Riverdale is an American teen drama television series based on the characters of Archie Comics. The series was adapted for The CW by Archie Comics' chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and is produced by Warner Bros. Television and CBS Studios, in association with Berlanti Productions and Archie Comics. Originally conceived as a feature film adaptation for Warner Bros. Pictures, the idea was re-imagined as a television series for Fox. In 2015, development on the project moved to The CW, where the series was ordered for a pilot. Filming takes place in Vancouver, British Columbia. The series debuted on January 26, 2017.
It features an ensemble cast based on the characters of Archie Comics, with KJ Apa in the role of Archie Andrews; Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, the series' narrator, Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom, Ashleigh Murray as Josie McCoy, Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz, Charles Melton as Reggie Mantle and Casey Cott as Kevin Keller. During the course of the series, 137 episodes of Riverdale aired over seven seasons, between January 26, 2017, and August 23, 2023.
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Rank | Average viewers (in millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||||
| 1 | 13 | January 26, 2017 | May 11, 2017 | 154 | 1.69[1] | |
| 2 | 22 | October 11, 2017 | May 16, 2018 | 173 | 2.12[2] | |
| 3 | 22 | October 10, 2018 | May 15, 2019 | 166 | 1.74[3] | |
| 4 | 19 | October 9, 2019 | May 6, 2020 | 122 | 1.35[4] | |
| 5 | 19 | January 20, 2021 | October 6, 2021 | 145 | 1.01[5] | |
| 6 | 22 | November 16, 2021 | July 31, 2022 | 133 | 0.46[6] | |
| 7 | 20 | March 29, 2023 | August 23, 2023 | 129 | 0.39[7] | |
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Main article: Riverdale (season 1) |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Chapter One: The River's Edge" | Lee Toland Krieger | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | January 26, 2017 | T15.10136 | 1.38[8] |
| 2 | 2 | "Chapter Two: A Touch of Evil" | Lee Toland Krieger | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | February 2, 2017 | T13.20302 | 1.15[9] |
| 3 | 3 | "Chapter Three: Body Double" | Lee Toland Krieger | Yolonda E. Lawrence | February 9, 2017 | T13.20303 | 1.20[10] |
| 4 | 4 | "Chapter Four: The Last Picture Show" | Mark Piznarski | Michael Grassi | February 16, 2017 | T13.20304 | 1.14[11] |
| 5 | 5 | "Chapter Five: Heart of Darkness" | Jesse Warn | Ross Maxwell | February 23, 2017 | T13.20305 | 0.98[12] |
| 6 | 6 | "Chapter Six: Faster, Pussycats! Kill! Kill!" | Steven A. Adelson | Tessa Leigh Williams & Nicholas Zwart | March 2, 2017 | T13.20306 | 1.09[13] |
| 7 | 7 | "Chapter Seven: In a Lonely Place" | Allison Anders | Aaron Allen | March 9, 2017 | T13.20307 | 1.03[14] |
| 8 | 8 | "Chapter Eight: The Outsiders" | David Katzenberg | Julia Cohen | March 30, 2017 | T13.20308 | 0.99[15] |
| 9 | 9 | "Chapter Nine: La Grande Illusion" | Lee Rose | James DeWille | April 6, 2017 | T13.20309 | 0.91[16] |
| 10 | 10 | "Chapter Ten: The Lost Weekend" | Dawn Wilkinson | Britta Lundin & Brian E. Paterson | April 13, 2017 | T13.20310 | 0.87[17] |
| 11 | 11 | "Chapter Eleven: To Riverdale and Back Again" | Kevin Sullivan | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | April 27, 2017 | T13.20311 | 0.89[18] |
| 12 | 12 | "Chapter Twelve: Anatomy of a Murder" | Rob Seidenglanz | Michael Grassi | May 4, 2017 | T13.20312 | 0.98[19] |
| 13 | 13 | "Chapter Thirteen: The Sweet Hereafter" | Lee Toland Krieger | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | May 11, 2017 | T13.20313 | 0.96[20] |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "Chapter Fourteen: A Kiss Before Dying" | Rob Seidenglanz | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | October 11, 2017 | T13.20801 | 2.34[21] |
|
After being shot, Fred is rushed to the hospital by Archie, who is soon joined by his friends. Sheriff Keller gains a description of the shooter from Archie and calls him in for a lineup, but none of the men in the lineup are the shooter. When Veronica searches Fred's belongings, Archie sees that his wallet is missing. Betty and Jughead visit Pop's to look for the wallet but find nothing; instead, they learn from Pop that the shooter did not take any money from the register, meaning that it was actually a hit against Fred. Jughead asks the Southside Serpents to investigate the shooting, but to no avail. Veronica accuses Hermione of hiring a hitman to kill Fred, but she vehemently denies this and tensions develop between them when Veronica is not sure her mother is telling the truth. Meanwhile, Cheryl intimidates Penelope—who suffered severe burns due to the fire at their mansion and is hospitalized—into lying that it was an accident. Fred survives his shooting. Hiram returns to Riverdale, further escalating the tensions in the Lodge family. In the nearby town of Greendale, Ms. Grundy is strangled to death by Fred's shooter. | |||||||
| 15 | 2 | "Chapter Fifteen: Nighthawks" | Allison Anders | Michael Grassi | October 18, 2017 | T13.20802 | 1.76[22] |
| After learning of Ms. Grundy's murder, an increasingly anxious Archie suspects that her death is connected with Fred's shooting, which pushes him to get a gun from Dilton Doiley. Following the shooting, business at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe has declined, leading Pop to consider selling the diner, but Betty convinces Pop to let her throw a retro fun night to drum up business. Jughead learns that F. P. is facing 20 years in prison and seeks help from Penny Peabody, a Serpent lawyer, who advises Jughead to ask the Blossoms to testify on F. P.'s behalf. Cheryl initially refuses, but relents when Betty extorts her with the video of Jason's murder. With Cheryl's testimony, the judge decides to revisit F. P.'s sentence. Hiram quietly buys the diner from Pop, but tells Veronica he made a "charitable donation". In the woods, Moose Mason and Midge Klump take some jingle jangle (a new drug to Riverdale), and as they do so, they are shot by Fred's shooter. | |||||||
| 16 | 3 | "Chapter Sixteen: The Watcher in the Woods" | Kevin Sullivan | Ross Maxwell | October 25, 2017 | T13.20803 | 1.62[23] |
| Kevin, who was in the forest, hears the gunshots and rushes to find Midge crying. Moose, who shielded Midge from the gunfire, is hospitalized and survives. Following the incident, Archie founds a vigilante group called the Red Circle, to protect Riverdale High students. The Coopers receive a letter from "the Black Hood", taking responsibility for the shootings and the murder of Ms. Grundy, and detailing his intentions to target sinners. Polly leaves town, fearing for her babies. Meanwhile, Jughead begins his tenure at Southside High, befriends Toni Topaz, a Serpent, and refounds the school newspaper, the Red and Black, under the advisory of English teacher Robert Philips. Kevin keeps going out late at night, which concerns Betty. Betty follows him on one of his runs, which leads to him lashing out at her. Hiram tells Archie that he should utilize the Black Hood's main weapons for the Red Circle. Inspired by this, the Red Circle makes a video calling out the Black Hood. | |||||||
| 17 | 4 | "Chapter Seventeen: The Town That Dreaded Sundown" | Jason Stone | Amanda Lasher | November 1, 2017 | T13.20804 | 1.51[24] |
| Archie's viral video results in negative repercussions, as Principal Waldo Weatherbee demands he disband the Red Circle. Though Archie refuses, the Red Circle disbands regardless due to the football team being suspended but later reassembles with Veronica's help. Archie runs into trouble when he vandalizes the Serpent's territory with Red Circle graffiti.Veronica finds out that Archie intends to murder the Black Hood and convinces him to discard his gun. Betty receives a letter from the Black Hood, revealing that her speech from the jubilee ball inspired his actions and gives her a cipher that only she could solve. Mayor Sierra McCoy (Josie's mother) hosts a town meeting to discuss action against the Black Hood, in which Alice blames the Serpents, but Fred argues against letting fear rule them. Betty and Jughead figure out that the Black Hood intends to attack town hall and have the meeting evacuated, before showing the letter to her parents, Sheriff Keller and Mayor McCoy. Later, Betty receives a call from the Black Hood. | |||||||
| 18 | 5 | "Chapter Eighteen: When a Stranger Calls" | Ellen S. Pressman | Aaron Allen | November 8, 2017 | T13.20805 | 1.47[25] |
| The Black Hood reveals to Betty that he knows where Polly is and threatens to kill her unless she publishes a mugshot of Alice, which she does. Hiram invites the St. Clair's, friends of the Lodges from New York. On the Southside, Jughead attempts to stop Sweet Pea and the Serpents from blowing up the Riverdale Register office and joins the gang to prevent this from happening. The Black Hood forces Betty to cut ties with Veronica and Jughead and later gives her a hood. At the Lodge's open house event, Nick St. Clair drugs Cheryl and takes her back to his hotel room to rape her, but is stopped and beaten by Veronica and the Pussycats. Jughead and Toni sit in his trailer, where he tells her his relationship with Betty is over; they kiss. Back at Betty's house, the Black Hood tells her she has broken the rules and he will now kill Polly unless she gives him the name of a "sinner" to kill, to which Betty names Nick St. Clair. | |||||||
| 19 | 6 | "Chapter Nineteen: Death Proof" | Maggie Kiley | Tessa Leigh Williams & Arabella Anderson | November 15, 2017 | T13.20806 | 1.43[26] |
| The Black Hood challenges Betty to find the identity of The Sugarman, who has been supplying the jingle jangle to Riverdale. Cheryl wants to press charges against Nick, whom the Black Hood did not attack, but Penelope agrees not to in exchange for money from the St. Clair's. Archie goes to Southside High, where he saves Jughead from a raid organized by McCoy and Sheriff Keller. Tall Boy, F. P.'s right hand man, reaches an agreement with the Ghoulies, the dealers of jingle jangle. Jughead and Archie visit F. P., who tells Jughead to challenge the Ghoulies to a race. During the race, Archie pulls the brake on Jughead's car, and reveals he called Sheriff Keller, who arrests the Ghoulies leader. Veronica convinces Hiram and Hermione to stop investing with the St. Clair's, while Cheryl does the same with Penelope. Later, the Lodges receive a call that the St. Clair's have been run off the road, but will recover in months. Penelope reveals to Cheryl that the Sugarman is Robert Philips; Cheryl later tells Betty, who exposes him in the Blue and Gold. Philips is subsequently arrested, and then was shot by the Black Hood while in jail. | |||||||
| 20 | 7 | "Chapter Twenty: Tales from the Darkside" | Dawn Wilkinson | James DeWille | November 29, 2017 | T13.20807 | 1.45[27] |
| After killing Phillips, the Black Hood leaves a letter at Pop's challenging Riverdale to go 48 hours without sinning or he will kill again. Jughead is enlisted by Penny Peabody to deliver a crate of drugs to repay her for her earlier help, which he does with Archie. She says this is a one-time thing, but Jughead later finds she was lying. Josie begins to receive weird messages from a secret admirer, implied to be Chuck, including a box with a pig's heart. Mayor McCoy reprimands her for coming home late, revealing she has received death threats. Betty, realizing that Phillips was killed in the sheriff's office, believes Sheriff Keller might be the Black Hood. She investigates, but Keller is able to provide proof that he is not the Black Hood. However, Betty and Veronica discover that he is having an affair with Mayor McCoy. Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, Josie, and Cheryl all gather at Pop's. After Jughead leaves to visit F. P., the Black Hood calls Pop to inform him Riverdale failed his challenge and Pop grimly announces that "The reckoning is upon us." | |||||||
| 21 | 8 | "Chapter Twenty-One: House of the Devil" | Kevin Sullivan | Yolonda Lawrence | December 6, 2017 | T13.20808 | 1.48[28] |
| F. P. is released from jail and begins working at Pop's, intending to quit the Serpents. Jughead and Betty decide to throw F. P. a "retirement" party at the Whyte Worm, so they enlist Archie and Veronica to do the detective work. While Jughead reconnects with his dad, Betty goes to the Whyte Worm to organize the party. There, she meets Toni and tells her she wants to keep watch over Jughead. Archie and Veronica follow a lead on a past serial killer called the Riverdale Reaper, who murdered a family of four before being killed himself by a lynch mob. Their investigation leads them to discover there was a fifth member of the family, the school's janitor Joseph Svenson. Archie and Veronica confront Svenson, but decide he is not the Black Hood. At the party, F. P., who is upset that Jughead helped Peabody, decides to stay with the Serpents. Outside, Veronica breaks up with Archie following a discussion about love. Jughead, not wanting to bring Betty into the Serpents' business, also ends their relationship. | |||||||
| 22 | 9 | "Chapter Twenty-Two: Silent Night, Deadly Night" | Rob Seidenglanz | Shepard Boucher | December 13, 2017 | T13.20809 | 1.43[29] |
| Fred receives a hospital bill of $86,000. Failing to convince her parents to help Fred, Veronica sneaks into Hiram's study and finds out that he bought Pop's. She later convinces him and Hermione to stop keeping secrets from her and help Fred. Jughead rallies the younger Serpents, who kidnap Peabody and cut out her Serpent tattoo. Betty and Archie receive a box from the Black Hood, containing Svenson's severed finger. They then receive a call from the Black Hood, who challenges them to find Svenson. They are able to find Svenson's location, but instead find an empty coffin. The Black Hood then appears and tries to force Betty into burying Archie alive, but flees when the police arrive. After a chase, Keller shoots and kills the Black Hood before he can escape. The Black Hood is then revealed to be Svenson himself. Later, with the Black Hood dead, Veronica and Archie get back together, while Betty throws away all of her findings surrounding Svenson, but keeps the hood he gave her earlier. | |||||||
| 23 | 10 | "Chapter Twenty-Three: The Blackboard Jungle" | Tim Hunter | Britta Lundin & Brian E. Paterson | January 17, 2018 | T13.20810 | 1.44[30] |
| The Lodges strike a land deal with Mayor McCoy which involves shutting down Southside High, causing Jughead, Toni, Sweet Pea, and the other Serpents to transfer to Riverdale High, putting them at odds with the other students. Archie is approached by FBI Agent Adams, who wants his help finding proof of Hiram's criminal dealings. Archie agrees to help in exchange for immunity for Veronica and Fred. Archie investigates Nick, who implies that Hiram was behind his car crash, which broke both of his legs. Despite Hal's objections, Betty and Alice track down Alice's son Chic whom she gave up for adoption. Chic initially refuses to come with them, but Betty returns to his residence and saves him from an assault, bringing him to the Cooper household. Jughead, following advice from F.P., gets his fellow Serpents to lay low. Archie reveals to Adams that he secretly doubts Svenson was really the Black Hood. That night, Chic lurks in Betty's room while she sleeps. | |||||||
| 24 | 11 | "Chapter Twenty-Four: The Wrestler" | Gregg Araki | Greg Murray & Devon Turner | January 24, 2018 | T13.20811 | 1.39[31] |
| Pickens' Day, a day in remembrance of Riverdale's founder, nears. Archie tries out for the wrestling team in order to impress Hiram, a former wrestler. Betty learns that Chic is a webcam model and attempts to reach out to him. Jughead interviews Toni's grandfather for a school project, learning that he is a member of a Native American tribe that was slaughtered by Pickens. Jughead publishes the story, escalating tensions between the two sides. At the Pickens' Day fest, the Serpents protest the event, but Hiram spins their words positively. That night, Archie meets with Hiram, who offers him his business tutelage, which Archie accepts. The next morning, Mayor McCoy, Sheriff Keller, and the Lodges meet at the statue of Pickens, which has been decapitated. | |||||||
| 25 | 12 | "Chapter Twenty-Five: The Wicked and the Divine" | Rachel Talalay | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | January 31, 2018 | T13.20812 | 1.34[32] |
| Veronica's confirmation nears, bringing many Lodge family members and business associates to Riverdale. While serving at a poker game with Hiram and his associates, Archie learns that Hiram is a mobster and his associates are planning his 'removal' after Veronica's confirmation. Archie alerts Hiram to this and Hiram later arranges that mobster's death. Meanwhile, Mayor McCoy orchestrates the eviction of all the Serpents from their trailer park. Jughead and Betty are alerted to the location of the Pickens head by a scrapyard owner who gives them evidence that Tall Boy decapitated the statue. Jughead and F. P. put Tall Boy on trial, where he reveals that Hiram assisted him in launching a mutiny so that Tall Boy could remove F. P. and Jughead from the Serpents. Betty and Jughead get back together. A strange man comes to the Cooper house asking for Chic. Later, Betty returns home to find Alice cleaning up the man's blood. | |||||||
| 26 | 13 | "Chapter Twenty-Six: The Tell-Tale Heart" | Julie Plec | Michael Grassi | February 7, 2018 | T13.20813 | 1.28[33] |
| Betty and Alice clean up the man's body and dispose of it with help from F.P. and Jughead. Jughead sends the Pickens statue's head to the Lodges, which Hiram believes may be a declaration of war. Mayor McCoy attempts to take control of her deal with the Lodges and the Lodges prepare to expose her affair with Sheriff Keller. Veronica, however, warns her of this and McCoy resigns from office. Agent Adams tries to strong-arm Archie into giving him information, including blackmailing Archie to plant a bug in Hiram's office. Archie instead reveals this to Hiram. Andre, who is Hiram's driver and his main capo, takes Archie to a private location to meet with "the boss," revealed to be Hermione. Hermione tells Archie that Adams is actually one of the Lodges' capos and it was a test, which Archie has passed. Hermione welcomes him to the family. | |||||||
| 27 | 14 | "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Hills Have Eyes" | David Katzenberg | Ross Maxwell | March 7, 2018 | T13.20814 | 1.26[34] |
