[woman screaming on screen]
[Jughead] One distinct advantage of dating the owner of a movie theater
is getting to see flicks with my pals for free.
Which is why every Tuesday night, we would gather to watch
whatever latest atomic age fright-fest was playing,
little imagining that we would soon be walking into our very own
real-life, science-fiction-tinged B movie.
There, suddenly, was a melting man,
coming towards us looking like a wax statue
that had been left out in the sun for too long.
At which point the cavalry suddenly arrived.
[gunshots]
Sheriff Keller would soon be claiming that the man was a vagrant,
suffering from a rare case of... wait for it... leprosy.
But that didn't jibe with what I overheard Ethel say to Ben Button.
He's wearing the same uniform my dad did when he worked at the maple factory.
Once again, there was something rotten in the town of Riverdale,
and if I was going to get real answers this time,
I'd have to hunt them down myself.
Luckily, I knew for a fact
that the town coroner, Dr. Curdle,
was a fan of Pep's horror comics,
which were hard to come by these days.
Unless you had an inside connection like me.
Oh, yes.
These are quite marvelous, Mr. Jones.
Worthy of a quid pro quo.
Keen-o. So, clue me in on what you know about that mysterious melting man.
How'd he end up looking that way?
I believe he was suffering from acute radiation poisoning.
[whistles] Jeepers!
Nuclear or atomic?
And where would he get radiation poisoning?
I couldn't say.
Unfortunately, I didn't have much time with the body
before Mayor Blossom claimed it and whisked it away.
The melting man, as you call him,
was an employee of the mayor's maple factory is my understanding.
That stinks like a rotten fish.
[birds twittering]
Ethel, are you ready to walk to school?
Betty, are you sure you don't want your mom
to drive you and Ethel to school?
Under no circumstances.
Ethel, come on. We're gonna be late.
[Alice] Don't worry, Hal.
One day it'll be raining cats and dogs,
and she will finally let me give her a ride.
- You'll see. - Mm, no, I won't.
Ethel, Veronica and I signed up for driver's education at school.
So, pretty soon I'll be driving myself wherever I want.
Great news from Coach Parsley over at Camp Evans.
You are in, Reggie.
- No foolin', Coach? - In where?
Only the best summer basketball camp
for high-schoolers in the country.
[Mary] That's wonderful news.
Congratulations, Reggie.
And what about you, Bill Shakespeare?
What are your plans?
Guess there's no summer camp for poetry, is there?
Well, there'll be plenty for Archie to do in town, Frank.
He can pick up his old job at Pop's,
or he can help me down at the dress shop.
Oh, you hear that?
You can work in your mom's dress shop.
[scoffs] I bet you wish you didn't quit the team now.
Let's motor, sis. Train's leaving with or without you.
And who, pray tell, was that?
You enlisting, Dad?
Oh, don't be asinine, the both of you.
That was General Taylor from Washington.
He was delivering unto me, uh...
Well, a gift.
Come into my study,
I want you to see it.
What godforsaken creature is that?
This is Moloch, Cheryl.
Ancient pagan deity.
It can only be appeased through child sacrifice.
You should both keep Moloch in mind,
should you ever be inclined to give me any more grief.
[school bell ringing]
[Jughead] Ethel?
Look, I don't mean to open old wounds,
but that melting man outside the Babylonium...
- What about him? - You told Ben
that he was wearing the same uniform that your father did
at the Blossom maple factory.
I... I was just wondering what your father actually did there.
He was a janitor.
Why?
Did he ever get sick?
My mom sometimes said that he started drinking
to help deal with the chronic pain he felt in his stomach and his joints.
And also because he was losing his hair.
Golly.
But, Jughead, why are you asking me about this?
Look, I can't say for certain yet,
but the fact that your father and the melting man,
and Mr. Rayberry, now that I think about it,
all worked at the Blossom maple factory
and all bit the linoleum
in, shall we say, bizarre circumstances, I--
Well, I just don't think that's a coincidence.
I think the Blossoms are hiding something.
And I'm going to find out what.
So I can get us, you, me, Mrs. Rayberry...
some closure.
What?
What is it?
Jughead, I appreciate what you're doing.
But I'm trying to move on with my life.
