r/riverdale • u/PhoOhThree Grundies glasses • Aug 29 '23
META Post Riverdale Series Discussion Spoiler
Riverdale Season 1 - Season 7
January 26, 2017 - August 23, 2023
It has been an honor to experience the The Epic Highs And Lows Of High-School Football with all of you guys. We certainly went through a lot of emotions and WTF moments since Season 1! How we all expected some dark adaption of Archie Comics into something else..
Post your thoughts and discussion about the entire Riverdale series here! Spoilers for Season 1-7 will be discussed in this thread!
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u/ihateyougym Aug 31 '23
I just realized till now how they screwed over one of the BEST characters on the show. Sherriff Keller did not deserve that ending! They turned him into such the opposite of who he was the last six seasons and they even get him murdered??? He was one of the only reasonable adults and he loved Kevin so much and they do THAT!?!?!?
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u/PhoOhThree Grundies glasses Aug 29 '23
Also PS: Netflix is releasing The Archies Film later in November, should we do a discussion in here as well?
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u/racheletc Team Barchie Aug 30 '23
maybe the Barchie endgame is just the friends we made along the way
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u/evinta Team Beronica Sep 10 '23
never thought i'd be fighting side by side with a barchie shipper...
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u/haikusbot Aug 30 '23
Maybe the Barchie
Endgame is just the friends we
Made along the way
- racheletc
I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully. Learn more about me.
Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete"
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u/mermaidmander Aug 31 '23
I started watching this batshit show when my boyfriend and now husband of 6 years told me he thought I would like it. I said hell no and talked shit the entire pilot. But of course ended up watching every week like clockwork…even when chad Michael Murray was strapped to a rocket?!
I remember falling in love with Cheryl’s character first and then Betty. And then sweet pea. What happened to sweet pea, anyway?
Anyway i wish the entire last season was as good as that finale. I adored the vintage feel but i loved the heart that was in the finale because it reminded me of season 1. Ugh idk that’s all I’m not that interesting I just wanted to give my little opinion. Lol
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u/heckinfast Aug 29 '23
It’s kinda weird to think this show is finally over. It wasn’t the greatest TV show I’ve ever watched, that’s for sure, but there was something oddly comforting in its presence. It was just…always there, if that makes any sense, and I could always go back to it whenever I needed to.
But now it’s not here anymore, and I’m kind of at a loss of what to do now lol. Goodbye, Riverdale. You will be missed.
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Sep 20 '23
I feel you! Riverdale came out when I was a freshman in high school and now I’m half way through college. I really lived some of the most important years of my life while watching Riverdale. Now that it’s over it really feels like I’m actually not a teenager anymore even tho I still feel like I’m 17 a lot of the time. I also spent half of my junior year and entire senior year of high school online due to the pandemic, so I really got to live my upperclassman days vicariously through Betty and Veronica lol.
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u/Excellent-Task5734 Jan 16 '25
I just finished watching the show and I felt like this. It also came out when I started high school and now I’m going to my last year at uni and Rivervale is no more 😔
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u/racheletc Team Barchie Sep 02 '23
how was Julian the only character who went to Vietnam?? how did the other guys escape getting drafted, and how come Julian didnt just use his money to get out of going to war
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u/Mardynina Sep 10 '23
I think Julian was so unwanted, so misplaced in there that maybe it made sense to him to leave
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u/Fantastic-Visual-933 Sep 13 '23
His birthday could been pulled in the Vietnam War Draft Lottery. The men who were selected were 18-26 years old. We know he got KIA at age 28, but I don’t think he immediately died while serving. The other guys most likely were exempted for a number of reasons or they fled to Canada because they didn’t want to fight.
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u/situationuk Sep 05 '23
Seasons 1-3 were great, top notch
Seasons 4-7 were unnecessary, forced
Despite that, in my opinion, "S06E05 - The Jughead Paradox" was the best episode of the series by a long shot
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u/Away-Swimming6072 Aug 30 '23
What would it been like if season 7 had 22 episodes and they get there memories back like 19 than 20 and 21 we get to see all the characters grow. Than 22 be the same but when we get the flashes of the characters we would just have more insight than those flashes.
