Riverdale (2016–…): Season 4, Episode 13 - Chapter Seventy: The Ides of March - full transcript

[JUGHEAD] The week
started like any other.

Who would've guessed
where I'd be by the end?

[ALARM RINGING]

♪ Lone passenger ♪

♪ Out on the road ♪

♪ With a million more miles to go ♪

♪ An ache deep inside ♪

♪ And wide as the sky... ♪

Thank you for watching the center

during the day, Ms. Moore.

Promise it's only temporary.



Hell, after you helped get my
baby Munroe into Notre Dame,

it's the least I can do.

I'll be back after school

once I've checked in
on Andrews Construction.

A young man like you,

you must have colleges
knocking down your door.

How can I help you, Mr. Andrews?

Mr. Honey, I know it's late in the game,

but is there any way I
can still apply to college?

The application period
closed months ago.

And moreover, based on your
grades from the past two years,

I have serious doubts
about whether or not

you'll be able to
graduate with your class.

Well, can I at least walk with my
friends at the graduation ceremony?



I find the notion of
an underserving student

being allowed to walk with his peers

without fulfilling
the basic requirements

to graduate quite absurd.

It is dishonest, and
it is a hollow gesture.

Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Andrews?

[CHINA RATTLES]

[SHATTERS]

- Damn it!
- Oh, Daddy, let me get that for you.

I got it.

I don't need your help.

[VERONICA] No, of course not,

which is why I'll never
offer it to you again.

What's up, Ronnie?

Good morning to you, too.

Less talking, more touching, Andrews.

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

♪ I belong to you ♪

♪ You ♪

♪ You ♪

♪ I belong to you ♪

Thanks for the early
morning delight, lover.

[BOTH CHUCKLE]

I'm not complaining,
but what's the occasion?

As much as I loved visiting NYC,

it remined me of how little time

we have left together.

I mean, we haven't really talked about

what we're doing after graduation.

What are you saying, Ronnie?

I'm saying...

I don't really wanna think about

the future right now, Archie.

I just want to enjoy these last few
months at Riverdale High with you,

and I wanna have fun.

Can we do that, Archie?
Can we just have fun?

That's music to my ears.

You rang?

I won't mince words with you, Forsythe.

You're out of Quill and Skull.

Why?

Because Betty broke in
to the sanctum sanctorum?

Well, as a matter of fact, yes.

That's a violation of our code.

[SCOFFS]

That's not all, I'm afraid.

We're also terminating your
Baxter Brothers contract

for failure to deliver
satisfactory material by March 15th.

This Friday, as in the Ides of March?

Well, it's only Monday.
I still have time.

Your rejected novel
took you months to write.

What makes you think you could write
an entirely new one in five days?

Watch me.

- [LINE RINGS]
- [BETTY] Hello?

I'm in serious need of
my real life Tracy True.

How quickly can you
get to Stonewall Prep?

I have to write the best
damn Baxter Brothers novel

these Stonies have ever read by Friday,

which coincidentally
is the Ides of March.

You know, Stonewall Prep
celebrates the holiday

by throwing a big blowout in the woods.

Okay. Well, then...

Why don't you write about what's been

happening to you here at Stonewall?

Like a roman-a-clef, let's say.

Yeah. Like a prep school thriller.

- Sure.
- We could start with my...

- We could start with Moose's arrival.
- Exactly.

You're brilliant, you know that?

I like what you've done
with the place, Archie.

Mr. Lodge.

What's up?

I'm here to work out, train.

Don't you have a really
nice gym at the Pembrooke?

And don't you belong to Solstice?

Yeah, but I'm looking for a real gym.

Like here.

I've gotten away from myself, Archie.

I spend too much time
in suits, behind desks,

but no more.

No more weakness.

Okay, Mr. Lodge. Sure.

You can make your check out to
Frank Andrews Community Center.

[JUGHEAD] "The boys themselves
couldn't see it yet,

but it was a suspicious
coincidence to say the least.

Two new scholarship students
arrived at Brickbridge Prep

after being recruited by the
same teacher, Mr. Shephard.

The old acquaintances
settled into their new lives,

unaware that one or both of them

were destined to be a sacrificial lamb.

