Liam Hoofe reviews the second episode of Riverdale season 2…
Riverdale returned to our screens last week with a rollercoaster of an episode. ‘A Kiss Before Dying’, the show’s season premiere, wrapped up all the loose ends from last season and set in motion the narratives that will go on to define the show’s second season. ‘Nighthawks’, this week’s episode, served as a major slice of exposition, further establishing the season’s key players and the big mysteries that are going to shroud the not so sleepy town of Riverdale.
Picking up where last week left off, Archie, having heard about the murder of his former fling Ms Grundy, is now fully committed to the night’s watch, spending sleepless nights sitting in his house with a baseball bat, being haunted by visions of the masked assailant who gunned down his father. Even Archie, though, is not immune to fatigue and this week we began to see him slowly cracking up, relying on the use of uppers and energy drinks to stay awake – two supplements that only increased his paranoia.
One of the show’s slower burning storylines also got a lot of focus this episode. Jughead’s slow turn towards the South Side Serpents took centre stage here, with Jughead trying to help get his father’s prison sentence reduced. With nowhere left to turn, Jughead turned to the Serpents, who sent him to see a lawyer known as the ‘Snake Charmer’. Of course, with such a ridiculous moniker, it was revealed that she was not someone Jughead wanted to be indebted to, and it looks as though this is going to be a big turning point for the character this season. It was nice to see Betty getting more of a role this week, too, as she showed she is more than willing to show her darker side when needed by blackmailing Cheryl Blossom into helping FP get out of his sentence. As for FP himself, it was nice to see him back on-screen and I can’t see him being off the streets of Riverdale for much longer.
One of the big reveals of the last episode was the return of Hiram Lodge, and this week we were given a chance to see what a slimy little operator he can be. Not only is he slowly starting to turn Veronica back towards her family, but we also saw him get rid of the doorman because he overheard one fairly meaningless conversation, and also manipulate a situation concerning Pop’s Diner to get his daughter back on his side. Hermione, played perfectly by Marisol Nichols, is also one of the show’s best characters, her subtle character change from loving mother to Lady Macbeth type have been expertly handled and she is always a pleasure to watch.
The episode saved its biggest reveal until the end though, with the masked assailant once again turning up and shooting two of the show’s teenage characters. The implications of this, of course, are huge. Did he mistake the boy for Archie? Or do we have a serial killer on our hands this year, and if so, there is still the question of why he would have targeted Fred and Ms Grundy before anyone else.
‘Nighthawks’, like every episode of Riverdale, flew by at a breakneck speed, never wasting a moment in further establishing the show’s big stories for what is a pretty huge series in terms of length. It was great to see several characters back on our screens and the show’s main plots are already heating up to be pretty entertaining.
SEE ALSO: Trailer for Riverdale Season 2 Episode 3 – ‘The Watcher in the Woods’
What did you think of ‘Nighthawks’? Let us know in the comments below, and let Liam know on Twitter @liamhoofe
