‘Riverdale’: Betty And Archie Kissed — So What’s Next?

Spoilers for Riverdale Season 4, Episode 17 “Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town” past this point. Seriously.

Well folks, it finally happened. For real. After putting aside any chance of a Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) and Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) relationship on Riverdale for at least two seasons, in a moment of weakness the duo kissed on this week’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch inspired musical episode. It’s an event that’s been equally anticipated and feared, depending on which side of the ‘shipping wars you fall on. But for Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, having it happen this week seemed like a natural choice.

“It’s always fun to tell relationship stories and love stories with musicals,” Aguirre-Sacasa told Decider. “‘Origin of Love’ is one of the great love songs in musical theater, and we had been flirting with the idea of the Betty-Archie romance… We sort of had started that while Jughead was dead. There were still residual feelings that had been awoken, and there’s such a great tradition of characters working on shows or songs and then their emotions getting the better of them.”

In case you missed the episode, or didn’t gather from the previous paragraph, the hour finds the Riverdale High students singing songs from cult classic musical Hedwig in an attempt to get their uptight principal Mr. Honey (Kerr Smith) to allow Kevin Keller (Casey Cott) to sing a number at the school’s variety show. While this is going on, Jughead Jones (Cole Srouse) — who, as mentioned, recently faked his own death — is struggling with doing his catch-up homework, while Betty pushes him so they can graduate together on time. Meanwhile, Archie discovers that his girlfriend Veronica Lodge’s (Camila Mendes) father Hiram (Mark Conseulos) isn’t going to see the doctor for his recently revealed neuromuscular disorder; instead, he’s spending time at Archie’s gym. Also, Archie owns a gym.

Both plots come to a head during “Exquisite Corpse,” a number from Hedwig. Betty discovers that Jughead has been spending time in the town’s secret bunker watching weird videotapes instead of doing his work. Veronica finds out Archie knew her dad wasn’t going to the doctor, and neglected to tell her. And the feelings the couples have been dealing with, plus the stress of heading towards the end of Senior Year, leads to blow-out fights for both couples.

“In typical high school fashion, in typical life fashion, there’s all kinds of feelings when something’s coming to an end, like high school,” Cott told Decider, about what happens next in the episode, “and people are gonna be confused and figuring out their romantic relationships.”

That next thing? The moment fans will surely be talking about? After the fights, Betty heads to band rehearsal at Archie’s house — he’s decided to sign the gang up as The Archies for a performance at the variety show. Only Veronica and Jughead aren’t there, and Archie meant to cancel the rehearsal. After some bonding about their childhood friendship, the two sing “Origin of Love,” intercut with Veronica and Jughead sadly singing verses in their own locations. Archie and Betty get closer. They’re happy; joyful, even — and as we flash back to scenes from Season 1 and 2 of their flirtation, and a brief, ill-advised previous smooch in a car — Archie’s guitar drops, and they kiss. Fully, and deeply.

Things don’t end there, though, because what follows is a rollercoaster ride of conflicting emotions. Both Jughead and Veronica return to apologize to their respective significant others, and though neither suspects anything is up, it’s clear that Betty can’t quite bring herself to kiss Jughead back (she crumples in tears as soon as he leaves the room) and Archie looks downright haunted. After Jughead/Veronica leave, though, Betty and Archie head to their windows and gaze at each other, fantasizing about their dance from the semi-formal in the very first episode of Riverdale, “Chapter One: The River’s Edge”. As they sing (about how much they’ve changed as people, no less) they see themselves now in the same outfits, interspersed with footage from Season 1. And before the episode is over, the Core Four — and Kevin — are onstage as The Archies, with Veronica gazing lovingly at Archie, Jughead looking at Betty with devotion, and Betty and Archie looking back at them with love too; in between furtive, conflicted glances at each other.

To editorialize for a minute, and risk the wrath of the internet, here’s my take on things. It’s clear that there are deep, actual feelings between Betty and Archie. It’s also clear that Betty and Jughead are still in love, as are Veronica and Archie. Just because an illicit kiss happened doesn’t mean prior feelings get turned off like a faucet. But it’s also something the Core Four are all going to need to grapple with, particularly Betty and Archie. Will they come clean? Do they truly feel something more for each other? Or is it falling back into older emotions, because they’re easier?

The way writer Tessa Leigh Williams expertly crafts the moment in her script, and the actors and crew follow, it’s clear that, as Cott noted above, a lot of this is coming out of fear of graduation. Betty is terrified of what’s going to happen when she goes to Yale, and Jughead may not be there with her. Veronica has been wrestling with a lot of the same emotions regarding Archie over the past few episodes, with her potentially attending Barnard, and Archie almost definitely staying in Riverdale. All of these feelings and concerns have been bottled up in favor of supporting their significant others, and also solving deadly mysteries. Lots going on, basically, and it was easier to move these more complex emotions to the side.

For Betty, it’s clear that the kiss, and the feelings for Archie, are something simpler. Season 1 Betty was smart and capable, but she hadn’t yet been subsumed by the darkness of Riverdale. Instead, she had a childhood crush on her next door neighbor. Is Archie the right partner for Season 4 Betty, someone who has battled serial killers and maniacs and on pure force of will and intelligence managed to power through? Maybe, maybe not; but it’s clear that for a moment she just wants to go back to that pure, happy girl who ordered sea monkeys out of the back of a comic book.

Archie, too, is on a nostalgia trip, though one fueled by the death of his father Fred Andrews (Luke Perry). In the episode, Archie reconnects with his memory by channeling Fred’s old band, The Fred Heads, into The Archies. I’d suspect that Archie kissing Betty has less to do with his blow up with Veronica, and more to do with those simpler times, as well, when he knew Betty was in love with him, even if he pushed the idea away as her being “just” the kid next door. And again, the question going forward is, are these feelings deeper than kissing Betty because that’s what she needs and wants, or what Archie needs and wants right now?

Deep breath, folks. And in case you’re a hardcore Bughead or Varchie ‘shipper and having trouble breathing, don’t worry: Cott has your back.

“Anyone that’s freaking out about maybe Betty and Archie getting together,” Cott said, “just hold on cause I’m sure the tide will turn in your favor at some point.”

That, in essence, is the nature of a drama like Riverdale, and it’s clear there’s a dramatically painful story to tell. Does it feel good to watch the Core Four on stage together at the end of the episode, knowing what we know? Of course not, and it’s not supposed to, even if you’ve been hoping for Betty and Archie to get together since Season 1. It’s supposed to hurt, and feel joyful, and hopeful, and confusing, all at the same time. That’s what human feelings are like, they’re not always binary and easy to decipher. The best dramas elicit as many of those complicated feelings as possible, all at once. And chances are that whatever happens in the next few episodes with Betty and Archie will — as Cott points out — change over time, and swing back to other and varied relationships, right up until the show ends.

“They’re two such classic characters and I just think it’d be fun to see what would that be like,” Cott added. Though I’d venture that some fans aren’t having a lot of fun right now, this is the beginning of a story, and clearly one that won’t be treated lightly from an emotional perspective. Stay tuned.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

Where to watch Riverdale