Riverdale S06E04 Review: The Witching Hour(s) – DisconnectedBy Salome G| December 10, 2021 TV Blogs Okay, we’ve done the ritual story, La Llorona, the Faustian bargain, and now we’re up to resting witch face. But while there is some witchery in this story, it’s more of a story about power. Specifically, the lack of it. And the focus this week is all on Cheryl, the one who kicked off this Rivervale nonsense. As Bailey’s Comet–ahem–approaches the Rivervale solar system, Nana Rose is fading. Cheryl holds a vigil by her bedside while her young wards go to wait for the comet’s entry. Young “Britannia” (Britta) stays behind, so Cheryl tells her the story of what happened and what’s going to happen. It starts around the Civil War era–I think. In this timeline, Cheryl is Abigail Blossom. She’s a spinster with a brother off at war when she takes in another unfortunate soul, Thomasina (Toni). As they will in the future, they fall in love. Sadly, it doesn’t last. A mysterious fellow, Fen Fogarty (Fangs), shows up with news of Abigail’s brother’s death and the brother’s dying wish. Dearly Departed James would really like Abigail and Fen to get married. Sure. So despite her actual relationship with Thomasina and the revelation that Fen is a murderer, Abigail is forced into a marriage with Fen, who’s also a warlock. She goes through with the wedding, but that’s only because she has other plans. Axe plans to be exact. Invoking the Borden murders, she herself goes after Fen with an axe. However, her plans fall to pieces. Not only does he survive long enough to curse her to an eternity without love, but he also does this just as Abigail is finding out that he killed Thomasina. Jumpcut to the 50s. Now Cheryl is Poppy Seed Blossom. She runs a ladies’ salon for local gals like Bitty (Betty). All of the women have terrible husbands because…the 50s, I guess. Look, it’s not particularly nuanced. But it’s also not entirely incorrect. Just about every month, there’ll be some viral tweet about how couples don’t stay together nowadays like they used to. And then inevitably, there will also be a lot of retorts about how our meemaws didn’t really have a choice. Even today, it’s hard to leave a bad situation if you don’t have financial stability; it was even worse when you couldn’t even have your own bank account. Anyway, this is all too serious a discussion for an inherently silly show. They do try, though, to make it moving. It’s to no avail, however. Poppy’s actions, like giving the other women birth control, are seen as interference by the husbands. They end up getting their revenge by ensnaring her in the Red Scare. Poppy’s story doesn’t end as sad as Abigail’s does, but indefinite house arrest is no picnic, either. Finally, though, we come to the point of all this. With a cameo appearance by Sabrina herself–boy, they sure waited as long as possible to bring her out–Cheryl can pull off what she’s been planning. And what is that? Transference. As they tell us–at length, because this is just one of many exposition-heavy scenes–there is no Cheryl Blossom, not really. Like Poppy, she’s just a vessel that housed the spirit of Abigail Blossom, doomed to live forever alone. But now that Bailey’s comet is here, and Nana’s health is failing, we can right that wrong. So with Sabrina’s help, Abigail and Nana swap bodies. Abigail’s spirit will die with Nana, so she can finally rest. Nana, on the other hand, gets to be young again. And in the sweet hereafter, Abigail and Thomasina finally reunite. I shed one (1) tear. 7/10 – I’m awarding this an extra point for making me feel a human emotion at the end. But overall, this was a very disconnected episode. It was a lot of scenes that didn’t connect or amount to much until the very end. Madelaine was great as always, though.
