Leaving a last impression. Riverdale is getting ready to air its final season and it seems like romance is on everyone’s mind.
During the season 6 finale, which aired in July 2022, viewers saw Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) saving the world from a comet. Things took a turn, however, when the characters ended up reverting back to their teenage years. The only character who remembers their real lives — as opposed to their new reality in the ’50s — was Jughead (Cole Sprouse).
According to creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the alternate universe will play a big role in the show’s final arc.
“We’re going to hunker down, be in the ‘50s, and kind of deconstruct not just Archie Comics but what Riverdale has been and have it in dialogue with what people think of as the Archie Comics. That said, it is not a clean break,” he explained to Nerds of Color that same month. “It is very much in continuity with the first six seasons, kind of the same way that Rivervale ended up being in continuity with the rest of the season. Jughead remembers what happened the first six seasons, it’s in question what the other characters will remember.”
For the showrunner, the big change offers the writers an “opportunity” to reset the story for most of the characters.
“I will say that we are going back and embracing the Archie Comics and the idea of the Archies in the ‘50s, one of the classic staples is the love triangle,” he added, referring to the onscreen couple debate between fans. “We don’t wanna go and kind of just play the straightforward depiction of the love triangle, meaning both Betty and Veronica are fighting over Archie.”
Aguirre-Sacasa continued: “I don’t think we’re ever going to play that. We never did and we’ve never wanted to, and I don’t think that’s going to be happening in the ‘50s but we are kind of reinvesting in sort of that young, new first love, first kiss, those tropes that we love from teen dramas. I know I haven’t really answered your question, but there will be a lot of Varchie and Barchie drama, and the story is not finished by any stretch of the imagination.”
Petsch later hinted that season 7 of Riverdale would surprise fans when it came to the core relationships.
“You’re really getting what made the show so special in season 1, which was the relationships in the town. This season is more pared down with the craziness, but there are some bizarre things happening,” she teased to Variety in December 2022. “We are shaking things up. Everyone is dating everyone.”
Scroll down for the Riverdale cast’s candid quotes about which ships might be endgame: