All language subtitles for t5t5

[coin clinking]

♪ One, two, three o'clock
Four o'clock, rock ♪

♪ Five, six, seven o'clock
Eight o'clock, rock ♪

♪ Nine, ten, eleven o'clock
Twelve o'clock, rock ♪

♪ We're gonna rock
around the clock tonight ♪

♪ Put your glad rags on
And join me, hon ♪

♪ We'll have some fun
When the clock strikes one ♪

♪ We're gonna rock
Around the clock tonight ♪

♪ We're gonna rock, rock, rock
Till broad daylight ♪

♪ We're gonna rock, gonna rock
Around the clock tonight ♪

♪ When the clock strikes two
Three and four ♪

[Jughead] The year is 1955.

Number one
on the Billboard charts
is "Rock Around The Clock,"

an earworm
if I've ever heard one.

Now, some random fun facts.

In 1955, a hamburger
with a side of fries

set you back 30 cents.

A comic book, a dime.
A pulp novel, a quarter.

[typewriter keys clacking]

It's been two days
since Bailey's Comet
almost decimated us,

and we were somehow
zapped back to the 1950s.

I'm not sure
how that happened exactly.

I'm not sure
if we're merely in the past,

or in the past
of an alternate universe.

But things are different
here in Riverdale.

For starters,
I live in an abandoned
train car with Hot Dog,

which actually tracks.

And at Riverdale High,
we're all juniors again.

Betty and Kevin
aren't merely friends,

they're dating.

Cheryl's twin brother is alive,
but he's not Jason.

He's Julian.

No sign of a Reggie yet.

But Archie exists,
and he's still pretty much
a teen Charles Atlas.

None of them remember our lives

from before
we became teenagers again,

and I haven't tried
to remind them yet.

I've been waiting to reconnect
with the one person

who might be able to shed light
on our predicament,

because she was
both chronokinetic

and the town's guardian angel,
my girlfriend, Tabitha Tate.

Bus from
Mississippi's pulling in.

Wonder if it was
as bad down there

as they're saying
on the radio.

[Jughead] I already knew
what Pop would soon find out.

It was much, much worse.

Tabitha, Toni
and some of Riverdale High's
other students of color

were in Mississippi
for the trial

of the two men who murdered
Black teenager Emmett Till,

for supposedly whistling
at a white woman.

The jury deliberated
for all of 67 minutes

and then acquitted the killers.

It was one of
the single most shameful

and appalling events
of this or any era.

Uh, Tabitha?

Uh, they

announced the verdict
on... on the radio.

It made me sick in my stomach.

-If you need anything...
-That's what
we're trying to figure out now,

what our next move should be...
but I appreciate the offer.

It's Jughead, right?

Uh, yeah. Yes.

I'll let you know.

[Jughead] It's overwhelming.

Heartbreaking.

Whichever genius
said that the '50s

were the greatest decade
of all time

should seriously
have their head examined.

[Mary] Archie? Can I
speak to you for a minute?

-What's wrong, Mom?
-[sighs]

They printed more pictures
from James Dean's car accident.

Oh, I can't even
show them to you.

You shouldn't
look at that stuff, Mom,

-it upsets you.
-No, what upsets me

-is the idea of you
on the road being reckless.
-Oh.

And that's why I...

I'm going to need
your keys, Archie.

You're not going to drive
that hot rod anymore.

Mom. Whoa!
Now, Mom, I'm a safe driver.

It's not a hot rod.

It's barely
a cut above a jalopy--

It's got fire painted
on its doors.

-Mom.
-Keys. Now.

["That's Alright Mama" playing]

♪ Well, that's
All right, Mama ♪

♪ That's all right for you ♪

♪ That's all right, mama
Just anyway you do ♪

♪ That's all right
That's all right ♪

[honking]

♪ That's all right now, Mama
Anyway you do ♪

♪ Well, Mama she done told me ♪

♪ Papa done told me too ♪

♪ Son, that gal
Your foolin' with ♪

♪ She ain't no good for you ♪

♪ But that's all right
That's all right ♪

[school bell ringing]

[Toni] What do
you think, Betty?

