Hook – Ft McMurray's Homepage

Tonight’s Riverdale episode started in the greatest way possible: Veronica and Archie having sex. Everywhere. This is how they’re coping with the masked lunatic wreaking havoc around town, apparently, and I’m cool with it. Archie says, “I love you” to Veronica, which freaks her out because that’s what always happens on TV shows. Someone always freaks out when they hear that phrase, but in real life people have way more chill.

Meanwhile, the Riverdale Reaper, whom we learned about last week, is legitimate. Still, Jughead doesn’t think he’s the Black Hood because he’s 60 years old. (“I’m dubious,” Jughead said specifically, like the pretentious monster he is.) Ironically, though, the house where the Black Hood sent Betty belonged to the family who was murdered by the Riverdale Reaper: the Conways. Connections!

Switching gears a bit: F.P. Jones is getting out of jail, which is great, but I also don’t care. This causes Betty and Jughead to drop their Riverdale Reaper/Black Hood lead, so they ask Archie and Veronica to take over….and that’s a big mistake. They literally can’t stop having sex!

Speaking of sex: It’s beyond obvious Cheryl wants to bone Josie. Like, she pulls out a bottle of lavender when they’re changing in the locker room and starts massaging her. They’d honestly be the hottest couple on this show, so I ship them.

“Take your male gaze and your male privilege and get out of the women’s locker room!” — Cheryl, icon.

Veronica’s parents are starting to ship her and Archie, too, but their reasoning is convoluted. The Black Hood sent a letter to the Lodge residence saying he’s going to start punishing them for their “sins,” so Hiram and Hermione want Archie to spend more time with Veronica because he’s “brawny and devoted to her.” That, in a nutshell, is my type.

And LOL, it’s hilarious how little I care about Jughead’s storyline. He’s made himself the makeshift leader of the Serpents and suggests the gang meet with Mayor McCoy to “get the South Side back.” Everyone’s in favor, except for Tall Boy, but their tête-à-tête ends because Jughead has to go pick up F.P. from jail. Blah, blah, blah.

Wow, they’re really making a mountain out of a molehill with this whole, “Archie said, ‘I love you’ but Veronica didn’t” subplot. Everyone just needs to relax and focus on their SATs. Don’t these kids have SATs?

Nope, but they do have murder mysteries to solve. Archie and Veronica visit Sheriff Keller’s station to inquire about the Riverdale Reaper. Their investigation leads them to the house where the Black Hood lured Betty, a.k.a the Devil’s House.

The Riverdale Reaper murder is essentially a carbon copy of The Amityville Horror, BTW, but let’s just blaze past that. It turns out the family murdered by him actually has five members, but only four died. So there’s a third child out there who’s now grown-up. The Black Hood?!

Maybe. Veronica and Archie learn this boy’s real name, Joseph Conway, and find out he changed his last name to Svenson after the murders. Joseph Svenson, interestingly, is the name of the creepy janitor who’s been lurking around the past two episodes. They’re the same person. Archie and Veronica go to confront Joseph, and he claims the Riverdale Reaper is dead. They ultimately conclude he’s not the Black Hood and move on…so this whole side narrative was for nothing.

Meanwhile, F.P. gets out of jail, and there’s clear sexual tension between him and Alice Cooper. Imagine if they got together? It’d be like Rufus Humphrey and Lily van der Woodsen getting together on Gossip Girl! Anyway, he’s in AA and wants to leave the Serpents, which doesn’t sit well with Jughead, who, remember, is now a full Serpent. They have an argument about it, but F.P. ultimately allows Jughead to stay with the Serpents…without him. Again, this narrative is so boring. Betty suggests throwing F.P. a “retiring from the Serpents” party, which sounds both dull and dumb.

But wait, this twist isn’t dull and dumb: Because F.P. is leaving the Serpents, Betty now wants to join to “keep an eye on Jughead.” In order to join, though, she has to do some misogynistic stripper dance. WTF?!

Also WTF: Penny Peabody, the sketchy Serpent lawyer who’s now blackmailing Jughead, calls Jughead and says she has another job for him. He refuses, and she threatens to harm Betty. He still doesn’t take the bait.

Alice Cooper, former Serpent, and Betty show up to F.P.’s party together. Alice starts doing tequila shots and is immediately my hero. Veronica and Archie talk about their “I love you” kerfuffle at this party, too, but they don’t resolve anything and it’s awkward. They then sing because why the hell not?