The perfect victim to
the perfect murder."

That's where the chapter ends.

Mr. Jones, ten pages of
autobiographical hokum won't save you.

Well, just you wait.

I'll have more tomorrow.

[TELEPHONE RINGING]

Ellie's Essential Oils.
Don't hate, alleviate.

How can I help you?

And who is she?

Don't worry. We'll vet her.

[TONI] What was that, babe?

Apparently, there's a high
roller out in La Bonne Nuit

who's caught wind of the Maple Club,

and wields a blank check
with our name on it.

I hate to ask, T.T., but will you
scrutinize this enigmatic patron?

- Sure.
- Great.

You'll find a frosty-haired woman

sitting at the bar later tonight.

I'm on it.

And I'll be sure to lay on the charm.

- Love you.
- Love you.

I'm Antoinette.

I understand you've been asking
about our other establishment.

Why, yes. I'm Rosa Jevon.

I consider myself a connoisseur of rum,

and I've heard rumblings
of a secret rum bar

with ties to this establishment.

Needless to say, I'm intrigued.

Tell you what,

since I like your vibe so much,

I'll talk to my partner about it.

She'll want to meet you, too.

Maybe tomorrow night right here?

It's a date.

[CLUB MUSIC PLAYING]

Two Cokes, please.

Okay, I needed that.

We're just getting started, Archiekins.

Ronnie, I have to be at the
site by 5:00 tomorrow morning.

Boo!

I thought you said we
were gonna have fun.

Good night, Veronica.
I'll see you tomorrow.

Fine.

[JUGHEAD] "It was All Hallow's
Eve at Brickbridge Prep.

Jarhead was burning the
midnight oil studying,

when, suddenly, his vision narrowed.

He crumpled to the ground and
awoke to a real life nightmare.

He was locked in a solid oak coffin.

My classmates drugged
me, he realized groggily.

But why?

The truth was sinisterly simple.

It was so he wouldn't be a
witness to the perfect murder.

For, you see, the seminar students

were plotting to kill his roommate Byson

on that very devil's night."

Admit it.

You guys are on the edge
of your seats, aren't you?

[HIRAM GRUNTS]

[EXHALES SHARPLY]

Can I ask you something, Mr. Lodge?

It's actually a business question.

Really? Interesting.

Shoot.

I'm not as good as your
daughter, Mr. Lodge.

I can't run multiple businesses,

and do well in school,

and everything else
Veronica's so good at.

If you're talking about this
place and Andrews Construction,

have you thought about shutting one?

Yeah.

My grandpa Artie founded
Andrews Construction

and passed it down to my dad.

It's my legacy.

Well, both your businesses
bear your father's name.

You'll be keeping his
legacy alive no matter what.

[ARCHIE] Thanks for
meeting with me, Mr. Keller.

Yeah, of course, Archie.

So... So, what's been going on?

Truthfully, a lot.

I've been thinking about the
future of Andrews Construction

and the community center recently.

Vic has offered to buy Andrews
Construction a few times.

I don't like the guy personally,

but my dad did.

And if I sold it, I could use that money

to pay you a proper salary to
help me run the center full-time,

if that's something
you'd be interested in.

Well, I've been hopping from job to job

since I lost my post as sheriff.

A more permanent gig would
be a nice change of pace.

I'd like that, Arch.

Does anyone know why DuPont summoned us?

No need to wonder, Ms. Berkeley,

I will tell you.

The headmaster has just given me

some very unsettling news.

One of you has been accused of the
worst crime a writer can commit,

plagiarism.

Mr. Jones, it seems that the short story

that qualified you for
Yale, "On Featherless Wings,"

was, in fact, written by
another student in this seminar.

Oh, and let me guess who accused me.

- Was it Bret?
- No, it was me.

What? Why?

Because I wrote "On Featherless Wings."

- No, you didn't.
- Yes, I did!

And I've got a timestamp on my computer

proving that I wrote it two months ago.

No, I wrote it during the
summer. It's on my computer.

The story you wrote last summer

is on the laptop I gave
you three weeks ago?

No, it's on my old one.

It's in my room. Can I get it, please?

Go and get it. We shall wait.

[SOFTLY] What the hell?

Jones, where's this
magical exonerating laptop?