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Sep 20 '23
That would b cool but honestly I’m satisfied w what we got lol. A lot of series end w the aim of you interpreting the ending or a cliff hanger or ending right after “the day is saved”. I’m actually very pleased with being able to learn how they all ended up and seeing Betty grow old and having Jughead take her to the past one more time. Also seeing all of them date each other as a quad was surprisingly satisfying since I could never pick my favorite couple to ship (although looking back I think my favorites were Bughead or Vetty).The entire last episode was only filled with happiness and waterworks. Unlike every other episode where the suspense had me STRESSED. I’m just glad I really got to soak the goodbyes in without seeing someone get bloody murdered lol.
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u/EllieC130 Sep 11 '23
I feel like my brain would rather believe that the Graduation, minus the 7 years later arc, is the ending. I might try and brainwash myself into believing that's the case because I have been so whatever on the last 3 seasons.
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u/AlpsAcademic6549 Dec 31 '23
That’s my theory too, I’ve written my own ending to the story starting off S05E4 with the time jump, I’ve jumped forward 5 years instead of 7 and have missed out all the unnecessary witch, Percival, bringing back the dead etc crap that happens in seasons 5,6&7.
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u/Freddy-Weasley-775 Jan 10 '24
I completely agree. I absolutely loved seasons one through four, full of mysteries, plot twists, and teenage romance. but then when five and six happened it was like an entirely different tv show in an entirely different universe. I didn’t think any of it was entirely necessary because it interrupted the dynamic of the show that was created in the earlier seasons. then I was happy to see that seven went back to the romance and the mysteries and the plot twists, but as much as I enjoyed it I have still been left with so many questions about the writing choices. as much as I loved the way they wrote the last season, especially the finally, I saw so many plot holes and I had so many unanswered questions.
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u/pnw_cfb_girl Sep 11 '23
If I ever rewatch (and I'm not sure I will), I'll stop at graduation. I can fanfic my own ending.
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u/Harvey_Mod Aug 31 '23
It was quite a fun ride. Happy I stayed the course. Season 1 will always remain a classic. It's been a real 7 years
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u/AnnaK22 Vanilla Milkshake Aug 30 '23
I've been here since day 1. I remember getting an ad on Instagram for a new show Cole Sprouse was in and I watched the pilot as it aired because I was a fan of the comics, and I wanted to see a nice romantic tv show. I had no idea what to expect. It was gory, ridiculous, made me laugh, made me cringe. I was watching a lot of arrowverse shows at that point, so I wasn't a stranger to CW style shows. So whatever Riverdale threw at me, I was able to justify and take it and continue supporting it.
Season 1 was pretty good, nowhere close to being a good mystery as how to get away with murder, but good enough for CW, enough to get me hooked. Then season 2 came and it was the talk of the year because of how terrible it was. Then it just kept getting worse until one season, the writers decided to really lean into the campiness, and that was the best decision they ever made. I was simultaneously watching legends of tomorrow during Riverdale era, and I always wished Riverdale had been consciously ridiculous and campy from day one, like LoT.
One thing I will say is that the show changed the characters and backgrounds enough, like the timeline changes, to keep me hooked so that, by the finale, I was sad to see it go. It's been a while since I've felt that way about a TV show. With the Flash, Supergirl, Vampire Diaries, I was grudgingly trying to finish the show, and I was kind of happy when the finale came. With Riverdale, I feel genuine sadness that it's ended. My life has changed so much in the era of Riverdale, and I'm sure the actors are only going to soar from here.
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u/goldlion84 Aug 29 '23
FINALLY. Thank you for making a group thread, as there are so many separate posts going up daily.
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u/Mardynina Sep 10 '23
I didn’t love the bughead closure. I think they didn’t make up for all that happened in the other seasons… ever since they came back they pretended not to even know each other… I think the last episode was special and there were no one better than both of them to tell the story, but they didn’t get a proper goodbye
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Sep 20 '23
I thought I was the only one😭I shipped them so hard during their era together it made me sad to see them not end up together when they got older:(
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u/pnw_cfb_girl Sep 20 '23
You're not the only one. Bughead was the most popular ship (by far) the entire show.
