Riverdale Season 3: 3 Ups & 2 Downs From ‘The Raid’

1. Keeping Up With The Lodges

The episode's strongest moments were easily those that revolved around Veronica's attempts to put her family back together. Still reeling from Hiram's revelation last week (when he announced that he and Hermione were separating), the youngest Lodge decided to talk some sense into her mother and father, ultimately trying to get them to make another go of their marriage.

Picking up on Hermione's fear that a public separation from her mafia boss husband could make her an easy target for her enemies, Veronica manipulated the situation to play on that fear as she secretly sent her a dead fish - a move which motivated Hiram to agree that the pair maintain a public relationship in a bid to keep his former wife under his protection.

While they weren't able to overcome their history and, instead, had their marriage annulled, we shouldn't overlook how poignant the whole scenario actually was. Veronica's bold move finally broke through her father's cold exterior and ensured that he would step up to protect those that he cared for - there was nothing in it for him and, yet, he still did it. It also finally gave her the opportunity to address (and berate him for) his ridiculous behaviour regarding his attempts to have Archie killed.

All in all, this was a surprisingly mature arc (for Riverdale) and managed to use the show's exaggerated history to enhance the narrative. The result was quite moving.

Now, for the negatives...