Riverdale season 3, episode 14 review: Fire Walk With Me

In Riverdale’s first episode since Luke Perry’s death, Fred comes to Archie’s aid in a time of need. Also, Veronica turns the tables on Hiram and Gladys.

In this week’s especially somber Riverdale, following the tragic loss of beloved cast member Luke Perry, Archie takes in a young runaway named Ricky with a G&G “sacrifice” brand. He treats Ricky with the same care and kindness that he learned from Fred; and when Archie gets in over his head, Fred immediately comes to his aid.

Elsewhere, Veronica grows frustrated when Gladys and Hiram try to take over La Bonne Nuit, and Betty goes to war with The Farm and Alice. Plus, Jug struggles to unite the Gargoyles and Serpents, while Toni and Cheryl continue to fight over the Pretty Poisons. Here’s a look at what went down in “Fire Walk With Me.”

A Big Heart

When Archie starts work at the boxing gym in exchange for free membership, he and Josie find a young boy named Ricky squatting there after hours. Ricky reveals that ran away from a local shelter after being held down and branded by Gargoyles. He doesn’t want Archie and Josie to get social services involved, though, because he fears the Gargoyles will retaliate.

Archie lets Ricky crash in his garage and promises not call a social worker. However, he soon takes Betty up on her offer to meet with Ms. Weiss, who tried to help Betty place the Sisters of Quiet Mercy kids.

Archie’s quest to find out more about Ricky turns into a quest to find Ricky, though, when he goes missing. Supposedly, “thugs” came calling at Pop’s. With Jughead’s help, Archie eventually locates Ricky. He’s hiding out at the abandoned “Gargoyle Ground Zero,” where his name is written on a wall of sacrifice just below Archie’s

After bringing Ricky back home, Archie catches Ricky adorably trying on his letterman jacket and lets him keep it. Later, the two are bonding over video games, when Archie suddenly gets a phone call from Ms. Weiss. She’s knows who Ricky is.

His full name is Ricardo DeSantos. He’s Joaquin’s younger brother, and he has a history of “violent behavior and self-harm.” Naturally, when Archie hangs up, Ricky is nowhere to be found. As Archie searches the house, Ricky sneaks up behind him with a knife.

He reveals that he was playing Archie the whole time. He branded himself. He wrote his name under Archie’s. The Gargoyles aren’t actually after him. Instead, Ricky wants to finish what his brother started. Plus, killing Archie is his ticket into the Gargoyles.

He stabs Archie and flees just as Fred arrives home. As Fred patches him up, Archie bemoans his so-called stupidity in trusting Ricky, but Fred counters that Archie didn’t do anything wrong. He just has “a big heart” (just like Fred). Then, Fred notices something on the floor and picks a G&G quest card: “kill the red paladin.”

Tired of being hunted, Archie later turns to Jug and Betty, who offer to help him confront his adversaries.

Riverdale — “Chapter Forty-Nine: Fire Walk With Me” — Image Number: RVD314b_0786.jpg — Pictured: Vanessa Morgan as Toni — Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW — © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gang Warfare

After the Gargoyles, “Farmies” (including Kevin) and Pretty Poisons (led by Cheryl) get into a brawl at school, Featherhead blames Jug and Toni, even though they didn’t participate and arrived on the scene late. Featherhead also insists that one of their gangs is responsible for stealing drug-making equipment from the school.

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Toni threatens to suspend Cheryl for her repeated recklessness. However, she backs down when Cheryl literally plays the “I’m rich” card and passively aggressively fires back that suspending her would be awkward since her house is the Pretty Poisons’ HQ. Their fight is far from over, though. (More on that later.)

Meanwhile, Jug tries to put his foot down once and for all after learning that the Gargoyles stole the drug-making equipment as a quest. When they refuse to respect his authority, he threatens to kick them out of the Serpents. Unfortunately, Kurtz points out that the Serpents actually have more to lose than the Gargoyles do because they Gargoyles outnumber them.

