The Farm, a mysterious cult that ended up being a literal organ farm with the cult leaders harvesting the internal organs of its members, was a major “villain” in Season 3 of The CW‘s Riverdale and while Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) managed to figure out their scheme, the cult vanished — with her mother, Alice (Madchen Amick) in tow. It’s a cliffhanger-esque twist that led to the introduction of the real long-lost Charles Cooper, but while that’s a new chapter that may have opened, The Farm’s story will wrap up in Season 4, and likely sooner than you’d expect.
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During the show’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con last weekend, Riverdale executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa broke down a bit what to expect in the first few episodes of Riverdale‘s fourth season, including when The Farm story would close. According to Aguirre-Sacasa, the season premiere, entitled “Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Memoriam” will serve as a sendoff for the character of Fred Andrews and a tribute to the actor who played him, the late Luke Perry who died suddenly earlier this year. Episode two will introduce the new high school principal, episode three will wrap up The Farm story ahead of Episode four, Riverdale‘s eagerly-anticipated Halloween episode.
Now, just because The Farm’s story is wrapping up doesn’t mean that some of the players won’t still have a role in the season. It’s Riverdale; even when a story seems completely settled the show has a way of bringing things back — please see the Black Hood story, Chic Cooper, and even the death of Jason Blossom. The Farm will likely have some sort of longer-term impact on Riverdale as the season unfolds, but it does sound like the series will get the major issues out of the way, with many fans hoping we’ll find out what happened to Alice in the episode.
As for the other episodes Aguirre-Sacasa teased, the Halloween episode is of particular interest. Despite its darker themes, Riverdale has never managed to pull off an actual Halloween episode until now, due largely in part to schedule.
“It’s episode four,” Aguirre-Sacasa said of the episode which will debut on October 30th. We’ve never been able to do a Halloween episode because of scheduling and it’s just never worked out. We’ve got a really fun, spooky episode for everyone.”
Of course, this is Riverdale, so the question of whether or not the episode will end in a fatality is certainly on fans’ minds. After series star Lili Reinhart asked if someone dies in the episode, Aguirre-Sacasa dropped a cryptic tease.
“Yes, someone dies, but no one at this table,” Aguirre-Sacasa revealed, confirming that Reinhart’s Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), and Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) will be safe for the time being.
Outside of a potential murder, Aguirre-Sacasa also teased what costumes could be in store — including some that involve characters from the DC Comics world.
“I know what Archie’s gonna be dressed as and we’re trying to get clearance on some DC comic book characters for Cheryl and Toni (Vanessa Morgan),” Aguirre-Sacasa shared. “And Betty is at home giving out candy to trick-or-treaters. No fun allowed for Betty. No, no, no, you’ve got a fun story, a scary story.”
Riverdale‘s fourth season will begin Wednesday, October 9th at 8/7c on The CW.