It's not in there
because someone stole it.

That seems rather convenient.

Mr. DuPont, I'm going to fight
these accusations tooth and nail.

You had better.

Stonewall Prep takes the crime
of plagiarism very seriously.

As such, you will go
before the headmaster

and the disciplinary
committee on Friday.

On the Ides of March, fittingly enough.

Mr. DuPont is turning out to be worse

than any of the villains in his
precious Baxter Brothers series.

It's clear he wants me expelled.

Can't let your name be tarnished

by these, these trust fund brats.

Hell, it's my name.
It's our family name.

If I let my reputation be
destroyed by a baseless accusation,

my career as a writer is going
to be over before it even begins.

There's no way that's happening, Jug.

I think I have an idea.

[KEVIN SIGHS] That test was brutal.

Why does anybody need to
know what "primogenitor" is?

Wait. That was one of the questions?

Ms. Lodge.

During a routine search, I found
this flask of rum in your locker.

Excuse me?

Since when did Riverdale High become a

fascist police state, Principal Mussolini?

It is my responsibility to look
after my students' well-being.

How do you think Barnard will react

when they hear about this incident?

The recruiter already saw
me drinking at my speakeasy.

They're not a bunch of
prissy, power-tripping asshats.

Veronica, stop.

You don't have to do this.
You don't have to protect me.

Principal Honey, I'm so sorry.

The lock on my locker broke,

and I know Veronica's combination, so...

I stashed that flask, my
flask, in there before the test.

So, this is your liquor, Mr. Andrews?

It's been a rough
year, sir, as you know.

Sometimes I just need
to take the edge off.

[SOFTLY] Archie.

You'll have a week's detention.

And I'm gonna call
your mother about this.

I understand, sir.

Yeah.

[VERONICA SIGHS]

[STUDENTS TALKING INDISTINCTLY]

Jones.

And Betty. To what do
we owe the pleasure?

We know Jonathan's lying about
writing "On Featherless Wings."

And we know that one or
all of you stole my laptop

and are conspiring against me,

so we're here to prove it.

With a... With a lie detector test?

Okay. Well, I refuse to
participate in this charade.

Fine.

Then you all can watch
while Jughead takes the test.

Is your name Forsythe
Pendleton Jones III?

Yes.

When did you start writing
"On Featherless Wings"?

At the end of last summer,

before I'd even heard of Stonewall Prep.

And did you get rid of your old laptop

because you knew it contained
incriminating evidence?

Of course not. It was stolen.

And what exactly do you
think this is proving?

Well, Jonathan's guilt
by process of elimination.

[CHUCKLES] I hate to
break it to you, sweetie,

but this isn't gonna
prove Jughead's innocence.

Do you think I don't know that, bitch?

This lie detector test
is only the beginning.

Once we're done with all
of you one percenters,

none of you will be left standing.

- Hey, handsome.
- What are you doing here?

I just wanted to say thanks

for your gallant gesture earlier.

I was happy to do it.

I got nothing to lose, but
you do. You have everything.

Ronnie.

Ronnie, stop.

Come on, Dr. Beaker
could be back any minute.

[VERONICA SIGHS]

- What's going on with you?
- What do you mean?

This isn't you. What's happening?

Nothing.

We made a vow that we would make

the most of our time together,

and now, clearly, you're
backing out of that deal, so...

It's fine. If you don't wanna have fun,

then I'll just go have fun by myself.

- Ronnie...
- I have to meet Cheryl and Toni anyway.

[DOOR CLOSES]

[CLUB MUSIC PLAYING]

You came.

Well, when a beautiful vixen calls,

I have no choice but to answer.

Did you talk to your partner?

- She's on her way.
- Mmm.

Ugh. I love this song.

I know exactly what we
can do while we wait.

♪ Don't show up ♪

♪ Don't come out ♪

♪ Don't start caring about me now ♪

♪ Walk away ♪

♪ You know how ♪

♪ Don't start caring about me now ♪

♪ Aren't you the guy who tried to ♪

♪ Hurt me with the word goodbye ♪

♪ Though it took some
time to survive you ♪

♪ I'm better on the other side ♪

♪ I'm all good already ♪

♪ So moved on, it's scary ♪

♪ I'm not where you left me at all ♪

♪ So if you don't wanna see me ♪

♪ Dancing with somebody ♪

♪ If you wanna believe
that anything could stop me ♪

♪ Don't show up ♪

♪ Don't come out ♪

♪ Don't start caring... ♪

Babe, this is the woman I
was telling you about, Rosa.