Toni, your writing
is remarkable.

This is the most
important piece of reporting
that I've read in my two years

as editor-in-chief
at the Blue and Gold.

But we've tried covering
Emmett Till before.

Both times
Principal Featherhead
has vetoed the stories.

Betty, I heard Mamie Till
give the most incredible,
inspiring speech

after the verdict
was delivered.

And I got a chance
to interview people

that knew Emmett personally,

his friends, his neighbors.

And I made them a promise
I would help
tell his story.

I agree wholeheartedly.

I'll make an appointment
for us with Featherhead.

[man on film]
This is a squirrel mill.

A mill is a hot rod
or souped-up jalopy
which was once just a car.

Well, it should happen
to all...

Mrs. Thornton, I'm sorry
to interrupt your class,

but I did want to personally
introduce a new student
to our Riverdale High family.

She's just moved here
from sunny Los Angeles.

[Jughead] Damn.

Even in 1955,
Veronica Lodge knew

how to make an entrance.

Enchante,I'm sure.

Thank you,
Principal Featherhead.

Now, before you ask,

yes, I am that Veronica Lodge,

the daughter
of Hiram and Hermione Lodge,

the married stars of America's
number-one rated
television program, Oh Mija!

For the foreseeable future,

I will be staying
with my auntie and uncle

at the Pembrooke
in downtown Riverdale.

Why? Well,

you may have heard
about MGM's upcoming
film adaptation of Our Town.

Though I can't confirm
that the lead role
of innocent ingenue Emily Webb

has already been cast

with a certain raven-haired
starlet, namely moi,

I did feel
it was an opportune time

to take a sabbatical
from Hollywood

and get a feel
for small-town life.

But please, I beg of you
treat me as one of your own,

not as a scion
of Tinseltown royalty.

Thank you.

Mind if I join you?

-Actually--
-Yeah, sure.

I believe I caught
on your names

in Mrs. Thornton's class.

Archie. Betty.

Kevin. Julian.

Hmm.

Remind me, what's yours again?

-Cheryl.
-That's right, Cheryl.

So, what are we dishing about?

-Clue me in.
-James Dean's
untimely passing, of course.

I am the president
of his fan club here
at Riverdale High.

Your parents' show
is hilarious.

We tune in every week.

You and everyone else,

if Mr. Nielsen
is to be believed.

Where in Los Angeles
did you live?

Bel Air.

In a ghastly old mansion
Vincent Price used to own.

Is that close to
where James Dean lived?

Wait, you didn't know
James Dean, did you?

[Cheryl] Kevin,
don't be so provincial.

James Dean was a movie star.

He was friends
with Elizabeth Taylor
and Rock Hudson.

Actually, Jimmy
and I were quite friendly.

We went skinny-dipping
in the pool
at the Chateau Marmaduke.

[spluttering]

-You went skinny-dipping?
-With James Dean?

Once or was it a regular thing?

I suppose next you'll be saying
you and Jimmy dated.

No, but he did enjoy playing
both sides of the net.

Girls and boys.

Wait. Hang on!
Are you suggesting
that James Dean was--

What? I mean,
he seemed like

such a regular guy.
Like a cowboy, almost.

How dare you besmirch
his memory like that?

Don't you be so provincial.

I don't know
why I'm so surprised
to hear such filthy lies

coming out of the mouth
of some wild child

who grew up
surrounded by perverts

going to sex parties
and orgies!

Now, if you'll excuse me,
I have lost my appetite.

What about Sal Mineo?

[school bell ringing]

Remember, the astronomy club
is meeting after school today.

We will be bringing
something ideas to fundraise

so we can purchase
new telescope

before Bailey's Comet arrives.

