Since this episode was postponed, many fans were clamoring for another episode on online forums and social media. No one is sure if it was for dramatic effect or accidental. Thankfully, it aired this week right on schedule.

 

The Black Hood threatens the town with a letter, detailing what will come of the residents if they do anything bad within the next 48 hours. If they refrain from illicit activities, hooray! No more murders! The Black Hood is watching closer than Big Brother, and Riverdale is screwed.

 

Betty contemplates the Sugarman’s death in bed with Jughead when he gets a call from Penny Peabody, the Serpent who helped him with his father’s legal issues. Penny tells him that his father was injured by the Ghoulies as revenge for what happened in the drag race. She says she’ll protect him if he pays up. Having fewer than $20, he agrees to do her the favor of delivering a crate of drugs to Greendale. He gets assistance from Archie, who drives him to his destination. Worried, Archie questions him on how he’s choosing to live. Archie envisions an idealized world where the crew end up living happily ever after in New York City, but knows it’ll never happen.

 

Archie’s car gets a flat tire and the two begin to panic with no spare in sight. A mysterious stranger offers to give Jughead a ride for the last of his money. He questions the contents of his package but seems satisfied with the answer of pancake mix. The driver tells Jughead that he thinks what the Black Hood is doing is good, making him more uncomfortable than he already was.

They stop at a gas station, where Jughead steals a glance at something hidden under a tarp in the stranger’s car. He finds a bloodied deer corpse and breathes a sigh of relief that it wasn’t human. The driver urges Jug to have dinner with him in the gas station diner and tells him about the local legend of the Reaper. If the name alone doesn’t make you fear the Reaper enough, the stranger gives Jughead the details of his deeds; the Reaper murdered a family in the woods and fled to California to devote his life to the Devil. The driver shares his conspiracy theory that the Reaper never left and could be the Black Hood.

 

The mysterious driver tries to coerce Jughead into paying for their meals, knowing he gave up his last few bucks to hitch a ride. Just before the stranger can do anything like drive off with Jug’s goods, Archie appears with a fixed tire and a ride to the destination. Hopefully, he also brought his permit and student driver magnet. The driver leaves and Archie pays the bill.

 

The pair race against the clock to the final destination, an abandoned warehouse, where they are greeted by an old lady. She tells them not to be late again. Jughead hopes there won’t be an “again.” However, the Serpents have different plans, and he’s assigned to the role of replacement delivery boy for the ghoulies.

 

The next day, Jughead goes to visit F.P. in prison and finds not a single scratch on him. Penny tells Jughead that she merely provided an incentive for him to complete the run. She also has evidence of this, which she’ll probably use in the future to blackmail him. It’s her way of payback after F.P. broke a promise with her. Harsh.

The next scene is of Josie playing the piano during the night hours at school. She heads to the local hotel, her latest residence since the Black Hood is still on the loose.

 

The next day at school, Josie talks to Cheryl about how her new “home” life and how she’s been writing songs without the Pussycats. She opens up her locker to find a plush teddy bear from a secret admirer. Cheryl thinks it’s cute, but Josie is uncertain if the admirer’s intentions are good, since the Black Hood is still free.

 

In the locker room, Josie is confronted by the Pussycats, who received messages via locker notes that Josie was going to ditch them and pursue a solo career. They break up, but not after calling Josie a “solo diva.” Josie runs into Chuck, who is head over heels for her. She asks for a ride home, and he gladly obliges. They make a stop at Pop’s for a little dance number.

 

Unfortunately for the two of them, Mayor McCoy breaks it up and warns Chuck to stay away from her. Recently, she’s been receiving threats against her and her daughter from the Black Hood. The next day, Josie gets a package in the mail with a drawing of her… and a heart.

Cheryl confronts Chuck about this and reports him for stalking, although he has no idea what’s going on. Josie has a nightmare that night about the Black Hood showing up to the piano room and slitting her throat. Cheryl makes a drawing of Josie just like the one that was in the heart box. Maybe the Black Hood isn’t going after anyone anymore, but copycats are popping up in his name.

 

Betty and Veronica speculate that Sheriff Keller is up to no good. Veronica thinks he’s having an affair, but Betty suspects something darker, insinuating that he’s the Black Hood. Veronica goes over to Kevin’s for a sleepover to snoop around and finds Sheriff Keller in the basement lifting weights. They have an awkward conversation, and Kevin interrupts it.

Veronica spots the Sheriff leaving the house at night, which prompts a call to Betty to search his office. His logbooks have alibis for each murder, but Betty finds a black ski mask in his drawer. The one he confiscated from Archie’s locker. Despite Sheriff Keller’s clear innocence, Betty still suspects him. She calls in Veronica for a stakeout.

 

They follow him to a motel at night where Betty almost confronts him until she sees him kissing the Mayor. At least he’s not the killer, though. The Black Hood calls at Pop’s and lets everyone know they failed. Whoops.