The devil came to Rivervale on Riverdale Season 6 Episode 3… and he was acquiring souls left and right.
Going by the clever name of Lou Cypher — Lucifer — the devil had his sights set on Kevin Keller, Jughead Jones, the Tate’s, Betty Cooper, and Veronica Lodge.
And through his manipulation, he was pretty much able to cash in on all the souls he required, and then some.
The thing about the devil is that he’s an intriguing figure.
Everyone wants to know more about such a dark and devious presence.
And Rivervale hasn’t been spared of its own darkness. All those residents have darkness living inside of them — a sense of unfulfillment and insecurity t that the devil easily preyed on.
Inspired by the folk lore “The Devil’s Holiday,” the episode also set the ground for a battle between good and evil right in the heart of the weirdest small town.
I mean, seriously. First serial killers and now the literal devil?
It’s shocking that Rivervale, Riverdale, or whatever the town is calling itself these days still has any residents.
Mr. Cypher targeted Kevin by promising to give him Broadway and Vegas all wrapped up in one. And if there’s anyone who feels stifled by small-town living on this series, it’s Kevin. He jumped at the opportunity almost immediately.
And the series, well, they jumped at the opportunity for a musical number. I wish the devil put an end to that, to be honest.
Next up on the list was Pop Tate, who suffered some kind of cardiac arrest. At the hospital, Tabitha learned that the Tate family made a deal with the devil, but Pop wanted to spare his father, so he offered up his soul instead.
However, the devil was in the mood for negotiations and offered her a deal — he’d give up Pop’s soul for the diner instead.
While it seemed like a no-brainer, Pop immediately told Tabitha not to sign the diner over as it’s much more than walls and concrete.
Pop’s explained that the diner is the soul of Rivervale offering refuge and comfort to all those in need. It’s this crazy town’s safe haven, and without it, who knows what might happen.
Well, where there’s the devil, there’s also an angel by the name of Rafael, who offered up Tabitha and Pop the Virgin Mary’s tears from the crucifixion to slip into the devil’s drink.
Once he took a sip, he was banished, they were protected, and Pop’s was consecrated and blessed.
Is it a stretch? Yes. But really, I’m just glad Pop’s is safe and sound to welcome in anyone else who needs a place to seek out shelter.
Also, word is that it will serve as the battleground for what’s to come… whatever that means.
Jughead was intrigued by the devil’s arrival that he reached out to snag an exclusive interview.
Always the writer.
The devil made him a compelling deal: publish the tell-all and never write again or hear the secrets of the universe but keep them to yourself.
Obviously, the wise decision was to get the scoop and lock it up, but Jughead needed the world to hear the story, so he hit upload on that bad boy and relished in the glory.
That is until he put fingers to his typewriter keys and found that the devil wasn’t joking when he said he’d never be able to write again.
And without being a writer, Jughead was…. no one.
He signed his soul over to the devil in a jiffy and accepted eternal damnation in exchange for the freedom to write.
Honestly, the devil was probably laughing at how easy it was to just snatch up souls for any old reason in this town.
Jughead walked right into his plan and didn’t even know it!
Betty’s face-to-face meeting with the devil came as a brush with TBK, the Trash Bag Killer.
It didn’t really make all that much sense, but Betty was triggered by it. And when she called Glen, she realized that she wasn’t actually talking to the serial killer who tortured her, she was confronting the actual devil.
When she heard the screams of her father, Hal, and Polly suffering in hell, she ended it by stabbing TBK only to realize it was Glen under that mask.
Riverdale — “Chapter Ninety-Eight: Mr. Cypher” — Image Number: RVD603a_0023 V1 — Pictured: Casey Cott as Kevin Keller — Photo: Shane Harvey/The CW — © 2021 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Betty dove headfirst into the darkness and murdered someone… and there’s no coming back from that. Well, I guess that’s the second person she’s killed because Archie’s blood is still on her hands.
Either way… Soul = gone.
The funny thing that no one seemed to realize is that the devil is a master of illusions. He could’ve told Jughead any grand ole’ story and he would’ve believed it. Same with Betty — the devil clearly manipulated Glen, so he could’ve been lying about Hal and Polly also.
And finally, there was Reggie and Veronica.
After hearing that the devil was a silent investor who had come to collect a soul, she confronted Reggie, who asked her to outsmart the devil.
So, she invited Nick St. Clair over for a glass of fizzy, and as he began to confess all his misdeeds and crimes, he basically handed himself over to the big red guy.
However, that’s when Veronica found out that Reggie actually sold out her soul instead.
Rather than get mad — although, she did initially — she got even.
Veronica beat the devil by offering him a deal from her skimmed profits and one soul from the casino monthly. And the first one was… well, Reggie.
Sorry bud, you kind of deserved that one!
In this five-episode event, Rivervale has killed Archie, Toni, Reggie, and Glen. Ouch.
It’s interesting to see these characters really give themselves over to the folklore because it makes for some ridiculous television and storytelling, but it also feels like a pointless season.
What’s the point of all of this?
It’s so bizarre that it’s hard to make sense of it in Riverdale context.
Next week’s episode brings the arrival of Sabrina Spellman from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, though, from the looks of it, Kiernan Shipka is not going to be tapping into the half-witch, half-mortal character after all.
How will she play into the narrative?
What did you think of the devilish episode? Sound off in the comments below!