Riverdale Season 3, Episode 5 Recap: The Great Escape - Refinery29

Skip navigation!ADVERTISEMENTStory from TV ShowsADVERTISEMENTRiverdale Season 3, Episode 5 Recap: The Great EscapeAriana RomeroNovember 15, 2018, 2:00 AM Photo: Courtesy of the CW.At the time of writing this recap, I have been done with Riverdale’s “The Great Escape” for about 10 minutes. Yet, my heart is still pounding.Y’all, that was riveting! Thrilling! Riverdale is back — without question. And, this newfound renaissance is all thanks to a very complicated plan to help Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) escape Leopold & Loeb Juvenile Detention Center, which is actually a nightmarish mashup of bloody Shawshank Redemption and Fight Club references. As proof that “Escape” marks a true turning point in Riverdale season 3’s quality, Archie’s exhilarating flight from L&L somehow ties into Jughead Jones’ (Cole Sprouse) ill-advised descent into Gryphons & Gargoyle’s madness… leading the teen gang leader to finally come face-to-maw with the Gargoyle King. Season 2 could never.AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTLet’s unravel how Riverdale pulled the entire wild episode off.“Escape” announces it is not here to play with its very first scene, where the L&L guards open fire on a group of inmates in the middle of an escape scheme. In a world where it feels like there have been more mass shootings than days this year, the image of teen boys plummeting from the sky as bullets hit their body is especially harrowing. Even when we later learn the bullets are rubber, the scene doesn’t feel any less terrifying.Yet, the scary moment also sets up a now-impossible romance we can all root for: Joaquin (Rob Raco) and Archie. During the guard attack, Archie covers Joaquin’s body with his own. He still doesn’t know the bullets are rubber, making his gesture even more meaningful. Towards the end of the episode, however, Joaquin kisses Archie (!), but then stabs him ( :( ). This is when we learn the evil Warden Norton (William MacDonald) is definitely an acolyte of the Gargoyle King, as Joaquin explains his betrayal by saying, “The warden said if I did this, I’d finally ascend.”But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The first part of “Escape” also sets a few different journeys in motion: Serpent game master Jughead’s obsession with G&G as a tool to understand the Gargoyle King, Betty Cooper’s (Lili Reinhart) decision to use good old-fashioned detective work in that same quest, and Veronica Lodge’s (Camila Mendes) interest in figuring out what is going on with Archie behind bars.AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTEventually, one of Veronica’s mob connections gets her into the L&L fight club (her blonde Monica Posh alter-ego has a very welcome return). Veronica is horrified by the brutality, but not too terrified to squeeze in a post-fight sex romp with Archie in the inexplicable fight club locker room. Once Varchie wraps their quickie, Veronica pledges to figure out how to break her red-haired beau out of prison.This promise is what brings all the disparate threads of Riverdale together. Veronica barges in on a G&G investigation meeting between Betty, Kevin (Casey Cott), Josie (Ashleigh Murray), and Reggie (Charles Melton), and demands they all help her spring Archie from the hoosegow. Immediately, everyone is in. Betty tries to get Jughead to join in the group’s upcoming Prison Break cosplay, but he is far too fixated on G&G to help his best friend. Instead of lending a hand in any real way, Jughead decides to take elements from his girlfriend’s upcoming real-life quest and let them inspire his next G&G quest with with Teen Serpents.So, the lines between actual Riverdale and G&G’s Eldervaer — itself an anagram for Riverdale — blur as the these two groups of heroes attempt to save Archie Andrews, “The Red Paladin” in game-speak. “Paladin,” for the record, is another name for a chivalrous knight and goes back to King Charlemagne. Monica Posh returns, this time with a posh Reggie Mantle as her “fiancé” (again, Riverdale is dropping hints Veggie is imminent). Kevin plays a catering delivery boy who is actually smuggling in smoke bombs. Josie looks fantastic as a cocktail waitress. Betty is the only one without an elaborate disguise, but she does get to sport a Serpent jacket and ride a motorcycle, so she’s good.AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTVeronica’s plan goes well until her dad Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) spots them, but even he can’t stand in her way. Veronica stabs her dad with her stiletto, and everyone throws smoke bombs into Archie’s fight, giving him ample cover to escape through a drain. Archie’s fight club opponent Mad Dog (Eli Goree) returns from the not-dead to fight off any guards who would try to follow him. So Archie comes sliding out of drain pipe somewhere in the forest, finishing his time in Shawshank Redemption. Betty is there to help a muck-covered Archie, and it’s suggested she tossed him on her motorcycle… only, we find out after a breathless chase scene, it was Kevin on the back of Betty’s bike the whole time.Veronica dragged a hobbling Archie to the group’s stashed car. He’s free.As each team member makes their way through all of these challenges, Jughead and the Teen Serpents roll through a perfect mirror-image of a G&G quest. We would assume the narrative choice is for the sake of drama, until Warden Norton