The wild ride that has been the sixth season of The CW’s Riverdale is rapidly coming to an end. This week’s episode, “Return to Rivervale” answered a lot of questions regarding Percival Pickens (Chris O’Shea) and the general madness that Archie and the gang have had to deal with this season, but it also came with some shocking moments as well — including a few key deaths. But with two episodes to go, good is going to have to face off with evil and, from the looks of things, that’s going to involve a chainsaw. The CW has released a preview for “Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen: The Stand”, the twenty-first episode of Riverdale‘s sixth season scheduled to air on Sunday, July 24th.
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As you can see in the preview, it looks like an all out brawl for Riverdale, including Betty with that aforementioned chainsaw. If you didn’t see this week’s episode yet, don’t worry, the preview doesn’t give away much in the way of spoilers, just know that the good guys are determined to save their town and get back their dead. You can check out the preview and the synopsis for yourself below.
“GOOD VS. EVIL — When Archie (KJ Apa) and Veronica’s (Camila Mendes) attempt to negotiate with Percival (guest star Chris O’Shea) doesn’t go as planned, the forces of good and evil finally face off, leading to some unexpected revelations. Lili Reinhart, Cole Sprouse, Madelaine Petsch, Mädchen Amick, Casey Cott, Vanessa Morgan, Charles Melton, Erinn Westbrook and Drew Ray Tanner also star. Cierra Glaude directed the episode written by Danielle Iman & Evan Kyle.”
The synopsis doesn’t give much away, though it seems like the episode title may be a nod to Stephen King’s novel, The Stand, which does seem a bit ominous. Given the episode’s placement right at the end of the season — the season finale is scheduled for July 31st — the episode could prove to be a pretty tense one. Series showrunner Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa has previously teased that the season would end on a “big swing” given that next season, Season 7, will be Riverdale‘s last.
“It came out of conversations with the studio and The CW and [network president] Mark Pedowitz,” Aguirre-Sacasa told TVLine. “When we were renewed for Season 7, though we weren’t told at the time it’d be our final season, I think we were all feeling that it might be. When Mark and I talked about it… it was bittersweet. That said, we are so proud of the run we’ve had, and the call did come as we were working on the last episode of Season 6. We were debating on what the final beats of that episode would be and torn between a very big swing and a quieter ending. And it definitely emboldened us to go for the big swing for Season 7. It’s really exciting.”
While Season 7 of Riverdale will be a “big swing”, Pedowitz has previously said that the series will have an “appropriate sendoff” because they wanted to the right thing for the series and its fans.
“We had a long conversation with Roberto yesterday, who’s thrilled by this news,” Pedowitz said. “And we’re going to treat the show in the manner it deserves. It was an iconic pop culture star, and we want to make sure it goes out the right way and that is the decision. I think they choose that seven years is the right amount, and we want to do the right thing. That’s a personal thing. As a fan myself, I do want to do what’s right for the show.”
Riverdale airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW. “The Stand” airs July 24th.
