It's been a minute since we've had a musical episode of Riverdale. Season 4's episode "Wicked Little Town" played homage to Hedwig and the Angry Inch in a variety show format, while previous episodes celebrated the musical adaptations of Carrie and Heathers. It's sort of perfect for a show like Riverdale, which operates so far outside of the realms of reality that randomly breaking into song could be one of the more normal things the characters do in that episode. That's exactly what happened on "Strange Bedfellows," the first episode of Riverdale following Season 5's four month-long hiatus. This time, it was a song from Hair — and it was kind of perfect for the moment.
Prior to the hiatus, Jughead decided to trip on something called "maple mushrooms" (because everything is maple flavored in Riverdale) in order to overcome his writer's block. It actually worked, but Jughead disappeared in the process, leaving nothing but a trail of blood and a very confused and worried Tabitha and Betty in his wake. Out of desperation, Tabitha and Betty teamed up with Jughead's ex-girlfriend, and current drug dealer Jessica, in order to figure out Jughead's whereabouts. Alas, in the process, Jessica drugged Tabitha and Betty, forcing them to trip majorly in the bunker.
Fortunately, their trip had a soundtrack: "Walking in Space," from the musical Hair. In Hair, the hippies of the East Village hallucinate while on acid and have a transcendent experience — though one a bit different from Tabitha and Betty's in the Riverdale bunker. (For one thing, the kids of Hair were dealing with the horrifying realities of the Vietnam War, while the Riverdale kids are navigating things like Mothmen and truck driving serial killers.)
It's not just Tabitha and Betty who take a walk in space, though. So does Penelope, Cheryl's mom, who started her very own church (cult?!?) that honors Jason, Cheryl's twin who was murdered and thrown in Sweetwater River.
The "Walking in Space" moment could allude to more musical moments for Riverdale's future. Already, Season 5 has boasted some impressive musical numbers, with Cheryl performing Lady Gaga's "Stupid Love" at a football game (as one does in this universe) and Veronica and her soon-to-be ex-husband Chad pulling out all the stops for A Star Is Born's "Shallow" at karaoke night. We already know that the original Pussycats are returning to the show, which will be our first time seeing Josie since she left for the (tragically cancelled) Katy Keene. Certainly there will be at least a few songs belted out by this reunited girl group soon.
As for maple mushroom trips, Riverdale always loves its hallucinogenic drugs. Should we expect more drug-induced musical numbers, too? I say, it's a 99.9 percent chance.
Images: The CW