'Riverdale' Series Finale Brings Emotional Goodbyes, Surprise Cameos and an Unexpected Romance

After seven wild seasons, The CW's popular teen drama came to a conclusion on Aug. 23

Warning: this story contains spoilers from Wednesday’s series finale of Riverdale.

That's a wrap on Riverdale!

After seven seasons of milkshakes, serial killer genes, cults, Gargoyle Kings, time travel and the epic highs and lows of high school football, The CW's teen drama officially came to a close on Wednesday.

Created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Riverdale began in 2017 as a darker, edgier take on the classic Archie Comics. Over the years, however, Riverdale became... well, uh, Riverdale. No storyline was too ridiculous or out-of-bounds. Truly a genre of its own kind, the series explored everything from its initial small-town murder mystery premise to the supernatural.

The series finale, "Goodbye Riverdale," saw an 86-year-old Betty (Lili Reinhart) traveling back in time — with Jughead (Cole Sprouse) serving as her guide — to relive her last day of senior year of high school. Along the way, she caught up with friends Archie (KJ Apa), Veronica (Camila Mendes), Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch), Toni (Vanessa Morgan), Reggie (Charles Melton), Kevin (Casey Cott), Fangs (Drew Ray Tanner) and more.

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Season 7 centered around the aftermath of a comet hitting the town of Riverdale. As a result of the catastrophe, Tabitha (Erinn Westbrook) had no choice but to transport the friend group back into the '50s while she attempted to fix the current timeline. Their memories were wiped, leaving the characters with no recollection of the events of the prior seasons.

In the penultimate series episode, "The Golden Age of Television," Tabitha returned as a Guardian Angel and everyone finally got their memories back. However, they elected to retain only the "good memories" — except for Betty and Jughead, who opted to remember it all. Due to some wonky multiverse laws, everyone besides Angel Tabitha ultimately remained in the '50s.

The finale episode opened with elderly Betty sitting beside her granddaughter Alice as she read Jughead's obituary in the paper. "That's it, that means I'm the last of them," she sighed. "Alice, honey... I wanna go back. To Riverdale, one last time. Before it's too late."

Later, Betty woke up to a young Jughead, who promised to make her wish come true. He first transported her back to her old high school bedroom. She instantly gravitated towards her window where she reminisced.

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"How many sunrises have I seen out this window? How many moons, how many times-" she started, stopping in her tracks at the sight of her red-headed neighbor. "How many times have I looked out this window into Archie's?"

"In the thousands," Jughead responded matter-of-factly. "At least."

Archie had a "big talk" with his mom, Mary (Molly Ringwald), about his plans for after graduation. He ultimately went to work on a construction crew traveling out west, but promised, "Forget Riverdale?! Fat chance. This will always be my home, our home."

It was revealed that Mary ended up with Brooke, her love interest from the previous seasons, and that they "stayed together until the very end."

Betty then raced down to the kitchen to greet her pregnant sister Polly (Tiera Skovbye) and mother Alice (Mädchen Amick), elated that they were both alive and thriving. Before she departed for school, she and Alice exchanged a warm hug and a final, "I love you."

Jughead revealed that Alice became a pilot — she ended up marrying a kind passenger from a plane ride, who then took her all around the world. Polly had her twins, Juniper and Dagwood, and "led a happy life with her family."

Related: All About the 'Riverdale' Cast: From Upcoming Roles to Off-Screen Relationships

Then, Betty arrived at the steps of 1957 Riverdale High. "Everyone is so young and beautiful," she gushed. "And carefree. They have no idea, do they? How special this time is, how quickly it goes by like the blink of an eye."

After catching up with Veronica and listening to Toni read a heartfelt poem over the announcements, Betty spent some time chatting with Fangs and Midge, who were about to hit the road for his big tour. Unfortunately, it turned out a happy ending wasn't in the cards for them — shockingly, Fangs was killed in a bus crash just four weeks into his tour. However, Jughead added that he did achieve a gold record, leaving Midge and their daughter "taken care of for the rest of their lives."

On the contrary, Kevin and Clay ended up living a "very spirited" life together in Harlem, with Clay becoming a professor and starting an off-Broadway theater company. Kevin lived to be 82 and Clay died a few weeks later.

Then came perhaps the most shocking reveal of the episode. Remember the famous love triangle between Archie, Betty, and Veronica, and how the show made that even more complicated by adding Betty and Jughead (aka "Bughead") and, most recently, Veronica and Jughead? Well, the core four turned into the core foursome. Yes, Riverdale actually went there.

"Turns out, after Angel Tabitha's last visit, I remembered what it was like being with Jughead — and being with Archie," Betty confided to Reggie. "And Archie and Veronica remembered what it was like being with each other. But Veronica and Jughead had just started a thing. And remembering all of that sort of just took the pressure of us having to make a single choice."

"So the four of us realized that we could, and maybe should, just be... together. At the same time," she continued as Reggie bugged his eyes out. "Some nights Archie would sneak into my bedroom and Veronica would go home with Jughead. Other nights, Archie would spend the night at the Pembrooke and I'd go over to Jughead's. And sometimes, more often than you'd imagine, I would find my way to Veronica's."

Related: Camila Mendes Pens Emotional Tribute to 'Riverdale' on Last Day Filming: 'Saying Goodbye to an Entire Life'

After that casual bombshell, Jughead revealed that Reggie went on to play for Kansas State and then got drafted by the Lakers. He worked on his family's farm during the off season until his parents died, then he sold the farm and began coaching basketball at Riverdale High. He and his wife had two sons, who now run the Mantle Motors used car dealership.

