It is no secret that Riverdale probably has the shadiest parents in all of television, and Wednesday night's new episode of the teen drama brought back the most dubious parent of all. OK, I guess Hiram Lodge being an actual mob boss who keeps trying to kill a teenager makes him the worst parent, but Gladys Jones has a lot more secrets and we still do not really know what she is up to. Jughead's mom returned to Riverdale this week, and unlike her first appearance, it sounds like she is here to stay for a while now.
Spoiler alert: This post contains plot details from Riverdale Season 3 Episode 13, "Bizarrodale." Jughead's mom, Gladys, and his sister, Jellybean, have been totally M.I.A. up until just a couple of weeks ago. Jughead first mentioned that the two moved to Toledo in Season 1 and even attempting to move in with them at one point, but it was not until he went on the run with Archie earlier in Season 3 that we finally saw Gladys and Jellybean for the first time. That episode revealed that Gladys is running her own faction of the Serpents out of a junkyard, and Jellybean is helping out in the gang. Gladys showed her ruthless side when she took care of Penny Peabody, not clarifying whether she actually killed Penny or tortured her. When Archie and Jughead made it back to Riverdale, it seemed like Gladys and Jellybean's story may have been over, but this week's new episode proved the Jones women have something big cooking.
First, we need to rewind a bit to something that happened last week. When Veronica found out that her mom was planning to sell Hiram and Claudius' Fizzle Rocks supply to a secret buyer rather than destroy the drugs, she and her new boyfriend Reggie took matters into their own hands and burned the Fizzle Rocks. After that, an angry Hermione told Veronica that she would need to come up with the money to pay off the buyer. So who is this scary buyer? None other than Gladys Jones.
In this week's "Bizarrodale" episode, Veronica and Reggie attempt to steal the money to pay out the buyer from Reggie's dad's store, but end up flubbing the job. However, they still come face to face with the buyer, who reveals herself to be Jughead's absentee mother, and she informs them that they still owe her money, and demands Reggie's car as well. She also threateningly tells them not to tell Jughead about all of this. Hmmm, what is she up to?
Later, we get a big Jones family reunion as Gladys and Jellybean surprise Jughead and F.P. at their trailer. Gladys announces that she and Jellybean are going to stick around town for a while. The Jones men are elated that the family is back together again, but it is clear to the viewers that Gladys and Jellybean have ulterior motives. Jellybean menacingly whispers to Gladys that she has F.P. wrapped around her finger, and Gladys confirms that her daughter is F.P.'s "weakness." She also celebrates the fact that she now has both Riverdale's mayor and sheriff under her thumb.
Surprisingly, Gladys Jones really does seem to hold all the power right now, so what is she going to do with it? I'm sure that we will find out very soon.
