#RiverdaleRecap S3 E13: Requiem for a Welterweight
By: Kara Szamborski
Tags: Riverdale, Recap, Review, TV, Drama

First, a note on Luke Perry:

I took a break from watching Riverdale and writing this blog when Luke Perry died. It’s the first time a celebrity death has impacted me in the way it seemed to always impact others. I’d be pressing my face up against the glass looking in, wondering why people felt so much for someone they’ve never met — but here I am, not watching a show because I’m sad that an actor on it has died.

But it doesn’t really matter if you knew someone or not, does it? If someone who is part of your world in some way is suddenly no longer in it, your personal universe shifts and you are left remembering your mortality and wondering why this had to happen now.

In this blog, I have always referred to the character Fred Andrews by the name of the actor who plays him. Played him. This started as a joke but became a foregone conclusion — Luke Perry, to me, is the emotional heart of Riverdale, the warm, sensible center of an increasingly nutty mismash of character arcs and plot devices.

I will miss his presence on screen, and I am grateful he was able to share himself with us all, for a time. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and those who knew him best.

And now, I return to the program.

What happened?

Archie, as a character, has been through some stuff, y’all. Boxing is his latest obsession as a way to work out his mess of emotions, and Tom Keller is his coach. Because Archie has a major chip on his shoulder (Literally. You can see the bear claw marks, because Archie got mauled by a bear this season, remember?), he wants to be in a real match ASAP. When his extremely reasonable coach denies him, Archie finds a rigged match via Veronica’s mob peer, Elio. Keller agrees to coach Archie after Archie decides to reject the money and not throw the match after all. Archie gets beat up a whole bunch but listened to Josie when she told him throwing a match for money is shady. Team Josie Can Do Better Than Archie, Does He Even Know How Lucky He Is?

Also, her wardrobe is everything.

Meanwhile, the Lodge and Jones families are consolidating power and reshuffling the gangs in town. Veronica briefly spies on her dad for Gladys Jones, owns up to Hiram about burning the drugs, and is now $75k in debt to her own father for this move.

At least her morning routine is perfect!

Gladys brings the Gargoyles into the Serpents, and most of the girl Serpents have defected for Toni’s new gang, the Pretty Poisons. Jughead has concerns about the Gargoyles after meeting their leader, Kurt, who does not think the game is a game at all: it’s a prophecy.

Alice gets baptized into the Farm cult by almost dying as her eldest daughter Polly holds her under water during a near-death ritual. Betty arrives in time to administer CPR and get her mom breathing again. Alice is changed by her experience, but not the way Betty wants — Alice will sell the house so they can all live together at the Farm.

A totally reasonable reaction with no bad consequences whatsoever.

Does this show still retain anything from the comics at this point?

No, not really. I mean, the Pop’s aesthetic is still going strong, so there’s that.

So why are you still watching?

Let’s discuss the Pretty Poisons, Cheryl and Toni’s new girl gang.

Are we leaning hard into the archery thing because of the Hunger Games or because the CW has a million extra props from Arrow? YOU DECIDE

Cheryl and Toni might have some leadership tussles in the future about the point of the Poisons, but currently, they are absolutely my aesthetic. Somebody get me a jacket.