B-Bailey's Comet
is coming again?

Guys!

When?

Oh, not for
two years, Mr. Jones.

But it's an extremely
expensive telescope,

and this will be
the only opportunity

we'll have to see
the comet in our lifetime.

We mustn't miss it.

Hey, Veronica,
can I walk you home?

[scoffs] Walk?

Do I look like the kind of girl
who walks home?

Ready, Ronnie?

Thanks for the offer, Archie,

but as you can see,
I've already secured
an escort home.

Um, excuse me.

And how do you expect me
to get home, dear brother?

You got two feet, don't you?

Use them or lose them.

I'm sorry.

Miss Topaz, Miss Cooper,

but I gave your article
to Dr. Werthers for review,

and we both agree,

it's not suitable
for publication.

Toni's reporting is,
it's thorough,
insightful, balanced.

Be that as it may,
as a child psychologist,

it's my expert opinion
that the details
of the Emmett Till case

are far too violent
and disturbing

for young,
impressionable minds.

People, your students,
need to understand

the gravity of what happens
so it doesn't happen again...

here.

These sorts of things
don't happen in Riverdale.

And may I remind you
that we were

one of the first high schools
in the country to integrate.

-Isn't that enough?
-Hardly.

We don't have
any Black teachers.

We don't study or learn
about Black authors.

Change doesn't
happen overnight, Miss Topaz.

Your article's
very well-written.

Surely you can find
some satisfaction in that.

Mom, Dad,
you haven't said anything.

Did you read the article
my friend Toni wrote?

Yes, we did, honey.

And?

And it was very well-written.

-Extremely well-written.
-Mm-hmm.

So you'll read it
on the air, Dad?

Jeez, hon, we only get
15 minutes of airtime a night.

Do we really need to spend
one minute on a story that...

well, has nothing
to do with us?

Dad, everyone watches
your nightly broadcast.

Imagine the impact
it would have

if you, the face of RIVW,
talked about Emmett Till.

[chuckles nervously] Elizabeth,
it's not that simple, honey.

I mean, you know very well
that we have to run

every single one of our stories

past our sponsors
for approval.

And I'm sorry,
this is just not
in their bailiwick.

Your sponsors,
you're talking about

The Blossoms,
Blossom Maple Syrup.

But if we lose their support,

RIVW won't be able
to expand its programming.

Hmm. You won't
be able to give yourself
a raise, you mean.

Betty. Darling, why
is this so important to you?

Because what
happened to Emmett Till
was a complete injustice.

A crime emblematic
of everything

that's wrong
with this country.

And nobody
except my friend Toni

and her friends
seem to care about it.

[Archie] You know,
this might sound crazy, Jug.

The first time that I saw her,

I felt like I was hit
by a thunderbolt or something.

Shazam!

But how is a guy like me
going to get anywhere

with a girl
like Veronica Lodge
if I'm riding a damn bicycle?

[Archie grunts]

That's why I'm sneaking
this baby out tonight.

[Jughead] I admit,
while Archie poured
his heart out to me,

I was racking my brains.

If Bailey's Comet was what
sent us all to the past,

Bailey's Comet might be able
to send us back to the future.

But I needed help.

But with my friends
unaware of their former lives,

how can I make them remember?

It would take
some kind of tangible proof
to jolt them awake, but what?

Jug, have you seen
my dad's hammer?
I need to smack this dent out.

Your dad's hammer?

Did everyone bring an item?

Putting in a guitar pick
and a hammer
from my dad's toolbox.

[Jughead] It was a long shot.

But could that
time capsule we buried

graduation weekend,
possibly have survived

whatever cosmic event
sent us back to 1955?

The items in that capsule
might trigger their memories.

Do you have a shovel
that I could borrow?

[grunts]

[clangs]

[grunting]

[gasping]

Thank God!

[Veronica] Well, well, well.

