Spoiler alert: This article contains details on the Riverdale season-six premiere from Nov. 16.
Welcome to the neighborhood...not.
In, the Nov. 16 episode, "Chapter Ninety-Six: Welcome to Rivervale," Riverdale's latest season opens on a sparkling new day in the town of town of Rivervale. No, that is not a typo.
Rivervale is a place where everything is supposed to be perfectly bright and sunny, but not is all as it seems. Jughead (Cole Spouse) and Tabitha (Erinn Westbrook) have moved in together, and Veronica (Camila Mendes) and Reggie (Charles Melton) are now the most remarkable couple in town. Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) throws a maple harvest festival, and Archie (K.J. Apa) wins a bunch of competitions, ultimately being crowned king of the day. Yay!
Only, then things go topsy-turvy as Cheryl declares, "a sacrifice has to be made," and she kills him. The audience is left wondering if they are watching a spin-off of Midsommar, but don't cry just yet. Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, confirmed in a TV Line interview that, Archie is dead, but it's not a cold as ice ending.
When asked if that's a wrap for the character, he clarified that this new season is in reality a five-episode TV event, and not every episode is a self-contained chapter.
"No, they are serialized," he explained, "so Archie is dead in Episode 2. And I'll say this: That's only the start of the body count for Rivervale."
Aguirre-Sacasa goes on in the article about the series taking a dive into horror film land. "Every year, we start very disparate storylines, and we always try to weave them all together, and this year is no exception," he said. "I'm not going to speak to alternate universes or dreams or anything like that, but I will say that this is all happening, and we will play as though this is all happening, even beyond the first five episodes."
One thing that Rivervale has in common with Riverdale is gossip. The creator confirms, "I will say that Betty and Veronica, in an upcoming episode, do have a conversation about Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Archie, and Archie and Reggie have a conversation about Reggie and Veronica. So those are coming, even though they're in the middle of the rest of their lives. But we do have those conversations, and we do track that."
And the plot thickens! Be sure to check out all the latest details on Riverdale's new season on E!