Lines were drawn in Riverdale season 6, episode 9, as the newly established super squad came up against Percival’s power of persuasion.
With only a few episodes under his belt, Percival is already proving to be one of Riverdale’s most formidable villains, and honestly, it’s kind of terrifying! None of the town’s many serial killers have amassed a total body count higher than Percival achieved in this one episode, and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down. The “good guys” will have their hands full with this one.
Riverdale season 6, episode 9 began with Percival conducting a “town census,” which was obviously just a way for him to get into everyone’s heads. Unfortunately, it seems like he was extremely thorough in his endeavor, because he had the town bending to his every will before long.
I wish I had some idea of what this guy’s plan was! “Destroy Riverdale” is a little too vague for me, and it tells nothing about his actual motivations for doing so. Why kill the Ghoulies but imprison the Serpents? Why let Twila escape and make such a personal attack against Toni? Kevin’s been sketchy for a while, but I have to believe his sudden play for custody has everything to do with his newfound closeness to ole Percy.
The super squad of Archie, Betty, and Jughead looked really cool in Riverdale season 6, episode 9, mostly due to Betty’s sunglasses, but they’ll have to step up their game a little bit to have a chance at defeating Percival. Simply getting to people before him was a nice thought, but it was a futile effort against his super suggestion, which they would have known if they’d gotten Veronica involved earlier!
I’d really like to see them get more comfortable with their powers and actually use them to work as a team. How did Jughead not have any idea that Cheryl/Abigail was trying to poison him when he has mind reading powers? Right now they don’t seem to be putting their powers to the best use, so I’m excited to see them come together as a true super squad.
How great would it be if Veronica was the fourth member of the squad! There seems to be one member of every super group whose power is simply that they’re rich, and she would be the perfect badass businesswoman to fill that role. I am kind of loving how chill and cool she always looks just reading and running her business in Riverdale season 6, but I’m desperate for her to re-enter the fold with the rest of the core four.
Ronnie’s storyline revolved predominantly around Reggie in Riverdale season 6, episode 9. Reggie’s father heartbreakingly has limited time left to live, and Reggie’s responding to that by letting him have and do whatever he wants, even if it does irreparable damage to their family.
Reggie and Veronica were both put in incredibly difficult positions in this episode, and the fact that they weren’t really working together as a couple made it even more difficult. I’m sure Reggie is having doubts about confiding in Veronica because of her own complicated relationship with her father, but I hope he’s able to talk to her about what’s going on and that he’s able to turn things around before he becomes way too much like Hiram Lodge.
The looming death of Reggie’s father wasn’t the only Rivervale storyline that made a comeback in Riverdale season 6, episode 9. Toni also experienced “déjà vu” when she was visited for a “wellness check” for baby Anthony. It’s really interesting that Toni had that flashback to Rivervale. It makes it seem like a part of her actually lived that storyline.
My heart broke so much for Toni in this episode of Riverdale. First, they took her place on the council, and then she had to make an impossible decision to save her baby, which resulted in her and the other Serpents ending up in jail. After that, she discovered that Fangs had been keeping a ridiculous amount of weapons in their home with their son, and to cap it all off, now Kevin wants to take her baby. While I love that even Percival can see how integral Toni is to the success of the town, I’m so sad that she’s having to face all of this. I’m hoping we see her come out swinging, maybe even joining the super squad herself.
I’m curious to see what that huge mistake by Fangs means for the future of their relationship. Toni’s idea to rebrand the Serpents into a political activist group was a great one, but Fangs was not at all on board. I can’t believe he thought it was okay to keep all those weapons in the house with their baby, and I’m not sure if that’s something Toni will be able to forgive.
Truthfully, I was kind of hoping Abigail would make some more progress with Toni before Cheryl reclaimed her body, but maybe Cheryl will step up on her own to help Toni in her time of need. She’s exactly the kind of support system that Toni needs right now, so I’m hoping for some Choni love in the near future on Riverdale. Fingers crossed that the creepy Abigail doll doesn’t wake up to ruin it!