Riverdale
Riverdale Season Finale – Killing Mr. Honey (4×19)
The rise and fall of Mr. Honey played out during the early season 4 finale of Riverdale.
Riverdale Season 4 Episode 19 was not supposed to be the finale, but alas, the coronavirus pandemic had different plans for all of us.
Still, it was a fitting way to end leaving us on a head-scratching cliffhanger that brings the mystery of the videotapes to the forefront.
The VHS tapes have been sprinkled in throughout much of the season but larger mysteries like the shenanigans at Stonewall Prep took precedence.
The episode blurred the line between fact and fiction delivering two very different realities that slightly paralleled each other and offered up some beneath-the-surface commentary about the murderous and twisted town of Riverdale.
Jughead, who was given a shot at attention the University of Iowa, had to submit yet another story and felt inspired by the group’s collective hatred for Mr. Honey, the principal who set out to ruin their senior year by cancelling the yearbook (gasp!) and senior prom (the horror!).
I had to dig deep and put myself in the mindset of a senior to fully grasp the motivation here. Admittedly, senior prom is a big deal, but the yearbook, well, a year from now, none of them will even know they chucked the thing.
Prom, on the other hand, was the student body’s treat for enduring a twisted year ranging from psychopaths to murderers, so they weren’t going down without a fight; they deserved this.
Mr Honey made a lot of enemies during his short-tenure and initially, it seemed almost justified since he’s never given the characters or the audience a reason to root for him. In fact, many of us were convinced he was the season’s villain and the man behind the tapes.
Alas, Riverdale had other, bigger plans for him.
Both storylines started off with an epic senior prank only in Jughead’s fictitious story, the prank was darker and involved kidnapping Honey dressed as Stonewall Preppies.
In reality, Honey retaliated to the sticky prank by cancelling prom completely, which is where the seniors brought in reinforcements: the hot moms and dads of Riverdale. The dads, aside from Hiram, were simply there for muscle. But the moms… oh, they meant business.
They threatened to sue, they threatened to gather the PTA, it was nuts.
Credit: Riverdale/ The CW
And they got their way until Honey made a copycat video pretending to be the Voyeur to get prom cancelled once again under the guise that it was too dangerous.
In Jughead’s short story, Mr. Honey was kidnapped and got a good beating from Reggie. Veronica and Archie found him passed out and the group covered up his “accidental” murder by pretending to never speak of this moment again. Sound familiar? Betty, Jughead, Veronica, and Archie have been down this road once before, so Jughead was definitely pulling from his own reality.
In the story, Reggie’s guilty conscience got the best of him so they killed him too. Ruthless.
In reality, once the group succeeded in firing Honey in reality and Jughead read the letter of recommendation that the principal wrote on his behalf did he realize that he needed to change the narrative of his story.
Miss Bell informed them that Honey has been the best principal Riverdale High has ever seen (sure, I guess), and was only trying to protect them.
At this point, Jughead realized he’s been reveling in the twisted narrative of the town and using it as an excuse. Mr. Honey may not have made a good impression on any of us, but he was right that the murder, mayhem, and manipulation was not normal and needed to be eliminated.
However, it’s hard to accept that Mr. Honey was truly trying to steer the students towards a new and promising reality since there was never any explanation as to why Honey wanted to cancel prom. He explained he was trying to protect the students and prepare them for the real world, but what did prom have to do with that? Did he know who was behind the tapes?
It didn’t explain why Honey cancelled prom at every other school he worked at or why he was a frequent visitor of the Blue Velvet where all the Voyeur’s tapes were found prior to it getting shut down.
It almost felt like the writers needed to redeem him so they did it without offering up expanations to any of our other questions and we were just supposed to go along with it.
And let’s say that we did just go along with it, the final moments in the episode were equal parts twisted and confusing.
Whoever is sending the tapes knows about the cabin where Veronica’s mom had an affair. They could’ve picked any place for Betty and Jughead to go, so what’s the significance of that cabin other than its the place Sheriff Minetta was murdered?
The Voyeur also seems to be interested in reminding Riverdale of all its sins while also trying to frame Betty, Jughead, Archie, Veronica, Cheryl, and Reggie for murder as the cliffhanger featured six masked people dressed as them killing “Principal Honey” by stabbing him.
This, again, paralleled Jughead’s story prior to his re-writing.
It seems they’ve walked right into the Voyeur’s trap.
Early on in the episode, Jughead gave away the point of the videotapes as being the rehearsal before the actual murder.
Everything we were seeing was “the rehearsal” leading up to that final moment where Jughead and Betty were visibly shaken and disturbed by the videotape.
