SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from the series finale of “Riverdale,” which aired on The CW Wednesday, August 23.
“Riverdale” storylines have left viewers shocked — and often, confused — many times throughout its seven seasons. The series finale, aptly titled “Goodbye, Riverdale,” was no exception.
In the show’s final episode, the teen drama jumps ahead 67 years. Betty (Lili Reinhart) is in her 80s, finding out that Jughead (Cole Sprouse) has died at age 84 — and that she is now the last member of the Riverdale High group alive. She asks her granddaughter, Alice, to take her back to Riverdale one last time, and, after falling asleep that night, comes face-to-face with Jughead once again. In the dream, he offers to let her re-live whatever day she wants to in Riverdale. She chooses to go back and attend the final day of school and the party that followed, which she’d missed because she’d had the mumps. (This is the show’s 1950s storyline, mind you — “Riverdale” jumped back in time in the Season 6 finale.)
Since Betty’s memory is failing, she’s excited by the chance to recall what happened to each of her high school friends, although she knows it may be a painful journey since it means saying goodbye all over again. Throughout the day, Jughead informs her what happened to everyone after graduation — and a bit about what was happening behind closed doors. Betty is reminded that she, Jughead, Archie (KJ Apa) and Veronica (Camila Mendes) were in a quad relationship with each other for a year, with all four of them being together and swapping who they were romantically involved with each evening.
The day back in time also reveals how each one of her friends’ lives had ended, and when. For a full update on all of the key “Riverdale” players, scroll through the list below.
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Betty Cooper
Image Credit: Justine Yeung/THE CW Betty published a best-seller titled “The Teenage Mystique,” and ran an advice column, “Betty’s Diary.” She moved to New York City and worked as a freelancer before launching “She Says,” a successful women’s magazine. She never married, but adopted a daughter, Carla, and later became a grandmother to Alice. She died while in the backseat of her granddaughter’s car, while they drove back through Riverdale.
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Jughead Jones
Image Credit: Justine Yeung/THE CW Jughead founded “Jughead’s Madhouse Magazine,” a satirical magazine for which he served as the editor-in-chief. He was never married, and he died at 84 after a successful life.
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Archie Andrews
Image Credit: THE CW Archie, the poet, became a professional construction worker living in California. He settled down in Modesto and lived a happy life with his wife and family. When he died, he was buried in Riverdale next to his father.
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Veronica Lodge
Image Credit: THE CW Veronica moved to Los Angeles after calling up her “good friend Peter Roth” — the former Warner Bros. Television CEO who makes a cameo in the episode — and worked her way from an assistant at a production company to head of the studio. She won two Oscars during her run, and after her death, was buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
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Cheryl Blossom and Toni Topaz
Image Credit: Colin Bentley/The CW Toni (Vanessa Morgan) and Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) stayed together and moved to California, continuing their lives as artists and activists. They had a son named Dale — after the town — and Cheryl became a very successful painter. They both lived long lives before dying peacefully. Cheryl’s brother, Julian (Nicholas Barasch), enlisted after graduating high school and died in Vietnam at 28.
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Kevin Keller and Clay Walker
Image Credit: Colin Bentley/The CW The couple moved to Harlem, New York. Clay (Karl Walcott) became a professor at Columbia while Kevin (Casey Cott) started an Off-Broadway theater company. Kevin died in his sleep at 82, and Clay passed away a few weeks later.
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Reggie Mantle
Image Credit: Justine Yeung/THE CW Reggie (Charles Melton) played basketball for Kansas State before being drafted by the Lakers. During the off season, he worked at his family farm; when they died, he moved back to Riverdale, and became the Riverdale High basketball coach. He got married and had two sons, who now run the used car dealership in town.
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Tom Keller
Image Credit: Colin Bentley/THE CW Tom Keller (Martin Cummins) and Frank Andrews (Ryan Robbins) were murdered by Chic, who Jughead referred to as “a hustler they picked up one rainy night.” As longtime viewers may recall, Chic was introduced in Season 2 as the man pretending to be Betty’s long-lost brother.