First up, we meet up again with Penny Peabody, the Southside Serpent "snake-charmer," again in this episode. She blackmails Jughead and Archie into becoming drug runners for the Serpents. Due to some bad luck, Jughead finds himself hitchhiking from Riverdale to Greendale with a character named Farmer McGinty -- played by actor Tony Todd from "Candyman."
Along the way, Farmer McGinty tells Jughead that he believes the the Black Hood is really the Riverdale Reaper. That's right... Apparently, somebody nicknamed the Riverdale Reaper killed a family in their home. Depending on who you talk to, the Reaper was either killed by a lynch mob, or he escaped for California to become a Satanist, or he's still hanging out in Riverdale. One things for certain, both the Riverdale Reaper and the Black Hood are out to punish sinners.
Meanwhile, remember the Sugar Man from Episode 6? He turned out to be a Southside High School teacher who made some money on the side dealing jingle jangle. He was shot to death in his jail cell at the end of last episode, which got Betty Cooper wondering: How does a masked vigilante shoot a drug dealer from inside the jail?
This leads Betty and Veronica into questioning if Kevin's father is really the Black Hood? Frankly, I've been wondering that myself for a while. The comic book Black Hood is a bad cop who kills criminals and steals their street drugs. Who's to say that the television Black Hood also isn't a dirty cop?
That said, we learned Sheriff Keller's dirty secret in this episode and it has nothing to do with the Black Hood. Of course, that doesn't mean that he's not the Black Hood. But that's not why he's been sneaking around at night these days! (Jon's Note: I won't reveal this particular secret here. You should be able to find out for yourself on The CW's streaming website!)
But I really enjoyed the Josie story line. And that's something that I don't get to write often. I don't think that "Riverdale" has done that much to make Josie and the Pussycats as integrated into the show as they could. They always seem like marginal characters. A couple of episodes ago, Veronica and the Pussycats stopped a creep from raping a roofied Cheryl. Cheryl has thrown her appreciation behind Josie and wants to become her new BFF.
Of course, Cheryl Blossom is nuts. She's secretly driven a wedge between Josie and the other Pussycats and she's begun sending death threats to Mayor McCoy. And then after Chuck Clayton asked Josie out on a date, Cheryl planted evidence that makes it appear that he was the source of the death threats. In other works, Josie is completely isolated and only has Cheryl to turn to for support.
Did I mention Chuck Clayton? His character was destroyed last season after it was revealed that he and the other football players were shame-booking many of the girls at Riverdale High -- including Veronica and Ethel. He was eventually revealed and expelled from the team. Now he's claiming that he's changing. He's going to church and trying to become a better man. At least, that's what he claims. But Pop Tate has vouched for Chuck, so maybe there's hope after all for Archie Comics' first black male character!
"Tales from the Darkside" ends on an ominous note. Pop Tate received a phone message from the Black Hood. He revealed that the people of Riverdale continue to fail his purity test. As a result, he plans to unleash a "reckoning" on the community. Which sounds scary!
Who will be the Black Hood's next target? Tune in on Wednesday to find out!