It’s weird to say that I was glad to see them express such disturbance, but for a moment there, it seemed as though Betty and Jughead were normalizing murder as a way of life because they’ve been exposed to it for so long. The town turned them into monsters and they were okay with it. Thankfully, they diverged from that path rather quickly and their reactions to the tape of a man, a good man, possibly dying, prove it.
Now, the fact that Honey accepted a job at Stonewall Prep in the first place after everything that happened during Jughead’s time there makes me think he’s not as “good” of a principal as they let on.
It’s also unclear whether or not Mr. Honey was the man “murdered” in that final scene or if it was just a re-enactment as if the tapes were serving as a “I Know What You Did Last Summer” reminder.
And then, there’s the question of who is actually behind them.
Jughead focused on writing his story for much of the episode, and aside from his core group of friends, the only other person who knew about it was Charles.
In my review of Riverdale Season 4 Episode 18, I argued that their half-brother is behind the videotapes because he has time, access, and control of the situation. He’s been privy to every “private” situation, and could have gotten the other tapes when the FBI raided the Blue Velvet.
Think about it — what if Charles, Chic, Ethel, Evelyn, Donna, and Brett are all working together and the ones behind that final video to mess with #Bughead.
However, with Jughead leaving pages of his short story around the school randomly, it’s possibly its someone else entirely.
The mystery and all the relationship drama (that was completely absent from the episode) would have likely been wrapped up in the final episodes of season 4, but with the current situation, everything is being pushed to season 5.
So, no worries, Riverdale fans, we’ll get our answers soon, we just have to wait a bit longer than expected.
Other Sticky as Maple Syrup Moments
- The classic prank of sticking Honey to a chair and phone was an oldie but a goodie. I thought maybe it would foreshadow that he got his hand stuck in the honey jar (aka — he’s the culprit behind the tapes), and I still think that would’ve been cute.
- It was fun to see the cast all together in the scenes including Cheryl and Reggie. It adds a new dynamic because their personalities are so distinct.
- RIP Midge Klump.
- As of this episode, Cheryl is going to Highsmith College, Veronica is going to Barnard in New York, Betty is going to Yale in Connecticut, Archie is off to the Naval Academy, Jughead tentatively heading to University of Iowa, and Reggie is hopefully going to attend Riverdale Community College.
- I couldn’t help but laugh that they all have experience moving a dead body except for Reggie. Welcome to the team.
You never truly get over the first day of school jitters, even seven years after you’ve graduated.
Veronica, Betty, Archie, and Jughead returned to Riverdale High on Riverdale Season 5 Episode 6, but this time, they weren’t students, they were teachers.
Archie was spearheading the RROTC, Jughead was teaching English, Veronica tackled Economics, while Betty handled Shop Class, which personally, I found to be the most interesting. I would’ve never pegged our sweet FBI recruit for a car gal.
Everyone was there to restore Riverdale to the great town that it once was, well, aside from all the murder.
But in a weird way, it’s almost as though they’ve never really grown up.
This criticism is specific to Cheryl, who still seems way overly invested and possessive over the Vixens.
It’s a bit strange that she would get upset and jealous over Toni reviving the cheerleading squad when she had seven years to manage the team and hid out in Thornhill.
But it’s obvious that this is how the show aims to bring back Cheryl to some sense of reality, and it’s better that she’s at least involved in the school functions rather than hiding in her mansion afraid of some made-up Blossom curse.
If everyone is going to get a gig at the high school, it only makes sense that Cheryl and Toni return as co-HBIC’s.
Riverdale’s success went against Hiram’s plans to destroy the small-town, so he sent his goons from the Stonewall Prep football team to start a fire at the school and send a little message.
But since Archie is never one to back down without a fight, he decided to revive Riverdale’s football team, the Bulldogs.
I’ll admit that it was sad to see that the team, which has brought so much pride to town, was a “thing of the past.” However, with the right coach, it could be the town’s pride and joy once again.
Hope can go a long way. Hiram knows that, which is why he’ll do anything to see Riverdale fail.
Interestingly, we’ve yet again returned to the Hiram versus Archie Andrews dynamic. Archie will forever remain a thorn in his side.
It’s also upsetting to see Reggie side with Hiram; he’s lost sight of everything that’s important.
Riverdale — “Chapter Eighty-Two: Back To School” — Image Number: RVD506fg_0016r — Pictured (L-R): Drew Ray Tanner as Fangs Fogarty, Casey Cott as Kevin Keller, Chris Mason as Chad Gekko, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper and KJ Apa as Archie Andrews — Photo: The CW — © 2021 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Archie runs into a bit of trouble securing funding for the football team. He tries to play to “dead brother” card to Cheryl, but it doesn’t go well.
Why do they think Cheryl has the money to singlehandedly fund the town? Even if she is selling fake art and passing it off as the original, it’s not her responsibility to dole out mounds of cash for the local high school.