Rosa. Has anyone ever told you
how beguiling your eyes are?

I get that a lot.

How about we get out of here?

We have somewhere special
we'd like to bring you.

[LAURA] Excuse me, Ms. Lodge.
I'm sorry to interrupt,

but I have a message from Ms. Blossom.

It's fine. Just polishing
off my mint mojito.

Thank you.

All right, Laura, prepare the suite.

It's time to snap a trap.

I'll get the lights.

Hmm.

Hermosa.

Veronica, what are you doing here?

It's an emboscada, my darling half-sister.

An ambush.

And they say journalism is a dying art.

I marked you as soon as I soon
as I saw you at La Bonne Nuit.

How dare you try and seduce my dear T.T.

like she's some backwater fool?

As if Cheryl and Toni
would just expose you

to the Maple Club, our rum operation?

I have no idea what you're
talking about, hermana.

The gall you have coming into town,

trying to ruin our
business, my livelihood.

I bet Daddy put you
up to this, didn't he?

Do a little recon, scope
out the competition.

Well, I don't know what he's
told you about his condition...

Everything.

He also told me you didn't know.

He told you...

and not me?

He trusted you... and not me?

Can you blame him?

[VERONICA CRIES OUT]

All right, let's hurry up.

Donna and Joan are in film studies,

but they could be back any moment.

I never should have taken
the laptop from Bret.

We'll get it back, Jug.

You take Joan's side, I'll take Donna's.

"Ready for print."

The Boy In The River?

This is the novel that I submitted

to win the Baxter Brothers contract.

- About Jason Blossom?
- Yeah.

DuPont told me that the
Baxter Brotherhood rejected it

because it wasn't dark
or sociopathic enough.

It's definitely been re-written.

But this is my book.

- What do you want to do?
- The only thing we can do.

I thought the Brotherhood didn't want

my Boy In The River novel.

We didn't, and we don't.

Then what the hell is this?

You really think I wouldn't
recognize my own story

after someone did a polish on it?

Oh, you really should
have had a lawyer take

a much closer look at
your contract, Mr. Jones.

You see, the Brotherhood
owns everything you submit.

We kept the elements we liked,

and then, let another ghost
writer try their hand at it.

Oh, yeah? Who?

[CHUCKLES] Well, actually, all of
your classmates collaborated on it.

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

Archie, what are you doing here?

I came to make sure you're okay.

I'm worried about you, Veronica.

What are you doing? Drinking at school,

acting like this crazy party girl?

You're pushing people away, Veronica.

Tell me what's really going on.

He's dying, Archie.

- Who is?
- [TEARFULLY] My dad.

He's been diagnosed with
a debilitating disease,

and I don't know what to do.

I feel... completely lost.

[VERONICA SOBBING]

I'm sorry, Veronica.

I know there's not much that I can say,

but one of the worst
parts about my dad dying

was that I was never
able to say goodbye.

Even in the months before,

I didn't know what
little time we had left.

And I regret not spending
more of it with him.

I don't know if I can sit by

and watch him waste away to nothing.

I don't wanna see that.

Veronica, you're the
strongest person that I know.

And right now, you have to give
some of that strength to your dad.

You know better than anyone
how to get him fired up.

That's what he needs.

Happy Friday, you
soul-sucking vampires.

Good morning to you, too, mija.

Now, before you crawl back
into your coffins for the day,

I've got a little presentation
I've been working on.

Red Raven's newest ad campaign.

[VERONICA CLEARS THROAT]

Consumers are now more interested
in quality than name brands,

which is why we conducted
a blind taste test

in which nine out of ten test subjects

picked Red Raven rum
over the competitors,

Lodge Rum and Lodge Spiced Rum.

As we like to say at Red
Raven, quality always.

And this is only the first wave.

We'll be running print ads in
the Riverdale Register,

The Greendale Gazette

and the Seaside Sentinel to start.

