'Riverdale' Season 4 Episode 3 Review: Chad Murray's Edgar is absurd and a delight to watch in a chapter that falls between brilliant and balderdash
This article contains spoilers for 'Riverdale' season 4 episode 3: 'Dog Day Afternoon'
'Dog Day Afternoon' redefines Insanity. There's bomb diffusion, bloody expensive Glamergé eggs, a rat crawling out of a dead body, a maniac called Edgar planning to fly in a rocket? Jeez. Guess he was inspired by Evel Knievel for trying to pull a stunt like that one. And then, there's Archie (KJ Apa) probably looking at cleaning up the streets of Riverdale from scums— like a vigilante? Honestly, we don't know what the writers had in mind. Guess, they just decided to go full-tilt bonkers on this one.
Let's start off with Madelaine Petsch's Chery Blossom. It was only a matter of time before someone discovered that she'd dug up Jason Blossom's dead body and keeping it at home. Thankfully, it was Toni (Vanessa Morgan) and that gives Cheryl some time to explain. And while we're talking about the Blossoms, there's this whole "Triplet" hint Nana Rose drops. While at it, she addresses Cheryl as Penelope. So does that mean there is a third Blossom running around? Does Cheryl and Jason or Juniper and Dagwood have a third bro/sis that we need to know?
The other major cliffhanger is the videotape that is conveniently placed outside Betty (Lili Reinhart's) door. The poster ahead of the season spoke about videotapes and now the mystery is heightened further with this episode introducing these tapes.
Speaking of Betty, this was a storyline that may just have people end up with two expressions— Holy moly! or "That's f*****g ridiculous! How often do we see a bomb diffused with a bobby pin? To set the context, Betty gets a ransom call from Chad Murray's Edgar asking for a lot of money, supplies and a bus. To prove he's serious, he sends Polly (Tiera Skovbye) to Betty and Charles (Wyatt Nash) with a bomb vest strapped to her chest. Call it outlandish, but Betty switches from a petrified teen to an expert bomb diffuser. Plus, Alice and Betty make a serious tag team when they want to.
We still don't know what to make of Edgar. The man was planning to rocket off? But where? Some parity is restored when Alice (Madchen Amick) finally shoots The Farm's kingpin. Guess that's that for the man. However, we have to hand it to Murray for dishing out an absolutely, absurdly delightful Edgar. He starts out as sinister criminal harvesting organs, and now we see him as lunatic fraying at the edges. Looks like, when he loses it, he really does lose it!
Jughead's got a convincing story and it is interesting how his whole spring break disappearance arc fits in. His welcome at Stonewall Prep isn't a pleasant one. The silver lining for the teen is that he has former Riverdale pal, Moose Mason (now he calls himself Marmaduke) as his roommate. He's got a bully in Brett and knowing Jug, he will put him in his place.
Now that the insanities are dealt with, let's look at the fundraiser plan Veronica (Camila Mendes) has when Archie falls short of the green to repair his community center. Its eye candy for the ladies when muscled shirtless hunks decide to wash cars for the people in town, the proceeds of which go to revamping the center. However, they fall short of the dough and Ronnie eventually gives Mrs. Andrews (Molly Ringwald) a cheque for the remaining money. And, she's Veronica Luna now, no more of the tainted Lodge as her surname.
In all, it has been that sort of an episode that you may not love or hate. But you most definitely cannot ignore it. There are plenty of plotlines that set up a promising season. And the best part about this episode and the previous one is that it's pacy and intriguing. There are splashes of color whenever the teens are happy and when the mystery mode switches on, the tone shifts to dark and somber quite seamlessly. It's been the highlight so far.
If you ask us, 'Dog Day Afternoon' lands between the brilliance and balderdash.