I'm applying for my driver's license.
I just got my car that I won as Miss Riverdale Teen Queen,
I'm going steady with Ben.
[softly] Hi.
You're going steady with our Ben? Ben Button?
In any case, I'm trying to put the past where it belongs, behind me.
All right, class, please finish taking your seats.
Mayor Blossom and Principal Featherhead have asked me to show you
this informational film about what to do in the event
of an atomic bomb detonating in Riverdale.
[projector whirring]
[narrator] Now, we must be ready for a new danger...
the atomic bomb.
You will know when it comes.
There is a bright flash brighter than the sun.
If you are not ready, it could hurt you in different ways.
It could knock you down hard
or throw you against a tree or a wall.
It is such a big explosion, it can smash in buildings,
and knock signboards over,
and break windows all over town.
[Archie] Jeepers, that atomic bomb movie
really gave me the zorros.
It should have.
That dumb movie was telling us to "duck and cover,"
as if flying glass is going to be the biggest of our worries.
In truth, most of us wouldn't even likely survive an atomic explosion.
What... What are you playing at, Jug?
Have any of you seen the newsreels from Japan?
If a bomb drops on or near Riverdale,
all of us are vaporized in less than a nanosecond.
Not to mention the radiation we would all be exposed to,
even if we managed to survive the initial detonation.
Well, I know what I'd do if a bomb were heading our way,
I'd sequester myself in the Pembrooke sub-sub-basement.
It's like a little underground city down there.
You'd be invited, of course, Juggiekins.
Ugh.
I would seek shelter in the abandoned Blossom mines.
They have stood strong since before the Revolutionary War.
Isn't it dark and cold down in those mines?
Hmm, why, yes, Toni, it is.
I would have to find some way to stay cozy and warm.
I'd head back to Duck Creek. We've got a well so deep
no bomb or radiation could reach it.
Well, why stop at Duck Creek?
I mean, if we hear these sirens,
I'm hopping in my hot rod, I'm grabbin' my mom and I'm heading out West.
There is no way these radiation clouds are gonna cross the Rockies.
[sighs] Out West sounds nice.
Sure does.
You can't outrun an atomic bomb, Archie.
No matter how screamin' fast your hot rod is.
Guys, I read somewhere that if you are inside a refrigerator,
when the big one hits, you're safe.
But then you're inside a refrigerator.
Yeah, Kev, what would you do about food and water?
I mean, I'd be inside of a refrigerator.
[all laugh]
I'm not holing up anywhere.
Come on, guys. We can't let this bomb get us down.
In places like Nevada, where the US
does most of its atomic testing,
people have bomb shelters in case something goes wrong.
That's what it would take to be truly safe,
a lead-lined underground bunker.
[Betty] If Russia wanted to bomb us,
wouldn't they target larger cities
like Los Angeles or New York?
People who live in the sticks like us,
we don't actually have to worry about
nuclear attacks, do we?
Mm. I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
An atomic bomb could drop anywhere.
Even here, in Riverdale.
It says, "Make rope end wrap around the rope."
Whatever that means.
[Archie] Hey, what are you fellas up to?
We're trying to tie a sailor's knot and failing miserably.
A sailor's knot? I can show you how.
Don't you remember your Adventure Scouts training?
"The rabbit goes out the hole,
around the tree,
back through the hole again."
You should get a nice loop.
What are you guys practicing this for anyways?
You do realize if the bomb hits,
there's not much a sailor's knot can do for you. [chuckles]
Kevin and I are considering joining the Merchant Marines.
Merchant Marines? Wow.
What is that? Part of the Navy or something?
No, it's a civilian job.
They pay you to work on a cargo ship and travel around the world.
[Clay] You know, Archie, you might be keen on this too.
A lot of great writers were Merchant Marines.
A lot of the Beats have served too.
Ginsberg and Kerouac both did their time on the seven seas.
"Adventure awaits you on the open water."
I'll say this much, I wouldn't hate getting away from my uncle.
Seeing the world, having adventures, it would enrich my writing.
I mean, that sounds super swell to me.
And I do love tying knots.
If you're serious, there's a recruiter coming tomorrow.
You can ask him questions and hear what he has to say.
