8 Burning Questions ‘Riverdale’ Must Answer in Final Season
Better make that milkshake from Pop’s to go because it’s time we bid farewell to Archie (KJ Apa) and the gang. The seventh and final season of the CW’s Riverdale premieres on Wednesday, March 29 at 9/8c.
The series is a dark take on the Archie comics, with the first season focusing on the characters solving a murder mystery that took one of their own. Since then, they’ve dealt with serial killers, sacrificial cults, witches, and even alternate universes. This town has been through a lot and sent audiences on a whirlwind adventure with Archie, Betty (Lili Reinhart), Veronica (Camila Mendes), Jughead (Cole Sprouse), and the rest of its residents. It’ll be sad to see them go, but we can’t say goodbye until Riverdale Season 7 ties up some loose ends.
Season 6 left us with many questions after Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) used her pyrokinetic powers to prevent Percival’s (Chris O’Shea) curse from coming to fruition. In an epic scene, Cheryl melted Bailey’s Comet before it could wipe Riverdale off the map. The bright flash of light from the comet approaching Riverdale immediately cut to a strange revelation: Everyone in town has been sent back to 1955. We’re also back in high school with our core characters. Even more interesting: Jughead is the only character who remembers anything “BC” (“before the comet,” in his words).
This was quite the cliffhanger for Season 6 and left us with so many queries and theories for the final season of this rollercoaster of a series. Scroll down for eight of our burning questions for Riverdale Season 7.
Riverdale, Seventh and Final Season Premiere, Wednesday, March 29, 9/8c, The CW
Is Riverdale 1955 an alternate universe?
We wouldn’t put it past the writers of Riverdale to explore time travel, especially following a season of alternate universes like Rivervale. But, it begs the question — is the gang trapped in 1955, or are they in a separate universe? It was left ambiguous as to whether Cheryl saved Riverdale from Bailey’s Comet, so could the comet have sent the gang to a Riverdale universe reminiscent of the comics? If a bomb is enough to create a gap between universes, which was how Rivervale’s existence was explained, surely a comet hitting the town would do so too.
Or is Riverdale 1955 the Sweet Hereafter?
More specifically, is our favorite mystery writer and narrator Jughead dead? In “Chapter One Hundred and Seven: The Fog,” Tabitha (Erinn Westbrook) revealed she was able to foresee the gang defeating Percival in two out of 1,384 outcomes. In all of them, however, Jughead died, making his death a fixed point in all timelines.
Jughead visited the Sweet Hereafter in “Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen: The Witches of Riverdale,” and it took the form of Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe during the 1950s. He is also the only character aware that the town is trapped in 1955 at the end of “Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen: Night of the Comet.” Whether Riverdale was saved from destruction or not, Jughead could still have died at some point and the town set in 1955 is his version of the afterlife. Stranger things have happened! But, alive or not, Season 7 features Jughead teaming up with Tabitha, also Riverdale’s guardian angel, to bring the town back to the present.
Is Percival responsible?
Last we saw the interdimensional sorcerer, he was being sent to hell with Mr. Cypher (Oliver Rice). Thanks to her chronokinesis, Tabitha was able to entrap Percival in a time before he made his deal with Cypher to remain immortal. After terrorizing Riverdale and its residents for an entire season, Percival had a satisfying ending by being engulfed in hellfire. But before he went, he muttered a spell. Supposedly this spell was what sent Bailey’s Comet Riverdale’s way. But, what if it accomplished more than that?
The first episode of Season 7 is titled “Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen: ‘Don’t Worry Darling,'” a reference to the 2022 film where an idyllic experimental community in the 1950s is revealed to be controlled by something sinister. Could this be a hint that Percival is not long gone and the gang being trapped in 1955 is his doing?
Julian Blossom, the human?
Remember that creepy old doll laying around Thistlehouse that Nana Rose (Barbara Wallace) claimed was possessed by Cheryl and Jason’s triplet who was absorbed in the womb? Yeah, he’s an actual person in Season 7. According to Deadline, Nicholas Barasch will play Julian Blossom. The character is described as “your classic high school red-headed bully,” who is “preppy, rich, and extremely entitled.” Julian “is also an antagonist to all of our teen characters, most especially Archie.” Sounds like a Blossom!
Julian the doll was disposed of by Cheryl way back in Season 4, but came back in Season 6 to be a vessel for Abigail Blossom’s spirit. His reappearance in Season 7, and as a human at that, is intriguing to say the least. Julian is also referred to as Cheryl’s twin brother in Season 7, taking Jason’s coveted title. This brings us to another question…
What happened to Jason Blossom?
Call it déjà vu because Jason (Trevor Stines) seems to be missing yet again. Cheryl resurrected her dearly departed twin brother in “Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen: The Witches of Riverdale,” but he seems to have not landed in 1955 with the rest of the gang. When Jason came back, it was a happy reunion. After all, Jason’s murder reverberated throughout the series and greatly affected Cheryl’s character development. So, why would the writers take him away so quickly? Since Jason’s murder rocked the town in the first season, perhaps the writers are trying to come full circle by having him disappear in the last.
Will Hiram Lodge return?
What kind of send-off would Season 7 be if it didn’t feature Riverdale‘s resident villain? Last season, Veronica put a hit out on father and Riverdale menace Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos). Though Season 6 spent a considerable amount of time exploring Veronica’s guilt and grief over her father’s death, the dead don’t always stay dead on Riverdale. Also, considering the town and its residents have been transported back in time, Hiram could make his return along with some other familiar and maybe not so friendly faces. After all, this is the final season and it’s Riverdale, so anything can happen.
Will our beloved ships remain and will some make a comeback?
It wouldn’t be Riverdale without an abundance of ships. Last we left off: Betty and Archie were engaged; Tabitha and Jughead were going steady; Veronica was in a situationship with Reggie (Charles Melton); Toni (Vanessa Morgan) and Fangs (Drew Ray Tanner) were raising Baby Anthony; and Kevin (Casey Cott) and Moose (Cody Kearsley) reunited. With the setting now in 1955, and the characters back in high school, will Riverdale maintain these relationships or go back to its comics roots (such as playing up the love triangle between Betty, Archie, and Veronica)?
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Riverdale creator and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa revealed Season 7 will be “in dialogue with the American myth of what the 1950s were versus the reality.” Considering this fact, some of the ships we’ve come to know and love might unfortunately be nonexistent or hidden because of legal and social limitations of the time period such as segregation and a lack of acceptance for LGBTQ+ identities. Kevin in particular is closeted during this season. But new character Clay Walker (played by Karl Walcott), who is open about his sexuality, will provide an “impactful friendship” for Kevin that could help him come to terms with his own, according to Deadline.
What will the musical episode be?
If there are two things Riverdale is full of, it’s murder and musicals. Though the characters occasionally perform a popular song, the series has also had an episode centered around a preexisting musical since Season 2’s recreation of Carrie. The choice of musical is typically in line with the theme of the season or episode. Last season, the musical episode was based off American Psycho and took place at a sting operation posed as a serial killer fan convention. What musical will this season revive? The year is 1955, after all, so maybe Grease will be the final musical to grace Riverdale‘s stage. Seeing the gang perform “We Go Together” would be a perfect final number.