| Hiram suggests Archie, Veronica, Betty, and Jughead go to the Lodges' lake house for a romantic getaway. Cheryl, upset over not being invited, calls Jughead and informs him of Betty's kiss with Archie, causing tension within the group. Veronica and Jughead kiss to "level the playing field." Later, the girls go into town while the guys have a discussion over the close mutual bonds between the four. Back in Riverdale, Josie informs Kevin of their parents' affair. Cheryl reveals to Toni that she had a friendship-turned-almost-same-sex-relationship broken up by Penelope. At the lake house, tensions return when Jughead and Betty learn that Hiram bought the trailer park and the Riverdale Register. A group of men with whom Veronica interacted in town break into the house, but Veronica activates a silent alarm. Andre arrives and kills one of the intruders before the four return to Riverdale. | |||||||
| 28 | 15 | "Chapter Twenty-Eight: There Will Be Blood" | Mark Piznarski | Aaron Allen | March 14, 2018 | T13.20815 | 1.19[35] |
| Jughead keeps investigating the Lodges' plans, but he cannot use what he finds. Hiram and Hermione want Fred to run for mayor and offer to finance his run. Hal asks Alice for a divorce and Polly comes back to Riverdale. Clifford's secret will is read, which entitles money to anyone of Blossom blood. Clifford's twin brother Claudius returns. When Chic refuses the DNA test, Betty steals his dental floss to do her own test and discovers that Chic is not who he says he is. After Smithers points Jughead to Shankshaw Prison, F. P.'s inside contact allows them to learn the truth about the Lodges' plans: they want to turn Southside High into a private prison and the housing Fred is building will be for the employees of the prison. After the Lodges are forced to tell Fred, he refuses to run for Mayor, so Hermione announces her run instead. Archie undergoes a blood ritual with Hiram, pledging loyalty. Meanwhile, Claudius and Penelope plot to get their house "in order," including Nana and Cheryl, who overhears the plan. | |||||||
| 29 | 16 | "Chapter Twenty-Nine: Primary Colors" | Sherwin Shilati | James DeWille | March 21, 2018 | T13.20816 | 1.16[36] |
| Jughead learns Southside High will be turned into a prison and goes on a hunger strike to protest. Hiram accelerates the timeline for demolition, but the high school Serpents chain themselves to the school. Fred attempts to end his contract with the Lodges, leading to a legal dispute. Hiram asks Archie to cut the Serpents' chains, which Archie does in exchange for Fred being released from his contract. Betty learns Hal is not Chic's father. Penelope and Claudius attempt to kill Nana Rose, but she survives. Veronica runs for student president, but everyone seems to be against her. Jughead also considers running with Betty. Betty moves in with Jughead to avoid Chic. Cheryl tells Penelope she knows what she did, leading Penelope to get Cheryl committed. Free of his contract with the Lodges, Fred announces he is running for mayor against Hermione. | |||||||
| 30 | 17 | "Chapter Thirty: The Noose Tightens" | Alexis Ostrander | Britta Lundin & Brian E. Paterson | March 28, 2018 | T13.20817 | 0.96[37] |
| Hermione's run for mayor is considered risky by fellow mobsters Kowalski and Martin, who believe it may lead to unwanted investigation. They demand a 25% cut of the prison's profits, which Hiram refuses. Kowalski and Martin, however, convince Hiram's capo Adams to hospitalize Andre, leaving the Lodges shorthanded on security. Archie scares the two into abandoning the deal with the help of Reggie and other Riverdale athletes. Meanwhile, the car belonging to the man Chic killed is found. The owner of the car demands $10,000 from the Coopers to prevent her from going to the police, but Jughead and the Serpents scare her away. Alice sends Chic away and apologizes to the Serpents for her years of badmouthing them. Toni and Veronica discover that Cheryl has been admitted into conversion therapy and, with help from Nana Rose, they find out that she is at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Toni, Veronica, and Kevin rescue Cheryl and Toni and Cheryl kiss. Cheryl soon returns to Riverdale High, which she declares 'will burn.' | |||||||
| 31 | 18 | "Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember" | Jason Stone | Arabella Anderson & Tessa Leigh Williams | April 18, 2018 | T13.20818 | 1.10[38] |
| During a rehearsal of Riverdale High's musical production of Carrie, Cheryl calls out those who question her ability to play the lead role of Carrie White by demonstrating her singing ability. After rehearsal, Kevin confides in Jughead that he received several threats demanding that the role of Carrie be recast, supposedly from the Black Hood. Kevin gives in and Midge replaces Cheryl as Carrie. Tensions arise between Archie and Fred after he finds out that Hiram bought Archie his first car, resulting in Archie warning Hiram not to get between him and his father. Cheryl, doused in blood, confronts her mother for her actions against the family and demands that she be emancipated. During the performance, a set wall is moved up to reveal Midge hung up to the wall with knives, murdered by the Black Hood with a warning of his return. | |||||||
| 32 | 19 | "Chapter Thirty-Two: Prisoners" | Jennifer Phang | Cristine Chambers | April 25, 2018 | T13.20819 | 1.17[39] |
| Following Midge's funeral, her mother, Cheryl, and the River Vixens blame Sheriff Keller for her death, causing him to consider resigning. Archie is abducted by Nick St. Clair, who demands a ransom from the Lodges. With her parents unwilling to pay and lacking the money herself, Veronica pretends to surrender herself to Nick, but drugs him. Archie manages to escape and they hold Nick for ransom instead. Meanwhile, Betty and Jughead investigate Chic and learn from the Sisters of the Quiet Mercy that he is an impostor, resulting in his imprisonment. Betty is secretly contacted by the Black Hood, who offers to get rid of Chic. Betty gets Chic to confess that he murdered her real brother, Charles, by accident and then hands him over to the Black Hood, leaving him to die. Betty lies to Alice and says that Chic left town of his own accord, then learns that Hal was absent at the time of the exchange, leading her to suspect him of being the Black Hood. | |||||||
| 33 | 20 | "Chapter Thirty-Three: Shadow of a Doubt" | Gregory Smith | Yolanda E. Lawrence | May 2, 2018 | T13.20820 | 1.11[40] |
| Betty tells Cheryl that she believes Hal is the Black Hood. Hiram restarts The Red Circle in hopes of causing unrest and to help Hermione's campaign. Moose reveals that Midge was having an affair with Fangs. A body, first thought to be Chic's, is found and Betty reveals she feels guilty for his presumed death. Fangs is arrested at school. Members of The Red Circle damage The Whyte Worm and Reggie later reveals that Hiram is playing them against each other. Betty and Cheryl visit a room being paid for by Hal and find the same book used as a cipher previously. After the Black Hood attacks the Mayoral debate, Veronica wants her mother to stop running, but she insists on continuing. Betty confronts her father and arranges a meeting with him later. The Black Hood then appears at Cheryl's door. Fangs is released from prison, but is shot amidst the protesters outside. | |||||||
| 34 | 21 | "Chapter Thirty-Four: Judgment Night" | Cherie Nowlan | Shepard Boucher | May 9, 2018 | T13.20821 | 1.00[41] |
| The Black Hood attacks Cheryl, but she wounds him with a bow and arrow. Reggie is accused of being Fangs' shooter, but it is later revealed to be Midge's mother. Veronica finds out that Hiram planned to reveal Hermione's affair with Fred, but Hermione reveals her involvement, as it would destroy Fred's campaign. The son of the mobster whose death Hiram arranged attacks the Lodges, killing Andre, but Hermione shoots him dead. The Ghoulies are released from prison and attack Pop's. Meanwhile, Hal reveals himself as the Black Hood to Betty and Alice. After admitting he did not attack the debate, he is subdued by Betty and arrested. Fred, who is wearing a bullet proof vest, is shot by a man in a black hood and Betty and Archie realize the man was not Hal. Penny Peabody resurfaces and holds Toni captive, but Jughead and Cheryl help her escape. F. P. alerts the Serpents of Fangs' death and the Serpents decide to fight the Ghoulies. Jughead turns himself over to avoid bloodshed, but Penny breaks her promise and the Ghoulies attack Jughead. Learning of this, F. P. goes to save him. Later, Archie, Cheryl, Betty, and the Serpents find F. P. carrying Jughead's bloodied, unconscious body. | |||||||
| 35 | 22 | "Chapter Thirty-Five: Brave New World" | Steven A. Adelson | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | May 16, 2018 | T13.20822 | 1.28[42] |
| Jughead survives his assault and F. P. discloses that Fangs is alive. Sheriff Minetta reveals the second Black Hood to be Tall Boy, who was killed by an officer. Cheryl discovers Penelope and Claudius meeting with Hiram and tells Veronica, who informs Hermione. Hermione, believing it to be conceivable that Hiram planned the attack at the debate, reveals to Veronica that Hiram plans to consolidate the entire Southside and needs the Whyte Wyrm to set his plan fully into motion. Jughead, Archie, and Cheryl lead the Serpents to the Northside, where they are offered asylum. Veronica buys the Wyrm and trades it with Hiram for Pop's. F. P. retires from the Serpents, naming Jughead the new King, with Cheryl joining the Serpents. Hermione wins the mayoral election. Later, Hiram meets with Penny, Penelope, Claudius, Sheriff Minetta, and Malachi to discuss joining forces. Archie is elected student body president, but is wrongfully arrested by Sheriff Minetta during his inauguration for the murder of one of the intruders from the lake house that Andre killed. | |||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 1 | "Chapter Thirty-Six: Labor Day" | Kevin Sullivan | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | October 10, 2018 | T13.21251 | 1.50[43] |
| Archie's friends and family spend the summer at his trial. The judge orders the jury to deliberate over Labor Day weekend. Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead decide to spend the weekend together. A furious Veronica confronts Hiram, while Hiram explains that he did this because of her betrayal. Meanwhile, Betty has trouble with Alice and Polly as the two of them try to persuade her to join their cult, the Farm. Jughead faces off with Penny Peabody and the Ghoulies over Hot Dog and after taking over the Southside, the Ghoulies declare the Northside fair game. Later, Archie accepts a plea deal to serve two years in juvenile detention after a hung jury causes a mistrial. Betty arrives home and sees Alice and Polly carrying out a strange ceremony involving the twins and fire, triggering Betty to faint and convulse. Meanwhile, Dilton's strange actions lead Jughead to discover him and Ben in Fox Forest, unconscious in front of a dark skeletal totem Dilton had referred to as the Gargoyle King. | |||||||
| 37 | 2 | "Chapter Thirty-Seven: Fortune and Men's Eyes" | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Grassi | October 17, 2018 | T13.21252 | 1.28[44] |
| Archie is processed in jail, but without protection due to his refusal to stab a Ghoulie, he faces abuse from Ghoulies he previously helped lock up. Archie then tries to bring the prisoners together but his attempt is ambushed by Hiram, who orders the guards to beat the prisoners and start a riot. Dilton dies, and Betty and Jughead investigate what happened to him and Ben and discover three symbols etched into Dilton's back. They later search for Dilton's bunker where they find Ben and Dilton were participating in a board game turned lethal. They then question Ethel about the game, who after refusing to talk about it, begins to have a seizure. Later, at the hospital, Betty and Jughead witness Ben commit suicide, after claiming he will ascend to the Kingdom and be reunited with Dilton. Elsewhere, Fred, Hermione, Alice, F. P., Hiram, Sierra McCoy, Tom Keller, and Penelope Blossom gather to discuss an incident that occurred in their youth, one they swore not to speak of ever again. Hermione claims it is happening again with their children. | |||||||
| 38 | 3 | "Chapter Thirty-Eight: As Above, So Below" | Jeff Hunt | Aaron Allen | October 24, 2018 | T13.21253 | 1.40[45] |
| After spending time in solitary confinement, Archie accepts the Warden's offer to participate in a trial by combat beneath the prison. Veronica opens a speakeasy under Pop's but is shaken down by Sherriff Mineta and Penny. With Cheryl and Toni's help she gets evidence of the Whyte Worm being used to make jingle jangle, and blackmails Hiram. Betty befriends Evelyn to try learn more about the Farm and is taken aback when she learns Alice has told them all their family secrets. Meanwhile, Ethel plays Gryphons and Gargoyles with Jughead, and after giving Jughead the scripture, Ethel drinks from a poisoned chalice and is placed on suicide watch. Later, F. P. burns the scripture; however, a copy is placed in each student's locker at Riverdale High, with Ethel proclaiming to the Gargoyle King that everyone will soon join them. | |||||||
| 39 | 4 | "Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Midnight Club" | Dawn Wilkinson | Tessa Leigh Williams | November 7, 2018 | T13.21254 | 1.37[46] |
| With the Riverdale kids playing Gryphons and Gargoyles, Alice opens up to Betty about her past and her involvement with the game. In 1992, Alice, a rebellious teenager pregnant with F. P.'s child, is forced to spend detention along with Penelope, Sierra, Hermione, Fred, and F. P. Initially strangers, they soon find the Gryphons and Gargoyles game and play it as a group, gradually becoming addicted to it. However, after receiving strange invitations from the Gargoyle King, Alice soon finds the bathroom graffitied with messages and so finds chalices, she encounters the creature. Principal Featherhead encounters the Gargoyle King and is found dead with the same symbols from Dilton's back etched into the door. The group vow to never talk about the incident. After explaining, Alice tells Betty that they do not know who was trying to kill one of them, but it was a member of their group. Later on, Betty finds Jughead in the cellar playing the game as he reveals he is about to ascend to the third level. | |||||||
| 40 | 5 | "Chapter Forty: The Great Escape" | Pamela Romanowsky | Greg Murray & Ace Hasan | November 14, 2018 | T13.21255 | 1.25[47] |
| Betty asks Jughead to investigate their parents as she believes one of them is a murderer. Jughead finds out the game is a metaphor for Riverdale itself, and claims he will eventually be able to confront the Gargoyle King. After a failed prison escape, Archie is branded by the Warden and finds out Hiram paid the witnesses to lie and frame him. Jughead tells F. P. whoever killed the principal when their parents were at school was the game master. Before the fight club, Joaquin stabs Archie, claiming the Warden told him if he did he would ascend. Joaquin is later seen by Kevin escaping to a "new gang". Veronica, Betty, Josie, Reggie, and Kevin hatch a plan and manage to help Archie escape and they hide him in Dilton's bunker. Jughead realizes Archie's brand is the same symbol that was on Dilton's back. Kevin, Josie, and Reggie begin to play the game. The Warden, set to meet with Hermione, commits suicide by cyanide poisoning after failing to ascend in the game by killing Archie. Jughead comes face to face with the Gargoyle King. | |||||||
| 41 | 6 | "Chapter Forty-One: Manhunter" | Rachel Talalay | Cristine Chambers | November 28, 2018 | T13.21256 | 1.27[48] |
| The students are questioned about their whereabouts during Archie's escape when Josie has a seizure. Betty gathers the Midnight Club at Veronica's speakeasy and questions them about the murder of Principal Featherhead, where Penelope confesses Dilton's father, Darryl, poisoned the chalices so they could all ascend together, and later killed himself out of guilt, but Betty is not convinced. Veronica, determined to clear Archie's name finds the full interview footage on Hermione's computer proving Archie's innocence and emails it to the prosecution. Archie is cleared of all charges, but he refuses to return to Riverdale and breaks up with Veronica before leaving town with Jughead. Joaquin proclaims the symbol branded on Archie means sacrifices, and he is later found dead with the same symbol carved into his forehead. Meanwhile, Betty and Alice are horrified to find the Gargoyle King in their house. They retreat to Betty's room but find a gravestone on Betty's bed before F. P. arrives and comforts them. Later, Alice has Betty forcibly taken to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy where she discovers all the patients are painting pictures of The Gargoyle King. | |||||||
| 42 | 7 | "Chapter Forty-Two: The Man in Black" | Alex Pillai | Janine Salinas Schoenberg | December 5, 2018 | T13.21257 | 1.09[49] |
| Archie and Jughead plan to take a break at a farm, where they meet Laurie and Gracie. Laurie, during a meeting with Archie, kisses him and he reciprocates, but later thinks of Veronica and stops. Jughead finds children taking Fizzle Rocks and playing Gryphons and Gargoyles and the common symbols regarding the Gargoyle King appear. When Jughead finds that the entire town is owned by Hiram and Laurie is helping him trace Archie, he and Archie flee. Veronica moves out, and opens a Casino in her speakeasy, later learning about Minneta's brutal killing. Betty finds Ethel at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, where she tries to make her life seem insignificant. She finds the Sisters feeding the patients with Fizzle Rocks and finds Hiram helping them to do so. Now with solid evidence of who the Sisters really are, she tries to flee, but the Sisters and Ethel catch her. They then make her meet the Gargoyle King and then forcefully feed her Fizzle Rocks. Later while being interrogated, Betty hallucinates and finds the Gargoyle King approaching her. | |||||||
| 43 | 8 | "Chapter Forty-Three: Outbreak" | John T. Kretchmer | James DeWille | December 12, 2018 | T13.21258 | 1.20[50] |