demands to know where the “Red Paladin” is. That means these entire heist was actually a legitimate G&G quest after all, and it’s one the warden, who previously branded Archie with a G&G symbol, failed.We’re left wondering how the Gargoyle King even knew about the Red Paladin trial, since Jughead seemingly came up with it himself. Or, how much the Teen Serpents’ gameplay actually influenced the outcome of Team Veronica’s prison break. Hopefully, these are the questions the remainder of Riverdale season 3 will tackle.AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTAt least we know that Archie is okay. He is dropped in the Betty & Jughead Sex Bunker, which has been repurposed as the Jughead G&G Bunker. Archie is just surprised there is a bunker in the first place. Then, like their parents before them, the entire group (plus Sweet Pea and Fangs) swears to never reveal Archie’s whereabouts and their own involvement in the breakout.This should be the end of this story, but the Gargoyle King would like to ruin two more lives. First, Warden Norton drops a cyanide pill into a random chalice of blue liquid, dying in the same way Dilton (Major Curda) and Principal Featherhead (Anthony Michael Hall) did earlier this season, and Ethel (Shannon Purser) nearly did. Finally, Jughead, fresh off of creating the most exciting G&G “quest” in decades, bumps into the Gargoyle King in the forest. He bows.Will we finally learn who’s under all that shrubbery and gore?The most Riverdale of Riverdale quotes: “I’m helping Veronica break Archie out of juvie, and I’m hoping you can come with us.”Pop’s sliders“I’d recognize those abs anywhere.” Same, Veronica. Same.“The dark dragon,” of “fork-tongued” monstrosity, is the funniest metaphor yet for Hiram, a millionaire and mobster hell bent on killing the 16-year-old boy he already spent $30,000 framing for murder.Betty got to drop her ponytail for the L&L prison break. We are one step closer to her “Midnight Club” aesthetic becoming permanent. Bless.Josie, Kevin, and Reggie start playing the game since no one will give them the “Midnight Club” recap they so desperately want. Oh no.AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTOn the other hand, Josie and Kevin’s parents are engaged. Mazel!Looking for more theories, recaps, and insider info on all things TV? Join our Facebook group, Binge Club. The community is a space for you to share articles, discuss last night’s episode of your favorite show, or ask questions! Join here. AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT EntertainmentIn Wonder Man Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Perfectly Captures The...Mere minutes into Wonder Man, I had to take a break from the series. Not because it wasn’t good — it’s great — but because I saw so much of myself by Kathleen Newman-B...EntertainmentKiernan Shipka Is All Grown Up And Ready To Redefine Herself With...In some ways, it’s felt like we’ve grown up alongside Kiernan Shipka. She had her first role as a baby on TV at just five months old on ER, befby Rachel ChoyEntertainmentSophie Turner & Archie Madekwe On The “Dangers” Of Ex...Sophie Turner and Archie Madekwe’s newest Prime Video show Steal centers around a major heist where billions of pounds are stolen from a London pensiby Rachel ChoyAdvertisementADVERTISEMENTEntertainmentFrom The Pitt to Forever & Heated Rivalry, T...I watch a lot of TV. It’s my job. And in all my years of binge-watching shows for a living, I have never seen so many viral videos of people gathered togby Kathleen Newman-B...EntertainmentAshley Park Was “So Nervous” About Emily In Paris Fan Reac...Minor spoilers for Emily in Paris Season 5 ahead. Emily In Paris is back for another season of champagne-fueled chaos, couture-level escapism, and questionby Kathleen Newman-B...EntertainmentEverything We Know About Bridgerton Season 4I count down to a new season of Bridgerton like football fans count down to the Super Bowl. The official release date for Bridgerton Season 4 was just annoby Kathleen Newman-B...EntertainmentWhat To Watch After The Summer I Turned PrettyNow that The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 has wrapped up, it feels like there’s a hole in our hearts. Instead of spending our Wednesday nights witby Rachel ChoyEntertainmentThese 8 Netflix Treats Are Worth Watching In OctoberAs we get further through the year, there’s nothing I want to do more than slump on the couch and reach for the remote. It’s been a busy few moby Rachel ChoyEntertainmentEverything We Know About The Pitt Season 2The Pitt is currently the best drama on television. I say that with my whole chest. And at the Emmys this month, the medical drama was officially awarded tby Kathleen Newman-B...EntertainmentThe Summer I Turned Pretty Finale Was For Team BellySpoilers ahead. Isabelle “Belly” Conklin has made her choice. For three seasons of The Summer I Turned Pretty, we’ve watched her romantically terroriby Kathleen Newman-B...Entertainment“I’m Not Afraid Any More.” Joy Sunday On Wednesday &...Joy Sunday glides into the lobby of The Whitby Hotel in New York City’s midtown donning a caramel corset and flouncy Emilio Pucci mini skirt.  Sunday’by Taryn FinleyEntertainmentThe Best TV Shows & Movies To Stream In AugustWhile most people have been getting out into the great outdoors this summer, we’ve been glued to our big and little screens as per usual. The Emmys nominby Alicia LansomAdvertisementADVERTISEMENTADVERTISEMENTADVERTISEMENT