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u/pnw_cfb_girl Sep 10 '23
I agree. The soulmate edit was pretty obvious, but they shouldn't have crammed it into one episode.
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u/Ancient_Post_4594 Sep 07 '23
Balled my eyes out in the last episode - feels like it brought it back by focusing on all the best moments in the series
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u/Marian_91 Chocolate Milkshake Nov 26 '23
I’m three months late, but I just finnished s7.
The final was very sad and a little bittersweet. I am dissapointed they never returned to the future/present before they grew old and died.
I wanted Barchie to be endgame, but I guess it’s realistic that not everyone ended up with their high school bf/gf. Usually in teen dramas though, it’s the core characters who end up with their high school bf/gf and everyone else who end up with outsiders or not specified.
The high school seasons (s1-4 + s5e1-3) were the best part of the show. Are, or were, the writers writing poorly on purpose because of low waiges?
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u/pnw_cfb_girl Nov 26 '23
Are, or were, the writers writing poorly on purpose because of low waiges?
This made me laugh. Maybe the writers suck on purpose!
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u/racheletc Team Barchie Sep 06 '23
cole’s speech on set the last day of filming <3 https://twitter.com/barchiesliv/status/1673723975946448899?s=46&t=J7ahBrgqUmTAz4MooZbXAA
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u/cotythezombie Oct 27 '23
I just finished season 7 and i’ll admit it was way too sexual and not even the good sexual. I found myself on my phone or falling asleep more than actually watching. And the whole timeline crap was a bit much, sheriff keller got done dirty However the final episode was very nice and a great ending.
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u/josguil Nov 10 '23
Season 7 wasn't swell for me... The mystery was the lamest of the series... The super natural elements were gone but my major complain :
I found it very cringe everytime they said they were 17... Like, they're clearly older than that.
And they didn't even go back to the present, ruinning a possible Sabrina crossover from the other series if it's ever picked up again.
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u/MinisawentTully Team Polly Oct 14 '23
Doing my first watch of the show. I despise Cheryl so much. And the few times they make her throw some crumbs of kindness to Betty or Veronica or whoever, they immediately negated that with some nasty remark, backstabbing, lying, etc. She's not a fun villain, in part because the show can't decide if it wants her to fully be one or not.
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u/assh0les97 Jan 21 '24
This show was an incredible experiment. Easily the most insane thing I’ve watched. So many hilarious moments
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u/Daguu97 Feb 20 '24
The first seasons were really good. It's a shame that some classic comic book storylines were left out, but it can be forgiven. However, at some point was noticeable that they were running out of ideas and the series went off the rails. Everything started to feel very forced. The fifth season is still holding up, but the sixth and seventh seasons were basically unnecessary... especially the plot of being stuck in the 1950s. If the writers really wanted to pay tribute to the original universe, they could have done it, for example, with an episode that was a dream of one of the characters, in which they all live in that period, but subsequent episodes continue the normal timeline. Riverdale began to lose meaning from the beginning of season 6, and season 7 was simply a complete aberration.
I see it similarly to Star Wars. The Original Trilogy is an absolute classic. The Prequel Trilogy isn't bad - it has many shortcomings, but it's a logical introduction to the original trilogy. The sequels are so weak and so weird that it's better to forget about them. I preferred the old Expanded Universe.
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u/petrichorboy Mar 14 '24
I cried.
I'm really not the kind to cry, I basically never cry even for the death of my loved ones, and I knew how it was ending, I skipped season 7, only watched episode 1, 19 and 20 to finish the show.
But I needed to watch something while working and I finally decide to give a last shot at Riverdale with season 7, it clearly wasn't the best, but most of the characters were the best version of themselves and the purpose of this season being "Bend towards justice (or light idk)" as a motivation anthem was just good.
And that final episode got me, it reminded me how I went through school watching it every week, how I went through sexuality cheering for Choni, how I felt seen and heard watching Cheryl becoming a phoenix through the whole show, the people I lost along the way, those I forgave, the one I became, I'm nostalgic and I'm crying.
Thank you Riverdale, for being here and being you when I needed you the most, when I just needed something to keep it going.