Ladies, you are the drivers of tomorrow.
As such, it is important to learn to be alert,
confident, conscientious motor vehicle operators.
Stop sign.
[all gasp]
Driving is not a right, as many young men believe.
It is a privilege...
and a responsibility.
Upcoming left turn.
That's wonderful, girls.
Now, let's bring our cars into park.
And shake it out.
Very good. Excellent.
Now, your homework for tonight is to rest,
because tomorrow, your true test of skills begins.
We will be getting into a real, working automobile
to practice parallel parking.
[girls chattering]
How was school today, boys?
Anything interesting happen?
We watched a movie that taught us what to do
if the Russians drop a bomb on us.
I'm thinking of joining the Merchant Marines.
Well, as long as you finish high school first,
and when that day comes, I hope you'll still consider going to college.
Well, now, wait a minute, Mary.
Merchant Marines sounds like a solid, sensible idea.
Much better than going to some college to pursue poetry.
Actually, the Merchant Marines would be a way
for me to pursue my poetry, Uncle Frank.
A lot of Beats would join the Merchant Marines
to learn more about themselves
and the world and then to write about it.
You'd know that if you ever cracked open a book.
What was that?
Well, no one is joining anything tonight.
So can we please just finish our supper in peace?
[Jughead] Well, Dilton, what's the occasion?
I... I just came by because...
after the melting man and that movie my dad showed in class,
I know you're unsettled.
Sue me. I don't wanna die in an atomic attack.
Yeah, except, you don't have to worry, Jughead.
You, you're one of my best pals.
You're my comic book buddy.
If anything bad were to actually happen,
I'd take care of you. You'd be safe.
Well, that's swell of you to say, Dilton, but how would I be safe?
It's...
It would probably be easier if I just showed you.
[metal door opening]
Ho-ho-holy crapola, Dilton.
How does your family have a bunker?
My dad built it.
He says we're deep enough to survive an atomic blast
and any radiation after the blast.
Am I missing something?
Does your dad think that Riverdale could be a target?
Dilton?
What does your dad know that we don't?
Nothing for certain.
But about a year before Ethel's folks were killed,
her dad showed up to our house...
with this.
Mr. Muggs wanted to see if it was worth anything.
He figured since my dad was a science teacher, he'd know.
What is it?
Palladium.
Mr. Muggs said he swiped it from work.
The maple factory?
I guess so.
He said Clifford Blossom was sitting on a pile of it
and doing something with it.
That's when my dad started building this bunker.
Because Clifford Blossom was,
or is, doing something with palladium?
A secret something? Worth killing for?
In its inert state, palladium is basically harmless.
But in its purest state, concentrated and compressed,
some scientists speculate
it could be more volatile than plutonium,
and if detonated,
more destructive than a hydrogen bomb.
This is starting to ring a bell for me.
Not just a bell, in fact, a four-alarm siren.
Sure enough, I'd recently had my nose in a story
about a palladium bomb destroying a small town
by my former, deceased mentor Brad Rayberry,
who, at one point, worked at the Blossom factory.
Had he seen or heard something there
about palladium that had inspired his story?
[siren wailing]
That's the emergency siren!
As we were warned!
This is it! This is the big one!
[all screaming]
Jughead! Duck and cover!
Jughead? Jughead? What are you doing?
Get under your desk!
No! Jughead!
Get away from the-- [screams]
[gasps, heavy breathing]
Damn you and your fearmongering, Jughead Jones.
[Clifford speaking Russian]
[Penelope speaking Russian]
[Clifford in Russian]
[Penelope in Russian]
[floor creaking]
[gasps]
[in English] As a Merchant Marine, you'll be traveling the globe
on the world's most technologically advanced ships.
You will work and train alongside
this country's best and brightest young men,
all eager to experience life to the fullest.
- Yes, son. - Would we have time to explore,
places we'd be visiting, you know, really get to soak them up?
This isn't a pleasure cruise.
It's something you should all know right now,
no one here is guaranteed a spot.
Cheryl, hi-ho.
Has anything strange been happening at your house lately?
Mayhaps. Why do you care?
Well, I heard you mention those abandoned mines yesterday.
And I was just wondering if they're close to your family's maple factory.
