"Chapter Twelve: Anatomy of a Murder" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the American television show Riverdale. The episode was written by Michael Grassi and directed by Rob Seidenglanz. It originally aired on The CW in the United States on May 4, 2017.
The episode focuses on the main characters discovering information regarding the death of Jason Blossom, which had served as the main story arc for the first season of the show. The episode received primarily positive reviews and was watched by 0.995 million viewers in its initial broadcast.
Following the previous episode, FP Jones is in jail for the murder of Jason Blossom, with the murder weapon found in his house. However, Archie and Veronica had searched his house earlier and had not found the weapon, leading them to believe that FP was framed. However, he confesses to the murder and tells Sheriff Keller how and why he did it, also admitting that he had stolen files related to the investigation from the sheriff's home. The confession leaves FP's son Jughead despondent, but after being consoled by his friends, he is also convinced of his father's innocence. Investigating further, they talk to Joaquin, another member of FP's gang, the Southside Serpents. He reveals that FP had been responsible for getting rid of Jason's dead body and that he was helped by Joaquin and another Serpent. They go to question this other Serpent, but discover his dead body in a motel, a victim of an apparent drug overdose. Police discover a bag of money in the motel room with the initials "H.L." on it, tying the murder to Veronica's father Hiram Lodge.
Meanwhile, Betty's dad Hal Cooper reveals that he was the one who stole the files from the sheriff's house, as he was afraid that the files could lead the sheriff to implicating the Cooper family in the murder, since Jason was dating his other daughter Polly at the time of his death. This reveal shows that FP's confession was at least partially false, and eventually another Serpent reveals the location of a bag FP had hidden in the woods as a "contingency plan". Inside the bag, they find Jason's letterman jacket and a thumb drive with a security camera video showing Jason's father Clifford murdering him. They turn the evidence over to the police and learn that, while Clifford was responsible for Jason's death, FP had falsified his confession after Clifford threatened to kill Jughead if he told the truth. The police go to arrest Clifford, but find him hanging on his family estate, next to hidden bags of drugs.
During the production of season 1, it was decided that the season-long mystery surrounding Jason Blossom's murder would be resolved in the penultimate episode. This decision was disapproved of by some studio executives who felt that the reveal should have been saved for the season finale, but executive producer Greg Berlanti approved of the idea, telling the writers, "Solve the mystery in the penultimate episode so that in the last episode, you can get back to all the characters and not make it about the mystery." Overall, show creator and showrunnerRoberto Aguirre-Sacasa expressed satisfaction with how the two episodes were handled.[1]
Receptionedit
Critical receptionedit
The episode received overall positive reviews. Film website CinemaBlend ranked it number 2 on their list of the best episodes of Riverdale (as of December 5, 2021), saying, "It was like the perfect bow on the mystery that captured everyone’s attention, from the clues, to the reveal of who did it, to the very ending sequence. Everything was so delicately crafted that it felt like a true murder mystery, one that almost reminded me of Knives Out."[2] An article in Birth.Movies.Death. gave the episode a good review, praising the reveal as a satisfying conclusion to the season-long mystery regarding Jason's death.[3]Den of Geek gave the episode 5 out of 5 stars, praising the set-up for the season finale and calling the episode "an incredibly satisfying episode that lays the groundwork for dark things to come".[4]The A.V. Club gave the episode an A rating, calling it "easily Archie’s best episode" and similarly expressing interest in how the season finale would conclude the season.[5]
Ratingsedit
The episode was watched by 0.995 million viewers and received a television rating of 0.4 in the key demographic of 18- to 49-year-olds.[6]
Referencesedit
^Highfill, Samantha (December 14, 2021). "Riverdale boss reveals most-debated stories and the ones he's proudest of as series hits 100 episodes". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
^Ramos, Alexandra (December 5, 2021). "The Best Riverdale Episodes (So Far), Ranked". CinemaBlend. Future plc. from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
^Borders, Meredith (May 5, 2017). "Riverdale Review: "Chapter Twelve: Anatomy of a Murder"". Birth.Movies.Death. from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
^Cummins, Chris (May 5, 2017). "Riverdale Episode 12 Review - Chapter 12: Anatomy of a Murder". Den of Geek. from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
^Ferguson, LaToya (May 5, 2017). "Riverdale reveals the killer, but it still has yet to reveal all". The A.V. Club. G/O Media. from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
^"Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: CBS Tops Charts with Viewers, Demos". The Futon Critic. May 5, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
Further readingedit
Snetiker, Marc (May 4, 2017). "Riverdale recap: 'Chapter Twelve: Anatomy of a Murder'". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
