: Jughead discovers that Mayor Hermione Lodge has been having an affair with the supposedly dead Sheriff Minetta. The two were plotting to finish Hiram off and frame FP Jones for the crime.
With Hiram hospitalized after a near-fatal shooting, Veronica hires Jughead to find the culprit. The investigation reveals a web of infidelity and betrayal: [S3E2] Chapter Forty-Six
Archie, struggling with trauma and alcohol, reaches a breaking point. After a sobering intervention from Josie, he heads to the hospital with a gun to kill Hiram. : Jughead discovers that Mayor Hermione Lodge has
While Jughead hunts a shooter, Betty investigates a string of "suicides" that she correctly identifies as murders by poison. The investigation reveals a web of infidelity and
: Betty connects the deaths of Claudius and Clifford Blossom, along with others like the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.
: This act leads to an unexpected face-to-face meeting where Archie and Hiram agree to a tenuous truce, putting their long-standing war on hold.
: Betty corners Penelope Blossom at her illicit "Maple Club," presenting proof that Penelope poisoned the men in her life. Penelope justifies her actions by claiming she only kills "men who deserve it," such as those responsible for the town's drug-induced seizures. Archie's Downward Spiral and Truce