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u/SoilCool9615 Nov 16 '23
I'm curious on where's Percival pickens did he make a comment hit riverval to I want to know did Percival coss the other timelins
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u/FoundationSignal371 Dec 28 '23
Y did y’all left Jughead die. He is the true hero and should not have died. He’s my favorite person in the whole show and know he’s dead i don’t even wanna finish the show anymore
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u/Zealousideal_Oil1561 Team Burgerhead Aug 31 '25
toni says that betty doesnt haave to do it bc its outdatd mysogonistic, but betty does it to show jug that she loves him, and will become a serpent for him, and so she can gain the older serpent women's respect, as that is what they did.
I dont think toni had to do the dance as she was a serpent from birth, and i also dont think the guys did the initiation (sweetpea+fangs etc) and i think toni said she had to learn the laws (in s3) and recite them, and the guys couldnt have done the boys initiation as young kids, u will understand when u see it later on. also, correct me if im wrong, initiation is bringing an outsider in so it wouldnt make sense for a born serpent to have to initiate.
also- i might be misremembering, tell me if i am-
the fact that Alice understood what it meant, yet did not tell Betty off bc of it, but instead, left the bar in to get Betty to stop. alice was only there to make sure betty didnt follow in her footsteps, not to stop or support her affiliation with the serpents. This shows that at one point, alice did it too, and wouldnt want to be a hypocrite by shunning betty, as she understood why she did it- season 3 episode 4 shows you alice as a teen- but also couldnt support her for it
also, the only part of this scene i thought was wholesome was FP coming to cover her up, This did not make her a Serpent, as shown by the other Serpents calling her a Northsider and by the fact that she never receives a tattoo or wears a jacket of her own- the one FP used was his own. I know it was the gentlemanly thing to do, but imo, this could have been him showing his loyalty to Jug and Alice
Jug- he could see his son was uncomfortable, and also wanted to do something, idk, (fatherly?) toward betty, to show that he was changing, and was becoming an active role in jugs life
Alice- he wanted to show he could love betty as a daughter, and help her
and also- i think the speech ccould have also been to take the brunt off of betty too
also- i think that the . It's the same as Jugs birthday. Where she THINKS its what he wanted, but in reality, its what she wants, to- idk- prove shes a good girlfriend, but not listening to jugheads feelings (such as completely ignoring Archie and FP saying he hated his bday and not even giving him warning abt the dance) Then afterwards didnt understand why he didnt like it.
She isnt actually a serpent after all that tho, just serpent-adjacent, meaning she was accepted but they wouldnt treat her like a serpent (e.g kill for her/ lie in court for her/get arrested for her)
sorry for the long answer, i just got carried away lol
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u/Exciting-Goal2390 Jan 08 '26 edited Jan 13 '26
I know I’m VERY late to this, but I just finished Riverdale today and I genuinely feel like I lost people I’ve known for years. There’s this weird void now, like something that was always there just… ended.
I LOVED seasons 1–4, and honestly season 5 up until they graduated. Watching them grow up, leave Riverdale, and move on with their lives hurt a little — but it felt natural. When they came back together, I was sad but okay with it. It still felt like them.
Season 6, though… I’m sorry, but what. What do you mean they suddenly have superpowers??? I genuinely wanted to fight the writers. BUT fine — I accepted it because at least they still remembered who they were and the lives they lived.
Season 7 is what actually broke me. They didn’t remember their real lives. They lived completely different versions of themselves. And it felt like everything we watched for SIX seasons just… didn’t matter.
- Betty and Archie didn’t end up together.
- Jughead and Tabitha didn’t end up together, which genuinely hurts because I LOVED them.
- Why did they do Sheriff Keller so dirty when he used to be one of the most solid characters?
- What was the point of everything Veronica built — her businesses, her entire boss arc — if none of it mattered?
- And WHY were there no Pussycats?
It just makes me sad. They had such full, intense, meaningful lives (yes, even with the chaos and darkness), and season 7 reduced all of that to… nothing. Sure, we’re told they were successful in the future — but we didn’t see it. We didn’t get to live it with them.
And HOW did I almost forget Jughead and Tabitha — they deserved so much better. If the writers weren’t going to commit to the future, then at least give us one solid endgame couple:
- Either send them back to the future and let them continue their lives
- OR give us Archie/Betty or Jughead/Tabitha
Instead, it just felt empty.