Mija, do you really think
you'll get the upper hand over me?

You're a little specialty brand.

Oh, haven't you heard?

Cheryl's already begun renovations

on her family's maple factory.

We'll be producing 300% more
maple rum by the end of the year.

Well, then I only have
one thing left to say.

- Congratulations, mija.
- Hmm.

You have successfully awoken the dragon.

Prepare to be eaten.

What is wrong with you? Why would
you intentionally provoke him?

You know how ill he is.

In times like these, family members
should be supporting each other,

not antagonizing one another.

Seems to me that Daddy
is doing just fine.

Just one minor ad campaign,

and he's more fired up
than he's been in days.

So, don't for a second think you
understand Daddy better than me.

If anybody is going to save
Daddy from this crippling disease,

it's going to be me, Veronica Lodge.

Now, stand back and watch, ladies.

You might learn something.

[BETTY] I've been thinking about
Mr. Chipping's tie pin, Jug,

and how Donna had it.

It doesn't add up.

If the affair with Chipping was just

another one of Donna's
fabricated stories,

then how did she get it?

Let's assume that someone else
took Mr. Chipping's tie pin.

Someone like Mr. DuPont?

Exactly.

It's possible he gave it to Donna

to add credibility to her story
about them having an affair.

And then, she would have the tie pin

and the story of the affair at the ready

in case anyone got
too close to the truth.

That Mr. Chipping was driven
to suicide by Mr. DuPont.

[BETTY] It's a theory, at any rate.

I wanted to clear the
air between us, Donna.

And hopefully resolve this
whole Jughead witch hunt thing,

just the two of us.

See, I think that you and
Bret, Joan and Jonathan

are just pawns

being manipulated by Mr. DuPont,

who, I think, is the real villain here.

I'm intrigued. Go on.

I don't think you had
an affair with Chipping.

If I'm right, and you didn't,

and DuPont somehow put you
up to saying that you did,

I implore you, come forward.

Don't let yourself be a victim
of his machinations, Donna.

You think you're close
to the truth, don't you?

You and Jughead, teen detectives.

Are we?

I guess we'll see.

[BRET] Still working on that book, huh?

Hmm. Well.

I do hope you enjoy your
last night in this room.

You are so smug it just hurts, Bret.

You know, you don't know what
I'm going to say at the tribunal,

but I promise you it's not just
going to be about some short story

I didn't plagiarize, Bret.

It's going to be about
everything that is going on here.

It's going to be about Chipping,
and Moose, and Quill and Skull,

and about my novel.

I'm going to let all these toxic
little genies out of their bottles.

Do you understand me?

No, you're not gonna say a damn thing.

Do you know how I know?

'Cause as it turns out,

I do have a tape of you and
Ponytail doing the nasty.

[BETTY GIGGLING]

And if you so much as
utter a single j'accuse,

I will release it wide.

You think blackmail is gonna stop me?

Yes. Because you're a hopeless romantic.

That tape might not hurt you, Jones,

but it will destroy Betty.

Something like that will haunt her

for the rest of her life.

So, what's it gonna be?

You wanna continue this
sad attempt at martyrdom?

Or are you gonna protect the honor

of your precious girlfriend?

[SIGNING NAME]

[ARCHIE] Wait.

Something wrong, Arch?

I can't do it.

What the hell?

Well, Vic, my grandpa
started this company,

and my dad kept it going.

It's not gonna be sold on my watch.

[FRANCIS] Make no mistake,

the stealing of another student's
work will not be tolerated

at Stonewall Prep.

If the accusation is found to be true,

the penalty is immediate expulsion.

But we're going to
give you a choice today,

one that you do not deserve.

Nevertheless, you can
either gracefully, quietly

withdraw from Stonewall Prep,
which will save yourself and us

the embarrassment of a hearing,

or you can stay and fight
the accusation of plagiarism

in a public forum, where you could win,

but most likely, you'll lose,

tarnishing Stonewall's name
and destroying your future.

[SOFTLY] I'll leave.

What the hell happened in there, huh?

I thought you were gonna
bring down the temple,

and instead you let them
run roughshod all over you.

What choice did I have?

