Which brings us to this latest installment. Over the course of 45 minutes we watched as our heroes struggled to save the town that is their everything, making huge sacrifices and decisions that would impact their futures in a massive way. The only thing is that they have no futures. As the episode ends everyone is thrust back to 1955, and they all are in high school again.
Huh? None of this makes a lick of sense and it is perfect.
For what it’s worth, my utterly wrong predictions for the finale’s inevitable twist was that the show would recreate itself as Afterlife with Archie or utilize the ‘Witch War’ storyline that was to have been originally featured in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina‘s never-produced fifth season. Instead, the left field choice was made to completely recreate Riverdale in “a truly innocent time” that replicates the warm fuzzies one gets from reading Archie Comics. (Going so far as to place the character in comics-accurate outfits). Whatever this all means, things won’t be easy going for our pals and gals.
The 1950s were hardly the fun times Happy Days and, for that matter, Archie Comics, would have you believe — and its hard to imagine that Riverdale‘s last season will be nothing more than sock hops and cool cars. For the show’s non-white and LGBTQ+ characters, I fully expect that they will have a difficult time in an era that was cruel to them. Remember, this series was originally pitched as “Archie meets Twin Peaks,” so expect a twisted, more measured view of 1955 that has more in common with part 8 of Twin Peaks: The Return than American Graffiti.
That said, let’s reiterate my opening point by reminding you that trying to predict this show is a fool’s errand. Anyway, in this new timeline, Jughead is the anchor that will connects the ’50s adventures with what has gone before, as he is the only character who has any memory of previous events. Does Cheryl still possess all of her powers? How exactly does having these twentysomethings back in high school work? They aren’t actually going to do the entire season in the 1950s, are they? What about the relationships that are so important to viewers?
All of these questions are hanging in the air right now, and I for one dare not speculate. Instead, let’s just take a beat and truly appreciate what a wild ride this series in. With just 22 episodes left and the creative freedom to get even crazier, anything could happen. And probably will.