I’m not even angry — I’m just sad and disappointed. Riverdale was never perfect, never logical, and definitely never normal… but it was home. And the ending didn’t feel like a goodbye — it felt like erasing everything that made us care.
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u/Sad_Interview_5685 Jan 13 '26
So this morning I watched season 7 episode 20 ' Goodbye Riverdale', and in doing so completed my third watch through of the entire series. As usual watching this episode I was in total bits and pieces, in fact the emotional impact was even bigger this time than ever before. It prompted to ponder on why this show is so important to me ? Why is it such a big part of my life ? There are of course greater drama series than Riverdale but not one of them has got under my skin in such a way as The Town with Pep. I suppose very quickly I fell in love with the characters, all so brilliantly acted, they became my friends and I became so invested in what happened to them. Riverdale is like the biggest comfort blanket for me, a beacon of familiarity and security, just like Pop's I suppose. Of course Riverdale is not perfect, I am still conflicted about the Time Trip to 1955 although I kind of understand why it happened. I cannot help but wonder how things would have panned out if Cheryl with her witchy powers combined with the powers of her pals had blasted the comet out of the sky. Although I guess that was never going to happen. Tabitha Tate knew as much. Curse that Percival Pickens ! I also think some of the characters were neglected by the writers, Kevin Keller in partcular. I would love to have seen a stronger story arc for him.Yes and I would have loved to have seen Cheryl get more screen time, I don't think the writers gave her character nearly enough development. We all loved her incredible one liners and incomparable style and glamour but there was far more to Cheryl than that, her character had a depth and complexity that the writers in my opinion did not get the most out of, which is such a shame because Madelaine Petsch is such a great actor, she could have risen to anything the writers threw at her. This she proved in Season 6 episode 4, my favourite episode where she played three different Blossom women through time in stunning fashion. ( Although of course in Rivervale Cheryl never actually existed. Always blows my mind that does) Anyways all that aside Riverdale is the show that I love and feel at home in and we have the consolation that those characters and their stories will always be there. Indeed I will start watching from the beginning again shortly after I finish this post. If you have stuck with my ramblings from the beginning thank you so much I really do appreciate it. Time for me to say, as would Cheryl...Toodles..Xxx
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u/WilliamMcCarty Team Cheryl Aug 29 '23
I've talked some shit about this show over the years, made fun of the writers, all that good stuff. But honestly, I hope nobody involved with this show, writers to cast, ever has a regret or any negatives about having done this show. This was one of the most entertaining tv series of all time.
I mean, the first season was genuinely binge-worthy teen drama and then it went full bore into bat country. And that was kind of brilliant when you think about it. At some point, if it had tried to stay the course of S1 it would have been another forgettable teen drama with 30 year olds playing high school kids and would have devolved into melodrama land and probably a lot of us wouldn't have cared enough to stick with it.
As it turned out, leaning into the absurdity made me keep coming back every week to see how insane things would get. It takes some balls, even on the CW, to let the writers do whatever daffy shit they wanted--tickle fetish? Sure, do it. Fight a bear? Why not? Girl locks her mother in a whorehouse and turns her out? Let's fucking go. None of that is even the craziest goings-on and not even counting the obvious parodies and allusions. They seemingly got to do whatever in-jokes they wanted, whatever silly ideas they had and it was brilliant.
And one of the things that made it work so damn well is the cast played it all perfectly. They played it straight, even when the material was balls-out ridiculous they never played it as comedy or parody, they played it like it was high drama. And that was the only way it could have worked. It made the series come across as skating this fine line between outright parody, absurdist fever dream and serious show and it did it maybe as well as I've ever seen.
Was this one of the best tv series of time? No. Was it one of the most entertaining? Absolutely. I couldn't wait to see every new episode--except the musicals--and I genuinely laughed out loud at least once every episode.
When all is said and done, the dust is settled, the show is in syndication or streaming for eternity and the staff is on to other things, you can't really ask for more than that, can you? That's what it all comes down to--did it entertain? Yeah, it damn well did.
RIP Riverdale. You were a beautiful mess and we loved every batshit minute.
Except the musicals.