Veronica followed her dreams and moved out to Hollywood, where she went on to run a big studio. "She became known for her impeccable taste and taking risks on young, raw talent," Jughead explained. "She won two Oscars and produced some of the most iconic movies of our time." She was eventually buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Betty became emotional, admitting that the four friends didn't keep in contact much after high school. "I wish I had kept in better touch with her," she cried. "With everyone, all of us. We were so close, inseparable. And then we just..."

Later in the episode, Cheryl and Toni put on an art show for everyone in the Dark Room. "This is the culmination of a year-long collaboration between myself and my partner in all things, Toni Topaz," Cheryl addressed the crowd with her girlfriend by her side. "Our relationship is the most thrilling thing I could have ever imagined. We're always creating. There's no separation between our art and our love."

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Luckily for Choni fans, the two got their happy ending. Jughead revealed that Toni and Cheryl stayed together and moved out west, living as artists and activists. And, they had a son — Dale, "named after Riverdale, of course" — who was adorably played by Morgan's real-life son, River! They died "peacefully" and "after living full, gorgeous, sexy lives."

Jughead described Julian Blossom (Nicholas Barasch) — Cheryl's twin in the timeline — as a "bit of a lost soul." He enlisted in the army after graduation and died while serving in the Vietnam War at just 28. And in a truly shocking, devastating twist, Archie's Uncle Frank (Ryan Robbins) and Kevin's dad Tom (Martin Cummins) were murdered by a hustler they picked up one night, named...Chic (Hart Denton). Fans may recall Chic was an imposter who originally posed as Betty's half-brother in season 2 before his true identity was revealed. He also later turned out to be the Gargoyle King (the main villain of season 3.)

Betty attempted to comfort the rest of the group as they received the news that Veronica would be moving to Hollywood. "Seriously, how lucky were we to have been brought together, given the opportunity to know and love each other across not one, but two, lifetimes?" she said. "We should be celebrating that, not mourning it. Not yet, at least."

"Betty's right," Veronica quickly chimed in. "The future can wait. Tonight is about appreciating everything we've been through And let me tell you, we have been through a hell of a lot."

Later, however, Betty broke down about not being ready to say goodbye. "This is the last time that all of us will be together, ever!" she cried. "I don't wanna say goodbye. I just don't! It will be too painful, too much to bear."

Jughead reminded her that this was simply how life is. "You say hello, you walk alongside someone for awhile," he said wisely. "And then you say goodbye."

Eventually, Betty worked up the courage to join her friends for one last night together. They gathered together to hear Archie read one final poem, "an ode to my best friends and every good thing that must come to an end."

Related: 'Riverdale' Gang Is Stuck in the '50s — and Back in High School — in First Season 7 Trailer

Archie read a long, emotional poem about the friends' lives. Despite only keeping his "good" memories, he somehow remembered Cheryl keeping Jason's corpse in a cellar and the organ-stealing cults from previous seasons. Regardless, the poem still brought everyone to tears.

Then, Betty and Archie shared a poignant, romantic — and heartbreaking — final moment together.

"Tonight isn't goodbye anyway. I know we'll see each other again," Archie said, gazing into Betty's eyes lovingly and reaching for her cheek. "Maybe... maybe we'll even end up together. You know I've always felt that it would be you and me at the end of the road. I mean, it started with us, didn't it? A boy and a girl next door to each other."

But, while Betty called it a "lovely sentiment," she told him that wasn't what the future held for them. "Your mom was right," she said with a tear dripping down her cheek. "You make it to California and you don't look back. Then you meet a sweet, strong girl who makes you laugh. And you settle down in Modesto and you have a beautiful family. You're a professional construction worker and amateur writer and you are so, so content and happy. And when you die, you ask to be buried here in Riverdale next to your father."

Archie and Betty shared one last sweet kiss, and that was that — leaving million of Barchie fans' hearts shattered into a billion pieces.

Then, Betty and Jughead went to visit Pop Tate's (Alvin Sanders) grave and had an emotional conversation about their lives. It is revealed that Jughead devoted his life to founding and running Jughead's Madhouse Magazine, a comics powerhouse. Betty started She Says Magazine, the "go-to source for feminist and progressive causes" and adopted a daughter, Carla. Neither Betty or Jughead ever married.

At the end of the episode, 86-year-old Betty dozed in the backseat as her granddaughter drove her through Riverdale one last time. In a voiceover, Betty said, "Goodbye town sign. Goodbye Sweet Water River and all its mysteries. And Fox Forest and its haunted trees. Goodbye red door and the secrets behind it. Goodbye room. Goodbye window and Archie's room. Goodbye Pembrooke..."

"Goodbye, Riverdale," she concluded. "It was wonderful getting to grow up here."

When they arrived at Pop's, Alice realized Betty had died in her sleep.

In the very last scene, teenage Betty walked into Pop's, where all her friends were busy dancing and mingling. She greeted everyone with warm hugs, then made her way over to a booth where Archie, Jughead, and Veronica were already waiting for her. "Perfect timing, Betty," Archie declared, pushing her a strawberry milkshake.

Related: Riverdale TV: A Short History of 'Archie' Comics Adaptations on the Small Screen

Outside, Jughead stood and watched the group fondly. "We'll leave them here, I think," he said, speaking directly to the audience. "Where they're forever juniors. Forever 17. Always grabbing a burger or shake, always going to or coming from some dance, talking about school, the big game, who's dating who, homework, whatever movie is playing at The Babylonium. You know, the moments that make up a life. It's where they've — where we've — always been. In this diner. In this town. In the sweet hereafter."

The cameras then cut to Pop's sign flashing brightly. "So if you happen to see that neon sign some lonely night at the end of that long journey," Jughead continued. "The journey that every one of us is on... pull over. Come on in. Take a seat. Know that you'll always be among friends. And that Riverdale will always be your home."

"Until then," he concluded, "have a good night."

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