Riverdale Chapter Eighty: Purgatorio Synopsis Reveals Time Jump Details

The CW has released the synopsis for "Chapter Eighty: Purgatorio", the upcoming fourth episode of Riverdale's fifth season. The episode, which will air on Wednesday, February 10th, will see the series jump ahead seven years, but from the sounds of things, time will not have been on Riverdale's side. It appears that Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) will have the town tightly in his control and not in good shape at all.

The time jump is something that fans have known is coming for some time. With the series having followed the characters through high school, the time jump will allow for there to be new stories told with them as adults, something Betty Cooper actress Lili Reinhart previously said she was excited about.

"Season 5 we're actually doing, I believe, a seven-year time jump into the future so we're not going to be teenagers anymore," Reinhart said previously. "I'm really psyched about it. I think it'll be nice to play an adult. But I also really appreciate that Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa], our showrunner, was like, 'Yeah, let's revamp.' You know, we're not just stuck in high school for seven seasons."

Of course, there are still a few episodes to get through that wrap up those last high school moments, episodes that had previously been part of Season Four before the COVID-19 production shutdown.

"It's funny, we had shot almost two-thirds of episode 20, which was going to be our prom episode. And we looked at that footage and tried to see if there was a way we could cobble together that episode," Aguirre-Sacasa explained back in May. "We actually had shot the prom, where a lot of very dramatic things happen, but we still hadn't shot some big character moments between Archie and Veronica and Betty and Jughead. So we kind of just couldn't do that."

"However, when I saw the cut of 19, what's great about it is all of the kids are in one big story together united against Mr. Honey. And it does end on a pretty shocking, disturbing cliffhanger," Aguirre-Sacasa continued. "So, it sort of was like, "Oh wait a minute, this could be a great season finale" and then prom would be a great season premiere next year. So it worked out in kind of the best way possible given everything. Obviously, we would have loved to have finished the full season, and the last three episodes are fantastic. But to me, this one is fun. It's a special conceit and it brings everyone together, which I think people love."

You can check out the synopsis for "Chapter Eighty: Purgatorio" below.

SEVEN-YEAR TIME JUMP — After spending seven years away from Riverdale, Archie (KJ Apa) returns to find the town is now under Hiram Lodge's (Mark Consuelos) grip and on the verge of becoming a ghost town. When Toni (Vanessa Morgan) catches him up on what's been going on, Archie reaches out to the rest of the gang to return home. Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, Madelaine Petsch, Casey Cott, Charles Melton, Drew Ray Tanner, and Erinn Westbrook also star. Steve Adelson directed the episode written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (#504). Original airdate 2/10/2021.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET. "Chapter Eight: Purgatorio" will air on February 10th.