I'm Worried About Cheryl In This Riverdale Episode 16 Promo
In fact, I'm worried about everyone.
Riverdale Season 5, Episode 15 finally gave fans something the show had been majorly lacking: justice for the Pussycats. Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), Valerie Brown (Hayley Law), and Melody Valentine (Asha Bromfield) all returned to Riverdale to sing their hearts out and confront the less-than-ideal treatment they received from the town over the years. And while the episode ended on a super promising note, the Riverdale Season 5, Episode 16 promo has me feeling slightly less optimistic about some of the other characters’ fates.
Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from Riverdale Season 5, Episode 15, “Return of the Pussycats.” Pussycat recap: After the band broke up in Season 2, viewers never really saw Valerie or Melody again; the same went for Josie after she peaced out in Season 3. Thankfully, Episode 15 filled viewers in on what the characters had been up to since leaving the show and after the seven-year time-jump, and it looks like they all made it out rather successfully: Josie’s a star, Val’s an artist, and Mel is a successful YA novelist.
While Episode 15 confronted the fact that the Core Four (and the show as a whole) shoved the Pussycats to the background — just as Josie did to her former bandmates — the episode ended with the hint of a spinoff in the Pussycats’ future, in which all three of them would share the spotlight.
But before you’re lulled into believing everything will be happy and good from now on, remember: This is Riverdale, after all, and the promo for Episode 16, "Band of Brothers,” brings us back to the dark drama fans are used to.
It looks like all of the current Riverdale residents are going to deal with a lot in the next episode. Archie, who has yet to truly confront what he went through when serving in the Army, might finally share what happened during his time overseas. Meanwhile, Jughead, who is facing his substance use habits, is also going to try to get his life together. But others seem to be going in the opposite direction of growth.
In the promo, Betty is seen trying to flag down a truck on the Loney Highway, apparently attempting to bait a killer, and Veronica says she’s “impressed” by her on-again-off-again husband, Chadwick, which is horrible, because he’s actually The Worst. But most stressful of all is Cheryl. Viewers know she’s been trying to access the valuable palladium buried under her maple groves, but the promo has her looking a little — ahem — stressed. She’s seen clutching what appears to be oozing honeycombs with literal live bees swarming around. Frantic, she shouts “I am the queen of the bees.”. Not great, TBH. I have a feeling whatever goes down in "Band of Brothers” is gonna sting much more than Episode 15 did.
New episodes of Riverdale air Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