Color me curious.

The all-American boy
is secretly a hot-rodder.

I was hoping I could maybe
give you a ride home today.

Consider it a date.

[Jughead] Archie. Veronica.

I'm holding
an emergency meeting
in the music room. Hurry!

Who is that person again?

[Betty] What is all this junk,
Jughead?

These headlines
are like Dr. Seuss.

Just take a moment.
Look at what you're holding.

Do you remember anything?
Do you... Do you feel anything?

I mean, I like the jacket,
but I've never seen
this before in my life.

I've been to
a lot of movie sets,

so I know a good prop
when I see one,
and these are okay.

-They're not props.
-Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

I don't get it.
An "inch" of what?

When did you even get a chance

to bury my dad's
hammer in a cooler?

I didn't. You did.

We all buried something
of emotional significance

in that time capsule
67 years ago.

-But in the future.
-The future?

Yeah. Yes.

This is gonna sound nuts, okay?

Just hear me out.

Thanks to a cataclysmic event,

all of us,
we were all sent back
in time...

to maybe
an alternate parallel universe.

And we need to get back
to our future.

Our present. I...
I was hoping that by showing

you guys these objects,
it would help jog your memory.

Okay. What's your object?
What did you bury?

It was a yarn beanie.

But for whatever reason,
it wasn't in the time capsule.

Oh.

All right. I'll play along.

Yeah. Okay.

In the future,
who's more famous?

Me or Elizabeth Taylor?

Never mind her.
She just got here.

Bird's-eye view.
What's the future like?

Um...

Where do I start? Uh...

Okay.

We don't use
regular phones anymore.

We use something
called smartphones,

which we can carry around
everywhere with us.

And, ironically,
we don't even
call people on them.

We just send texts,
which are like messages

and listen to music
on Spotify

and, oh, the Internet.

The Internet is like, um,

having an entire encyclopedia
at your fingertips.

Well, maybe tell us about us.

What were we like
in the future?

Okay. Archie joins the Army
and fought in a war.

Betty, you were in the FBI

and you were hunting down
serial killers,

which I guess is a term
that doesn't exist yet.

Veronica, you owned a casino.

But before that, a speakeasy,

which Toni bought
and turned into a biker bar.

Kevin, you directed,
uh, some musicals,

and were in
an organ-harvesting cult.

Huh! Oh!

Okay. What about me?

Uh, you were possessed
by your ancestor
and... and became a witch.

Oh.

If that's what
we were doing in the future,

why would we want to go back?
We sound miserable.

Yeah, and how would
that even happen?

Okay, I...
I have an idea.

Now, it's a crazy one,
but it might work.

So, short of waiting
for Bailey's Comet to return,

the other way
that we could break through
the space-time barrier

is by getting Archie and Betty

to make out
on top of Archie's bed,

and then we blow up
a bomb underneath them.

[Betty scoffs]

All right, Jug.
That's enough, man.

-Let's go for a walk.
-You're not going
to beat me up, are you?

Because you're really
violent in the future.

What? No, we're gonna talk.

-Come on.
-[Jughead] Just...
Just look at that.

-You don't understand!
-No, Jug, you don't understand.

We are not from the future.

Jughead, it's 1955.

And things are
hard enough to figure out

without your crazy stories

about time traveling

and other universes.
And setting off bombs?

I mean,
for Pete's sake, Jughead.
If you're not careful,

people might start thinking
you belong in the loony bin
with the other nutjobs.

You think I'm crazy?

No, I, uh...

I just, I think
you have an overactive
imagination, is all.

And look,
you should keep writing

your comic books
and your stories

instead of
trying to convince us

that we're trapped
in some kind of

science-fiction picture show.

Jug, life's good.

It's not perfect,
but... but what is?

Well, just trust me
on this one,
will you, bud, please?

Yeah.

-Yeah, no...
-Yeah?

Attaboy.

