The TV series Riverdale ends with a mix of emotional farewells, resolved mysteries, and the characters moving on from their hometown in different ways. By the finale, almost all the main characters leave Riverdale: Reggie plays for the Lakers, Kevin starts a theater company in New York, and Cheryl and Toni move out West to raise their son together
. The finale reveals that Betty is the last surviving member of the core group, living to 86 years old. Before she dies, a version of Jughead offers her a chance to relive the last day of school she missed due to illness. She spends this day reconnecting with friends and places in Riverdale, learning about their futures and eventual deaths. The core four had been in a quad relationship during senior year but eventually parted ways
. Key character outcomes include:
- Archie moves to California, starts a construction company, and has a family, though he does not return to Riverdale permanently
- Veronica becomes a successful studio executive in LA, winning two Oscars
- Betty creates a magazine impacting women over decades and adopts a daughter but never marries
- Jughead runs an influential magazine and is eventually reunited with Betty in the afterlife
The series also features supernatural elements in later seasons, including alternate timelines and superpowers. The characters are transported back to the 1950s at one point, losing memories of their previous lives, which resets much of the story before the finale
. The show concludes with Betty dying outside Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe, a central location in Riverdale, and being reunited with friends in heaven, symbolizing that they remain forever young and together in spirit
. In summary, Riverdale ends on a bittersweet note with the main characters growing apart geographically and temporally but united in memory and legacy, closing the story as eternal teenagers in a timeless Riverdale