He eventually resorts to asking Veronica for help, and if you thought it was weird asking your ex for $20K (even though she was more than happy to contribute to her beloved Bulldogs), just imagine how weird it is to get pushback from her overly jealous husband.
There were some cute moments between Ronnie and Chadwick, but ultimately, he’s a snake that’s controlling and doesn’t have Veronica’s best interests at heart.
He brought up doing nice things for her like singing karaoke and being nice to her friends as if they were some kind of chore or like he was doing her a favor to keep her happy. In a normal relationship, those are acts of love.
It was the final straw – well, that and finding out that he’s been secretly chatting with Hiram – that convinced Veronica that they needed to take a break.
Veronica was living a fake life in New York, but by returning to Riverdale, she once again remembered who she was and what mattered to her.
She and Chadwick simply aren’t on the same wavelength.
However, I don’t want her and Archie to get back together in the near future either.
Archie’s relationship with Betty is really growing on me; it’s refreshing and fun to watch. (More of my thoughts on that here!)
Of course, sneaking around when you’re in your mid-twenties should be a lot easier, but I’m not going to complain about that Titanic re-enactment in the car either.
Things between them are steamy.
And if we were just to revert to the previous couples, hitting reset on the show would all be for nothing.
Plus, there are definitely some sparks flying between Jughead and Tabitha Tate.
While the show never established how old Tabitha was, the fact that she made six-figures in Chicago and could have taken a CEO job at any point alludes to her being around the same age as Jughead.
Initially, Tabitha was a little weary of Jughead, but he seems to have grown on her as she’s even offering to help him work on his story!
Aside from his brief interactions with Archie, Jughead spent much of the episode secluded from his old friend group and getting more familiar with his new boss.
He interviewed Tabitha for his small-town story, but she did him a solid and set him up with Dreyfus, a local who told him his story of the Mothman, who kidnapped his friends working the mines and took them abroad some kind of ship.
Yes, it sounds like folklore, but may I remind you that the mines are near Greendale, and we know that supernatural entities are in abundance there. (It’s a Chilling Adventures of Sabrina reference.)
Jughead’s investigation led him to the realization that all of Dreyfus’ friends that went on the ship passed away from cancer. Coincidence or is there something more awry at play?
He also mentioned that the ship was in the woods in a cave off the Lonely Highway… and you know what else was last seen on the Lonely Highway? Polly… three days ago.
Is there a chance the mothman is connected to Polly’s (and Freaky’s) disappearance? My gut instinct tells me there is.
Betty put her FBI training to use as she investigated what happened to Polly. She learned that Polly would frequent truck stops to sell Jingle Jangle and hook up with truckers (boy, did her life really take a turn!) using Nedlist (lol) to set up meetings.
Betty tracked down the last trucker Polly arranged a meeting with (Truckerboy69… really?!), but he informed her that Polly ran off that night in a panic.
Betty then turned to Alice for help and together, the sleuthing mom-and-daughter duo located a bunch of Polly’s things on the side of the road. She eventually decided to ping Polly’s phone, which likely should have been her first move. Betty, Kevin, and Alice then took look around the marsh area at night (because waiting till morning would have been too logical) and stumbled upon a corpse’s hand sticking out from the ground. Does it belong to Polly? We’ll have to wait to find out.
In addition to that cliffhanger, Hiram also sent Archie yet another message by setting a fire all around the perimeter of his home. I guess the message was “don’t play with fire,” and look, I get that Hiram goes to extremes to get what he wants, but almost killing someone is a bit much, don’t you think?
Overall, it was an interesting episode that set up plenty of new mysteries for audiences while also taking a sentimental trip down memory lane by focusing most of its events around Riverdale High.
Other Small Town Musings
- Hiram loves Doritos… who knew?
- It’s hard to do justice by “Shallow” but Veronica and Chadwick killed it!
- Nana has really upped her fashion game! Also, how is she still alive?
- There was a brief Chilling of Adventures crossover when Dorcas made an appearance as Cheryl’s art appraiser Minerva Marble.
- Doris Bell is one little snitch! Keeping Cheryl informed about what happens at Riverdale High is one thing, but giving intel to Hiram? Not cute.
What did you think of tonight’s episode of Riverdale? Are you enjoying the post-time jump reality?
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Coffee Table News
New Couple Alert: ‘Katy Keene’s Lucy Hale and ‘Riverdale’s Skeet Ulrich Spotted Kissing
This is one couple you didn’t see coming! Who would’ve thought we’d ever see a liar dating a serpent?
Pretty Little Liars and Katy Keene alum Lucy Hale was spotted packing on the PDA with Riverdale star Skeet Ulrich on Sunday, February 21!
Photos of their romantic outing were captured by Page Six.
