Is Jughead’s New School Connected to the ‘Riverdale’ Flashforward Mystery?
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 4, Episode 2 of Riverdale, “Chapter Fifty-Nine: Fast Times at Riverdale High.”]
Riverdale offers another look into the future in Wednesday’s episode — and it doesn’t look good for Jughead (Cole Sprouse).
In “Fast Times at Riverdale High,” Mr. Chipping (Sam Witwer) pays Riverdale High a visit to recruit Jughead to Stonewall Prep. He’d been one of the judges for the writing contest he’d submitted to, and while Jughead didn’t win, he impressed the teacher. Though Jughead turns down the offer, Mr. Chipping goes to see his father.
“Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want to go to a school that recognizes your talent,” FP (Skeet Ulrich) tells his son and insists he at least take a tour.
His tour guide, Brett, greets him and prefers calling him Forsythe (which we can’t help but wonder may be more notable than just keeping with the “privileged” — as Veronica calls it — nature of the school). Mr. Chipping invites Jughead to join a discussion of Moby Dick, and the teenager enjoys his time there. And once Betty (Lili Reinhart) sees that it’s basically pointless to attend class at Riverdale High — the teacher doesn’t seem to care or notice when Betty drags Jughead out into the hall while she’s talking — she encourages her boyfriend to go to Stonewall, promising they’ll make it work.
It’s only after Jughead has tried on his new uniform that his father reveals he’s a legacy; his grandfather, Forsythe Pendleton Jones I, went there for a couple months until he dropped out. “He quit at everything, including me,” FP says of his father. “Went out for a pack of smokes, never came back.”
But then we flash forward to spring break once again, and while there aren’t any bloody clothes this time, the entire town is looking for Jughead in the woods.
(Colin Bentley/The CW)
Could it be that who Jughead Jones is — a legacy, another Forsythe — is more important than his writing, despite what Mr. Chipping said to him? It can’t be a coincidence that the episode transitions from a scene discussing Jughead’s new school to the flash-forward mystery of his disappearance, right?
That search in the woods was previously teased in a Season 4 trailer, and in that same preview, we saw Jughead seemingly buried alive. Could this be part of some sort of hazing at Stonewall? Or could Jughead stumble upon something someone at his new school didn’t want him to find?
We’ll have to wait and see what other clues about spring break are revealed in episodes to come. For now, it seems safe to say we shouldn’t trust anyone at Stonewall, including (and especially?) Mr. Chipping.
Riverdale, Wednesdays, 8/7c, The CW