| The Riverdale Vixens squad suffer from a mass seizure with the exception of Cheryl who soon asks for Toni to move in. Veronica learns that Hiram intends to shut down Riverdale High. Reggie informs Veronica that the drugs are coming from the prison Hiram is constructing. Elsewhere, Jughead and Archie meet his mother Gladys and sister Jellybean, and learn that Hiram intends to take over the town. Archie leaves to prevent danger. Betty learns that the Gargoyle King is a hallucination from the drugs and along with Ethel, tie up Sister Woodhouse. They set free the patients afterwards. Cheryl and Veronica interrogate Penelope and learn that she was helping Hiram. However, as they both, along with Kevin and the RROTC decide to stop Riverdale from closing down, they are too late as the town is shut down, quarantined and blocked off. Alice takes Betty and the patients home. Hiram calls the Governor and thanks him for sealing the town off. They hang up and Hiram raises his drink to the Gargoyle King, who stands in front of him. | |||||||
| 44 | 9 | "Chapter Forty-Four: No Exit" | Jeff Hunt | Arabella Anderson | January 16, 2019 | T13.21259 | 1.32[51] |
| A month after Riverdale's shutdown, Archie has now fled town and staying in a cabin with Vegas. Betty has taken in the freed patients from the SOQM while Veronica is being forced by Hiram to pay for protection for the speakeasy. However, Reggie is beaten up by Gargoyle-dressed men sent by Hiram while on a run for supplies and eventually she hires the Serpents to protect her club. Cheryl and Toni are both kicked out of the Serpents after stealing from Hiram and Reggie and Veronica kiss. Meanwhile, Archie is attacked and mauled by a bear and experiences strange hallucinations before being found bloodied and unresponsive by park rangers while Betty tries to convince the nuns to testify against Hiram. After a meeting with Attorney McCoy, Betty realises that the nun's argument may be useless but soon discovers that the Sisters have all committed suicide to avoid testifying against Hiram. Betty is shocked when she learns that Alice kicked out the patients from their house and shipped them off to the Farm. | |||||||
| 45 | 10 | "Chapter Forty-Five: The Stranger" | Maggie Kiley | Brian E. Paterson | January 23, 2019 | T13.21260 | 1.12[52] |
| Archie, having survived his attack, returns to Riverdale to face his demons and to overcome his problems. Alice liquidates Betty's college funds to provide for the escaped SOQM patients who have been living at the Farm. A furious Betty then seeks help from attorney McCoy, who informs Betty that she must go visit Hal, as Alice forged his signature. Betty does so and finds Hal is impressed with the Gargoyle King's kill count and wants to see one of the game's manuals in return for him signing an affidavit for Betty so she can pursue legal action. Betty learns Penelope visits him and Hal wants Betty to return for visits. The Serpents find Fangs and the Gargoyle Gang in a clearing in Fox Forest having a ceremony. They crash the ceremony and Jughead and F.P. unmask the Gargoyle King, revealing Tall Boy, who faked his death and has been working for Hiram. However, he is killed during an escape attempt. Hiram is shot and critically injured in the Pembrooke. Believing Archie may have been responsible, Veronica breaks up with Archie and reconciles with Reggie. Hermione appoints F.P. as the new sheriff of Riverdale after Claudius is found dead. | |||||||
| 46 | 11 | "Chapter Forty-Six: The Red Dahlia" | Greg Smith | Devon Turner & Will Ewing | January 30, 2019 | T13.21261 | 1.26[53] |
| Veronica sets Jughead out on a mission to find who shot her father. Betty investigates Penelope, learning that she killed Claudius and Clifford, and stumbles upon her brothel "The Maple Club". Meanwhile, Archie is still spiraling, and Josie tries to help him face his demons. Veronica and Reggie set out to find the truth about the quarantine and the series of seizures that occurred in the town. Jughead comes face-to-face with Mrs. Mulwray, and later finds that Sweet Pea, who had been tracking Hermione for him, spots her and the believed-to-be dead Sheriff Minetta conspiring against F.P. in a secluded cabin. Jughead goes and warns F.P. that Hermione put him up to shooting Hiram in the first place. Archie considers murdering Hiram, but ends up saving his life instead. After this, Veronica and Archie share their apologies and Hiram, now awake, calls a truce with Archie. Hermione, after meeting with Jughead, is called out on her mission to kill Hiram, and kills Minetta to tie up loose ends. | |||||||
| 47 | 12 | "Chapter Forty-Seven: Bizarrodale" | Harry Jierjian | Britta Lundin | February 6, 2019 | T13.21262 | 0.96[54] |
| Sierra McCoy and Tom Keller are preparing to get married where Kevin invites Moose to be his date and Moose decides to come out to his strict father Marcus. However, Moose is not ready yet and is almost outed by Cheryl during a school morning announcement but Moose decides to come out anyway after Kevin gives him an ultimatum and they consummate their love in Dilton's bunker. However, Sierra and Tom both receive a message from the "Gargoyle King" calling the Midnight Club to reassemble and complete their ascension that failed when they were teenagers. The parents assemble at the school to sip from the chalices; however, it is revealed to be a hoax. Marcus dresses up as the Gargoyle King and captures Kevin and Moose, hoping to scare his son straight. Moose leaves Riverdale afterwards. Archie and Josie get close to one another and kiss, starting a relationship while Veronica and Reggie discover that Jughead's mother Gladys is Hermione's buyer of the Fizzle Rocks lab which was burned. Gladys and Jellybean return to Riverdale, intending to stay for good with a plan. | |||||||
| 48 | 13 | "Chapter Forty-Eight: Requiem for a Welterweight" | Tawnia McKiernan | Michael Grassi | February 27, 2019 | T13.21263 | 0.86[55] |
| The Serpents' numbers have decreased due to the Pretty Poisons, leading Jughead to go after the Ghoulies. Archie has been getting into boxing and must throw his first fight. Hiram wants Veronica to take control of his drugs, but she starts working for Gladys. Alice is preparing to be rebaptized by the Farm, and only Betty realizes that she is doing something dangerous. The Ghoulies (now the Gargoyles) are led by Kurtz, who has been keeping G&G going. Kurtz tells Jughead that only the worthy will ascend, while promising the Gargoyle King is alive. Hiram and Gladys meet and when Gladys threatens Hermione, Veronica is forced to join Hiram. Betty meets with an ex-Farm member, who left the farm after her sister's death. Betty learns they believe in reaching near-death to reach ascension. Archie fights in the match but loses. Alice takes place in the rebirth. Almost dying, Polly and the Farm refuse to help her until Betty intervenes. Veronica covers for Hermione and now owes debt to Hiram. Gladys takes control of the Gargoyles. Alice claims she is reborn and sees her purpose. She says she will sell the house and she, Betty, and the Farm will be one forever. | |||||||
| 49 | 14 | "Chapter Forty-Nine: Fire Walk with Me" | Marisol Adler | Aaron Allen | March 6, 2019 | T13.21264 | 0.92[56] |
| Alice attempts to sell the house, only to be sabotaged by Betty. Archie finds a boy named Ricky branded with the Sacrifice Symbol in the boxing gym. He starts taking care of him, until Ricky runs away to hide from the Gargoyles. The Serpents, Gargoyles, and Pretty Poisons begin clashing at school, and chemistry equipment is stolen to make drugs. Betty finds Kevin going deep into the Farm, and stumbles across a ceremony where he walks across fire. She threatens to expose the Farm, but Evelyn and Kevin respond by threatening to expose all of Alice's secrets. Veronica opens a casino and uses it to lower her debt, leading to Hiram's associates clashing at a showcase. Veronica recruits the Pretty Poisons to work at the speakeasy, who ban Hiram and Gladys from entering. The Gargoyles and the Serpents begin working with the police, causing Kurtz to walk out. Archie finds out Ricky is Joaquain's little brother. Ricky reveals he is working with the Gargoyles and faked everything and tries to kill Archie to complete the Red Paladin quest. Jughead tells Archie that it is time for them to end it (along with Betty). Alice sells the house and comes home to find it in flames. | |||||||
| 50 | 15 | "Chapter Fifty: American Dreams" | Gabriel Correa | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | March 13, 2019 | T13.21265 | 0.95[57] |
| Archie, Betty, and Jughead set out on a journey to eliminate the "Red Paladin" quest from the realm of Gryphons and Gargoyles that was initially spread about by Hiram. Meanwhile, Betty finds out about Gladys' criminal intentions from Veronica after she learns that the Jones family has bought her house. After Betty informs Jughead of his mother's business in town, he becomes angered and plans to drive his mom out of town after giving a speech at F.P.'s 50th birthday party. Archie defeats all players that set out to kill him, lifting his brand for sacrifice. Cheryl and Toni continue to experience tension in their relationship, up to the point that Cheryl asks Toni to move out. Consequently, she summons Kevin to inform him that she must channel her anger into the school musical, which she demands to be Heathers. | |||||||
| 51 | 16 | "Chapter Fifty-One: Big Fun" | Maggie Kiley | Tessa Leigh Williams | March 20, 2019 | T13.21266 | 0.81[58] |
| While preparing the Riverdale High production of Heathers, Cheryl discovers that Toni has been assigned as choreographer while Kevin makes Evelyn co-director due to the Farm financially backing the musical. Veronica learns that her parents are breaking up and turns to Reggie for comfort. Jughead learns that the old trailer is being used as a Fizzle Rock lab by Gladys and with the help of Betty, sets fire to it. Betty becomes angered at Evelyn's involvement and attempts to involve Principal Weatherbee who turns out to be a follower of the Farm. Evelyn throws a pre-show party where Kevin has a frightening drug induced hallucination driving him closer to Evelyn and the Farm. Toni and Cheryl soon decide to repair their relationship after a fight. Veronica divulges the state of her parents marriage and Reggie realizing this is why she slept with him decides to end their relationship. On the night of the show, the cast performs and is followed by the appearance of Edgar Evernever, Evelyn's father who starts clapping while those audience members dressed in white follow suit giving a standing ovation to the musical. | |||||||
| 52 | 17 | "Chapter Fifty-Two: The Raid" | Pamela Romanowsky | Greg Murray & Ace Hasan | March 27, 2019 | T13.21267 | 0.81[59] |
| While on a tour of the Farm, Betty enlists Cheryl to help her infiltrate the farm. Archie is given word by his old cell mate, Mad Dog, that Leopold and Loeb is being closed, and that all juvenile prisoners are to be transferred to Hiram's prison. They persuade the governor to pardon Archie's prison friends. When they get out, they jump right into action helping Jughead take down the Gargoyles after Mad Dog learns his family is in danger. Veronica tries to get her parents together, but her plans do not work, when their marriage is annulled. While Cheryl is at the Farm, she gets in with Edgar, and they discuss Jason's death and the location of the testimonies that Betty wants Cheryl to get her hands on. Cheryl decides to join the cult, after she tells Betty that the Farm has allowed her to see Jason. Betty goes asks Alice if the reason she has joined the Farm is that she can see Charles, and Alice says yes. Jughead and Archie, receive a single baby tooth as a message. They learn that Archie's prison mate, Baby Teeth, has fallen victim to the Gargoyle King, after F.P. finds him dead in a clearing in the forest. | |||||||
| 53 | 18 | "Chapter Fifty-Three: Jawbreaker" | Gabriel Correa | Brian E. Paterson & Arabella Anderson | April 17, 2019 | T13.21268 | 0.80[60] |
| F.P. and Jughead investigate Baby Teeth's death; the coroner tells them that a matchbook from the Maple Club had been lodged in his throat at the time of his death. At Penelope's brothel, they find a client foaming at the mouth and gripping a knife after consuming a bad batch of Fizzle Rocks, known as "G". Kurtz is the one dealing "G". Betty sends Toni the video of Clifford murdering Jason, but it does not convince Cheryl that Jason is dead. Betty tries the same tactic, as she takes Alice to a fake grave of Charles, she is not convinced. Betty chloroforms her and holds her in Dilton's bunker to force her to remember her past. She threatens both Edgar and Evelyn—but decides that she must let her mother heal. She hires Toni to join the Farm to try and free Cheryl and Alice. Archie, while participating in a boxing tournament, must rematch Randy Ronson, who has just taken "G" and collapses after the fight. F.P. and Jughead capture Kurtz making a drug deal at Archie's gym, he informs them that Jellybean has been "summoned". She is led into the woods with Ricky, who reveals the Gargoyle King standing behind her. | |||||||
| 54 | 19 | "Chapter Fifty-Four: Fear the Reaper" | Alexandra La Roche | Janine Salinas Schoenberg & Will Ewing | April 24, 2019 | T13.21269 | 0.71[61] |
| After the death of Randy Ronson, Elio tries to frame Archie for dealing him drugs to use for the fight. Veronica reveals that Archie and Mad Dog passed a drug test and helps Archie raise money for the Ronson family. The Jones family and Kurtz play a game of Gryphons and Gargoyles to bring Jellybean home. F.P. is shot while they rob Pop's, Gladys is severely ingured while in a fight with an undead Penny Peabody, but wins the fight; Jughead is nearly killed after Kurtz locks him in a freezer—emerging to find Kurtz has been killed by the Gargoyle King. Jughead returns home to Jellybean and Gladys makes the decision to leave town. Betty learns of Edgar's plans to adopt Polly's babies as his own after his marriage to Alice. Betty continues an investigation on the Farm, discovering that Evelyn is 26 years old, recruits, and is Edgar's wife. Josie leaves town. After this, she enters the Farm to save the babies, but is led into a room of several cult members by Toni, who is now in the cult. They try to capture her. Later, Veronica tells Betty that her father has died in an accident while being transported to her father's prison. | |||||||
| 55 | 20 | "Chapter Fifty-Five: Prom Night" | David Katzenberg | Britta Lundin & Devon Turner | May 1, 2019 | T13.21270 | 0.70[62] |
| Betty is dubious that her father actually has died after seeing the crash scene with Veronica. At the same moment, Archie's mom returns to town and makes plans for Archie to meet with a recruiter at the naval academy so Archie can go to college on a boxing scholarship. While Cheryl and Toni campaign for prom queens, Edgar and Evelyn both remind them that doing so is against the rules of the Farm. Meanwhile, while Jughead speaks with Jellybean, she informs him about the Gargoyle King's gospel, which Jughead finds on an abandoned bus with F.P., so he can bring the serial killer down. When Betty wins prom queen, she is summoned by the Gargoyle King, who plans for her to ascend, placing chalices in the girls' bathroom. When Betty rejects and is about to shoot the Gargoyle King, the Black Hood attacks her, revealing to Betty that her dad did indeed survive the crash and is now working with the Gargoyle King. Afterwards, Betty goes to warn her mom that Hal is likely going to prey on the Farm next. In doing so, Betty is asked by Edgar if she will stay at the Farm for her safety, and she accepts. | |||||||
| 56 | 21 | "Chapter Fifty-Six: The Dark Secret of Harvest House" | Rob Seidenglanz | Cristine Chambers & James DeWille | May 8, 2019 | T13.21271 | 0.74[63] |
| Edgar has Betty come face-to-face with her "dark side", that he is faking, while she learns that Kevin and Fangs have undergone massive surgeries; Toni is next. Betty realizes Edgar hypnotizes and creates pain which makes everyone follow him; turning crazy. Jughead finds Ricky trying to ascend who sends a group of Boy Scouts to attack him; he hides in the bunker where he finds Ethel. Jughead and Ethel search for a young scout that has gone to the abandoned bus at the junkyard, leading them into the arms of the Black Hood. Archie, Mary, and Veronica plan to get Hiram arrested when he makes a move at the town. During a boxing match Archie set up, the FBI arrests him for illegal activity at his businesses, which includes La Bonne Nuit. Betty realizes that the Farm has been performing surgery to harvest organs, she informs Cheryl, who saves Toni from receiving her procedure. Toni escapes, but Cheryl is taken away by guards. When Betty warns Kevin and Fangs, they send her to the operating room so she can undergo her organ harvest next. At the police station, Ethel tells Jughead the Gargoyle King's identity—Jason Blossom. He digs up Jason's grave to reveal an empty casket. | |||||||
| 57 | 22 | "Chapter Fifty-Seven: Survive the Night" | Rachel Talalay | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa & Michael Grassi | May 15, 2019 | T13.21272 | 0.86[64] |
| Penelope buys Betty from Edgar before receiving surgery, and she wakes at the Thornhill Hunting Lodge where she finds the gang having dinner with Penelope. Penelope reveals herself as the mastermind of the game; Chic as the Gargoyle King. She sends them on a final quest. Alice learns of Edgar's plans for ascension and Cheryl attempts to break Kevin and Fangs out. Cheryl stumbles upon Jason, grave robbed by Edgar. Alice frees Juniper and Cheryl, staying back to save Polly. In the woods, the four are nearly killed and Betty shoots Hal to receive the antidote to Cyanide. Penelope then kills Hal. The Pretty Poisons and the Serpents save the four before raiding the Farm, finding only Kevin. Hermione is arrested for attempting to kill Hiram, who plots revenge; Cheryl brings Jason's body home. Betty and Jughead are greeted at home by their brother, Charles, alive and an FBI agent, who reveals that Alice had been undercover at the Farm. The gang vows to enjoy their senior year. A flash-forward shows Archie, Betty, and Veronica out in the woods and covered with blood, as they burn Jughead's beanie in a fire and promise never to speak of that day to anyone, so they will not get caught. | |||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58 | 1 | "Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Memoriam" | Gabriel Correa | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | October 9, 2019 | T13.21851 | 1.14[65] |