And then Betty does it! She dances! On a stripper pole! In lingerie! In front of her mother and Jughead and everybody! Like, Betty can do whatever she wants, but this just felt awkward and forced and strange. F.P. then says he’s not retiring from the Serpents—but this isn’t a choice. Penny Peabody agreed to alleviate Jughead from his obligations to her if F.P. stands in his place. This is all so Gangs of New York.

“He’s brawny and devoted to you.” — Hermione Lodge describing Archie (and also my type)

We ends things with trouble in paradise for both couples: Veronica tearfully says it should matter to Archie that she can’t say “I love you” back to him and runs off. Jughead’s mad at Betty for doing that dance, and they quasi break up. Everyone’s crying; it’s a mess.

But then…what? The final scene in the episode shows Betty and ARCHIE looking at each other through their windows like thirsty animals. Are they about to hook up?

Parting thoughts: BARCHIE!!!!!

Riverdale Stars K.J. Apa and Madelaine Petsch Say Black Hood’s Identity Will Be Revealed Soon

Source link

After my mom was shot and killed at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut, along with five other educators and 20 children, I was sure that Congress would act. They didn’t. And now 58 more people are dead following a mass shooting in Las Vegas—to say nothing of the more than 100,000 other Americans killed with guns since that December day five years ago.

The shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on the Las Vegas strip was the largest and deadliest mass shooting in our country’s recent history. For now. Until the next one. Because it’s not a question of if there will be another mass shooting, it’s a matter of when. How is it that our country has come to accept the regularity of these horrific acts of violence? This isn’t normal.

What should have been a fun night filled with dancing, singing, and laughing with friends instead has left dozens of people dead and more than 500 hospitalized, many with life-altering injuries. And that’s just the physical toll. No one walks away from a horrifying scene of that magnitude ever feeling safe again. For the victims and their families, there is no light, no hope. They will try to find a way out of this darkness, but I can tell you, the darkness does not leave you.

My mom, Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, was my best friend in the entire world. She was the principal of Sandy Hook School, and she died running toward the shooter that awful day, trying to protect her kids.

I thought Sandy Hook would be a wake-up call to our leaders in Congress. There was no way they could allow 20 children and six educators to be gunned down in classrooms and offer no more than “thoughts and prayers.” But that’s exactly what happened.

Today my voicemail is full. My inbox is overflowing. The messages on Facebook are pouring in. For those wondering how I’m doing—I’m angry. I’m triggered. I miss my mom. I hurt for her. I feel like I’ve failed her. Above all, I am sick over how often this happens. And I don’t want to hear one more person say it’s too early to talk about solutions to our gun violence epidemic. It’s not too early—it’s way too late.

We don’t have to live like this.

It’s time for politicians to stop cowering behind the gun lobby and start standing with families. I wish Congress could show just half the courage my mother did on December 14, 2012.

This is a defining moment for our country. Do we want to continue living in the NRA’s dystopian society of guns everywhere, for anyone, no questions asked? Do we want to continue being held hostage by the gun lobby? Or do we want to live in a country where we feel safe going to schools, concerts, shopping malls and places of worship?

I could easily let days like this knock me down. It’s all too familiar and it’s all too painful. It takes me right back to the day my mom was killed. But no matter how hard it gets, I’m going to continue fighting for stronger gun safety laws. Time after time we see that it’s far too easy for people with dangerous histories to get their hands on guns in this country.

Right now, the gun lobby is pushing legislation to gut silencer safety laws and make it easy for anyone, including convicted felons and domestic abusers, to buy a gun silencer without a background check simply by going to an unlicensed dealer. I don’t even want to think about how much worse the shooting in Las Vegas could have been if the thousands of people attending the music festival didn’t recognize the sound of gunfire coming from above them, or if first responders weren’t able to determine where the gunshots were coming from.

And that’s not all. The NRA and its allies are also pushing for so-called “Concealed Carry Reciprocity” legislation, a dangerous proposal that would gut states’ gun laws, and allow countless people to carry concealed weapons across the country with no additional background checks or gun safety training beyond what goes into an initial purchase.

For those asking what they can do—get off the sidelines. Gun violence tears families apart every day in America. Most often, it doesn’t even make the headlines—there’s simply too much to report.

If you’re not actively trying to be a part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Get up and do something. Make a call to your Congressperson or Senator. Show up to a rally. Sign a petition. Donate to local organizations that support survivors of domestic violence. Just do something.

Erica Lafferty is the daughter of Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, the principal murdered in the Sandy Hook School shooting on December 14, 2012. She is partnerships manager for Everytown for Gun Safety.

Source link