'Riverdale': The Verdict of Archie's Trial Revealed in "Labor Day"

As promised, Riverdale fans did not have to wait long to learn whether or not Archie Andrews would spend the rest of his life in jail after being accused of murder in the season two finale.

Today's season three premiere provided a verdict to the small town's trial of the century, avoiding the heavy lifting that setting several episodes in a courtroom would entail (remember "The Trial of The Flash?").

Spoilers ahead for "Chapter Thirty-Six: Labor Day."

Riverdale's season three premiere does not start out with the verdict, but with the closing arguments in Archie Andrews's murder trial. Not long after that, the judge sequesters the jury and sends everyone home for Labor Day weekend. As Jughead, Betty, and Veronica prepare for school and Archie prepares for the worst, the core four decide to have one final, fun weekend together just in case.

No, Archie will not spend the rest of his life in jail -- but he will apparently not graduate with his friends, either.

After the jury is deadlocked and a mistrial declared, Archie is paralyzed by the idea of reliving the trial again. Offered a plea bargain by the prosecution: plead guilty to a lesser charge and spend two years in a juvenile detention center.

This is an interesting start to the season, in that it more or less puts Archie in the same place that Jughead was at the start of season two, isolated from his friends and stuck in a bad place where people wish to do him violence.

It also plays on an anxiety Archie expressed earlier in the episode, that he will not get to walk the stage at graduation with his friends. The arc of the season, then, will likely be freeing Archie and then trying to catch him up so that he can resume his life.

Do not expect Hiram to reach in like the hand of God to help out in that capacity: he made it clear in the premiere that his decision to frame Archie for murder and get him thrown in jail was not to punish Archie, per se, but to punish Veronica for siding with him in the finale last season. So while Archie and Veronica were able to use his wealth and influence as a kind of cheat code a few times last season, that seems basically impossible now.

Riverdale airs on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.