It's not like you to
walk away from a fight,

a fight you could have won.

You don't know that.

You don't know these people.

This game is fixed. It's
been fixed from the beginning.

There was no way I
was winning that today.

How's it looking, Mr. Lodge?

Like it's always been there.

Vic let you keep the sign, huh?

Uh, I didn't end up selling the company.

I couldn't.

I made Mr. Keller foreman.

He said he'd work on a reduced salary

until we get a few more
contracts coming in.

Good.

Good.

It was the sex tape, wasn't it?

Bret threatened to release
it if you didn't back off.

What does it matter, Betty?

To hell with Bret, to hell
with this entire school.

Couldn't have been all bad, Forsythe.

Yeah, we hope there
aren't any hard feelings.

There's a party tonight in
the woods behind the school.

- We're celebrating the Ides of March.
- You should come.

[CHUCKLES]

One last hurrah before you pack up
your things and are gone forever.

- You're deranged.
- We'll be there.

- What?
- One last hurrah.

Great. And bring your friends, too.

The more the merrier.

Like hell we're going to that, Jug.

You trust me, right?

- Of course. Why?
- I have a plan.

But first, I'm going to need
to take care of that leverage

that Bret has over us, and
then I will tell you everything.

It's all gonna be okay, I promise.

Okay.

I love you.

I love you, too.

Penny for your thoughts.

Ronnie, I won't be able to walk
with everyone at graduation.

What?

Mr. Honey told me on Monday.

I have a plan.

Okay.

I'll go to summer school for my diploma,

take a skip year,

and apply to colleges
for a spring semester.

What do you think?

That sounds like an
outstanding plan, Archie.

[CELL PHONE CHIMES]

It's Bee.

She's inviting us to
a Stonewall Prep party.

- You wanna go?
- Seriously?

Those people suck.

Right you are, Archiekins,

but when's the last time all
four of us hung out together?

And we did vow to have more fun.

Okay.

[CLUB MUSIC PLAYING]

[VERONICA] Oh, God.

Looks like A Midsummer Night's Dream

had a baby with Euphoria.

Gotta hand it to these jerks,
they know how to throw a party.

You guys seen Jughead?

I said we'd meet up with
him once we got here.

I'm gonna do a lap, okay?
See if I can find him.

- Here.
- Thanks.

Wanna move closer to the fire?

I have a way more fun idea
of how you could keep me warm.

When's the last time
we made it in the woods?

Let's go.

Friends, Romans, countrymen,
lend me your beers. [LAUGHS]

Oh, thou bleeding piece of earth.

What have we got here?

I knew you and Ponytail were
into, um, some weird kinks,

but, uh... [LAUGHS]

I mean, what is this, Freaky Friday?

Gentlemen, would you excuse us?

Uh, the bunny and I have
some unfinished business.

You wanna settle this? All right.

But not here.

Follow me.

[BETTY] Donna.

Oh, good, you made it.

Yeah, I know Jughead didn't
speak up at his tribunal

because Bret's blackmailing him.

But I do not care what you do to me.

So, what, you have a
tape of me and Jughead?

I am the daughter of the Black Hood.

And it's gonna take a lot more than that

to get me and Jughead off your case.

I promise you, we are going to find out

and expose all of your dirty secrets,

up to and including Chipping's murder.

Do you have anything to say about that?

Actually, I do.

You see, I've been doing a
little investigating of my own

and I found out some fascinating
things about you, Betty.

I even took a field
trip to Shankshaw Prison

to see your old friend Evelyn Evernever.

And you know what Evelyn told me?

The magic word.

Oh, you mean "tangerine"
repeated three times?

Yeah, no, you're a little
late to that party, Donna.

Tangerine doesn't work on me anymore.

No, she told me the other magic word.

The one that makes you fugue,

and hurt the people who you love.

You wanna hear it?

Okay.

Okay.

Hey, have you guys
seen Betty and Jughead?

I think they went that way,

into the clearing behind those trees.

Thanks.

Oh, my God, Betty, what happened?

Jug? Is he breathing?

[JUGHEAD] Started out like any other week.

There's no pulse.

[JUGHEAD] Who would've guessed
that by Friday night...

He's dead.

What did you do, Betty?