| As Riverdale prepares for the first Independence Day parade since Jason Blossom's death, Archie learns that his father has been killed by a hit-and-run driver in the town of Cherry Creek. The funeral home notifies Archie and his mom that they'll be unable to transport Fred's body home until after the holiday, which Archie finds unsettling. So, he asks Veronica, Betty, and Jughead to come with him to bring his dad home. While retrieving Fred's truck, the gang meets a woman (Shannen Doherty) and learns that Fred died saving her life by pushing her out of the way of the speeding car that killed him. They share a prayer and leave flowers at the edge of the road. F.P. calls Archie to inform him that the man responsible for his father's death has turned himself in. Archie abandons the others and runs to the man's home. He learns that the man was protecting his own son by taking the blame for the accident and forgives the man and his son. Arriving back in Riverdale, the friends are greeted by the residents of Riverdale holding signs in Fred's honor. Fred's funeral takes place and Archie and his friends set off fireworks in his backyard in remembrance of his father. | |||||||
| 59 | 2 | "Chapter Fifty-Nine: Fast Times at Riverdale High" | Pamela Romanowsky | Michael Grassi & Will Ewing | October 16, 2019 | T13.21852 | 0.80[66] |
| On the first day of senior year, the gang encounters some surprises. Veronica struggles with the paparazzi, Betty deals with trusting Kevin after his affiliation with the Farm, and Jughead is offered a position at the prestigious Stonewall Prep, which he declines. Meanwhile, the school's new principal, Mr. Honey, cancels the dance due to the murders that occurred at the junior prom. Upset, Cheryl throws a party at Thistle House instead. Betty learns that Kevin is still talking to Fangs, who is feeding him information about the Farm and how Kevin can prove his loyalty. Learning that Kevin is still brainwashed, Betty and Charles help him recover, which actually allows Kevin to trick Fangs into telling him where the Farm has been relocated. Archie witnesses Reggie's father's abuse towards Reggie—which causes him to speak out to Mr. Mantle. Reggie and Archie then decide to break Mr. Mantle's car for payback for the abuse he has inflicted on Reggie. Betty encourages Jughead to go to Stonewall Prep; and when he obliges, F.P. speaks on his pride for Jughead's acceptance to the school. An ominous closing flash-forward shows a desperate search party looking for Jughead during Spring Break. | |||||||
| 60 | 3 | "Chapter Sixty: Dog Day Afternoon" | Gregory Smith | Ace Hasan & Greg Murray | October 23, 2019 | T13.21853 | 0.87[67] |
| As Jughead settles in at Stonewall Prep, he develops a hostile relationship with his roommate, Bret. Jughead also reconciles with Moose, who is another roommate of his, now going by "Marmaduke". Cheryl deals with having to conceal Jason's body when Toni hires a live-in assistant to help Nana Rose. When Cheryl is talking with Jason in the basement, Toni stumbles upon them. Archie wrestles with coming up with $40,000 to help renovate the gym so it can be turned into a community center. Veronica pulls together some money to help him, while in the process of changing her name to ditch the Lodge label. Betty and Charles work on safely retrieving the members of the Farm. Edgar asks for money, food, passports, and a bus. Charles refuses, but Betty manages to acquire the items herself, and infiltrates the motel where the cult has relocated. While there, Evelyn knocks Betty unconscious. Betty later wakes up tied to a chair next to Alice in a motel room, and they escape—knocking Evelyn unconscious. Alice follows Edgar to the roof of the motel, where he "ascends" after Alice fatally shoots him. At home, Betty and Jughead are met with a ring of the doorbell, to reveal a videotape at the doorstep. | |||||||
| 61 | 4 | "Chapter Sixty-One: Halloween" | Erin Feeley | Janine Salinas Schoenberg | October 30, 2019 | T13.21854 | 0.74[68] |
| On the eve of Halloween, Riverdale families receive videotapes of their houses being watched. As Halloween approaches, Cheryl and Toni re-bury Jason's body, but Cheryl is worried that Jason's ghost will now haunt Thistlehouse. After a seance in the Blossom chapel, Nana Rose reveals that Cheryl was supposed to have a second brother named Julian, but she absorbed him before birth. Meanwhile, at Stonewall Prep, Jughead's classmates haze him and lock him inside a coffin in Mr. Chipping's office for Halloween night. Elsewhere, Archie and Munroe throw a Halloween party for the kids of the community in order to keep Dodger away, but the party ends in Dodger shooting one of the kids who attended the party. Veronica wards off an escaped patient from Shady Grove, as he poses as another man and tries to murder her. Betty and Jellybean, while home alone, receive phone calls by someone claiming to be the Black Hood. When Charles tracks the phone calls, Betty learns that they are coming from Polly. Later, it's revealed Charles is secretly listening to Betty's calls. An ominous closing flash-forward shows F.P. and Betty at the coroner's office identifying what appears to be Jughead's dead body. | |||||||
| 62 | 5 | "Chapter Sixty-Two: Witness for the Prosecution" | Harry Jierjian | Devon Turner | November 6, 2019 | T13.21855 | 0.76[69] |
| The trials of Hermione and Hiram begin, and Veronica is working hardest on proving her mother's innocence. When some revelations come to the surface, Veronica is forced to have her mother plead guilty to her crimes and bribe the governor to pardon her. Veronica meets her sister, Hermosa, who has helped Hiram get released—much to her dismay. At Hiram's release, he says he will be running for mayor. Meanwhile, Archie and Munroe continue to ward off Dodger from the community center. Elsewhere, Betty and Kevin join the Junior FBI Training Program where Betty is incredibly successful. Betty is also haunted by her past when it is confirmed that she has the "serial killer genes". Jughead, while at Stonewall Prep, learns more about the Baxter Brothers novels that he loved when he was a kid, and enters a contest to become the next ghost writer for the series. A flash forward reveals Archie, Veronica, and Betty being arrested in biology class for the murder of Jughead. | |||||||
| 63 | 6 | "Chapter Sixty-Three: Hereditary" | Gabriel Correa | James DeWille | November 13, 2019 | T13.21856 | 0.82[70] |
| Archie continues to get kids off the streets, despite Dodger's threats. With Veronica's parents out of jail, she wants nothing to do with Hermosa and Hiram. Hiram and Hermione sleep together, leading them to renew their vows, which Veronica is reluctant to attend. Jughead finds proof that his grandfather wrote the first Baxter Brothers Book, which the original writer denies. After asking for Mr. Chipping's help with the investigation, Mr. Chipping apologizes to Jughead and dives out of a window in his office. Cheryl and Toni try to expel Julian's spirit from Thistlehouse with an interruption from Cheryl's Aunt Cricket and Uncle Bedford who want her to sign away the family business. Later, Uncle Bedford gains access to the chapel to find Jason's body, and declares Cheryl sick and pins her against the wall. Toni then kills him with a candlestick. Betty deals with proving Charles's trust to her family. She visits Chic, and Chic lies and tells her that Charles killed someone. Chic tells the authorities that Alice murdered a man, leading F.P. and Charles to remove any proof, proving his trust to Betty. Charles visits Chic, and it becomes clear that they are lovers and are working on the demise of the Cooper family. | |||||||
| 64 | 7 | "Chapter Sixty-Four: The Ice Storm" | Alex Pillai | Arabella Anderson | November 20, 2019 | T13.21857 | 0.74[71] |
| Betty and Jughead look into Mr. Chipping's death while staying on Stonewall Prep's campus during an ice storm. With Thanksgiving on the way, Archie and Veronica make plans to host a Thanksgiving dinner at the community center, which Hiram derails as the new mayor of Riverdale. While preparing for the Thanksgiving dinner, Dodger's family preys on the community center to kill Archie for revenge, believing that he had hurt Dodger. Things escalate quickly, but just as Archie is about to be killed, an explosion occurs with one of the dishes, prompting Mary to order them to leave. Alice and F.P. decide that they want to have turkey dinner at Pop's for Thanksgiving and joined by Hiram and Hermione, which ends in an altercation between Hiram and F.P. in La Bonne Nuit. While Cheryl and Toni are trying to cover up Bedford's murder, Cheryl's Aunt Cricket will not stop stalking them. They invite her over to dinner and lead her to believe that the meat she is eating is Bedford's body, when really it was just a distraction so they could dump Bedford's body in Sweetwater River before it froze over. Archie dedicates the community center to Fred's legacy while the town watches. | |||||||
| 65 | 8 | "Chapter Sixty-Five: In Treatment" | Michael Goi | Tessa Leigh Williams | December 4, 2019 | T13.21858 | 0.69[72] |
| More videotapes appear at Riverdale doorsteps. Betty learns that she does not get into Yale and Alice claims it is because of her sexual activity. After a session with Ms. Burble, the guidance counselor, Betty and her mother argue and Alice reveals that Betty is her favorite child. Archie and Ms. Burble discuss Archie's business as a vigilante, and she urges him to take discretion. Archie then decides to move out, so his mother is no longer in danger. Cheryl loses the leadership of the Vixens due to her delicate mental state. After meeting with Ms. Burble, they discuss how Cheryl can find better outlets to deal with her trauma and that Julian's ghost has not truly been haunting Thistle House. Veronica receives an acceptance to Harvard but learns that Hiram had influence in the acceptance. Ms. Burble advises her to no longer associate with Hiram. Jughead is advised to receive recommendations from Riverdale staff to better supplement his applications. Betty and Jughead deduce the murders disguised as suicides that happened to members of the secret society that Mr. Chipping was a part of. A flashforward shows Archie, Betty, and Veronica being taken into custody at the police station for Jughead's murder. | |||||||
| 66 | 9 | "Chapter Sixty-Six: Tangerine" | Gabriel Correa | Brian E. Paterson | December 11, 2019 | T13.21859 | 0.73[73] |
| After receiving a phone call, Polly attacks a Shady Grove nurse. Alice attempts to stab Betty with a knife, also after receiving a phone call. Betty learns that Evelyn had been making calls using a trigger word to initiate attacks on Dark Betty. FP is shot by Dodger at Pop's, and Archie fights Dodger in an alley, despite the family being in the process of fleeing. Archie then meets his uncle. Veronica invites her Abuelita to town to tell her how her father's been treating her and to get the family rum recipe, although Hiram claims to have patented it. Jughead is awarded the Baxter Brothers contract, which causes him to track down his grandfather. His grandfather tells him that Dupont legally took over writing the book after he left Stonewall Prep. Jughead goes back later to find that his grandfather is gone. He is inducted into the Quill & Skull Society. Cheryl lures Penelope out of the walls of Thistlehouse where she has been staying. She then banishes Penelope to Dilton's bunker and decides to give Jason a final farewell by way of a Norse funeral on Sweetwater River. A flash forward is then shown indicating that Betty had killed Jughead with a rock. | |||||||
| 67 | 10 | "Chapter Sixty-Seven: Varsity Blues" | Roxanne Benjamin | Aaron Allen | January 22, 2020 | T13.21860 | 0.79[75] |
|
The Riverdale Bulldogs make it to the state finals against the Stonewall Stallions, who have been reported to play unfairly. Betty attempts to find the truth. The Vixens receive a new cheer coach Mrs. Appleyard, much to Cheryl's dismay. Veronica continues to pursue her rum-making endeavors until her father comes after her for copying his recipe. Archie learns that his uncle Frank has a troubled past, and Jughead gets in deeper with the Quill & Skull Society after discovering that he has earned an interview with Yale. Tension builds up between Riverdale High and Stonewall Prep before game day, as after Munroe is attacked outside the community center, Archie and the Bulldogs get into a fight with Stonewall's team. On game day, Frank gives Munroe drugs so that he can play and Cheryl locks Appleyard in a classroom so she can have the squad to herself. The Stonewall Stallions won, prompting Betty to form a quiz team so that Riverdale High still has a chance to get an edge over Stonewall Prep in something. Jughead is accepted to Yale and a flash-forward shows Betty packing up Jughead's dorm room with Bret telling her that she "got what she wanted." Without being a crossover, this episode features a cameo appearance by Ty Wood as Billy Marlin, a character from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.[74] | |||||||
| 68 | 11 | "Chapter Sixty-Eight: Quiz Show" | Chell Stephen | Ted Sullivan | January 29, 2020 | T13.21861 | 0.73[76] |
| Betty, Veronica, Cheryl, and Toni win in the Quiz Show semifinals and earn a spot in the finals against Stonewall Prep. Jughead and Bret tell Betty that they got into Yale, and Betty learns out that Bret's father bought his way in. Cheryl and Veronica turn the speakeasy into a club in to cover up serving rum. Hiram finds them and they must relocate. Cheryl and Veronica decide to set up in the Maple Club. They make a deal with Penelope to keep watch on the Maple Club. Archie lands in hot water with Tom as Frank takes over Andrews construction and makes risky moves. Kevin earns money by making videos where he is tickled by men. Charles tells Betty that the reason she was denied to Yale was because she was the daughter of the Black Hood. Betty smashes Hal's gravestone. At the Quiz Finals, the Yale recruiter says Betty is in if Riverdale wins against Stonewall Prep. Alice leaves Betty the answers, but Betty tears them up. Bret plants the evidence in Betty's room, which leads Alice to be suspended from work and Betty to be suspended from school. A flash-forward then reveals Archie comforting Betty in a booth at Pop's as she mourns the loss of Jughead. | |||||||
| 69 | 12 | "Chapter Sixty-Nine: Men of Honor" | Catriona McKenzie | Ariana Jackson | February 5, 2020 | T13.21862 | 0.65[78] |
|
Betty decides to spend suspension time with Alice to look more into Mr. Chipping's murder. They meet with Mr. Chipping's wife, who says Donna was lying about the affair she had with him, and Moose, who says that Bret videotaped him having sex. Betty and Alice go to find Bret's videotapes while he is preoccupied with Jughead and the duel, but he finds them. Archie meets Frank's friend from the Army, who turns out to be a mercenary out for blood. F.P. locks him up, but he escapes and attacks Archie at school. Frank was also a mercenary, so he is forced to leave town before capture. Veronica catches up with her friend Katy Keene in New York, and after she returns learns that her father is ill. Nick St. Clair appears, and Toni, Kevin, and Fangs turn the tables on him, forcing him to leave Riverdale from Cheryl. Jughead gives Bret the win in their duel, and Betty reveals that she was able to sneak a tape labeled "Donna" from Stonewall Prep. The tape shows Donna giving the same speech she gave to Betty about her affair with Mr. Chipping, only this time she is incriminating a man who does not exist, pushing Betty to investigate Donna. This episode is a crossover with Katy Keene.[77] | |||||||
| 70 | 13 | "Chapter Seventy: The Ides of March" | Claudia Yarmy | Chrissy Maroon & Evan Kyle | February 12, 2020 | T13.21863 | 0.65[79] |
| Jughead learns that his Baxter Brothers contract is being terminated and he has been removed from the Quill & Skull Society. Archie tries to make decisions about his future, which includes almost selling Andrews Construction. Veronica struggles with Hiram's diseased state. Cheryl and Toni discover Hermosa in disguise trying to gain knowledge on Cheryl and Veronica's business. Jughead is accused of plagiarizing the story that got him into Yale. He plans to fight these accusations until Bret informs Jughead that he must accept his punishment and leave Stonewall Prep or he will release a video of him and Betty having sex. Bret still invites him and Betty into the woods for a party to celebrate the Ides of March. Betty invites Veronica and Archie so they can all spend some time together. Jughead goes to the party seeking revenge on Bret, luring him into the woods. Betty follows Donna into the woods, where Donna reveals that she met with Evelyn in prison and Evelyn revealed to Donna that there is a special word that will hypnotize Betty into hurting people she loves. Donna and Bret are then seen walking out of the woods, with Archie and Veronica stumbling upon Betty, who has bludgeoned Jughead to a death with a rock. | |||||||
| 71 | 14 | "Chapter Seventy-One: How to Get Away with Murder" | James DeWille | Arabella Anderson | February 26, 2020 | T13.21864 | 0.67[80] |
| After Jughead's death, Betty, Archie, and Veronica burn his beanie and their clothes in the woods. When arriving home late that night, they all provide different explanations to their parents. Meanwhile, Betty decides to plant a bug at Stonewall Prep to determine the events of the night Jughead died because she doesn't remember anything after her conversation with Donna in the woods. However, it is soon found by Bret and Donna and destroyed. Back in Riverdale, Alice and F.P. discover Jughead's cellphone is in Betty's jacket, having been planted by Joan. While continuing the investigation, F.P. takes a bloody rock into evidence which is replaced by Charles with a decoy with fake blood. Charles helps Betty come to terms with what happened the night of the murder. She remembers that Donna blew a powder in her face called "devil's breath", which would've made her incapable of murdering Jughead. This means that the Stonewall kids murdered Jughead and planted the evidence on her. Jughead's body is found when a search party goes out for him, and Betty and F.P. identify it at the morgue. After, Betty, Archie, and Veronica go back to Pop's to discuss their next moves. | |||||||
| 72 | 15 | "Chapter Seventy-Two: To Die For" | Shannon Kohli | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | March 4, 2020 | T13.21865 | 0.66[81] |