I feel like
all I'm doing lately

is apologizing to you, Toni.

But... my parents say
they wouldn't be able

to get your story
past The Blossoms,

and they sponsor
the nightly news, so...

Well, I'm not surprised.

When Emmett was murdered,
nobody wanted to talk about it

and nobody
wanted to hear about it.

It took Mrs. Till publishing
her son's funeral pictures

for people to finally wake up.

I don't think
I know about that.

Before Emmett was buried,

his mother asked
for an open casket

so people could see
what was done to her son.

How he'd been beaten,
tortured and disfigured.

Toni,
do you have copies of
those pictures?

At home.

From when they were
in a newsletter.

Are you sure
you want to see them?

[French song playing faintly]

[sighs]

Why on God's earth
are you two in such sullen,
sulking moods?

It's not like you're poor.

Julian's mad
because that fake
stuck-up Veronica Lodge

-ditched him for a date
with Archie Andrews.
-[Julian] Mm.

Cheryl's mad
because suddenly she's not
the most beautiful,

most interesting girl
at Riverdale High anymore.

-As if she ever was.
-[scoffs]

Anyway, these inane
movie magazines came
in the mail for you.

Perhaps they'll
cheer you up.

[footsteps receding]

[Cheryl chuckles]

[chuckles softly]

♪ Well, I saw my baby walking ♪

♪ With another man today... ♪

-They're good, right?
-Delicious.

Honestly,
I think these onion rings
might be

better than the ones
at the Brown Derby.

Wow.
What's the Brown Derby?

It's a chain of restaurants
that Gloria Swanson's husband
started in Los Angeles.

Who's Gloria Swanson?

You know what?
Let's skip it.

Enough Hollywood talk.
I want to hear about you.

Tell me everything
there is to know about
Archie Andrews.

The hot-rodder next door.
What do you do for fun?

Well, I work on my car.

I like sports.

Um...
I come here to Pop's.

And I hang out
at Sweetwater River.

Yeah.

To skinny dip, I hope.

[both chuckle]

Mostly to fish.

My dad and I used
to go there together.

You used to?

Yeah, he's not
around anymore.

He served in
the Korean War
and he didn't make it back.

-Oh, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean--
-No, it's okay.

It's okay.
You didn't know.

[chuckles softly]

Anyway, it's just
me and my mom now.

And she works part-time
at the dress shop downtown.

Oh. Well, I will have
to pay her a visit.

I'll make sure
she gives you a discount.

What about girls?

I mean,
as handsome as you are,

I assume you're
beating them off
with a stick.

Uh...

Well, I'm probably
digging myself into
a hole here, but, uh...

You know,
I've never had a serious
girlfriend before.

Really?

Why's that?

I don't know.
Maybe I just haven't
met the right girl yet.

Until now.

[door opens, bell chimes]

J'accuse!

Excuse me?

Cheryl,
what is your problem?

She is my problem,
Archie.

Veronica Lodge is nothing
but a liar and a fraud.

And I'm going
to make sure the
entire world knows it.

You're not starring
in Our Town.

Natalie Wood is.
It says so right there.

You've been lying to us
ever since you got here.

Which makes me wonder,
why are you actually
in Riverdale?

Was it really
your choice or

did your parents
banish you because
they were fed up

with their lying liar
of a spoiled brat daughter?

[all gasping]

Hey, it's...
It's okay.

-That's just... It's sort of
what Cheryl's like.
-[sobs]

But don't worry,
no one takes
her seriously.

In this case,
she's right, though.

I haven't been entirely
honest with you guys.

The truth is,
my parents did banish me.

Why would they do that?

Because I am a problem,

and when problems
interfere with their lives,

they make them go away.

In a way, it feels like
they've been

making me go away
since I was born.

Ignoring me
and sidelining me

since they...
started that damn
show of theirs.

[sighs]
So I began acting out

like some spoiled
little rich girl
to get their attention.

