Riverdale season 4, episodes 18 and 19 review: Lynchian/Killing Mr. Honey
Riverdale season 4 delves deeper into the video tape mystery as it comes to an early end. What’s up with Barchie? And is Mr. Honey really a good guy?
It may not have been the finale that the creative team of Riverdale season 4 originally envisioned, but it’s the finale we got and, in typical Riverdale fashion, it does end on a decidedly wacky and sinister cliffhanger: Everyone is into cam-tickling now.
No, just kidding — that would be far too horrifying… even for Riverdale. No, what really happens is someone gets brutally murdered… maybe.
But who? And why? And by whom? Check out what went down in the final episodes Riverdale‘s fourth season, “Chapter Seventy-Five: Lynchian” and “Chapter Seventy-Six: Killing Mr. Honey.”
RIP Barchie?
It seems that Riverdale was just Barchie-baiting after all. To be fair, Betty calling it off before anything got serious was the admirable decision. But it does beg the question: If this was never meant to be the powder keg that tore the Core Four apart, at least temporarily, then what was its purpose?
Did the writers just want to resolve the Barchie question before college, bringing it full-circle since it was a central plot point in pilot? Did they want to justify why Betty and Archie wouldn’t get together in an attempt to quell the ship wars?
To be fair, since this was an abridged season, maybe the storyline isn’t actually finished and Jug and Veronica will find out about Barchie’s kiss. But, if not, it seems like a lot of build-up without a substantial payoff.
Who’s Dead?
Well, the title does rather give it away: Mr. Honey. But is he really? And why?
Well, basically, because he’s the worst… or so the kids thought. Riverdale‘s final episode takes quite a wild meta ride from Heathers 2.0 with Jug writing a murder fantasy about the gang kidnapping and killing Mr. Honey (plus, Reggie to keep him quiet) to Aesop’s fable wherein Jughead realizes the error of his nihilism (and assessment of Mr. Honey) and amends the story he’s submitting to the University of Iowa (his new dream school) to be much more PG and far less interesting… Then again, sending a story about murdering a school administrator to a school may not have been the wisest decision.
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But here’s the thing: Yes, Mr. Honey was not evil. But, like, he was still a pretty weird guy. Who vandalizes their student’s car to get revenge for said student vandalizing their office? First off, that’s just as illegal. And, second, it’s weirdly personal. Maybe, to an extent, Mr. Honey was invested in his students because he was genuinely trying to “protect” them and “prepare” them for the real world, but his tactics were more than questionable. So, no, I’m not accepting that Mr. Honey was really the good guy all along.
Not that he deserved to die, though, and quite painfully at that. Death by, well, maybe not a thousand, but a lot of cuts… by a group of people dressed as the would-be murderers in the story: Jug, Betty, Archie, Veronica, Cheryl and Reggie. So how did the snuff filmmaker find out about Jug’s murder fantasy and it is really Mr. Honey they stabbed?
Meanwhile…
- Veronica and Hiram are back in business together with Hiram having convinced Veronica that he’s changed even though he really hasn’t. You know what they say, Veronica, fool me twice… and it’s been way more than twice at this point.
- Archie is seriously considering going to the Naval Academy.
- Reggie is the only teen left in Riverdale who has not yet disposed of a dead body (in “real life”, anyway). Don’t worry, Reggie. Your time will come.
Next time on Riverdale (whenever that is)…
- Who is making the video tapes and why?
- What are Charles and Chic up to?
- Skeet Ulrich and Marisol Nichols were set to leave after this season. Will they make a guest appearance in season 5 or will FP and Hermione be written off off-screen? Is Falice over?
- Will there be a time jump or will we actually follow the kids to college? What will bring them back to Riverdale?
- Will Kevin ever get a good, solid storyline?
- Will we ever learn more about Toni’s family, her life before season 2, etc?
- How many more murders and murderers can there really be in the same small town to last not one more, but at least two more seasons?
Next. 5 mysteries Riverdale has yet to solve. dark
Did you enjoy the final two episodes of Riverdale season 4? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!