Tod Browning ambience on the farm. The singing in unison of "JOIN US" comes straight from FreaksThe bugle call of "GOOBLE GOBBLE, ONE OF THE US", suggesting a new record of strangeness closer to the soap opera than the soap opera.

The revelations become more and more twisted over the scenes. Evelyn Evernever is seventeen years old in the last ten years. She jumped from school to school and attracted teenage victims throughout the course. She is not even his daughter; their relationship is much more [tugs on collar] intimate than that. Farm's story did not always have the spice of a death cult tale, but the events of this episode make the auction go up until Betty rushes to her car with an assaulted mob. brains in full pursuit.

Jughead is not much better off, as Kurtz took him on a GN quest with his parents to save Jellybean's life. The part of the hour eclipses, while Gershon, who will soon be missing, yells, "Where is my daughter's hell?", Her performance is revealing of the hats. The quest is quite simple, your standard "Misrlou-set, pulp Fiction– The dinner dinner flight sinking into a real fight between The Gersh and a resurrected "Penny Peabody" situation. The bladed blade fight scene immediately asserts itself as one of the biggest hits of the series, with the coitus-interrupted editing of this beginning of the season. All we did to deserve that Gina Gershon slap a woman's elbow Elektra punk, that can not be enough.

Despite the domination of Gershon, Jughead also has a good performance this week. I would not have said that Cole Sprouse was an action hero, but he has done well in the many raids this season. It's the same for Pop's collage, spotted as it is with a shotgun spray. When shit falls, Sprouse maintains urgency, as with his brute force escape from the bin that could have been his grave.

Archie and Veronica are under fire because of Elio's machinations. Ronson's death on Archie "The Reaper" Andrews is attributable to Ronson's death. The backbone of the episode comes from Archie's efforts to obtain the forgiveness of the family of his late opponent, as absurd as anything else, but sincerely affecting from one scene to the other. . And even if K.J. Apa is acting the episode in a more sober territory, the feast of the executive jobs scandal puts it at par with the most out-of-date slices of this episode.

"Now, do you see why I have to get out of this city?", Shouted Josie to her father after the last hell that broke out at Goodnight. This is a reasonable reaction to a city that has once again sunk into chaos, with cult members resembling zombies and cyclops brandishing knives crumbling into a delirious farandole of genre and tone. Archie and Veronica remain tied up closer to Earth – they have only boxing boxing promoters and fabricated drug charges – and they still can not escape the madness in the air. As we head to the final stretch of the season, things are not going to work out. The May sweeps continue to progress further and further into the madness gap.

Observations lost:

– I understand better and better the production schedule of this show over the weeks. Veronica mentions his intention to "walk his dog" in one of his creatures, a line clearly inspired by the threat of rapper Cardi B to do exactly that to Tomi Lahren, the conservative regime. This incident would have made its way into the writing process about twelve weeks ago, which fits well with my theory of last week's coverage that a ten-week delay separates the filming of the broadcast. (Eight weeks separate Perry's passage from this episode – it's not a perfect system.) I do not know what to do with this knowledge, other than to try to predict what will happen in reverse chronology. Next week: We references?

– I find it deeply charming when F.P. calls Jughead "boy", although I do not know why. Give them a playful energy of the deep South that has no place in the Pacific Northwest, I guess?

– As if it was not quite clear that The Farm has anything good to really seal the evil by aspiration, they also proved to be anti-vaxxers.

– Cheryl Blossom having been largely sidelined this week, she bequeaths the responsibility of the weeklong to her girlfriend. Quoth Toni Topaz: "You know what they say: it takes a village to kidnap a child at the mercy of mercy."

– It's two consecutive episodes with crucial conversations in steam rooms! Can we continue to leave the turkey clean?