We've heard of a strict librarian, but this is a little ridiculous!
In a sneak peek at the May 8 episode of Riverdale, the group gets together to discuss the extreme lengths Percival Pickens is using to threaten the local library.
"There is a purpose behind what Percival is doing," Jughead (Cole Sprouse) says. "Books promote ideas and free thinking. They're terrifying objects to would-be despots like him. If people stop reading and thinking and dreaming, it makes it easier for them to just follow Percival."
Still, his methods seem a bit extreme—even for him.
"Shaking us down for overdue library books with goons and guns?" Betty (Lili Reinhart) asks. "What is so special about our books?"
While an unreturned book might not seem like the biggest deal in the world, Jughead says otherwise.
"Some states consider the failure to return library books as theft," he tells the group. Which is a problem, because a bunch of the group's books are missing!
"I lent a bunch of my books to Doc, my friend on Sketch Alley," Jughead says. "And then Percival suggested that he and the other unhoused just leave. I mean, they could be anywhere and so could my book."
While the case of the missing books feels rather pedestrian, Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) suggests there's some mysticism afoot.
"Methinks there's a whiff of sorcery about all of this," she argues. "Books are objects of immense power. Every reader imprints on the book they read. Every book changes the reader in some way. If Percival knows what books we read during our formative years, my mind reels at what he might do with that secret forbidden knowledge."
Come on, it's Riverdale. You know those books are part of something bigger.
Find out what's going on with those dang books when Riverdale airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on The CW.