The factory is practically right on top of them, yes.
Okay...
Look, Cheryl, this is gonna sound like gobbledygook.
But I have reason to believe that your father is up to no good.
I think he is involved in the milkman murders,
not to mention the melting man,
and I think that those mines
are actually palladium mines,
and that they're not as abandoned as you think.
Jughead, there's no love lost between my father and I.
In fact, I'm fairly certain if he had the chance,
he would sacrifice me to a pagan god he worships named Moloch.
But to your point, he has been meeting with an Army general
in his study recently,
and I did overhear him and my mother last night
speaking what I believe was Russian.
Holy moly!
Do you think you can get in there and play gumshoe?
Just poke around, snoop a little,
see if you find anything incriminating?
[tires screech]
[all gasp]
[cheers and applause]
I am very pleased to announce that since all of you passed
both the written and practical portions
of your driver's education exam,
we will all be taking a field trip
to the Riverdale Department of Motor Vehicles
at the end of the week.
[all applauding]
But girls, this is very important.
In order to obtain your legal license,
you must bring a copy of your birth certificate with you.
The DMV needs to make sure
that none of you are Russian spies.
[indistinct laughter and chatter]
[rowing machine clicking]
[Frank] I was wondering why the light was on out here.
Let me guess,
this is for the Merchant Marines.
Well, the recruiter said
everyone rows at least an hour a day when they're out at sea
to stay in shape, so... I'm just getting a head start.
Listen, about that...
Can we talk?
Man-to-man for a minute.
I know I'm not your father.
But just so you know,
I want what's best for you, Archie,
just the same as he would want.
What is that?
[Frank] Your old man's dog tags.
I know he'd want you to have them,
just like I'll bet he'd want you to quit this Merchant Marines business,
join the Army, enlist, just like he did.
Oh, you didn't know?
Your father wasn't drafted, Archie.
He volunteered for the Army
because he knew what being a real man and a good American meant.
He believed there was no greater duty than serving this country
and fighting for democracy and freedom.
And you wanna be like your father, don't you?
Well, yeah, I...
try to be like him every day.
Well, then drop this poetry nonsense and join the Army.
Become the kind of man he'd be proud of.
The man I know is inside you,
fighting to get out.
And the best part about joining the Army...
you don't have to wait until graduation.
Let's see what you're hiding, Daddy.
[wind blowing]
A draft?
[creaks]
Good morning, honey.
One waffle or two?
Uh...
Are those your dad's...
Dog tags. Yeah.
Uncle Frank gave 'em to me.
Well, why would he have done that?
Oh, I think I know.
But maybe you should sit down so we can talk about it.
[sighs]
Betty, can we talk for a second?
Sure.
Are things not hunky-dory?
No, there is a problem, um...
I don't have my birth certificate.
It's at my house.
Where my parents...
Don't worry about it. I'll grab it for you.
Really, Betty?
Sure. Yeah. I'll book it there after school
before we go to the DMV.
Do you have any idea
where your birth certificate would be?
My mom had a crafting desk
where she kept important papers and things.
I bet you it's in there.
[school bell ringing]
Did you find something?
Did I ever? You were right on the beam, Jughead.
- About what part? - Everything.
Last night whilst snooping through Daddy's study,
I stumbled upon a secret panel
and found a bunch of these...
and matching uniforms to boot!
Holy Toledo!
That milkman must've been working for your father.
Doing his bidding?
Cheryl, are you in danger?
No more than usual.
I also went to the mines last night
and you were right about those too.
They are palladium mines...
Very much not abandoned.
Meet me on the Thornhill grounds tonight after dark
and bring your camera, and pray an atomic disaster
doesn't befall us all before then.
What? Wha--
What was my dad paying the Muggs' for?
So Frank, Archie told me
about your little talk in the garage last night.
Did he now?
- And what did he say? - [Mary] A few things.
But it sounded to me
like you used his father, your brother,
to try to manipulate my son into joining the Army.
How dare you, Frank?
Especially when you yourself never served.
The Army is the best place for him, Mary.
It'll set him straight.
Let's not mince words, Frank.
We all know what this is really about.
It's about you not wanting Archie to write poetry.
He's on the road to ruin.
He's... Well, he's lost.