| Alice begins to make a documentary about Jughead's alleged death as investigation is under way. At Stonewall Prep, F.P. is in Donna's room looking for evidence for the case when Donna tells him that the Core Three killed Jughead. F.P. then goes to Riverdale High and arrests them but lets them go when the test results on the rock reveal that the blood was fake. Betty plans a funeral for Jughead and Donna, Bret, and Joan attend. Donna, believing that Jughead is alive, orders Bret to open the casket, which gets them kicked out. Donna, believing that they are being fooled decides to dig a little deeper into the death of Jughead. At school, Cheryl creates a locker memorial for Jughead which makes Betty emotional. She runs to the music room, followed by Archie and they kiss. Cheryl tells Veronica; who angrily confronts them in the lounge. Donna follows Betty into Dilton's bunker that night to find her and Archie kissing. Knowing that Donna was following her, she hid a very alive Jughead under the cot as a diversion so Bret and Donna would crack under pressure. At home, Betty and Archie flirtatiously text and Hermosa finds evidence about Donna's identity to help take-down the Stonewall kids. | |||||||
| 73 | 16 | "Chapter Seventy-Three: The Locked Room" | Tessa Blake | Aaron Allen | March 11, 2020 | T13.21866 | 0.66[82] |
| Jughead and Betty hold a locked room with the Stonewall kids and Mr. DuPont, explaining all. Mr. Chipping killed himself out of guilt as he orchestrated each student to commit the perfect murder. Whoever was assigned the ghostwriter job, would write their murder. Moose was supposed to be the murdered student. Betty and Jughead deduce that all four students had a hand in killing Jughead. Charles ordered the trio to burn their clothes and all evidence while he took Jughead in for injuries. Betty brings in Charles, FP, and Forsythe. Forsythe has been living in hiding, trying to prove Mr. DuPont murdered his original literary circle. Jughead was bait to lure out Forsythe so Mr. DuPont could finish the murder. DuPont kills himself to avoid jail, Joan leaves the country. Brett reveals the location of the tapes, while he faces charges. Betty blackmails Donna into disappearing, figuring out Donna's grandmother was murdered by DuPont, making her the mastermind behind everything. Betty starts to realize she might have feelings for Archie. FP and Forsythe begin talking. Veronica and Betty promise to tutor the guys so they can graduate together. | |||||||
| 74 | 17 | "Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town" | Antonio Negret | Tessa Leigh Williams | April 15, 2020 | T13.21867 | 0.54[83] |
| Kevin attempts to perform a song from the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the school's Variety Show, but Mr. Honey refuses, believing the show to be too inappropriate. Archie signs up himself, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica to play as a band, "The Archies," in the show, while Cheryl and Toni attempt to get Mr. Honey to allow the musical to be part of the show, but their actions instead cause him to cancel the show entirely. Archie notices Hiram struggling with lifting weights at the gym because of his disease. After he collapses, Archie tells Veronica, who is angry with him for not doing anything about it. Meanwhile, Betty tutors Jughead following his return to Riverdale High, but he instead investigates more videotapes presumably sent by the same person, and is angry with her for not taking the threat seriously. Rejected by their partners, Archie and Betty kiss while rehearsing a song. Veronica and Jughead later apologize, but Archie and Betty appear to have lingering feelings. Jughead later views a tape where someone disguised as him is murdered by someone disguised as Betty. | |||||||
| 75 | 18 | "Chapter Seventy-Five: Lynchian" | Steven A. Adelson | Ariana Jackson & Brian E. Paterson | April 29, 2020 | T13.21868 | 0.66[84] |
| Charles, investigating the videotapes, learns that a video store has a video of Clifford killing Jason. Kevin brings Toni, Fangs, and Reggie into the tickle videos to earn some cash; they decide to start their own website. Afterwards, Kevin is threatened by Terry who demands a share of his profits. Betty reminisces about her relationship with Archie as a child and their long and complicated love story. Archie is conflicted over his feelings about Betty while working on a song for her. Cheryl and Veronica's rum business is attacked by Jinx Malloy's clan, who then Hiram threatens. In return, Hunter Malloy severely beats him. Reggie and the Bulldogs threaten Terry so they can continue making videos. After Cheryl quits the business, Veronica partners with Hiram, feeling he has changed. However, Hiram murders Jinx, the head of the gang. Mr. Honey, a secret visitor to the store, finds out about the tickling website and demands that it be shut down. Archie wants to act on his feelings for Betty, but she tells him she will not hurt anyone, so they decide not to. In return, Archie plans to leave for the Naval Academy. Cheryl receives a videotape, this time with someone wearing a Clifford mask murdering someone in a Jason mask. | |||||||
| 76 | 19 | "Chapter Seventy-Six: Killing Mr. Honey" | Mädchen Amick | Ted Sullivan & James DeWille | May 6, 2020 | T13.21869 | 0.65[85] |
| When Mr. Honey threatens to cancel prom, the gang is frustrated. Jughead must write a story for the University of Iowa, so he writes a tale about the group killing Honey for ruining their senior year. In this story, Archie, Veronica, Betty, Jughead, Reggie, and Cheryl murder Honey and later begin to give into darkness inside of them when covering up the murder. When the school receives a suspicious tape, Honey believes there is danger and cancels prom. In Jughead's story, Reggie dies in a car accident and foul play is suspected. Betty watches the full tape and catches a reflection of Honey in it. Filming the tape as an excuse to cancel prom, Charles and Betty have him fired and prom reinstated. Ms. Bell tells the gang that Honey was good for the school and gives Jughead his letter of recommendation for college. Jughead, moved, changes his story so Veronica and Archie are taking Honey to the hospital and saving his life; not wanting to become evil. Betty and Jughead are left another videotape inviting them to a cabin. They find another videotape, this time with a group of people wearing masks of the gang who stab Mr. Honey to death. | |||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77 | 1 | "Chapter Seventy-Seven: Climax" | Pamela Romanowsky | Ace Hasan & Greg Murray | January 20, 2021 | T13.22701 | 0.63[86] |
| Betty and Jughead ask Charles to investigate the tape and Bret leads them to secret red-band screenings led by the Blue Velvet owner, David. Betty and Kevin deliver a homemade snuff film to gain her ticket to the screening. David spots it as a fake and Betty must give him the snuff film of her father as a child. KO Kelly comes to town to go up against Archie in a boxing match for one of them to be admitted into the Naval Academy; Archie loses. Toni tells Cheryl amid their prom queen campaign that her grandmother is not accepting of her dating a Blossom. Betty sneaks Jughead in the rave. They find several snuff films being shown containing the gang and Jellybean in attendance. At prom, Archie tells Veronica about his and Betty's kiss and they break up. During prom, a livestream of the masked gang is played killing a masked owl at the video store, later revealed to be David. Cheryl and Toni do not go home together following prom. Veronica returns home and tells her parents of Archie's unfaithfulness, and Hiram overhears. Archie returns home to find a videotape that shows a recreation of his encounter with the Black Hood. | |||||||
| 78 | 2 | "Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Preppy Murders" | Gabriel Correa | Janine Salinas Schoenberg & Devon Turner | January 27, 2021 | T13.22702 | 0.52[87] |
| Archie wrestles with emotions after he watches the videotape and is told by Mary that George Augustine and his son are asking Archie to write a letter to negotiate for a lesser sentence for killing Fred. Jughead and Betty discover that Bret has been murdered in prison. They suspect David killed Bret, but later find that he had been hanged in the Lodge's cabin. Cheryl attempts to persuade the Blossom Maple Board to construct a sanctuary for the Uktena tribe so that she can be with Toni, but they refuse. So, Penelope kills them while Cheryl and Toni are out of town. The Molloy family attacks Veronica, but Hermosa steps in to kill them. Veronica and Hermosa, along with Hermione, devise a plan to force Hiram into retirement. Hermione later decides to divorce Hiram. Another tape arrives at Betty's house showing the auteur making their way inside. Betty and Jughead figure out that Charles is behind the recent murders of Bret, Joan, and David and confront him. They suspect that he is the auteur, but, after questioning Jellybean, Betty and Jughead realize that she and her friends had been making the videotapes because she was upset that Jughead was leaving town. | |||||||
| 79 | 3 | "Chapter Seventy-Nine: Graduation" | Gabriel Correa | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | February 3, 2021 | T13.22703 | 0.54[88] |
| With graduation approaching, Archie learns that he will have to repeat his senior year. However, Principal Weatherbee still allows him to walk with his classmates. With Jellybean being exposed as the voyeur, FP makes the decision to move back to Toledo with Gladys. The gang graduates while Archie makes a decision to join the Army after he struggles with the absence of Fred. FP and Jellybean depart, and the Riverdale High Students bury a time capsule. Meanwhile, Cheryl decides not to attend college and breaks up with Toni. Archie announces to the gang that he is leaving for the Army and they say their final goodbyes the next day, before swearing they would meet a year from that day. After Archie leaves, the gang quickly stops talking. Veronica vacations with Hermione before college. Betty tells Jughead about kissing Archie. Jughead moves out of the Cooper house after Betty leaves for Yale and squats in Archie's house before it is sold. He then moves into the bunker until college begins. One year from their final goodbyes, Jughead goes to Pop's to meet Archie, Betty, and Veronica, but they do not show. He notes that it was ultimately six more years before the gang reunited, brought back together by another mystery. | |||||||
| 80 | 4 | "Chapter Eighty: Purgatorio" | Steven A. Adelson | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | February 10, 2021 | T13.22704 | 0.48[89] |
| Seven years after graduating high school, Archie is discharged from the army, Betty is an FBI agent, Veronica is working at a jewelry store and married to Chadwick Gekko, who is like her father, and Jughead, after having published a novel, suffers from writers block and is hounded by debt collectors. Archie returns to Riverdale for Pop Tate's retirement, finding that Kevin is now a teacher at Riverdale High in a relationship with Fangs, living with Toni, now a guidance counsellor and pregnant with a child they are adopting, while Reggie now works for Hiram, who has managed to destroy most of the town to build a turnpike to a rich community, though Tabitha Tate, Pop's granddaughter, now runs Pop's. He also discovers his house has become a drug den for the Ghoulies. While looking through the now mainly deserted town, Archie finds out that many people have disappeared on the highway through town. He calls Betty, Veronica and Jughead to return, believing they can save Riverdale. Later, one of the waitresses at Pop's is picked up on the highway by a suspicious trucker. | |||||||
| 81 | 5 | "Chapter Eighty-One: The Homecoming" | Steven A. Adelson | Michael Grassi | February 17, 2021 | T13.22705 | 0.59[90] |
| After returning home, the gang soon realizes that Riverdale High is in danger of losing its funding due to teachers and students defecting to Stonewall Prep. Betty returns home to find Alice and the twins, but stumbles upon Polly sneaking in late at night. Polly claims to have been working in a nightclub, but Archie sees her with the Ghoulies and suspects that she is using drugs. Betty confronts Polly but Alice shuts her down. Archie and Betty, along with some of the Serpents, raid the Andrews house and find evidence to send them to jail. Betty and Archie clean up the mess and have sex in the shower. Meanwhile, Jughead dodges debt collectors as he still faces writer's block. He asks Tabitha for a job waiting tables at Pop's. Veronica realizes Chad is having her followed and has frozen their bank accounts. Archie persuades Betty, Jughead, and Veronica to become temporary teachers at Riverdale High so that doors will be able to stay open. Riverdale High is later privatized, being funded by Cheryl, and Hiram dissolves Riverdale's township. Elsewhere, Polly, having run away after fighting with Betty, is seen being chased by a truck. | |||||||
| 82 | 6 | "Chapter Eighty-Two: Back to School" | Gabriel Correa | Ariana Jackson | February 24, 2021 | T13.22706 | 0.60[91] |
| The gang begins their first day as Riverdale High's newest teachers while Hiram and Reggie struggle to find ways to keep the town suffering. Polly has been missing for several days and Toni tells Betty that Polly had been meeting up with a trucker for sex at a sketchy truck stop. Betty and Alice follow a lead from the trucker and find Polly's belongings on the side of the Lonely Highway. Meanwhile, Archie asks Veronica to fund the football team as Chad visits town. Doris Bell now works as an informant to both Cheryl and Hiram and tells Cheryl that Toni reinstated the Vixens and Hiram that Archie has started the football team. Veronica looks to open a jewelry store at the former Blue Velvet Video and Betty and Archie struggle with finding places to hook up unbeknownst to Jughead. Tabitha helps Jughead with his book, and leads him to an old man who tells him about how his friends were abducted by aliens known as the Moth Men who live in the woods off of the Lonely Highway. Alice, Betty, and Kevin ping Polly's cell phone leading to a discovery in Swedlow Swamp. Jughead alerts Archie to the fact that fires have been started outside their house. | |||||||
| 83 | 7 | "Chapter Eighty-Three: Fire in the Sky" | Gabriel Correa | Ted Sullivan | March 10, 2021 | T13.22707 | 0.52[92] |
| Betty, Alice, and Kevin take a body that they found in Swedlow Swamp to the morgue. Dr. Curdle Jr. is unable to identify the body, and Betty suspects it is the body of Margaret, a woman who went missing years ago. However, Margaret's body is recovered days later. Meanwhile, Veronica enlists her students to help build her jewelry store while funneling money back into Riverdale's economy. Hiram, however, tries to deconstruct her plan. Archie receives a visit from Corporal Jackson just as he is reinstating the Riverdale Fire Department. Cheryl and Toni agree to coach the Vixens together, but they butt heads. Jughead and Tabitha continue to investigate the Moth Men and find that Nana Rose has kept a disfigured corpse of one of the Moth Men in a maple barrel for several decades. They unpack the corpse in the kitchen at Pop's. During the graveyard shift, Jughead sees a bright light outside of Pop's. His mind goes blank, and he can't remember what happened after that. The corpse from the kitchen is gone the next day. As Betty comes to realize more women are missing from nearby towns, she begins to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. | |||||||
| 84 | 8 | "Chapter Eighty-Four: Lock & Key" | Rachel Talalay | Arabella Anderson | March 17, 2021 | T13.22708 | 0.45[93] |
| Jughead struggles with his possible alien encounter, and Tabitha comforts him. He later also sees an alien-type hallucination while teaching at Riverdale High and also after having a bath at the house. Kevin and Fangs decide to abandon their open relationship and announce to the gang that they are engaged and helping Toni raise her child. However, Kevin struggles with committing to Fangs. Cheryl is saddened by the announcement and decides to host a key party at Thornhill. At the party, Archie and Chad squabble, which causes Veronica to file for divorce. Cheryl reveals to a disinterested Toni that she built a nursery so that they could raise the child together. Archie and Betty end their sexual relationship and Archie and Veronica rekindle their romance. Kevin calls off his engagement with Fangs and Cheryl shares a passionate moment with Minerva. Betty and Alice receive a call from Polly, claiming to be at a phone booth off of the Lonely Highway. When they arrive, the phone booth is dismantled and covered in blood. | |||||||
| 85 | 9 | "Chapter Eighty-Five: Destroyer" | Rob Seidenglanz | Ace Hasan | March 24, 2021 | T13.22709 | 0.46[94] |
| Archie and Veronica struggle to keep the Bulldogs' spirit alive after they lose several games. Betty receives a call from Glen about the blood discovered on the destroyed phone booth; and it is a match to Polly. Betty struggles with realizing that Polly is most likely dead, and tells Alice that Polly's blood was not a match. Meanwhile, Jughead realizes a student in his class may have had encounters with the Moth Men. However, the student leaves town with his parents. Betty and Jughead visit Old Man Dreyfus off of the Lonely Highway, and he is convinced that Polly had an encounter with the Moth Men. Kevin decides to go back to cruising, but hits a roadblock. The Bulldogs face the Stonewall Stallions, and receive a small victory when they score for the first time in the season. Betty goes to the truck stop to save girls and get justice for Polly. Back at home, Betty finds Glen, who tells Alice that Polly's blood was a match. | |||||||
| 86 | 10 | "Chapter Eighty-Six: The Pincushion Man" | Gabriel Correa | Chrissy Maroon | March 31, 2021 | T13.22710 | 0.49[95] |
| Betty discovers Glen is writing a dissertation about her family while she and Alice discover Juniper and Dagwood may have the family's darkness. Archie learns he may have been sent on a dirty mission as he and Kevin prepare for Parent Teacher Night. Hiram and Reggie attempt to buy the Blossom Maple Groves from Cheryl, who refuses. Jughead and Tabitha share a moment at Pop's. Jughead convinces Tabitha to watch over him as he takes psychedelic mushrooms to help write his novel. She agrees after Jessica comes to town. Hiram causes a breakout at the prison. Charles and Chic arrive at the Cooper house to be married by Alice. When Glen arrives, they decide to play a game, "Pincushion Man". Juniper is told to stab Glen, but Betty does so instead before stabbing Chic and causing Charles to get shot. Penelope returns to Thornhill, while Frank helps protect the school and is pardoned for it. Veronica hits a roadblock in her divorce. Reggie burns the maple groves. Jughead experiences a drug trip. The FBI moves the case upstate, and Betty takes matters into her own hands. In the bunker, Tabitha finds bloody handprints on a completed copy of Jughead's novel. | |||||||
