6 Things We're Still Processing After The 'Riverdale' Finale
So, the Riverdale finale happened last night, and despite Jason Blossom's murderer already having been revealed last week, a whole lot went down. Archie and the gang saved Cheryl from a characteristically icy suicide, Archie and Veronica sealed the deal, Betty and Jughead said the L word…and then the last minute of the episode happened, potentially transforming Archie into a very different kind of character for season two. Which, for reasons we'll get into later, is probably for the best.
Here are six things we're still processing from "Chapter Thirteen: The Sweet Hereafter."
1. Is Fred really dead?
As soon as you saw Archie, Veronica, Betty, and Jughead laughing merrily together in the diner with ten minutes of the episode left to go, you had to know something terrible was right around the corner. And sure enough, we ended on a classic cliffhanger in which Archie's dad Fred (Luke Perry) is shot and seems to be bleeding out in his son's arms. It'll be a huge cop-out if he ends up surviving this, and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa gave an interview to The Hollywood Reporter that sure makes it sound like he won't.
"This is sort of the biggest thing to happen in Archie's life," Aguirre-Sacasa said. "It's like the moment when Bruce Wayne sees his parents gunned down in Crime Alley or when Peter Parker learns that that his Uncle Ben was murdered by a burglar. It absolutely changes Archie and sends him on his season-long journey, which-without giving too much away-starts in a really dark place: revenge." Which sounds like a much-needed new direction for the character, because as of right now…
2. Archie is Riverdale's fuccboi.
What's that, you say? After ignoring Betty for years, he's suddenly interested in her? Right when she's no longer single? Almost like he wants her now that he can't have her? Huh. Okay, so when Veronica called Archie out for looking "wistfully" at Betty and Jughead, he claimed it was just because he wants his and Veronica's relationship to be as strong as theirs, which…hmmm. He sure seemed to be hinting at more than that in his chat with Betty earlier, until she cut him dead. The grass is always greener with this guy. He's been involved with three separate women in thirteen episodes! Learn to love yourself, bro!
3. Poor Cheryl needs a foster family.
Seriously though, that "I don't care" moment? Cheryl's mom is so far beyond the worst-burning down Thornhill is a start, but Cheryl basically just needs to get away from everyone she's related to. She should honestly move in with Jughead, because there's no possible way his new situation can be worse than her old one, and she did give him her iconic spider brooch.
4. Who is Betty's long-lost brother?
And is there a chance we've already met him? It doesn't seem like anybody fits Veronica's (imagined) description of a mid-twenties blond Adonis, but hair dye exists! He could be anyone! Chances are he'll be a new introduction for season two, though, along with Veronica's dad. Speaking of which…
5. Hiram Lodge's long-awaited arrival is going to be a mess.
We already know that Hiram will be played by Mark Consuelos when he arrives in Riverdale next season, and Veronica and Hermione's exchange-"We wouldn't want to make daddy angry," "He's your father, not the Godfather"-said a lot. Aguirre-Sacasa has confirmed that Papa Lodge will not approve of Archie, but it is not yet clear whether this is for fuccboi-related reasons.
6. Bughead is probably doomed.
That ship name was unsustainable, TBH. I have to admit, I was bracing myself for the reveal that Jughead was somehow Betty's long-lost brother. Jughead maybe becoming a Southside Serpent isn't quite that damning, but it's clear that trouble is brewing now that he and Betty could end up on opposite sides of Riverdale's north vs south "civil war." Their unexpected romance has been really adorable and well played this season, so I'm holding out some vague hope that they can survive.
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