After seven seasons and 137 episodes, Riverdale came to an end Wednesday night on The CW. The episode, “Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven: Goodbye, Riverdale”, served not only to close out Archie and the gang’s time in the 1950s, but also gave viewers closure on the Town With Pep as well by bringing viewers back to the present for a final look at everyone’s ultimate destinies. However, the episode that aired Wednesday night on The CW isn’t actually the final word on Riverdale. The CW is releasing an extended version of the series finale streaming on cwtv.com on Thursday.
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Warning: spoilers for the series finale of Riverdale and the extended version of the series finale beyond this point.
Wednesday night’s broadcast version of the Riverdale series finale took viewers to the present day and visited Betty Cooper, now 86-years-old and in the last days of her life reminiscing on her time in Riverdale after reading about the passing of her last remaining classmate, Jughead Jones, in the newspaper. After asking her granddaughter, Alice, to take her back to Riverdale one more time in the near future, Betty falls asleep only to be visited by Angel Jughead, looking as he did when we first met him in Season 1. He gives Betty her wish to revisit their last day of Senior Year in 1957, a day she missed in real life because she was out sick with the mumps. Over the course of the episode and her journey — something Jughead explains at one point is something between a dream and reality — the fates of each of the Riverdale characters are revealed and Betty is given a chance to make peace with that chapter of her life before returning to the present, going on that journey to Riverdale, and then passing away peacefully in Alice’s car outside of Pop’s before going to the Sweet Hereafter — in this case, going into Pop’s as it was where she’s reunited with everyone as they were, young and beautiful.
How the Extended Version of the Riverdale Series Finale is Different
The extended version of the episode will contain this same story but will add a few key elements and scenes. Specifically, in the extended version fans can look forward to some additional scenes in which Betty talks with Angel Jughead as she’s remembering different things from her past and has him wait to tell her Toni’s fate and has an interesting conversation with Cheryl, a scene in which Veronica makes her own path for the future, and a scene where the fates of Julian Blossom, Frank Andrews, Tom Keller, and Principal Weatherbee are all revealed at Cheryl’s art show. There are also a couple of emotional scenes for fans to take in as well, including a final ride in the Jalopy, and a moment outside of Thornhill between Betty and Angel Jughead. The extended episode will also give fans a chance to say goodbye to Riverdale themselves with a final tour around the town as we say goodbye a final time.
Saying Goodbye to Riverdale is Emotional for the Stars, Too
While the final episode of the long-running series — both the broadcast version and the extended version — will be emotional for fans, it is also emotional for the series’ stars. Lili Reinhart, who plays Betty Cooper, said earlier this year before the SAG-AFTRA strike that saying goodbye to the series has been incredibly sad.
“In January, I was going through this period where I was really upset and crying almost every other day thinking about it,” Reinhart said. “But then like all of February I was feeling okay, and all of March I’ve been feeling okay about it. It comes in waves. Every show that’s been on for a long time has to deal with this. It’s going to be incredibly sad. I know I will never be on a show that’s seven seasons long ever again.”
The extended cut of the Riverdale series finale, “Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven: Goodbye, Riverdale”, will be available to stream on cwtv.com on Thursday, August 24th.
