Archie's procrastination on school projects irritates Betty. Then, when he postpones going to the library for the museum, it lands him in deep trouble. After the young newshound takes a photo, the mummy in the exhibit comes to furious life. Can Archie figure out how to wrap up the mystery or will he join the mummy in eternal sleep?
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Chekhov's Gun:
- Even when the mummy grabs Archie's shoulder, it only pulls off and smashes his camera rather than harming him. That foreshadows what made it angry: it doesn't want its image represented in any way.
- Archie drops a photo by the mummy exhibit, which he doesn't see until the mummy chases him back there. It's the last one he has to rip up to get the mummy back in its sarcophagus.
- Chekhov's Lecture: Archie only manages to listen to part of the pharoah's story before he has to rush off to meet Betty for their project. It turns out the mummy's handler told Veronica the rest of it. The account lets them figure out why the mummy came to life and how to lay it to rest again.
- Compressed Vice: The episode gives Archie a habit of procrastinating on projects, which annoys the more go-getting Betty. He shakes it after getting trapped with the mummy, who was himself the victim of procrastination.
- Continuity Nod: "Attack of the 50-Foot Veronica" reveals that Jughead likes to go for evening walks to think about things. He meets up with Archie while on one of these walks.
- Crazy-Prepared: Jughead always carries a spare hamburger in case he's stuck waiting somewhere. In fact, at least sometimes he has a spare burger in addition to the spare.
- Fright Beside Them: Veronica and Reggie initially assume that the mummy is Archie playing a prank on them. They realize it isn't when Archie and Jughead arrive from another direction and tell them to run.
- Mummy: The mummy was a pharaoh who was in love with an woman who looked similar to Betty...but kept constantly stalling their wedding. When she left him, he was so upset that he desecrated all the statue faces, shattered every mirror and even carved off the face of his own sarcophagus. He came back to life after Archie kept taking pictures of him, and stopped when every picture got ripped in half.
- Horror Hates a Rulebreaker: The mummy exhibit doesn't allow cameras, because the pharoah cursed anyone who represented his face in any way to suffer his wrath. The ticket seller allows Archie and Jughead to sneak in as the museum is closing, and Archie naturally has his camera to take photos of the potential mystery.
- Monster of the Aesop: The episode has Archie develop a never-before-seen habit of procrastinating. Naturally, legend has it that the mummy who serves as the week's antagonist had his life messed up by constantly putting his wedding off, thus hammering in the message for the young hero.
- Now You Tell Me: When Veronica and Reggie arrive to let Archie and Jughead out of the museum, Veronica tells Reggie to make sure the door doesn't close while she's looking for the boys. Although Reggie agrees, he asks why. She tells him that the electronic door-locking mechanism is malfunctioning; no one inside can open it... right in time for the door to swing shut, trapping everyone.
- The Prankster: Reggie knocks on Veronica's door and begs her to let him in, because there's something chasing him. He even uses a furry glove to pretend he's getting grabbed. Veronica doesn't fall for it.
