Riverdale is about to begin a new chapter.
Archie (KJ Apa), Betty (Lili Reinhart), Veronica (Camila Mendes), Jughead (Cole Sprouse), Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch), Toni (Vanessa Morgan) and Kevin (Casey Cott) all just finally graduated high school after four seasons of total teenage chaos, and we're of two minds about this development.
First of all, it's about time. But second of all, what even is Riverdale without high school?
It will be fun to find out what these kids are like as adults, but there are just so many wild plot points this show has given us that would not have been quite as fun without the backdrop of tests, classes and a deadly prom or two. TV teens can truly cause trouble in a way nobody else can.
We got a sneak peek at what the future may hold as tonight's episode ended, and it wasn't exactly a pretty picture.
After graduation, the whole gang began to splinter.
Archie wasn't eligible to graduate and would have had to repeat his senior year, so after walking the stage with his friends for fun, he enlisted in the Army. A big old-fashioned Army bus picked him up and started to take him away to the war (because there's a war going on) until Betty, Veronica and Jughead showed up in the old jalopy.
Archie got the bus driver to pull over so he could say goodbye to his friends, and for a sec they all seemed happy enough, even with the tension that came from Betty and Archie's kiss being out in the open.
They had a plan to all meet up again a year later at Pop's, but Betty and Jughead grew distant and everybody headed to college. A year later, only Jughead showed up to the reunion.
He then revealed via voiceover that it was another six years before he saw his friends again, when they were all "brought together by, of course, a new crisis, a mystery."
This would have been Riverdale's season four finale, had the pandemic not shut down filming last March. It certainly makes sense as a finale and feels really strange as a third episode. Normally, we'd have to wait months to find out what that new crisis is. Now we just have to wait a week!
We gotta be honest, though—we're going to miss high school Riverdale.
What excuse will there be now to put on a musical? Who will fill the void of the evil teachers? What's the fun of a rum empire and a speakeasy if the people running it are of legal age to drink? Will there still be time for random murder investigations amidst adult responsibilities? What is the essence of this show if not freaking out about the SATs just days after being attacked by a bear while on the run from your girlfriend's murderous father?
Are things just going to make more sense now?!
We hope not, but stranger things have happened on this show.
Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.