| 87 | 11 | "Chapter Eighty-Seven: Strange Bedfellows" | Tessa Blake | Aaron Allen | August 11, 2021 | T13.22711 | 0.38[96] |
| Archie and Kevin get to work rounding up the escaped inmates. Veronica returns from New York and Archie breaks things off with her until the divorce is finalized. At her jewelry store, she is robbed by Darla and Dodger. Meanwhile, Tabitha grows concerned about Jughead and asks for Betty's help. Jessica comes from New York to help them, and drugs them with psychedelic mushrooms in order for them to give her Jughead's completed manuscript so that she won't be implicated for anything he may have written about her. Hiram and Governor Dooley argue about the acquisition palladium that was being extracted beneath the prison. Several inmates hold the duo and Sheriff Keller hostage in the El Royale in order to receive the palladium, with Veronica serving as the collateral. At Thornhill, Penelope begins a ministry to once again help her try and cope with Jason's unjust death and Cheryl is reluctant to join until she experiences a revelation. Elsewhere, Jughead lives amongst the homeless before deciding to hitch a ride on a semi truck back to New York; leaving Tabitha with a voicemail so that she knows his whereabouts. | |||||||
| 88 | 12 | "Chapter Eighty-Eight: Citizen Lodge" | James DeWille | Brian E. Paterson | August 18, 2021 | T13.22712 | 0.47[97] |
| Reggie is revealed to work for Hiram to pay off his father's debt. He finishes, but wants to continue due to his troubled relationship with his father. Hiram agrees if Reggie brings him an untraceable gun. When Reggie does, Hiram tells him his life story. Hiram, then Jaime Luna, moved with his parents to Riverdale from New York City after his father found out about the palladium mines. When the mines collapsed, he began shining shoes. Jaime, deciding he wouldn't be taken seriously as a second class citizen, got a job for gangster Vittorio Alto, and impressed Hermione with his money, eventually deciding to change his name to Hiram Lodge to reflect this. When his father found out, he begged Alto to release him, only for Alto to have him killed. Hiram retaliated by killing Alto's men, and taking over as the boss. Reggie is impressed, but Hiram admits that he regrets his actions and wishes he could have reconciled with his father before it was too late, and has destroyed Riverdale to get to the palladium veins to fulfil his father's dream. He finds Alto's location and kills him, then tells Reggie to reconcile with his own father. | |||||||
| 89 | 13 | "Chapter Eighty-Nine: Reservoir Dogs" | Gabriel Correa | Evan Kyle | August 25, 2021 | T13.22713 | 0.47[98] |
| Betty and Tabitha develop a plan to lure truckers to Pop's after Betty is prohibited from affiliating with the FBI. Meanwhile, Archie and Eric wrestle with trauma and Frank gives them a dog to help them cope. Later, though, they realize that their dog was in a fighting ring and they target the leader of the dog fights in town. Elsewhere, Reggie and Veronica build business at the jewelry store and aim at poaching investors of SoDale, due to it being a complete scam. Cheryl offers Kevin advice, telling him to reconcile with Fangs, but Fangs has begun dating Moose. Kevin later joins Cheryl and Penelope's ministry. At the Whyte Wyrm, there is a ladies night that helps lure potential suspects in the highway murders in. Betty is eyed by a trucker and baits him under the false pretense of sex. Tabitha tracks her location and he pulls over and tries to kill her with a chainsaw. Betty eventually strikes him with a wrench and they haul him off to keep him hostage. | |||||||
| 90 | 14 | "Chapter Ninety: The Night Gallery" | Mädchen Amick | James DeWille | September 1, 2021 | T13.22714 | 0.36[99] |
| Cheryl shows Minerva four new paintings. The first, of Archie, reveals that Cheryl reopened the mines and had Archie lead a crew to harvest the palladium inside. Suffering from PTSD, Archie sees hallucinations in the mines. Despite his suspicions, it is revealed when the others also hallucinate that they are suffering from carbon monoxide exposure. The second painting is of Betty. Betty interrogates the captured trucker. She realizes he is a serial killer, but is unsure whether he is the one they are looking for. Despite Betty's tactics, he refuses to admit to killing Polly. He eventually kills himself to avoid further questioning, but Betty believes he wasn't working alone. The third, of Jughead, shows after high school Jughead got published with the aid of Jessica and psychedelic mushrooms. After Betty wouldn't come to his release party, he went on a bender and doesn't remember three days. His life spiraled after this, and he eventually returned to New York to find out what happened, discovering he fell in the sewer and hallucinated a "Rat King". The last painting is of Cheryl and Minerva. Minerva admits she is leaving the country the next day, but they spend the night together. | |||||||
| 91 | 15 | "Chapter Ninety-One: The Return of the Pussycats" | Robin Givens | Ariana Jackson & Evan Kyle | September 8, 2021 | T13.22715 | 0.39[100] |
| Josie McCoy, now an international pop star, takes a break from tour to return to Riverdale following the death of her father from a heart attack. She reconnects with the gang, but refuses to help them save Riverdale, claiming she wasn't really one of them back in high school. She does, however, reestablish her friendships with Valerie and Melody, who are now roommates, as well as her relationship with Sweet Pea. After coming to terms with her father's death, they rejoin as The Pussycats, and perform a concert in which Toni delivers her baby, Anthony. Afterward, The Pussycats, along with Josie's mother and their romantic partners, decide to return to the tour. Before leaving, Josie and her mother are informed by an old acquaintance of her father that his death may not have been an accident, and depart for the tour with different opinions on it. Meanwhile, Toni, Tabitha and Veronica attempt to get Alexandra Cabot, Veronica's friend from New York, to help franchise Pop's Diner. | |||||||
| 92 | 16 | "Chapter Ninety-Two: Band of Brothers" | Robin Givens | Janine Salinas Schoenberg | September 15, 2021 | T13.22716 | 0.45[101] |
| Archie seeks justice for the men who lost their lives under his employ in the army. Veronica gets creative in order to re-attain financial stability; making moves against Chad and her father with the help of Reggie and Cheryl. Meanwhile, Kevin and Cheryl attempt to take control of the ministry after Penelope begins to defy their authority. Jughead embarks on an apology tour, and is placed on administrative leave from his teaching job. His book deadline is approaching fast and he realizes Jessica has his manuscript. Attempting to maintain his sobriety, he doesn't go to see her and rather attempts to pass off Cora's work, which he still retains, as his own. However, he does tell his agent, and is let go as a client. Elsewhere, Betty surveys the Lonely Highway posing as a hitchhiker dressed as Polly. Tabitha dislikes the idea of her doing so alone, and steps in to help her. | |||||||
| 93 | 17 | "Chapter Ninety-Three: Dance of Death" | Nathalie Boltt | Devon Turner | September 22, 2021 | T13.22717 | 0.35[102] |
| With Veronica's divorce looming, Hiram gives Chad a chance to kill Archie—-but he fails. Veronica gets everything in the divorce so Chad can avoid a murder charge. Meanwhile, Kevin leaves the ministry and an explosion at the mines tests Cheryl's relationship with her faith. Veronica threatens Hiram for causing the explosion at the mines and leaving Archie and Eric's lives in jeopardy. The duo survive, though, and Veronica spares him. Chad attacks Veronica at the Pembrooke, but she kills him. Elsewhere, Jughead and Betty discover that a group of inbred Blossoms have been living in the forest for two generations; with Old Man Dreyfus and the captured trucker being among them. Lynette Fields' body is also found and then stolen from the morgue. Toni's student runs away after coming out to her family, leading Betty and Jughead's investigation to come to a head with Toni's situation. The trio survey the junkyard with Fangs and Tabitha and discover the group of Moth Men and a shed where victims were being held. Old Man Dreyfus admits to the murders and tells Betty where Polly's body is. Betty and Alice visit the junkyard and confirm it is her. | |||||||
| 94 | 18 | "Chapter Ninety-Four: Next to Normal" | Ronald Paul Richard | Tessa Leigh Williams | September 29, 2021 | T13.22718 | 0.25[103] |
| Alice struggles to cope with Polly's death and imagines a world where the Coopers are still a happy family. Betty tries to get her to cope as best she can, but Alice blames Betty for Polly's death and for breaking her promises to return to Riverdale sooner. Meanwhile, Cheryl takes in Britta when she is kicked out of her parents' house. Archie and Veronica break up after Veronica realizes that they are on separate paths. Toni and Fangs declare their love for each other and vow to have each other's backs moving forward. Tabitha lures Jughead into a dinner with her parents, and the two decide to begin a romantic relationship. The gang buries Polly's ashes at the cemetery. | |||||||
| 95 | 19 | "Chapter Ninety-Five: Riverdale: RIP (?)" | Gabriel Correa | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa & Greg Murray | October 6, 2021 | T13.22719 | 0.36[104] |
| Betty graduates to the title of Special Agent at the FBI and re-opens the Riverdale field office, where she is called by TBK. Veronica vows to exile Hiram once and for all after he is responsible for a fire at Pop's. Jughead and Tabitha burn the office of the Lodge Ledger to get revenge. Toni and Fangs struggle to maintain control of the Serpents. Cheryl learns that her ancestor was burned at the stake by Jughead, Archie, and Betty's ancestors and demands they apologize at the town forum. She vows to use her good to create a school for troubled girls on Thornhill's grounds, and unincorporated from Riverdale. Veronica and Reggie rekindle their romance as they plan for a casino in town. Archie names Tabitha, Toni, Alice, and Frank to the town council to help reincorporate Riverdale. Betty and Archie decide to begin a romantic relationship themselves, but as they are about to have sex in Archie's bedroom, they find a bomb under the bed that is about to go off, having revealed to be placed by Hiram as his final rebuke. As Hiram drives away, Archie's house is seen blown up in a fiery smoke. | |||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special Event: Rivervale [105][106] | ||||||||||||
| 96 | 1 | "Chapter Ninety-Six: Welcome to Rivervale" | Gabriel Correa | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | November 16, 2021 | T13.23301 | 0.33[107] | |||||
| Following the events of the explosion at the Andrews house, Archie and Betty awaken in the town of Rivervale. Archie and the gang attempt to stop Cheryl’s vendetta against the town of Rivervale after her secession. Betty and Archie talk about starting a family together. Cheryl hosts a Maple Fest at Thornhill, where Archie is crowned king and is given a pie as his prize. Later that evening, Archie and Betty eat the pie and have sex on the kitchen table. Archie is woken in the middle of the night and called to the maple grove, where the entire town is waiting to sacrifice him. Cheryl affixes him to a post and carves out his heart, as the town rejoices. | ||||||||||||
| 97 | 2 | "Chapter Ninety-Seven: Ghost Stories" | Gabriel Correa | Janine Salinas Schoenberg | November 23, 2021 | T13.23302 | 0.34[108] | |||||
| Betty hunts La Llorona as she makes her way through Rivervale, haunting all of its residents. La Llorona nearly drowns Juniper in the bathtub at Thornhill and kidnaps Anthony from Toni’s apartment. Toni reveals to Betty that La Llorona likely materialized because she killed Darla Dickinson’s son in a gang fight. Darla called La Llorona to Rivervale to kill Anthony. Betty and Toni find the entity about to drown Anthony when Toni gives her soul to the ghost to save Anthony’s life. | ||||||||||||
| 98 | 3 | "Chapter Ninety-Eight: Mr. Cypher" | Jeff Woolnough | Greg Murray | November 30, 2021 | T13.23303 | 0.26[109] | |||||
| The devil comes to Rivervale, posing under the alias of Louis Cypher. He threatens several of the town’s residents with their darkest secrets and sins and exchanges favors with them in turn for their souls. Jughead sells his soul to the devil, leading there to be a disgrace on his name. Veronica nearly sells her soul to the devil to avoid misfortune at the Babylonium, but sells Reggie’s soul instead when she realizes he undermined her. | ||||||||||||
| 99 | 4 | "Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Witching Hour(s)" | James DeWille | Arabella Anderson | December 7, 2021 | T13.23304 | 0.27[110] | |||||
|
As Bailey’s Comet travels over Rivervale, Nana Rose falls deathly ill. Cheryl calls in Sabrina Spellman from Greendale to help perform a transference of Nana Rose’s soul to Cheryl’s body. Realizing that she is inhabited with the soul of Abigail Blossom, Cheryl recounts the stories of Blossom women past who shared Abigail’s soul through the years, including Poppy Blossom in the 1950’s and Abigail Blossom herself in the late 1800’s. Cheryl realizes both women were victims of severe persecution, and she resonates with their pain. Cheryl and Sabrina perform a successful transference of Nana Rose’s soul to Cheryl’s body just as Bailey’s Comet passes over town. This episode is a crossover with Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. | ||||||||||||
| 100 | 5 | "Chapter One Hundred: The Jughead Paradox" | Gabriel Correa | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | December 14, 2021 | T13.23305 | 0.29[111] | |||||
| Jughead spirals when he notices a dead body resembling his own on the outskirts of town. He starts to notice cracks in the surface of the town, when two Reggies arrive in Rivervale and when he sees both Jason Blossom and Ben Button alive and well. He finds that there are a series of ninety-five comics that follow the stories of him and his friends in the town of Riverdale, but find that they cut off after the explosion at Archie’s house, with the name of the comics changing to Rivervale. He realizes that the two universes are connected, and seeks help from Ethel Muggs and a very much alive Dilton Doiley to close the gap between the two universes. Jughead and Betty recreate the events prior to the bomb erupting to close the gap. One of the versions of Jughead is sealed away in the bunker with Ethel watching over him, so that they may keep writing the stories of Riverdale, uninterrupted from the Rivervale universe but makes one change, making a call to Riverdale’s Betty to warn her and save her and Archie’s lives from the explosion. | ||||||||||||
| Regular season [112][113] | ||||||||||||
| 101 | 6 | "Chapter One Hundred and One: Unbelievable" | James DeWille | James DeWille | March 20, 2022 | T13.23306 | 0.23[114] | |||||
| Archie and Betty deal with mysterious side effects following the explosion at the Andrews house. Betty sees a malicious aura from a male orderly at the hospital whom she later detains as a suspect in the murder of a nurse. Fangs and Toni attempt a ceasefire agreement with the new Ghoulies leader, Twyla Twyst, but are rejected as they are reportedly still receiving money from Hiram Lodge to continue destroying the town. Archie, now seemingly invincible, confronts them alone which leads to Twyla's declaring war on the Serpents. Veronica conspires to have Hiram killed. After witnessing Reggie's reaction to his father's heart attack, she attempts to call off the hit but she is too late. Jughead suffers severe hearing loss and visits a doctor at Tabitha's request. Cheryl attempts to reverse Abigail's curse but realizes Abigail has possessed Britta's body. Nana Rose and Cheryl perform a banishment, but Nana Rose secretly redirects Abigail's spirit into Cheryl's body. Percival Pickens offers to buy the Andrews house, but Archie convinces his mother to sell it to him instead. While working on Hiram's case, Glen assaults Betty and she has him dismissed. Glen is later suffocated in his car by TBK. | ||||||||||||
| 102 | 7 | "Chapter One Hundred and Two: Death at a Funeral" | Tara Dafoe | Ted Sullivan | March 27, 2022 | T13.23307 | 0.21[115] | |||||
| Jughead struggles with his hearing loss, and develops writer's block because of it, but works around it by writing a graphic novel. He later realizes he has gained the ability to hear people's thoughts. Betty discovers that Glen is missing, and is sent one of his feet. She is later attacked by TBK but doesn't see an aura. After finding Glen's dismembered body, she decides to leave town to keep the others safe, knowing TBK will follow. Archie rebuilds his house, but is injured and realizes palladium causes him to lose his invulnerability. He is attacked by TBK, but is saved by Bingo, who has developed the ability to heal himself. Veronica's family, including Heraldo, her grandmother's godson and bodyguard, come to town for Hiram's memorial, and after finding Veronica put a hit out on him, Hermione and Reggie help her come to terms with his death. She is later targeted by an assassin, but is saved by Heraldo. Abigail, told by Rose she was brought back to restore the Blossoms' glory, develops an obsession with Toni, who resembles her dead lover Thomasina. She decides to get her back, as well as destroy the offspring of those who wronged her. | ||||||||||||
| 103 | 8 | "Chapter One Hundred and Three: The Town" | Rob Seidenglanz | Brian E. Paterson | April 3, 2022 | T13.23308 | 0.18[116] | |||||