[Mary] He's not lost. He's 17.
He's got his whole life ahead of him.
Whether that's joining the Merchant Marines, or the Army,
or going to college to study literature and poetry,
after he finishes high school.
But he'll be the one who decides his path, not his bullying uncle.
[Mary sighs]
I can't have you here anymore, Frank.
It's time for you to move out.
Mary, you called me here to help.
And now she's telling you to hit the road.
And who's gonna be the man of the house when I'm gone?
- I am. - [scoffs] Not that I need one.
I am the woman of this house, after all.
I'm the one who pays the mortgage around here.
Well, I suppose I could shack up with my old pal Tom Keller.
I hear he's been handed a similar set of marching orders recently.
[Mary] Wonderful.
That works out for everyone then.
Betty. How you doing, kiddo?
Why were you two writing checks once a month,
year after year, to the Muggs'?
Because, Betty, Mrs. Muggs was our housekeeper.
Those must have been payments for those services.
That doesn't make any sense.
Some of these checks are from two years ago.
If Mrs. Muggs were ever our housekeeper,
she hadn't been for as long as I can remember.
Oh, and... and what's the story behind this photo?
Who's that baby?
Because it's not me and it's not Polly.
That's Ethel.
Why did the Muggs' have a photo of you holding Ethel as a baby?
Because the Muggs' asked
if I would be Ethel's godfather.
And I agreed.
So why haven't I heard about this?
Why hasn't anyone?
[sputters] I don't know...
[Alice] Stop, Hal.
Just stop.
It's over.
Can't you see that?
You're Ethel's father, aren't you?
Why don't you go for a walk, dear? Hmm?
So that Betty and I can have a little chat.
Mildred Muggs did clean our house
before you were born. That part is true.
And at some point, she and your father started having an affair.
And I suspected it for a long time,
but it was finally confirmed when...
Mrs. Muggs got pregnant.
Your father admitted everything.
He was crying,
apologizing. He didn't know what to do.
I mean, if any whiff of the scandal got out,
the consequences,
for the station, for... for us, for our family...
So you stayed with him?
I had no other choice.
Yes, I stayed.
But I... I handled it.
I made a deal with the Muggs'
that if they agreed to raise the baby as their own
and keep our secret
that we would financially support the child
until she turned 16.
Support... Ethel, my sister?
Your half-sister.
This is why you "adopted" Ethel.
This is why you've been the way that you've been...
with me.
Wanting Kevin to pin me over Archie.
Why you were scared of me reading Dr. Kingsley's book.
You were afraid of something like what happened to you happening to me?
I just wanted to give you
a good, happy life.
Unburdened.
Safe, free of shame.
You've been obsessed with presenting as the perfect family
when all along...
this is what's been wrong.
This... secret.
This... shame,
not what I've been doing.
Or what Polly did.
It was Dad's affair...
and your decision to stay with him
and pretend that everything was fine.
And for all my efforts,
I failed you.
[voice breaking] As a mother...
I failed you, and I'm sorry.
You didn't.
You did the best that you could.
You did what you thought was right.
But now...
we need to get Dad back here,
and we need to tell Ethel everything.
[camera shutter clicks]
[Jughead] What you say is here is really here?
It is. You will see for yourself.
[Jughead] Well, wouldn't there be more guards?
I imagine my father is trying to avoid undue attention.
That's a good point.
And as Cheryl and I were on the cusp
of uncovering one explosive truth,
Ethel was experiencing emotional shock waves
after learning the truth about her life.
It explains things.
Why my parents were so sad,
why they fought all the time.
Why I always felt...
I don't know, like it was somehow my fault.
Oh, it was never your fault, Ethel.
Ethel...
Mrs. Cooper and I, were discussing and...
Well, we'd like to...
We'd like to make things right.
And formally adopt you.
Show you that we could be a... a true family.
I appreciate that.
Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, it's kind of you to offer.
But I don't think that's what I want.
What do you want?
To be happy.
To move on with my life.
To start over.
Well, you enjoy my room.
Don't get into too much trouble.
I won't.
And, uh, I'll see you at practice, Coach.
Mary, I don't know how I'm going to survive without your chicken pot pie.
Oh, come on, Frank.