You can see the 31-year-old star leaning in for a kiss with the 51-year-old actor.
The duo were also spotted holding hands at the table.
Once they finished their meal, they put on their masks and the “Scream” alum embraced the actress from behind.
Ulrich previously dated Megan Blake Irwin and were criticized for their 20-year-age difference, which she defended.
While Ulrich and Hale starred in sister-show’s on the CW, they never crossed paths. Ulrich recently wrapped up his five-season arc as Forsythe Pendleton Jones II (FP Jones) on Riverdale, while Hale starred in the Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene as the titular character for one season before it got canceled.
Neither Ulrich or Hale have commented on the relationship.
It finally happened, #Barchie fans!
If you’re a #Bughead fan, you might want to stop reading at this point because this is a full post dedicated to the Betty and Archie hook-up!
After several seasons, Riverdale finally gave fans the Betty and Archie moment they’ve been waiting for.
This moment has been a long time coming.
There were some close calls through the years, though mainly, fans were left disappointed and wondering if the pairing would ever see the light of day.
At the end of season 4, the duo shared a romantic kiss but ultimately decided to bury their feelings out of respect for their significant others.
But you don’t just write a love ballad for someone and forget about them!
The long-awaited and highly-anticipated moment finally came via a steamy shower sex scene following a seven-year time-jump. It was so hot, I found myself wondering if this is even allowed on The CW. That steam wasn’t from the hot shower, that’s all I’m going to say!
Archie, who survived a war, and Betty, who has been catching serial killers while training to be an FBI agent at Quantico, reunited and fell right back into their old feelings without even realizing it.
Post hook-up, when Archie questioned what just happened between them, Betty informed him that it’s something “we’ve been wanting to do since high school but never got around to it.” And you have to appreciate her honesty here.
Since they’re both mature and single adults — Archie’s ex Veronica is “happily” married, while Betty hasn’t been with Jughead for years — they decided to keep the moment of passion under wraps.
Riverdale can be a bit ridiculous at times, but this was the smartest decision these two ever made. They don’t owe anyone, including Veronica and Jughead, anything.
This moment singlehandedly changed the Betty and Archie relationship forever.
And when I tell you fans were thrilled, I mean they were straight geeking out on Twitter.
“Something we’ve been wanting to do since high school but never got around too.”
THIS SCENE WAS EVERYTHING!
The chemistry between KJ & Lili is everything! Truly one of riverdales best! Can’t wait to see where this story goes! #BARCHIETIMEJUMP #Riverdale pic.twitter.com/yAPo86hhkN— Barchiedaily (@Barchiedaily) February 18, 2021
The lip bite makes a return 10 years later #Barchie #Riverdale pic.twitter.com/E3zegfrWzR
— Barchiedaily (@Barchiedaily) February 18, 2021
But what does this mean for #Barchie moving forward? Was it a one-time thing that they needed to get out of their system?
Based on the glowing aftermath, methinks not. The chemistry and sexual tension is there, and they’re clearly into each other. And for the first time, they’re both in a place where they can pursue a relationship.
Well, there is the small issue of Betty’s boyfriend, Glen, back in Virginia, but I doubt that will pose much of a problem since she seemed to forget all about him. She didn’t even call him to inform him she decided to stick around for a while and teach at her old high school, which tells you everything you need to know!
And while Archie and Jughead’s new roomie situation may make things a bit more complicated and awkward, I think Archie and Betty owe it to each other to explore these longtime feelings.
They’ve never been given the opportunity to figure what these feelings truly mean — is it love or is it just lust? — because they’ve always repressed them out of respect for others.
There’s no better time like the present to put them to the test.
Though, if I’m being completely honest, I don’t see it lasting long. I’d love the idea of #Barchie babies, but with the core four back in each other’s orbits, they’re bound to fall into old habits.
Jughead and Betty don’t seem like they’re going to get back together anytime soon, but based on their conversation, they never got closure following their abrupt breakup. With a new mystery in tow, I see their paths merging again, though, I am really digging that Betty and Archie have been working together on the “Polly mystery.”
As for Ronnie, she may be married, but it’s not going to last long. She and Chadwick are already having marital issues that stem mainly from his insecurities and jealousy. I wouldn’t rule out a post-divorce reunion for Archie and Veronica.
She’s always wanted someone who can handle her Lodge independence, and Archie has always been that man.
So, while Betty and Archie might not be able to keep their hands to themselves in the short-term, I don’t think that there’s potential for them in the long run. And that’s okay too.
Sometimes the best thing before settling down is the fling you’ve always fantasized about!
At the end of the day, I’m rooting for the ships that will bring each other happiness — whoever that may be!
Don’t forget to check out our full review of Riverdale Season 5 Episode 5 now!
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