And the straw
that finally broke
the camel's back

and made my
parents ship me across
the country was...

the accident.

With James Dean?
You were in the car?

No, I was part of a convoy
of some other good-time girls.
[chuckles]

We were going
to cheer Jimmy on
at a race in Salinas.

Anyway,
to keep my name
out of the papers,

my parents
spirited me away

and put me
on a private plane
to Riverdale.

-To live with your
aunt and uncle.
-[chuckles]

They don't exist,
Archie.

This is
my parent's place.

I can't... believe
they would do that.

I mean, exile you
to live alone.

Like a fairy tale princess,
I guess.

[both chuckle]

The show is their
real baby, Archie. Not me.

[door creaking]

Archie.

Mom.

[pants]

-What are you doing up?
-Waiting for you.

I went into the garage
to get a screwdriver,

and I saw that you'd
taken your car out.

-Mom, I can explain.
-You're grounded, Archie.

Because I took
my car out without
your permission?

[scoffs]
Why is that all of a sudden
a criminal offense?

The pictures of
James Dean's car crash.

[Mary breathing heavily]

I can't lose you...
like I lost your father.

[Mary breathing heavily]

And I can't
get a call in the
middle of the night

telling me that you
wrapped your car around
some telephone pole.

Come on, Mom.
You won't.

-[sighs]
-You won't.

And I promise
I won't speed.

I won't go drag racing.

In fact, I'll ask Betty
to un-soup my car

so that it doesn't
go faster than... than...

-Twenty-five miles an hour.
-Fifteen.

Twenty.

-Deal.
-Deal.

-Twenty. Sounds great.
-Yeah. Okay.

[Archie chuckles, kisses]

[upbeat music playing on TV]

[man on TV] Oh Mija!
Starring Hiram Lodge,
Hermione Lodge

and Tillie Temple
as Little Ronnie.

Bitch.

[phone ringing]

Hello?

[Hermione] Veronica?
Veronica, can you hear me?

Mom?

Yes. Yes, I can.
How are you?

-Where are you?
-Listen, darling,
I only have a minute.

But, um, what's this
I'm hearing about a boy
at the apartment?

You know we didn't
send you to Riverdale to get
into more trouble, Veronica.

Mom, please.
It was nothing.

He's just a friend
from school.

Good, good.
That's music to my ears.

Mom, have you decided
on Thanksgiving yet?

-I can fly back.
-Oh, honey, I'm sorry.
I have to go.

Your Uncle Orson
just arrived. But please,
mija, fly right,

no boys, and we'll see
about the holidays.

Talk soon. Kisses.
[kisses]

[line disconnects]

[crowd laughing on TV]

[sighs]

[soft piano music playing]

[Betty] Thank you
for letting me borrow
the newsletter, Toni.

I had no idea.

[Toni] The pictures
make it so much more real,
don't they?

Can you imagine
the strength and courage

it took Mrs. Till to let
them be published?

I truly can't.

But it did help me
decide that

I'm going to publish
your article in the next
edition of The Blue and Gold.

Consequences be damned.

I may have
a different idea.

Nobody wanted
to see these pictures

and Featherhead
and The Blossoms

don't want anybody
to read my article, fine.

But what about a poem
about Emmett Till

read during the
morning announcements?

-But Cheryl does
the morning announcements.
-Exactly. Look,

I don't know her well,
but she's going to make up
for her parents' cowardice.

You want to help me
with an ambush?

Hey, Jughead.

Tabitha. Hi.

You remember that offer
you made me before

to help out in any way
that you can?

Oh, yeah.
Yes, uh, of course.

Well, the NAACP asked
Emmett Till's mother to travel
around the country

to speak about
what happened to her son,

and my folks
are joining the tour
to pitch in.

I've decided that
I want to go with them.

After I help Toni
with a little something.

Wow.
That's incredible.

-They're going to let you
drop out of school?
-No.