You know you'll always be welcome at Sunday dinner.
In that case, I will see you Sunday.
You...
So you're the man of the house now.
[chuckles softly] I hope you're up for the task
and, uh, I hope you don't hold anything against me.
Of course not, Uncle Frank.
But just to be clear,
writing poetry doesn't make you any less of a man.
Some of the most beautiful poems I've ever read
were written by soldiers in trenches,
covered in mud and the blood of their brothers.
Well, maybe that's my path.
Well, maybe not.
Guess we'll have to wait and see.
We have to show these photos to Sheriff Keller.
Maybe, maybe not.
For all we know, Sheriff Keller is in on it.
Kevin's father?
No, he's just a dimwitted small-town sheriff that's in over his head.
Well, still, now that we have hard proof, it's better to be careful.
Veronica has some contacts in the FBI
from when they investigated her father.
I'll reach out to her and see if she can get me
the names of some of those agents.
Good thinking, Sherlock Jones.
By the way, are you and Veronica officially an item now?
Shucks, I don't know. [embarrassed chuckle]
Talk about being in over your crown.
- Oh, I'm holding my own. - Mm-hmm.
- [knock at door] - I'll get it.
Gentlemen, you're right on time.
They're having breakfast in the grand hall.
Clifford Marion Blossom, Penelope Pavlina Novikov Blossom,
you're under arrest for treason,
conspiracy and advocating for the violent overthrow
of the American government.
The FBI is shutting down your so-called Project Moloch.
[handcuffs click]
You did a bad thing, Daddy.
[Jughead] Over the coming days, the world would learn
about the American capitalist
seduced by the Soviet sleeper agent.
Operation Project Moloch
was to have been the next leg of the arms race,
from the A-bomb to the H-bomb to the P-bomb,
the palladium bomb.
The US believed Clifford Blossom was developing it for them,
when, in fact, his plan had been
to develop the P-bomb in Riverdale
and deliver it to Mother Russia.
The FBI and the US Army were credited
with foiling the plot against America,
which is fine by me, because I was busy
putting the rest of the pieces together.
Mr. Rayberry must have glimpsed just enough during his job
at the Blossom factory to grow concerned.
He warned us, as he always did,
with his brilliant, terrifying stories.
He might have continued flying under the radar,
but then he started agitating at Riverdale High
invoking the Supreme Court, spooking the powers that be,
prompting Mayor Blossom to have his hit man,
aka the milkman, kill him.
Ethel's folks also paid the ultimate price.
Mr. Muggs had discovered that the Blossoms were sitting
on a stockpile of palladium.
That made him a threat.
One that, for whatever reason, needed to be eliminated.
Ethel didn't care so much about the details.
But now that she knew the complete truth of her life,
she was ready, she said,
to finally start to hope again
for a better tomorrow.
Hey, love bug, you ready to peel out?
[pop music playing]
♪ The clock is smiling Like a long-lost prayer ♪
♪ Another minute And the class will end... ♪
[Alice] Are you sure about this, Ethel?
Moving to Hollywood?
Don't you worry, Mrs. Cooper.
I called ahead to my friend Peter Roth.
He saw some of Ethel's artwork and got her a job
as a storyboard artist on the lot.
And I've already arranged for Ethel
to live with one of my girlfriends
at the most glamorous of buildings,
the El Royale.
Thanks again, Veronica.
My pleasure.
Give 'em hell, Ethel.
Don't forget to send us your address once you're settled,
so I can come visit you this summer.
I won't forget.
Thank you for everything, Betty.
Of course.
[sighs softly]
I'll miss you.
You always were the best partner in crime.
Thanks, Jughead.
Don't be too sad.
We'll always have Pep Comics.
Well, hopefully. We'll see.
You're going to be just fine.
I truly feel that.
I hope so, Mrs. Cooper.
[chuckles]
[car door closing]
[car engine starts]
[Jughead] Ethel was the first of us to go,
to leave Riverdale behind.
There would be others soon.
All the pieces were falling into place.
Project Moloch had failed,
and it was just about time to find out
if our little town would be avoiding
an even greater cataclysm.
[epic music playing]
♪ Nothing can stop me ♪
♪ Now ♪
[bell chimes]