Riverdale season 4, episode 10 review: Varsity Blues

Football, rum and opioids, oh my! It’s Bulldogs vs. Stallions in Riverdale’s midseason premiere. Plus, someone gets into Yale without even applying?!

It’s Spirit Week in the town with pep as the Riverdale Bulldogs prepare for their first-ever State Championship. Naturally, the Bulldogs are facing off against the Stonewall Stallions, who always win because they play dirty. And they already have their sights set on injuring Riverdale’s star player: Munroe, who is being recruited by Notre Dame.

Meanwhile, Cheryl is in for a rude awakening when Honey finally makes good on his threat to hire a new HBIC for the Vixens. But she isn’t about to go down without a fight, or rather a song and dance. Plus, Veronica has a business proposition for Cheryl.

After weeks of staying at El Royale, Archie’s Uncle Frank has a less than pleasant reunion with Mary, and Archie learns the reason for falling out. Plus, Jug gets a surprising offer. Here’s a look at what went down in “Varsity Blues.”

Just Say No

Unwilling to risk Munroe scoring on them, the Stallions jump him outside El Royale and bash his knee in, so he can’t play at all… or so they think. Enter Uncle Frank, a recovering alcoholic who suggests Munroe take opioids, so he can play through the pain.

For once in his life, Archie is actually the sensible person in the room and tries to shut Frank down, noting Munroe’s doctors said if he exacerbates his injury, he might never play again, period. With his family depending on him, Munroe is understandably unwilling to risk losing a potential scholarship to Notre Dame, though, and he takes the pills.

Riverdale loses the game, but Munroe’s recruiter is impressed and invites him to visit Notre Dame the following week to show off his skills more. Given that knee injuries don’t heal that quickly and that he’s almost certainly made his injury worse, it’s looking like Munroe is headed down the path to opioid addiction. We’ll see how Riverdale does at handling that landmine.

Speaking of landmines, Uncle Frank moves into the Andrews’ house and is set to start a job at Andrews Construction, but how long will he stay on the up and up? The fact that he had opioids in the first place isn’t a good sign, especially given that he has a history of addiction.

Fred apparently took the blame for Frank’s third DUI, so Frank wouldn’t get locked up. Frank says Fred took the blame before he even came to, and he subsequently skipped town and never got the chance to make things right before Fred’s death. Will he make things right for Archie’s sake? Or is history destined to repeat itself?

Moonshine

So Veronica isn’t old to drink legally, but she can become a rum mogul? Interesting. Speaking of legality, Veronica’s rum business hits a roadblock when Hiram threatens to sue because her recipe isn’t different enough from his. Alternatively, he proposes that they could work together, but Veronica wisely declines, saying their relationship is beyond repair.

She soon finds a business partner in Cheryl, though, after realizing Blossom maple syrup is the distinctive ingredient she’s been waiting for. Cheers to “Underaged by V&C.” (It’s not actually called that… yet.)

New Haven-bound

Apparently, being a member of a secret society has its perks such as getting an interview at a school you didn’t even apply to. Jug is initially hesitant to accept the interview with Yale since it’s Betty’s dream school that she just got rejected from, but she gives her blessing. So, he takes it and soon becomes the first Jones to get accepted to college, let alone to an Ivy League. And he’ll have a frenemy along for the ride: Bret.

But, wait, Jug can’t go if he’s dead, right? In a flash-forward to four weeks in the future, Betty is seen clearing out Jug’s dormroom at Stonewall, and we learn that she has somehow gotten into Yale, after all. And a seemingly genuinely angry Bret say that she “got her wish” since Jug isn’t going.

So, looks like there’s trouble ahead for Bughead — I mean, before the whole she kills him part… if he is really dead, that is.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Riverdale? Let us know in the comments below!