REVIEW: ‘Riverdale’ Season 3, Episode 10 – ‘The Stranger’

As I expressed in my review of last week’s episode, it wasn’t the best way for Riverdale to come back after the winter holiday hiatus. However, this episode took a turn for the better and I’m happy to see the story progressing. I can only hope that the show uses the momentum that it established in this episode and carry it all the way to the finale. Everything seems to finally be falling into place.

The episode picks up with Archie (K.J. Apa) back in Riverdale. He’s readjusting to his life after being on the run from Hiram (Mark Consuelos) and from the bear attack. With the SAT’s coming up, he seeks help from Jughead (Cole Sprouse) and Betty (Lili Reinhart) to study.

Jughead, F.P. (Skeet Ulrich), Fangs (Drew Ray Tanner), and Sweet Pea (Jordan Connor) are on the hunt to figure out who the Gargoyle King is. Betty continues to clash with her mother (Mädchen Amick) about the mysterious farm. Veronica (Camila Mendes) must deal with her conflicted feelings about Archie being back and the kiss she shared with Reggie (Charles Melton).

One of the highlights of the episode was the inner struggle that Archie goes through. It was established in the last episode but wasn’t executed well. In this episode, his inner turmoil makes you want to root for him. It shows how much Archie has been broken and just how much being in this state affects his relationships with everyone. The show is finally making him an interesting character again.

That being said, the storyline with Jughead, F.P. and the other Serpents was the main part of the episode. The things they’re able to do this year will certainly shape the way that the entire season plays out from here. It’s great to see Jughead growing as a leader more and more in each episode. It shows that he really does care about his friends and all of Riverdale. It’ll be great to see how much he progresses as a character.

The arc with Betty and her mom has certainly been very interesting. Originally, it seemed like the mysterious farm that’s been set up for the past few seasons had some sort of connection with the Gargoyle King. But since it’s looking like they’re two separate things, I wonder how they’ll expand on the farm and the people who run it. Betty surely does make some questionable decisions in this episode, but I’m hoping it serves for a better purpose.

One of the downsides of the episode was the conflict between Reggie, Veronica, and Archie. I don’t mind the show focusing on this, but the way they’re going about it seems really messy. It would make sense for Veronica to move on from Archie, but it happened very quickly and seemingly out of nowhere. I just hope this doesn’t turn into something that will drag the show’s plot this season.

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode. The right plays were made by the right people and everything is looking to move in the right direction. Hiram’s empire looks to be in some serious trouble, especially with the dramatic end to this week’s episode. What did you think of the episode? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.