: 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.
: Jughead tracks down Mrs. Mulwray (played by Kelly Ripa), Hiram's alleged mistress, who was helping him falsify water safety reports to cover up drug runoff in the Sweetwater River.
"Chapter Forty-Six: The Red Dahlia" is a noir-inspired turning point for , peeling back the layers of a town built on secrets and "Fizzle Rocks". The Investigation: Who Shot Hiram Lodge? [S3E2] Chapter Forty-Six
With Hiram hospitalized after a near-fatal shooting, Veronica hires Jughead to find the culprit. The investigation reveals a web of infidelity and betrayal:
While Jughead hunts a shooter, Betty investigates a string of "suicides" that she correctly identifies as murders by poison. : Jughead discovers that Mayor Hermione Lodge has
: 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
: Betty connects the deaths of Claudius and Clifford Blossom, along with others like the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Mulwray (played by Kelly Ripa), Hiram's alleged mistress,
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.