But I got
special permission
from Featherhead.

I'll have
my books with me,

but I would love to have
a friend help me

stay on
top of everything.

Okay.
Yeah, I'll do it.

[chuckles]
Thank you.

I so appreciate it.

-I'll be in touch, okay?
-Awesome.

I mean, um, swell.

Hey, Cheryl.

Can we talk to you
for a second?

What can I do for you...
Toni, is it? And Betty.

Your family controls our RIVW,
which means they control

what Riverdale watches,

and Principal Featherhead

decides what I can
and cannot publish in
the Blue and Gold.

The powers that be have
silenced my article

on Emmett Till's murder trial,
but you can fix this.

During the
morning announcements.

As junior class president,
I can't read an article

that Principal Featherhead
has already rejected.

Not an article.
Something else.

He'd pull the plug.
He's done it before.

We'll take care
of Featherhead.

All you have to do is
let us borrow your soapbox
for a few minutes.

What would I be reading?

Good morning, Miss Bell.

Are you ready
for the morning
announcements?

Apparently,
one of your classmates,
Tabatha Tate,

has passed out
on the football field.

Principal Featherhead
is tending to her now.

I'm to bring
both him and her
some smelling salts.

Ugh, you don't say.

You know how
to use a microphone,
don't you?

-Indeed, I do.
-[sighs in relief]

-Don't worry, Miss Bell.
All will be well.
-[sighs]

Toodles.

[microphone feedback]

[Cheryl over PA]
Good morning, Riverdaleans.

In lieu of our usual
morning announcements,
I, Cheryl Blossom,

will be turning over
my microphone

to one of our classmates,
Toni Topaz.

Please give her
your undivided attention.

[microphone feedback]

Some of you may
have heard what's happening
in Mississippi right now.

How a 14-year-old boy,
Emmett Till,

was murdered
for maybe whistling
at a white woman

and how his killers
were just acquitted.

I wrote an article
about the trial,

and nobody wants you
to read it because
it is "too upsetting."

So, instead, I'm going
to read you a poem that
the great American writer

Langston Hughes wrote
about Emmett Till.

It's titled
Mississippi-1955.

And I hope
you hear his words
and reflect on them

and talk to each
other about them.

"Oh, what sorrow!
oh, what pity!

Oh, what pain!

That tears and blood
Should mix like rain

And terror come again
To Mississippi.

Come again?

Where has terror been?

On vacation?
Up North?

In some other section
Of the nation,

Lying low, unpublicized?

Masked-with only
Jaundiced eyes

Showing through the mask?

Oh, what sorrow,
Pity, pain,

That tears and blood
Should mix like rain

In Mississippi!

And terror, fetid hot,

Yet clammy cold remain."

[students murmuring]

[Jughead] I don't think
any of the students
at Riverdale High

had ever heard
a poem like that.

Hopefully, it was worth
whatever blowback the girls
were certain to get.

The lies,
the insubordination,
the trickery.

I did feel sick.

Then I felt better.

Surely you aren't
saying that we can't
read poems

during the
morning announcements.

A poem written
by one of our greatest
living authors.

All poems read during
morning announcements
must be approved by me.

This is the first
I've heard of
any such rule,

but I assure you,
moving forward,

all poems will
be submitted for
your approval.

Cross my heart
and hope to die.

I'm not sure what
you ladies think you've
accomplished.

[Jughead]
But something
had been accomplished.

Given recent events,
it might be fruitful
for us to discuss

the poem
Langston Hughes wrote
about Emmett Till.

How did it make you feel?

Angry.

[indistinct whispering]

Upset.

Hopeless.

Was he really just
14 years old?

He was.

He was younger than
all of us in this room.

Taken out of his home
in the middle of the night,

beaten, tortured.

His body thrown
into the river.

[student whispering]
That's just wrong.

Miss Topaz,
Miss Tate, Mr. Walker,

I understand that
you were in Mississippi
for the trial.

