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Riverdale has had immoderate genuinely brainsick episodes implicit the years, but the bid finale volition spell down arsenic 1 of the show’s best. The finale occurrence begins 67 years aboriginal with an aged Betty, who is present 86. She’s resting astatine her granddaughter’s location and reminiscing aft speechmaking Jughead’s obituary.
Lili Reinhart arsenic Betty Cooper. (The CW)
She tells her granddaughter, Alice, that she had specified “marvelous adventures” with her friends. Now she’s the past 1 near alive. She wants to spell backmost to Riverdale 1 past clip earlier she dies.
In the night, Jughead’s shade appears. He’s arrived to marque her privation travel true. He tin instrumentality her backmost to erstwhile they were genuinely living. Betty wants to spell backmost to a time she missed, the time everyone got their yearbooks. She had the mumps and missed schoolhouse that day.
Betty Returns To The Past
In the past, Archie (KJ Apa) yet talks to his ma (Molly Ringwald) astir leaving municipality to spell and physique highways. He says it’s lone for 3 months, but his ma knows that won’t beryllium the case. She gives her blessing for him to spell disconnected and observe the satellite and himself. After Archie leaves, Mrs. Andrews buys her formal store and lives happily ever aft with a pistillate named Brooke.
Betty (Lili Reinhart) instantly gets affectional seeing her parent and sister again. Jughead (Cole Sprouse) explains that Alice (Mädchen Amick) became a leader arsenic a stewardess erstwhile she took power of a level and safely landed it. One of the passengers takes her to meal aft her heroic actions, and they aboriginal marry. Polly (Tiera Skovbye) gives commencement to her twins, Juniper and Dagwood.
Cole Sprouse arsenic Jughead Jones. (The CW)
Betty arrives astatine Riverdale High for the past time of precocious school. She crosses paths with Fangs (Drew Ray Tanner), who is excited astir going connected tour. Jughead reveals to Betty that Fangs dies 4 weeks aboriginal successful a autobus crash. He is the archetypal subordinate of the Riverdale unit to walk away. Thankfully, Midge (Emilija Baranac) and their girl are taken attraction of for the remainder of their lives due to the fact that of his deed single.
As for Kevin (Casey Cott) and Clay (Karl Walcott), they became roommates successful Harlem. Clay attends Columbia, portion Kevin goes to NYU. Clay becomes a tenured prof astatine Columbia, portion Kevin starts an Off-Broadway theatre company. Kevin dies successful his slumber astatine 82, and Clay passes distant conscionable weeks later.
Betty meets with Reggie (Charles Melton) successful the gym and confesses each astir her concealed quad with Archie, Veronica (Camila Mendes), and Jughead. Reggie is truthful huffy helium wasn’t invited to beryllium a portion of this romance square. When it comes to Reggie’s future, helium ends up getting drafted by the Lakers and aboriginal becomes a manager astatine Riverdale High.
What Happens To Veronica & Archie?
At The Babylonium, Veronica reveals to Betty that she’s going backmost to Los Angeles. She wants to nutrient movies and tally a workplace someday. While she’ll miss Veronica, Betty feels that this determination is the “most right” for Veronica. Veronica tells Betty, “Doesn’t substance however acold distant we are, we volition ever beryllium successful each other’s lives. I promise.”
Veronica starts retired arsenic an adjunct astatine Silver Shield Studios. Within a fewer years, she’s moving the place. Over the people of her career, she won 2 Oscars and produced immoderate of the astir iconic movies. After her death, Veronica is buried successful the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Betty cries arsenic she recalls visiting Veronica’s grave. She wishes that she’d kept successful amended with Veronica and everyone other aft precocious school.
Madelaine Petsch and Vanessa Morgan arsenic Cheryl and Toni. (The CW)
Toni (Vanessa Morgan) and Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) get their blessed ending. Cheryl has an unthinkable vocation arsenic a painter. She moves retired westbound with Toni. They upwind up successful Oakland Hills and became artists and activists. They person a lad named Dale, named aft Riverdale. Dale is played by Vanessa’s real-life son.
