WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 5, Episode 5 of Riverdale, "Chapter Eighty-One: The Homecoming," which aired Wednesday on The CW.
After seven years away, Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead have returned to their hometown to discover Riverdale is no longer how they remember it. While they were gone, Mayor Hiram Lodge favored the development of a new neighborhood for the rich and powerful, SoDale, and as a result, the rest of Riverdale has suffered immensely. Now, most of the town is derelict and abandoned, and its streets are no longer safe.
Archie Andrews has taken it upon himself to rescue his home, and he's intent on cleaning it up one block at a time if that's what is necessary. Now, in the series' latest episode, he starts his mission -- and he assembles his very own team to do it.
After years serving in the army, Archie returned home in "Chapter Eighty: Purgatorio." After seeing what had become of Riverdale during a tour of the town, what was perhaps most heartbreaking for him personally was that his parents' home had been claimed by the Ghoulies. The dangerous street gang had made the home their den, and dozens lived there. As a result, when Archie starts working to restore Riverdale in "Chapter Eighty-One: The Homecoming," he naturally starts with his own house.
While Archie is now a decorated soldier with plenty of combat experience, he can't take on all the Ghoulies by himself. He starts by asking the Riverdale police for help, but Sheriff Keller explains that he alone is the police department. Without funding, the Sheriff is the only officer in town -- but what he does have is plenty of equipment -- that is, for the time being -- going unused.
To fight the Ghoulies, Archie recruits Sheriff Keller, his son Kevin, South Side Serpents Fangs and Sweet Pea as well as FBI agent trainee Betty Cooper. Each of them gets riot gear from Sheriff Keller, including bulletproof vests and police batons. Together, they devise a plan of attack before moving into action, storming the house and taking the Ghoulies by surprise.
Archie's team packs plenty of muscle -- after all, it's filled with people who know how to fight and handle weapons. The Ghoulies may be dangerous, but they don't stand a chance. Eventually, all of them are taken down, and with the drugs found on the scene, the street gang can officially be arrested. Once that is taken care of, Archie moves back into his parents' house.
With this, Riverdale basically assembled its own version of the Suicide Squad. Archie recruited the people who could best help him on his mission, and now they have a bond that's been forged in battle. Given the way things are in Riverdale, this team is bound to take on more missions. Archie may have come back from the war by himself, but he now has a crew of soldiers by his side. And together, they may be able to take out the town's newest and most notorious villains.
Riverdale stars K.J. Apa as Archie Andrews, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom, Casey Cott as Kevin Keller, Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge, Charles Melton as Reggie Mantle, Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz, Mädchen Amick as Alice Cooper and Erinn Westbrook as Tabitha Tate. New episodes of Season 5 air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.