| Britta enters Abigail's mind while she sleeps to find Cheryl, and finds her being tormented by a specter of Penelope. Britta manages to tell Cheryl she is trapped in her own mind, allowing her to fight back. Percival denounces Riverdale and demands they deal with the homeless, offering that they be bussed out of town. Archie attempts to provide micro-houses for the homeless, getting Toni and Tabitha to help. However, they are vandalized after a man attacks Kevin while building and cannot remember why. Jughead discovers that the last thing the man remembers before the attack was speaking to a man with an accent, like Percival, who reveals he has persuaded the homeless to leave town. Veronica and Reggie attempt to open a casino, but have to run scams to make money. After a man commits suicide in the casino, Heraldo removes the body and security footage shows Percival speaking to the man. Jughead invites Percival for a follow-up interview, and attempts to read his mind, only to find that Percival is aware of his telepathy. Heraldo reveals there is no record of Percival before he came to Riverdale. Betty returns to town and is told about Percival by Archie. | ||||||||||||
| 104 | 9 | "Chapter One Hundred and Four: The Serpent Queen's Gambit" | Antonio Negret | Danielle Iman | April 10, 2022 | T13.23309 | 0.22[117] | |||||
| Abigail attempts to poison Archie, Betty and Jughead but her plans are stopped by Betty. After she tries to kill Archie again, Jughead realizes her plans by reading Britta's mind. They, along with Britta and Rose, banish Abigail's spirit into the Julian doll, giving Cheryl her body back. Due to a war between the Serpents and the Ghoulies, Percival, now a sheriff's deputy, demands that Toni be removed from the town council, which passes after Fangs is arrested for possessing guns to fight the Ghoulies, who later kidnap Anthony. Toni agree to a gang fight to get him back, but the Serpents are interrupted by the police, who are unable to shoot after Toni films and livestreams the Serpents peacefully surrendering. Percival later informs Toni that the Ghoulies were found dead, apparently suicide, and Kevin decides to sue Toni and Fangs for custody of Anthony. Meanwhile, Reggie's father Marty loses a lot of money, and his car dealership, so Reggie adapts by moving some of the casino's business to the dealership and setting up private games there, knowing his father is dying. Percival is elected to the council by Alice and Frank following Toni's dismissal. | ||||||||||||
| 105 | 10 | "Chapter One Hundred and Five: Folk Heroes" | Gabriel Correa | Devon Turner | April 17, 2022 | T13.23310 | 0.23[118] | |||||
| Archie attempts to revitalize Riverdale by setting a record for the Guinness Book of World Record, using his invulnerability. He invites KO Kelly for a boxing match, but Percival, after failing to injure him, injures KO and fights Archie himself, beating him with palladium in his glove. Percival also steps down as a deputy and opens a curiosity shop, also renting a room at the Babylonium. He also tells Veronica about Tabitha and Toni copying her business ideas and Reggie running a side business at the car dealership, causing her to break up with Reggie, though she comes to an agreement with Tabitha and Toni after Pop and Fangs call them out for their behavior. After Britta moves back home, Cheryl constantly heats up and a nurse treating her spontaneously combusts. With the help of the FBI, Betty discovers Cheryl has developed pyrokinesis, but she manages to figure out how to control it. | ||||||||||||
| 106 | 11 | "Chapter One Hundred and Six: Angels in America" | Claudia Yarmy | Evan Kyle | April 24, 2022 | T13.23311 | 0.21[119] | |||||
| Tabitha discovers Percival intends to create a railroad through Riverdale, and build a station on Pop's. When she tries to get the others to help stop him, they refuse, though Jughead suggests turning Pop's into a landmark, also revealing his powers and those of the others. Returning to Pop's, she and Pop are attacked by an armed robber, who shoots her. She awakens in 1944, and is met by the angel Raphael, in the form of Jughead, who reveals to her she can time travel. She helps a black family and prevents Riverdale from becoming a sundown town, despite opposition from Percival, and is sent to the day of MLK's assassination in 1968. Raphael in the form of Toni tells her she can't save him, but can protect the black community from Percival. She does, and is sent to 1999, where she and Raphael, now Betty, trace a wave of vandalism to a curiosity shop owned by Percival. She defeats him and returns to the present, in time to stop the armed robber. She tells the others of her powers, and that they have to save Pop's to stop Percival, also revealing she has seen a future of Riverdale destroyed. | ||||||||||||
| 107 | 12 | "Chapter One Hundred and Seven: In the Fog" | Jeff Woolnough | Chrissy Maroon | May 1, 2022 | T13.23312 | 0.16[120] | |||||
| A fog comes through Riverdale, leaving everyone stuck where they are. At Archie's house, Archie and Betty find her period is late, and after talking, reaffirm their commitment to each other. Cheryl is visited by Penelope, who reveals she is becoming a nun, and gives her all the letters Heather wrote to her over the years, which she kept from her. Veronica and Reggie, at the Babylonium, rekindle their relationship, but eventually realize that they are recreating her parents' dynamic, and break up permanently. Kevin is invited to dinner with Toni and Fangs, but runs into Moose, and they talk and rekindle their relationship. Coming to terms with his past, Kevin offers joint custody for Anthony, but Fangs refuses, intending to fight. Tabitha admits to Jughead that she has traveled in time to stop the bomb, but when she does, they don't get powers. She has also seen many futures, in most of which Percival wins, and in all of them, Jughead dies. Jughead accepts this, not wanting to lose hope. After the fog lifts, Alice announces on the news that the council is dissolved, and Percival is now the mayor of Riverdale. | ||||||||||||
| 108 | 13 | "Chapter One Hundred and Eight: Ex-Libris" | Ruba Nadda | Aaron Allen | May 8, 2022 | T13.23313 | 0.19[121] | |||||
| Betty's pregnancy test is negative, and Reggie moves out of the Pembrooke. Percival hunts down overdue library books from Jughead, Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Cheryl, who are all unable to produce the copies they borrowed from the library. Percival takes their personal effects as collateral until they can find the books. While in his possession, Percival uses the gang's items to torture them and unleash their darkest trauma. Betty faces early childhood memories of Hal's murderous habits, Archie deals with his affair with Miss Grundy, Jughead faces the circumstances of his grandfather's death, Veronica deals with being alone, and Cheryl is met by the ghost of Heather in her past. Reggie and Kevin are hunted for overdue books by Percival but are able to return them. Percival gains an ally in Reggie, and during a heart-to-heart, Percival and Kevin kiss. Veronica sleeps with Heraldo, but the next morning discovers him dead. Dr. Curdle confirms the cause of death as poisoning from a black widow spider. The gang returns their books to Percival and gain their items back. Cheryl hosts a gathering where the gang burns their items, so Percival has no hold over them with them in their possession. | ||||||||||||
| 109 | 14 | "Chapter One Hundred and Nine: Venomous" | Lisa Soper | Tessa Leigh Williams | May 15, 2022 | T13.23314 | 0.20[122] | |||||
| Archie struggles to overcome his weakness in palladium in order to stand a chance against Percival. He turns to Cheryl for help, and she suggests she perform a ritual to help transform his body to not reject the palladium. The ritual is successful, and Archie and Betty rejoice. Meanwhile, Veronica bouts head with Reggie over control of the Babylonium while learning to deal with the intense amount of toxins her body is producing. Cheryl reaches out to Heather, going against the advice of Nana Rose. Elsewhere, Betty turns to Jughead for help uncovering her repressed memories of her father. She discovers that Alice tested positive for the serial killer gene and that Hal and Alice covered up a murder together before Hal assumed the role of the Black Hood. Betty is angry at Alice for shielding her from her father's grooming and confronts her. Veronica regains control of the Babylonium. Jughead is met with fond memories of his time with Betty and Heather arrives at Thornhill to Cheryl's surprise. | ||||||||||||
| 110 | 15 | "Chapter One Hundred and Ten: Things That Go Bump in the Night" | Gabriel Correa | Gigi Swift & Ryan Terrebonne | May 22, 2022 | T13.23315 | 0.21[123] | |||||
| Heather coaches Cheryl in the arcane arts after revealing to Cheryl that she is a witch. Meanwhile, after seeing a threatening aura around Dagwood, Betty consults Agent Drake to make sense of her visions. They assume Betty only sees the aura around those without the MAOA gene, but when Alice erupts on Betty for taking the twins from her custody, Betty sees an aura around Alice. Betty also sees an aura around her reflection in the mirror, undermining her hunch. Elsewhere, Veronica consults Jughead for help drawing business to the Babylonium. Reggie blackmails her, so she instructs Jughead to erase his memory. Toni and Fangs continue to fight for custody of Anthony, while Fangs struggles to hold down a job. Archie and Tabitha get to work dismantling Pop's to relocate from Percival's demolition. They load the furnishings onto the truck, but are surprised to see the diner reassembled the next day. Tabitha accosts Percival, but consults Heather and Cheryl when she realizes that the diner is being inhabited by ghosts who refuse to move the location of the diner. Tabitha compromises with them, agreeing to rapidly move the diner. | ||||||||||||
| 111 | 16 | "Chapter One Hundred and Eleven: Blue Collar" | Tara Dafoe | James DeWille & Arabella Anderson | May 29, 2022 | T13.23316 | 0.17[124] | |||||
| Archie and Tabitha persuade Percival’s work crew to unionize after learning that he is exploiting them. Archie enlists Cheryl to find evidence of worker mistreatment in the Pickens’ history, which Heather assists with. Heather and Cheryl attempt a spell where Cheryl enters Percival’s curiosity shop unseen so that they can retrieve a book. Meanwhile, Reggie and Percival toy with Jughead’s mind for revenge and Toni and Fangs continue to battle for custody against Kevin. When Toni enlists Britta to babysit, Kevin visits with Anthony and takes his pacifier to determine whether or not he is Anthony’s father. However, Toni storms his apartment and picks a fight with him. Elsewhere, Betty arrives home to find Charles sleeping in her bed, dying of leukemia. Alice tries to smother him to cease his suffering, but Betty stops her because she wants to learn how Charles copes with what he’s done. Betty realizes that Charles is poisoned by his darkness, and enlists Veronica and Agent Drake to help her remove the toxins from his body. They do this via a blood transfusion with Veronica, which is seemingly successful. Betty is determined to trap TBK once and for all, and asks Veronica for permission to hold a serial killer convention at the Babylonium. | ||||||||||||
| 112 | 17 | "Chapter One Hundred and Twelve: American Psychos" | Gabriel Correa | Tessa Leigh Williams & Greg Murray | June 12, 2022 | T13.23317 | 0.24[125] | |||||
| Betty and Veronica get the final plans for the convention hammered out, while Toni tells Cheryl about the wedding. Cheryl is upset, and enlists Kevin to perform a misfortune spell upon the couple. When the spell backfires, causing Anthony to develop colic, Heather steps in to help. Meanwhile, Archie and Tabitha continue to put up a front against Percival. Percival then manipulates the crew into restarting the railroad job, which Tabitha and Archie convince them to quit, Archie sings Bread and Roses at the construction site. Elsewhere, Agent Drake confesses her attraction to Betty in the midst of the convention. However, Veronica confronts her for doing so at a vulnerable time for Betty, and convinces Betty to have a serious talk with Archie. At the convention, TBK calls Betty in front of the audience, leading her to believe he is in attendance. That evening, Betty sees TBK. She follows him back to her house, to find an FBI agent murdered and Alice and Charles tied up at the kitchen table. TBK waits for Betty in the garage, but Betty kills him. She returns home and has a conversation with Archie to reaffirm the direction of their relationship. | ||||||||||||
| 113 | 18 | "Chapter One Hundred and Thirteen: Biblical" | Ronald Paul Richard | Janine Salinas Schoenberg & Brian E. Paterson | June 26, 2022 | T13.23318 | 0.29[126] | |||||
| As Jughead continues to spiral in the bunker, Archie and Tabitha try to get the union to hold onto hope. Meanwhile, Percival elicits a series of plagues on the town, including having the Sweetwater River run red. Veronica plans Toni and Fangs’ wedding, but hits a roadblock in finding a wedding date. Cheryl attempts to set Percival on fire, ultimately killing him, as a wedding gift for Toni. However, the spell Heather and Cheryl perform fails, and Percival sets Nana Rose on fire. Betty researches the events and finds that Percival is likening her to the Harlot of Babylon, planning to capture her in a stockade. Betty confronts him, but he requests that she bring Anthony to him as a bargaining chip. Betty brings a decoy to Percival’s shop, with the gang using Heather’s invisibility spell so they can back her up. They incapacitate Percival in time for Toni’s wedding, but he escapes. During the wedding, Percival suffocates Nana Rose, the eldest first-born child in Riverdale, causing all first-born children to die, including Archie, Jughead, Fangs, and Toni. Jughead comes face-to-face with his Rivervale counterpart, and Heather plans to call in Sabrina Spellman to help the gang. | ||||||||||||
| 114 | 19 | "Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen: The Witches of Riverdale" | Alex Sanjiv Pillai | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa & Chrissy Maroon | July 10, 2022 | T13.23319 | 0.22[127] | |||||
|
Following the deaths of their friends, Heather calls Sabrina Spellman to town to have them resurrected. Realizing he is still alive because Percival wants to punish him personally, Kevin attempts to leave town, but is captured. Sabrina arrives and inducts Betty, Veronica and Tabitha into the coven. She then uses Jughead's body to bring back her deceased boyfriend Nick Scratch. Nick informs them they have to die to cross over to bring back their friends, and use Charon to send Cheryl, Veronica and Tabitha into the afterlife to find them, as Betty is unable to due to her darkness. Sabrina and Nick go on one final date, and get closure before his spirit returns to the afterlife. Percival offers Kevin's heart to save Marty if Reggie persuades Kevin to give up their plan, but they are captured after trying to rescue him. When the girls cannot convince their friends to return, Sabrina reveals Cheryl can forcibly resurrect them with her phoenix powers. She does, also resurrecting Jason and Polly. Percival tells his captives he intends to kill them, but Reggie reveals he has a plan. Tabitha informs the group that Anthony is immortal, and she is Riverdale's guardian angel. This episode is a crossover with Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and provides closure to plot points from that series. | ||||||||||||
| 115 | 20 | "Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen: Return to Rivervale" | Anna Kerrigan | Ted Sullivan & Devon Turner | July 17, 2022 | T13.23320 | 0.26[128] | |||||
| Jughead realizes that he can open portals, taking him and Tabitha to the Rivervale universe to find answers about Percival. Meanwhile, Tom and Frank hold Kevin, Marty, and Reggie hostage in the Babylonium to save them for execution. Alice interviews Percival, learning that he is an immortal being that was brought into Riverdale the night of the bomb when the universes bled into each other as a result of the Rivervale Jughead tipping off Riverdale Betty. He was on his way to seek revenge against the early settlers whom he came to Riverdale with, the ancestors of the gang. Betty reunited with Polly, and Polly helps her realize that her evil does not define her. Cheryl and Archie plan to explode the train tracks after freeing Kevin, Reggie, and Marty. Jughead and Tabitha gather intel about Percival from Mr. Cypher in Rivervale and realize that the chances of them winning the war against Percival in Riverdale are bleak. Jughead helps Kevin, Reggie, and Marty escape by opening a portal back in Riverdale. In retaliation, Percival announces the execution of Frank, Tom, and Alice to the gang. | ||||||||||||
| 116 | 21 | "Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen: The Stand" | Cierra Glaudé | Danielle Iman & Evan Kyle | July 24, 2022 | T13.23321 | 0.23[129] | |||||
| The group attempts to negotiate for Riverdale with Percival, but he refuses. He gives them the corpses of Alice, Frank and Tom, without their heads so Cheryl cannot resurrect them. Percival casts a spell to have Reggie, Jason, Veronica's grandmother and Glen's corpse attack Archie, Cheryl, Veronica and Betty, forcing Cheryl to kill Jason again. Tabitha uses her powers to age Anthony into a young adult, and they attack Percival, but he escapes. She also uses them to have Pop's disassembled and reassembled in its original location, and they confront Percival. He subdues Archie, Betty, Veronica, Cheryl and Reggie and enters Pop's to confront Jughead. They enter each other's minds, and Jughead reveals he tricked Percival into abandoning his body. When Percival returns to his body he finds he stepped through a portal to the Pop's of Rivervale, where their counterparts stabbed him. Tabitha brings him back to before he became immortal, negating his immortality, but as he dies forever, he casts a final spell. In Riverdale, Cheryl resurrects Alice, Frank and Tom, but they find his last spell was to redirect Bailey's Comet to crash into Riverdale and destroy it, which Tabitha realizes is the future she saw. | ||||||||||||
| 117 | 22 | "Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen: Night of the Comet" | Gabriel Correa | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa & Aaron Allen | July 31, 2022 | T13.23322 | 0.17[130] | |||||