If you're comfortable
sharing your experience,

I believe it would be
valuable for the rest of us

to hear about
what you saw.

Miss Topaz.

Would you like to start?

[Jughead] Fitfully,
but also necessarily,

a conversation that
might not have happened
for decades

began at Riverdale High
that afternoon.

["Baby Please" playing]

♪ Please ♪

♪ Don't leave me ♪

♪ Don't leave me all... ♪

Hey, doll face.

What do you say?

You want a ride
to Pop's, Ronnie?

[sighs] Hmm.

I see two paths before me.

Light and dark,
fast and slow,

shallow and earnest.

But today...

I believe
I'll walk home, fellas.

♪ 'Cause you know
Know... ♪

[Jughead]
Had it finally happened?

Had I lost my mind?

Maybe 1955
wasn't the dream.
Maybe... Maybe the future,

maybe that was the dream,

-and I finally woke up.
-[bell chimes]

Hi, stranger.

Mind if I join you?

Yeah.

I thought...
I thought you were leaving.

I'm not the Tabitha
from 1955.

She's with her parents
heading to Memphis.

-I'm...
-Riverdale's guardian angel.

The Tabitha who
remembers and loves you.

Oh, my God!

You need to use
your chronokinesis

-and get us the hell
out of 1955.
-[sighs]

Archie is trying
to get me committed to
The Sisters of Quiet Mercy.

God, it's so...
I'm so happy to see you.

I am happy
to see you too.

But I can't
take us home.

Not yet.

Why? Well, why not?

Our last-minute gambit
to stop Bailey's Comet

from destroying Riverdale
didn't work.

So the comet hit?

And it triggered
an extinction level event.

Are... Are we all dead?

Is that...
Is that what this is?

-The sweet hereafter?
-No, we are alive.

In the past,
I had a plan B.

At the moment of impact,
I used what was left
of my life-force

to send everyone back
to the past

to a point far enough
back that might give us
the necessary runway

to make it back
to the present,
a present in which

Riverdale isn't destroyed.
by Bailey's Comet.

Is that even possible?

Hopefully.

But if it is,
I have to do it alone.

By exploring and untangling
the various timelines

that became
knotted and entwined
when the comet struck.

Well, what about
the rest of us?

You all have
to make a go of it
here in the '50s

by doing what
you can to ensure,

to paraphrase
one of my heroes,

that the moral arc
of this universe bends
towards justice.

That way,
when I finally do untangle
the various timelines,

we can make it
back to a Riverdale that

isn't on the verge
of moral and societal
collapse.

But fair warning.

Given the near
infinite number of timelines
and universes,

it could take a while,
so you better get
comfortable.

Oh.

I mean, how...
How can I?

I remember everything
about our old lives?

You asking questions,
creating ripples...

[grunts]

...that's what
drew me here.

Jughead.

You remembering is
an anomaly,

a dangerous one
that I'm here to fix

by making you forget.

Otherwise,
your knowledge could
drive you insane,

or it could drive you
to do something that further
corrupts this timeline.

Will I...
I'll forget everything?

Yes.

You'd be just like
everyone else,
able to live in the present.

In the moment.

I don't...
I mean, I don't want to forget
about you or about us.

I know.

But you have to.

It's for the best.

[sighs]

[coin clinking]

[needle drops]

[electronic music playing]

[Jughead] In those
first few seconds after
Angel Tabitha disappeared,

I could feel
the effects of her kiss
taking hold.

But for the moment,
I still remembered.

I needed to write down
everything, our stories,

our lives,
before it was too late.

[panting]

But then,
like mist evaporating
in the sun,

it was all gone.

I had only managed
to get down three words.

Bend. Towards. Justice.

Meaning what, exactly?

And that wasn't even
the weirdest thing.

That would be the sudden,
inexplicable appearance

of something I've never
seen before.