‘Riverdale’ ending: the time-jump and characters’ futures explained

After seven seasons, time-jumping teen drama Riverdale has come to an emotional end — you can find a summary of the series finale below.

Based on the characters from Archie Comics, Riverdale debuted in 2017 to a positive reception, boosted by its huge popularity on Netflix. The series follows a group of teenagers as they try to unravel evil mysteries lurking within their seemingly innocent town.

The show has made stars of its cast members, including KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, Madelaine Petsch and Casey Cott. Riverdale also marked the final TV appearance from late actor Luke Perry, who passed away in 2019.

Over the seasons, the series has featured a number of absurd storylines, including time travel, but how did things end for the characters?

Here’s how Riverdale finally ended

The series finale skips 67 years into the future, where we find an 86-year-old Betty (Reinhart) with her granddaughter Alice in the present day. Betty checks the obituary every day, and after spotting Jughead’s (Sprouse) death in the paper, realises that she is now the last remaining member of the group. Betty then asks to return to Riverdale for one last visit, before she forgets everything.

That evening, Jughead’s angle appears in her room and he offers her the chance to relive one day of her choice. She picks their yearbook signing day, giving herself a chance to say one final goodbye to her friends and the town.

Back in the present, Betty takes the trip to Riverdale with her granddaughter, and upon their arrival, peacefully passes away in the back of the car. We then see a 17-year-old Betty enter The Sweet Hereafter, which happens to be the Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe diner. All of her friends are already there, waiting for her to join them. She then takes her place in the booth with Archie, Veronica (Mendes), and Jughead, which is where we leave them.

What happens to the other characters in the Riverdale finale?

Polly (Tiera Skovbye) had twins and led a happy life with her family, while Fangs (Drew Ray Tanner) married Midge (Emilija Baranac) and set off on his summer tour. However, four weeks into that tour, his bus crashed in the Rocky Mountains, leaving Midge to parent their daughter alone.

Elsewhere, Clay (Karl Walcott) went on to become a professor at Columbia, while Kevin (Casey Cott) started an off-broadway theatre company. The pair lived together in Harlem, before Kevin died at 82. Clay died a few weeks later on a bench in Central Park.

As for Toni (Vanessa Morgan) and Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch), they moved west and ended up settling in Oakland Hills, where they lived as artists and activists. They had a son named Dale (named after Riverdale) before passing away peacefully.

Elsewhere, Reggie (Charles Melton) played basketball at Kansas State before signing for the Lakers. He then coached at Riverdale High and had two sons. Nana Rose (Barbara Wallace) was reincarnated multiple times, while Pop Tate (Alvin Sanders) died in his sleep at the start of senior year.

In 2022, The CW announced that season seven of Riverdale would be the show’s last.

The post ‘Riverdale’ ending: the time-jump and characters’ futures explained appeared first on NME.