riverdale season 6 episode 16, jughead jones

‘Riverdale’ season 6, episode 15 review: Yer a witch, Cheryl

Riverdale season 6, episode 15 finally scored a big win for the good guys.

After weeks of scraping by just to stay in the fight, Riverdale’s super squad actually gained some ground in season 6, episode 15. Several characters made huge strides in their abilities in this episode, leaving the gang more powerful than ever before.

Sadly, Tabitha’s quest to declare Pop’s a historical landmark was denied, meaning the diner was just days away from being demolished. However, it turns out the power of Pop’s doesn’t lie in its location, meaning the diner could be the town’s gathering place on whatever land it occupies!

What I didn’t expect is that this gathering would include the souls of the living and the dead alike, which was an interesting twist in Riverdale season 6, episode 15.

The first time the work that Archie’s crew performed was undone, I was positive it had been Percival’s doing, just like Tabitha was. Then, I thought maybe something was happening with Tabitha’s time travelling abilities that was causing a collision of timelines. It turns out, it was simply some spirits that were sticking around to bear witness to the final battle between good and evil! You know, as they do in Riverdale.

I’m interested to find out if Tabitha knows anything more about what’s to come in the “final battle” from her travels to the future. It’s possible that her instinct to move Pop’s came from that experience, or that her true motivation in saving Pop’s was because she knew it had an important role to play against Percival. If so, I can’t wait to find out more of what she learned.

I’m also excited to see if the dead have a bigger role to play in the rest of Riverdale season 6, especially since Heather is dabbling in necromancy and there are quite a few notable dead characters from Riverdale seasons past that it would be great to see again! Even if some of them might be fighting for the side of the villains.

Related: Riverdale season 6, episode 14 review: Along came a Lodge

Guys, I really, really hope we can trust Heather because I’m kind of loving this gothic romance she and Cheryl have going on. As much as I love Choni and think they will find their way back to each other eventually, Cheryl reconnecting with her past and also finding someone to help her explore every part of her power could be really good for her. As long as Heather doesn’t abuse her position as Cheryl’s new professor in all things magical, that is.

It’s so cool that Riverdale has actually made Cheryl into a witch, and it’ll be amazing to see all of her power in action. I suspect this will go away at the end of the season along with everyone else’s powers, but if there’s one that remains, it would make sense for it to be this one, so my fingers are crossed for her!

Speaking of Choni, the other half of the former power couple had far less luck in love in Riverdale season 6, episode 15. Somehow, Fangs is surprised that Kevin is still fighting for custody even though he completely sabotaged the deal he tried to make, and although he’s trying to help, he’s not being a good partner to Toni at all.

My heart broke for both of them when Toni “proposed,” knowing that even if this works and helps them get custody of baby Anthony, it will almost definitely tear them apart eventually.

Almost all hands were on deck to either help or hurt Pop’s in Riverdale season 6, episode 15, except for Jughead’s, strangely, since he’s the only actual Pop’s employee.

Archie and his union workers were trying their hardest to outpace the ghosts, Cheryl and Heather cast their spell on the spirits to figure out what they wanted, Frank tried to sabotage the whole operation, and Betty’s power was actually useful in foiling that plan.

It was really great to see the potential of Betty’s abilities realized in Riverdale season 6, episode 15. If they have any hope of beating Percival, they have to be able to fully trust the people on their side. Now if Betty could just get that pesky blind spot dialed in, they’d be all set!

It was very interesting that Riverdale didn’t just hint once at Agent Drake’s interest in Betty, but twice! It kind of makes me feel like something will happen between them in the future, or that Agent Drake is actually working for Percival and is trying to get in even deeper with Betty. It’d be pretty convenient to know the specific blind spot of one of your enemies, after all.

It was so creepy when Betty saw the aura around Dagwood, but even scarier when she saw it around herself. I’m really excited to figure out what this means, but I hope this becomes a way for Betty to fight her own thoughts of the evil inside her instead of just another avenue for “Dark Betty” to be villainized. I hope she knows just how much Alice was completely rewriting history in her little rant, and I’m so glad she got out of there, at least for now.

Betty wasn’t the only one working on her abilities in Riverdale season 6, episode 15. At Veronica’s request, Jughead became “the Seer of the Southside,” a clever scheme to make some extra cash for the casino. Again, it makes no sense that he’d be doing this instead of helping Tabitha at Pop’s, but I digress.

I did love this duo in this episode, and I was absolutely living for Veronica’s sass at Reggie’s expense. It was amazing to see her get the upperhand on Reggie again, even without the bonus of Jughead taking a huge leap forward in his abilities.

It’s so cool that Jughead can now actually erase pages from people’s mind, and I love that it’s as simple as pulling out a page from a comic book. It’s always great when Riverdale pays tribute to its source material, and they’ve found an awesome way of doing it in Riverdale season 6. I can’t wait to see what other abilities Jughead has, and I hope he and Veronica continue to work together!

If all of that power wasn’t enough of a win, thanks to the spirits, we also finally know what at least one of Percival’s goals are. He wants to build “the ghost train,” which will somehow give him dominion over the realms of the living and the dead.

Truthfully, I don’t really know what that means, but it does not sound good. It also sounds like we will definitely be seeing some more dead people in Riverdale season 6, which is great, but it also makes me really worried about some of our favorite characters dying in the big battle.

Death and life, good and evil, and a whole lot of Riverdale season 6 remaining! The rest of the season is looking strong as we hurdle toward the finale, and we hope all of the characters are up to the challenge that Percival poses!