chapter, twelve, anatomy, murder, twelfth, episode, first, season, american, television, show, riverdale, episode, written, michael, grassi, directed, seidenglanz, originally, aired, united, states, 2017, riverdale, episodenewspaper, showing, jones, arrest, mu. Chapter Twelve Anatomy of a Murder is the twelfth episode of the first season of the American television show Riverdale The episode was written by Michael Grassi and directed by Rob Seidenglanz It originally aired on The CW in the United States on May 4 2017 Chapter Twelve Anatomy of a Murder Riverdale episodeNewspaper showing FP Jones s arrest for the murder of Jason BlossomEpisode no Season 1Episode 12Directed byRob SeidenglanzWritten byMichael GrassiProduction codeT13 20312Original air dateMay 4 2017 2017 05 04 Running time42 minutesEpisode chronology Previous Chapter Eleven To Riverdale and Back Again Next Chapter ThirteenThe Sweet Hereafter List of episodesThe episode focuses on the main characters discovering information regarding the death of Jason Blossom which had served as the main story arc for the first season of the show The episode received primarily positive reviews and was watched by 0 995 million viewers in its initial broadcast Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast and characters 2 1 Starring 2 2 Guest starring 2 3 Co starring 3 Production 4 Reception 4 1 Critical reception 4 2 Ratings 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksPlot editFollowing the previous episode FP Jones is in jail for the murder of Jason Blossom with the murder weapon found in his house However Archie and Veronica had searched his house earlier and had not found the weapon leading them to believe that FP was framed However he confesses to the murder and tells Sheriff Keller how and why he did it also admitting that he had stolen files related to the investigation from the sheriff s home The confession leaves FP s son Jughead despondent but after being consoled by his friends he is also convinced of his father s innocence Investigating further they talk to Joaquin another member of FP s gang the Southside Serpents He reveals that FP had been responsible for getting rid of Jason s dead body and that he was helped by Joaquin and another Serpent They go to question this other Serpent but discover his dead body in a motel a victim of an apparent drug overdose Police discover a bag of money in the motel room with the initials H L on it tying the murder to Veronica s father Hiram Lodge Meanwhile Betty s dad Hal Cooper reveals that he was the one who stole the files from the sheriff s house as he was afraid that the files could lead the sheriff to implicating the Cooper family in the murder since Jason was dating his other daughter Polly at the time of his death This reveal shows that FP s confession was at least partially false and eventually another Serpent reveals the location of a bag FP had hidden in the woods as a contingency plan Inside the bag they find Jason s letterman jacket and a thumb drive with a security camera video showing Jason s father Clifford murdering him They turn the evidence over to the police and learn that while Clifford was responsible for Jason s death FP had falsified his confession after Clifford threatened to kill Jughead if he told the truth The police go to arrest Clifford but find him hanging on his family estate next to hidden bags of drugs Cast and characters editMain article List of Riverdale characters Starring edit KJ Apa as Archie Andrews Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones Marisol Nichols as Hermione Lodge Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom Madchen Amick as Alice Cooper Luke Perry as Fred AndrewsGuest starring edit Casey Cott as Kevin Keller Martin Cummins as Tom Keller Robin Givens as Sierra McCoy Molly Ringwald as Mary Andrews Skeet Ulrich as F P Jones Nathalie Boltt as Penelope Blossom Peter James Bryant as Mr Weatherbee Barclay Hope as Clifford Blossom Lochlyn Munro as Hal Cooper Rob Raco as Joaquin DeSantos Christopher Rosamond as Mustang Tiera Skovbye as Polly CooperCo starring edit Wonita Joy as Counter Lady Samantha Spear as Deputy Trevor Stines as Jason BlossomProduction editDuring the production of season 1 it was decided that the season long mystery surrounding Jason Blossom s murder would be resolved in the penultimate episode This decision was disapproved of by some studio executives who felt that the reveal should have been saved for the season finale but executive producer Greg Berlanti approved of the idea telling the writers Solve the mystery in the penultimate episode so that in the last episode you can get back to all the characters and not make it about the mystery Overall show creator and showrunner Roberto Aguirre Sacasa expressed satisfaction with how the two episodes were handled 1 Reception editCritical reception edit The episode received overall positive reviews Film website CinemaBlend ranked it number 2 on their list of the best episodes of Riverdale as of December 5 2021 saying It was like the perfect bow on the mystery that captured everyone s attention from the clues to the reveal of who did it to the very ending sequence Everything was so delicately crafted that it felt like a true murder mystery one that almost reminded me of Knives Out 2 An article in Birth Movies Death gave the episode a good review praising the reveal as a satisfying conclusion to the season long mystery regarding Jason s death 3 Den of Geek gave the episode 5 out of 5 stars praising the set up for the season finale and calling the episode an incredibly satisfying episode that lays the groundwork for dark things to come 4 The A V Club gave the episode an A rating calling it easily Archie s best episode and similarly expressing interest in how the season finale would conclude the season 5 Ratings edit The episode was watched by 0 995 million viewers and received a television rating of 0 4 in the key demographic of 18 to 49 year olds 6 References edit Highfill Samantha December 14 2021 Riverdale boss reveals most debated stories and the ones he s proudest of as series hits 100 episodes Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on January 1 2022 Retrieved January 1 2022 Ramos Alexandra December 5 2021 The Best Riverdale Episodes So Far Ranked CinemaBlend Future plc Archived from the original on December 31 2021 Retrieved January 4 2022 Borders Meredith May 5 2017 Riverdale Review Chapter Twelve Anatomy of a Murder Birth Movies Death Archived from the original on January 4 2022 Retrieved January 4 2022 Cummins Chris May 5 2017 Riverdale Episode 12 Review Chapter 12 Anatomy of a Murder Den of Geek Archived from the original on January 4 2022 Retrieved January 4 2022 Ferguson LaToya May 5 2017 Riverdale reveals the killer but it still has yet to reveal all The A V Club G O Media Archived from the original on January 4 2022 Retrieved January 4 2022 Thursday s Broadcast Ratings CBS Tops Charts with Viewers Demos The Futon Critic May 5 2017 Retrieved January 4 2022 Further reading editSnetiker Marc May 4 2017 Riverdale recap Chapter Twelve Anatomy of a Murder Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on January 4 2022 Retrieved January 4 2022 External links edit Chapter Twelve Anatomy of a Murder at IMDb nbsp Chapter Twelve Anatomy of a Murder at Metacritic nbsp Chapter Twelve Anatomy of a Murder at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chapter Twelve Anatomy of a Murder amp oldid 1199171431, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
