Ethel And Jughead Appear To Be Dealing Comic Books On The Next Episode Of ‘Riverdale’

Mr. Fieldstone (Garry Chalk) told Ethel (Shannon Purser) and Jughead (Cole Sprouse) that they could get away with having a mailman stand-in for the killer milkman in their comic but, given that they’re resorting to slipping comic book issues between diner booths in this trailer for next week’s episode, it’s looking like Mr. Fieldstone might have been wrong:

Onto this week’s episode: it seemed strange that Toni (Vanessa Morgan) wasn’t around to comfort Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) while Julian (Nicholas Barasch) was in a coma. I’m sure she’ll be in next week’s episode, since that one’s building up to be a gay witch hunt (it’s even called “The Crucible”), but I’d rather see Toni and Cheryl have storylines where they get to be supportive of each other, not miserable.

Some other thoughts on this week’s episode:

• They may have had their kiss interrupted by Mrs. Andrews (Molly Ringwald) — who, talk about a character who could do with minding their own business — but either Riverdale should pursue seeing what Veronica (Camila Mendes) and Betty (Lili Reinhart) would be like as a couple or stop toying with viewers hearts, because it’s starting to feel a bit like what Supergirl did with Kara and Lena. Granted, Veronica kissing Archie (KJ Apa) in the trailer for next week’s episode could be as much of a façade as Cheryl walking arm in arm with Kevin (Casey Cott), but only time will tell.
• On a side note, Veronica and Betty’s almost-kiss made me think of Maya Hawke’s answer to a recent interview about her character, Robin, possibly getting a girlfriend in the final season of Stranger Things: “…I feel mixed about it. I feel like there’s, that’s both a great thing and a, I also love characters where their love life is not the center of their existence.” She then goes on to talk about how important Robin’s friendship is with Steve. Both Veronica and Betty’s storylines this season have been particularly boy crazy, whereas Reggie (Charles Melton) and Archie have gotten to really explore their friendship and grow together as individuals (which, it’s wild that the show hasn’t tried that with Jughead and Archie, but whatever). In any case, either the show should explore a romance between Betty and Veronica or take seriously what a rare and beautiful thing their friendship is, because at least Riverdale has always known that them being friends is a lot more interesting than them being rivals.
• Who knows why Riverdale had Betty, Veronica, Kevin, and Clay (Karl Walcott) sing “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” from South Pacific this week, but keep the random musical numbers coming.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays on The CW.