Julian (Nicholas Barasch) dies portion serving successful Vietnam. Frank Andrews (Ryan Robbins) and Tom Keller (Martin Cummins) are murdered by a hustler named… Chic!
Archie and Jughead don’t instrumentality Veronica’s Los Angeles quality well. Betty wants them to look connected the agleam side. Tonight is astir appreciating their experiences. “Meeting you was the champion happening that could person perchance happened to me. Heartbreaks and all,” Betty says to the 3 of them.
Upon arriving astatine Thornhill, Betty doesn’t privation to spell inside. She knows this is the past clip they’re each together. She thinks experiencing this infinitesimal volition beryllium excessively painful. She doesn’t privation to accidental goodbye. Jughead explains to her that this is life. You accidental hello, locomotion alongside people, and you person to accidental goodbye eventually. “That’s the arc of a life,” helium says.
KJ Apa and Camila Mendes arsenic Archie and Veronica. (The CW)
Archie recites a poem helium wrote successful grant of his friends. The poem features each the throwbacks, including the “epic highs and lows of precocious schoolhouse football” line. Archie’s words are meant to beryllium a farewell for the cast arsenic well. They’ve grown up unneurotic implicit the past 6 years.
Betty prepares to accidental goodbye to Archie. He doesn’t deliberation this is goodbye. He thinks they could extremity up unneurotic for each they know. He’s ever felt they were meant to be, the lad and the miss adjacent door. However, Betty knows the aboriginal tells a antithetic story.
Betty explains to Archie that helium moves to California and meets a saccharine girl. She says he’ll go a nonrecreational operation idiosyncratic and amateur writer. Per his request, Archie is buried successful Riverdale adjacent to his father.
Betty & Jughead’s Fates Revealed
Jughead is waiting for Betty outside. There’s 1 past idiosyncratic she wants to sojourn earlier she leaves Riverdale. She leaves flowers astatine Pop Tate’s grave. She asks Jughead astir what happens to radical erstwhile they die. As she’s inched person and person to death, she’s been reasoning astir the afterlife.
She brings up speechmaking his obituary successful the paper. Jughead winds up founding Jughead’s Madhouse magazine, which becomes an institution. Jughead tells Betty that she’s leaving down rather the bequest aft self-publishing The Teenage Mystique and starting her Betty’s Diary proposal column.
Betty remembers moving to New York and starting She Says magazine. The mag became a “go-to root for feminist and progressive causes.” Jughead asks Betty if she has immoderate regrets astir not getting married. “None. But I’m truthful blessed I adopted my girl Carla,” she says. “That’s my existent legacy. My family.”
Betty wishes she could enactment successful Riverdale forever. She knows that’s not possible. It’s clip for her to spell backmost to the existent world. She’s acceptable to look immoderate comes next.
Riverdale’s Ending Explained
When she returns to the existent world, Alice is taking her backmost to Riverdale. She says goodbye to everything she loves. “Goodbye, Riverdale. It was fantastic getting to turn up here,” the aged Betty says.
When they get astatine Pop Tate’s, Betty has died. When the car doorway opens, she’s young again. She goes wrong Pop Tate’s, and everyone is there. They’ve each been waiting for her. She sees each her friends again, truthful young and beautiful. She sits down successful her booth adjacent to Veronica. Archie has a strawberry shingle waiting for her.
Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart arsenic Jughead and Betty. (The CW)
Jughead’s narration comes to a close. This is wherever we permission Betty, Archie, Veronica, Jughead, and the rest. This is wherever they’re meant to beryllium for the remainder of time. “So if you hap to spot that neon motion immoderate lonely nighttime astatine the extremity of that agelong journey, the travel that each 1 of america is on, propulsion over,” Jughead says. “Come connected in. Take a seat. And cognize that you’ll ever beryllium among friends and that Riverdale volition ever beryllium your home. Until then, person a bully night.” And with that, Riverdale’s communicative is complete. The last section has travel to a close.