Kurtz and a fellow Gargoyle later dangle Fangs over the school staircase in retaliation for Fangs spying on them. Jughead and Sweet Pea manage to “catch” him just in time. At his wit’s end, Jug turns to FP for guidance, and the two eventually come up with a solution.

In the hopes of giving his crew a sense of purpose, Jug offers to get the Serpents/Gargoyles deputized. They will help FP with investigations and receive school credit and pay. Everyone votes yes, except Kurtz, who walks out. Good riddance. But have we seen the last of him?

At the end of the episode, the Serpents clean out Gargoyle Ground Zero, which will be their new HQ.

Riverdale — “Chapter Forty-Nine: Fire Walk With Me” — Image Number: RVD314a_0056.jpg — Pictured: Lili Reinhart as Betty — Photo: Diyah Pera/The CW — © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

Burning It Down

Alice, now using her maiden name “Smith,” officially puts the house on the market and starts meeting potential buyers. Betty hilariously tries to scare off the buyers by reminding them that her serial killer dad lived there, but she’s knows that tactic won’t work forever.

In addition to stressing about her disastrous home life, Betty grows increasingly concerned about Kevin’s devotion to The Farm. She confronts him, but he remains unfazed. Then, she spies him holding his hand over a bunsen burner during a Farm meeting at school.

She turns to Josie, his new stepsister, for help and learns that he’s been sneaking out at night. When Betty follows Kevin, she finds him preparing walk across burning coals as part of a Farm ritual. Betty tries to stop him, but Kevin fire walks on without even flinching.

Out of options, Betty decides to return to her roots and denounce The Farm in the school paper. Unfortunately, Evelyn and Kevin are onto her, and they resort to blackmail. Thanks to Alice’s openness with The Farm, they know all about how Alice “killed” that drug dealer (it was actually Chic) and how Betty helped her dispose of the body.

Adding insult to injury, Betty soon finds out that Alice sold their house to “an anonymous buyer.” They need to clear out ASAP. Up in her room, Betty starts to hold her hand over a candle, just as Alice walks in and says she’s headed out for a bit. Like her cousin before her, Betty proceeds to set her house aflame.

Riverdale — “Chapter Forty-Nine: Fire Walk With Me” — Image Number: RVD314b_0494.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Charles Melton as Reggie, Camila Mendes as Veronica and Gina Gershon as Gladys Jones — Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW — © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Three Musketeers

Much to Veronica’s chagrin, Hiram and Gladys start having business meetings at La Bonne Nuit and not paying their tabs. They both argue that it’s fair since Veronica owes them. To recover the money they’re losing, she and Reggie arrange another casino night.

Hiram finds out and tells Veronica that he wants to invite a man involved in the playing card industry to the event. He’s hoping the man will move his operation to the prison. In return, V asks Hiram to shave off some of her debt, and he agrees to consider doing so. Gladys also comes calling. She wants to sing at the event, and she readily agrees to shave off some of Veronica’s debt.

Unfortunately, Hiram’s guest heckles Gladys while she’s singing, and she pulls a knife. Veronica has Reggie kick the man out, infuriating Hiram. But things go from bad to worse when Veronica finds Gladys bartending the next night, and Hiram basically pretending to have founded the club.

Veronica had let the Serpents go at the request of Hiram and Gladys but decides she’s tired of being walked all over. She meets with Toni and offers to hire the Pretty Poisons as La Bonne Nuit’s new security team, their chief task being to keep Hiram and Gladys out. Toni accepts the offer on the spot, explaining that she doesn’t need to consult Cheryl. She is the leader, after all.

Cheryl is clearly annoyed, though, meaning she doesn’t actually think Toni should be the sole leader. Of course, she doesn’t say that. She resorts passive aggressiveness once more and refuses to show up for the Poisons’ first night at La Bonne Nuit.

Photo Credit: Show/The CW Image Acquired from CWTVPR

In Memoriam

Luke Perry will be dearly missed. He brought so much heart and dedication to his fan-favorite role as Fred Andrews, the most loving and compassionate father a kid could ever ask for. Thank you, Luke, for being a role model to us all. Rest in peace.