| The group discovers a barrier trapping them in Riverdale as the comet comes. Cheryl and Heather offer to free Abigail if she helps them destroy the comet and open the barrier, and she agrees in exchange for a night with Thomasina in Cheryl and Toni's bodies. Cheryl reveals that she can melt the comet with her powers, but it will require all her power, and doing this may cause some of the resurrected to die again. Mary returns to Riverdale and, along with Betty, helps Archie realize he has an unhealthy hero complex. Betty declines a promotion to a task force hunting serial killers, wanting to focus on something good. Veronica realizes she needs to learn to be on her own, and gives ownership of the casino to Reggie. Jughead and Tabitha spend their lives together using her powers. Heather tells Cheryl she knows that she and Toni are soulmates. Veronica realizes she can filter powers, and transfers all their powers to Cheryl to augment hers. Cheryl, with all their powers, goes to melt the comet. After it strikes, the gang has been sent back to high school in 1955, with only Jughead remembering their former lives. | ||||||||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by [131] | Original air date [132] | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 118 | 1 | "Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen: Don't Worry, Darling" | Ronald Paul Richard | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa & Danielle Iman | March 29, 2023 | T13.23901 | 0.26[133] |
| Following the strike of Bailey's Comet, it is 1955. In Riverdale, Betty and Kevin are dating and Cheryl's twin brother is Julian, and alive, while Jughead lives alone with a pet dog, and Fred died in the Korean war. Archie and Julian compete for the attention of new girl Veronica Lodge, which is difficult due to Mary forbidding Archie from driving following the death of James Dean. Following the murder of Emmett Till, Jughead attempts to connect with Tabitha, who eventually leaves to tour the country with Till's family. Jughead also digs up the time capsule they buried after high school and tells the others about it, but they don't believe him. Veronica is revealed to have been exiled to Riverdale by her parents after having a role in James Dean's accident. Betty and Toni draw attention to Till's injustice by having Cheryl read a poem about him to the school. Jughead is met by Tabitha from the original timeline, who reveals the comet hit Riverdale and she put them in the past to protect them and to turn the timeline to a future where Riverdale doesn't collapse, and takes his memory to stop him from disrupting the timeline. | |||||||
| 119 | 2 | "Chapter One Hundred and Nineteen: Skip, Hop, and Thump!" | Ronald Paul Richard | Ariana Jackson | April 5, 2023 | T13.23902 | 0.27[134] |
| Archie attempts to ask Veronica to the upcoming sock hop, and writes a poem for her, but gives up when he finds Veronica is also considering Julian and several other boys. Betty becomes irate when Kevin won't commit to her, and starts having feelings for Archie, while Kevin himself starts to have feelings for new transfer student Clay Walker. However, Alice convinces Kevin to promise to commit to Betty, and he does, giving her Alice's pin. Toni attempts to convince Cheryl to make Fangs the performer at the sock hop, and succeeds after Cheryl finds out that Fangs is in a relationship with Midge, one of the River Vixens. Jughead believes that Pep Comics stole a story he submitted, and confronts the editor, Al Fieldstone, who hires him as a writer and eventually Ethel as an artist. Despite Ethel's parents' disapproval, she and Jughead agree to attend the sock hop together. At the sock hop, after finding the poem, Veronica apologizes to Archie, but he rejects her. Toni dances with Cheryl, to Principal Featherhead's displeasure. Ethel arrives covered in blood and tells Jughead something terrible has happened. | |||||||
| 120 | 3 | "Chapter One Hundred and Twenty: Sex Education" | James DeWille | Janine Salinas Schoenberg | April 12, 2023 | T13.23903 | 0.22[135] |
| Ethel claims a milkman killed her parents, though the authorities don't believe her. Afterward, she moves in with the Coopers, to Hal's displeasure, and tells Jughead some of the pictures she drew are of her parents' deaths. He retrieves them from her house, but is nearly caught by Betty, who takes clothes and a book on sex education. Penelope pressures Cheryl to date a boy, and she starts a relationship with Archie. The students attend an open mic at the coffee shop, where Cheryl is aroused by Toni, and fantasize about each other. After a lecture on sex education, Veronica, who still has feelings for Archie, invites the students to a makeout party, though Clay declines and confesses to Kevin that he is gay. At the makeout party, Cheryl goes further with Archie, Veronica and Jughead begin a relationship, and Betty finds Kevin is not aroused by her while Archie was, and gives her boyfriend the book to get him interested. The next day, Ethel and Jughead are confronted in the principal's office by Sheriff Keller, who shows them he searched Jughead's home and found Ethel's drawings and a comic about a homicidal milkman, seemingly believing they are guilty. | |||||||
| 121 | 4 | "Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-One: Love & Marriage" | Claudia Yarmy | Chrissy Maroon | April 19, 2023 | T13.23904 | 0.25[136] |
| Jughead and Ethel are arrested for the murders. Veronica gets Jughead released, and he reveals Julian was with Ethel during the murders. They force him to tell the police and Ethel is released. She also helps him refurbish his home, and they share a kiss. Betty breaks up with Kevin when he returns the book and admits he wants to wait until marriage. When she sees him with Clay, she realizes he is gay and tells Alice, who tries to convince her it is just a phase. She confronts Kevin, and they repair their friendship. He later tells her Alice gave him the pin, and she confronts her mother, who reveals she has burned the sex book and sent Ethel to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Archie and Cheryl, claiming to have had sex, are pressured to get married by their parents. However, Cheryl eventually decides to stop denying her sexuality, and breaks up with Archie, encouraging him to pursue Betty. Mary calls Archie's uncle Frank to come and get him back on track. Fangs and Midge get pregnant, but her parents refuse to let them marry, so Fangs decides to become a rock star to be acceptable to them. | |||||||
| 122 | 5 | "Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Two: Tales in a Jugular Vein" | Jeff Woolnough | Greg Murray | April 26, 2023 | T13.23905 | 0.19[137] |
| Mr. Fieldstone tasks Jughead with writing four stories for their next issue, despite Mr. Blossom, Principal Featherhead and Dr. Werthers looking to censor comics as the reason for the murder of Ethel's parents. Jughead does, showing them to Veronica. In the first, Dilton is bullied by the basketball team for underperforming by locking him in the locker which he begins to have psychotic break by his morbid fear of claustrophobia so he kills them and uses their heads as basketballs. In the second, Archie's car breaks down close to Thornhill and he is invited to spend the night by Rose Blossom. Despite being instructed not to engage with her nymphomaniac granddaughter Cheryl, he does, only to discover she also has leprosy. In the third, Betty gets a new hairstyle to get herself noticed, and becomes popular, only to die when black widow spiders make a nest in her hair. In the last, Archie dates both Betty and Veronica, but when he has to choose between them on Valentine's Day, lies to get out of it and goes on a date with Cheryl, for which they kill him. Veronica breaks up with Jughead due to the stories demonizing women, though Mr. Fieldstone likes them and offers to credit Jughead for them. | |||||||
| 123 | 6 | "Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Three: Peep Show" | Amy Myrold | Ted Sullivan | May 3, 2023 | T13.23906 | 0.21[138] |
| Jughead discovers Pep Comics has plagiarized the work of an author he likes, Brad Rayberry. He informs the author and gets him to come to a deal with Mr. Fieldstone. He later bonds further with the author when offering to adapt his works for comics, only to earn his ire when he steals and reads Rayberry's unpublished manuscript. Frank forces Archie to be better, including getting a job and being water boy for the basketball team, coached by him. After Archie gets in a fight with Julian over his inability to play, he admits to Mary that he feels he cannot live up to Fred's expectations. Mary tells him Fred would be proud regardless, and he joins the basketball team. Toni joins the River Vixens, and she and Cheryl grow closer, eventually confessing their feelings and starting a relationship, despite Evelyn's disapproval. Veronica tries to help Betty attract Archie, giving her lingerie and taking her out with other boys, but they are eventually seen looking at him through his bedroom window. Betty and Archie agree to give each other a peep show the next night, but are caught by Hal and Frank. Dr. Werthers discovers Jughead is writing horror comics. | |||||||
| 124 | 7 | "Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Four: Dirty Dancing" | Jesse Warn | Aaron Allen | May 10, 2023 | T13.23907 | 0.20[139] |
| After Archie and Betty are caught, Alice spreads the news to the town, and Veronica's parents. She also forces Betty to become a dancer on the Coopers' show, where she is harassed by her coworkers. When Betty gets herself kicked off by flashing her underwear at the camera, Alice refers her to Dr. Werthers. Veronica is forced to get a job working at the Babylonium, which Clay also works at, and finds out her parents plan to buy and raze it. She prevents this by buying it herself. Tom forces Kevin to join the basketball team, and Julian pressures him to see a prostitute. When Archie tells Betty about this, she tells him to stop it. He does, and finds out Kevin is gay, but continues to be friends with him, while Tom reveals to Kevin he set it up to confirm Kevin's sexuality, and takes him off the basketball team. Jughead is forced to either stop writing comics or be expelled, and he drops out of school to continue writing. When Rayberry finds out, he forces Principal Featherhead and Dr. Werthers to compromise by letting Jughead write non-horror comics. Rayberry is later visited by a milkman late at night. | |||||||
| 125 | 8 | "Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Five: Hoop Dreams" | Cierra "Shooter" Glaudé | Evan Kyle | May 17, 2023 | T13.23908 | 0.23[140] |
| Following a losing streak for the basketball team, Mr. Blossom allows Frank to recruit an out-of-town player, Reggie Mantle. Reggie moves in with Archie's family while attending Riverdale High. He is indifferent to Archie's attempts to bond with him, and reveals he has always been the victim of discrimination due to being half-Korean. Archie forces the team to stop doing this, as they need him. Kevin gets a job at the Babylonium, and Veronica asks him to help her get Clay's romantic attention. When he admits to her Clay is gay, she reveals she knew and was testing him. Betty’s parents force her to join the River Vixens, but she doesn't think it will last after she has to personally take care of Reggie's needs. Toni breaks up with Cheryl and quits the River Vixens after Cheryl asks to go steady, but realizes her true feelings and decides to try again after Cheryl helps her secure money to start a black literature club. Tabitha returns to town and bonds further with Jughead, giving him a book about a comet and an interracial relationship. When he tries to tell Rayberry about her, he finds the author dead, seemingly having killed himself. | |||||||
| 126 | 9 | "Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Six: Betty & Veronica Double Digest" | Alex Sanjiv Pillai | Will Ewing | May 24, 2023 | T13.23909 | 0.19[141] |
| While Jughead mourns Rayberry, Betty goes through therapy with Dr. Werthers. After she admits that she may not want to get married, and writes about sexual dreams in her diary, he tells Alice, and both try to conform Betty to their way of thinking. Betty responds by breaking into Dr. Werthers' office to read his notes on her, and finds a copy of Lolita. After reading it, she confronts him and accuses him of fantasizing about her. He attempts to stop counseling her, but Alice refuses to allow this. When Betty tries to talk to Alice about her feelings, they are stopped by Hal. The next day, Alice tells Betty she is no longer her mother. Meanwhile, Veronica attempts to promote the Babylonium, but finds her parents are interfering with her business as revenge for her buying it from under them. She adapts by showing lesser known movies with a gimmick, and manages to bring in business, only for her parents to respond by kicking her out of her apartment, forcing her to move into her office in the Babylonium. Jughead, after coming to terms with Rayberry's death, is asked by Sheriff Keller to help with the case. | |||||||
| 127 | 10 | "Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Seven: American Graffiti" | Kevin Rodney Sullivan | Nate Burke & Sam Rubinek | May 31, 2023 | T13.23910 | 0.28[142] |
| Cheryl feels left out when Toni spends time with the black literature club. She asks to attend a meeting, and realizes Toni still needs her own space. Reggie borrows Archie’s car for a date with Veronica, while Archie dates Betty, but Archie is distracted on his date, and becomes irate when Reggie returns home late without a good explanation. The four agree to go on a double date to a concert in Centerville that Fangs is performing at, but Archie and Reggie continue to have trust issues, and eventually have to hike to Pop's for gas when the car runs dry. Pop sells Reggie a jalopy so he can have his own car, and the boys make up after admitting to each other they both feel homesick in their own way. Betty and Veronica are taken to the concert by Cheryl, Toni and Midge, and Reggie later enlists Betty’s help to fix the jalopy. Jughead and Tabitha investigate Rayberry's death, and discover he was married to a black woman and experienced racism. Tabitha decides to go back to touring the country with Emmett Till's family following this, while Jughead discovers Rayberry was visited by a milkman the night he died. | |||||||
| 128 | 11 | "Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Eight: Halloween II" | Ronald Paul Richard | Felicia Ho | June 7, 2023 | T13.23911 | 0.23[143] |
| Despite there being no celebrations of Halloween allowed in Riverdale due to an incident involving the deaths of four students, the gang decides to celebrate anyway. Archie, Betty and Dilton try to give Reggie his first Halloween experience, which results in Archie and Reggie competing for Betty's attention. Veronica holds a show at the Babylonium which Cheryl and Toni perform in, kissing in public. Afterward, they tell Fangs and Midge that they are secretly dating, and find out about the pregnancy, which Evelyn overhears. Ethel escapes the Sisters of Quiet Mercy and contacts Jughead, and they investigate the milkman, discovering the original writer of the Milkman comic killed himself, citing the comic as the reason. Afterward, he leaves her at Rayberry's apartment, but returns when a neighbor alerts him to the milkman's presence, only to find Ethel has already killed him. After Betty favors Archie, Reggie joins Julian and other Bulldogs to vandalize the town, only for them to later drive into Sweetwater River. | |||||||
| 129 | 12 | "Chapter One Twenty-Nine: After the Fall" | Julia Bettencourt | Gigi Swift | June 21, 2023 | T13.23912 | 0.19[144] |
| Thanks to Reggie, the boys survive the accident, but Julian is left in a coma, for which Mr. Blossom blames Reggie, though he still forces the season to go forward against Cheryl's wishes. Archie is named the new team captain, though he believes Reggie deserves the position, and is revealed to have a passion for writing poetry. When the Stonewall Prep students steal the Riverdale mascot and threaten the team, Reggie comes up with the plan to beat them. After Cheryl hears her father plotting to replace Reggie with another player, she informs Archie, and the team confronts Mr. Blossom, threatening him into making Reggie captain, and they defeat Stonewall. Meanwhile, after the milkman is killed, Ethel moves back in with the Coopers, and Alice's behavior causes Betty to move in with Veronica, breaking back into the Pembrooke. After bonding, they are caught by Mary and explain everything, and she confronts their parents, causing Veronica's parents to allow her back in and Alice to ease up towards Betty. After Ethel tells Jughead she wants to tell her own story, they write a new comic, "The Mailman Cometh" and persuade Mr. Fieldstone to publish it. | |||||||
| 130 | 13 | "Chapter One Thirty: The Crucible" | Mädchen Amick | Janine Salinas Schoenberg & Will Ewing | June 28, 2023 | T13.23913 | 0.19[145] |
| Mrs. Thornton is fired on suspicion of being a communist, and eventually replaced by Mrs. Grundy, who continues mentoring Archie despite Frank's disapproval of poetry. Due to Evelyn's machinations, Cheryl is forced to either confirm certain students, including Kevin, Clay and Toni, are gay, or lose leadership of the River Vixens, and she eventually refuses, though starts pretending to date Kevin, while Clay and Toni also pretend to date. Hiram comes to town, ostensibly to visit Veronica, but eventually reveals he is being investigated as a communist, and asks Veronica to be his alibi. After finding out he is cheating on Hermione and sharing a kiss with Archie, she agrees, but also forces him to tell Hermione of his affair and sign ownership of the Pembrooke to her. After he leaves, Hermione tells Veronica that they are getting a divorce. After the school newspaper is shut down, Betty starts a newsletter for teenage girls, under an alias. Jughead and Ethel, finding out that no one is selling comics anymore due to the smear campaign, decide to sell comics discreetly, but are eventually caught. Principal Featherhead later buys the comics off students and has them publicly burned. | |||||||
| 131 | 14 | "Chapter One Hundred Thirty-One: Archie the Musical" | Ronald Paul Richard | Tessa Leigh Williams | July 5, 2023 | T13.23914 | 0.21[146] |
| Kevin writes a musical for the spring performance, and decides it will be about senior year at Riverdale High, though Reggie and Jughead refuse to participate. He decides it will star Archie, which becomes difficult when Archie drops out due to realizing, through the songs written, that he doesn't know what he wants in life. He eventually drops off the basketball team to focus on poetry, disappointing Frank, and tells Betty and Veronica he will not be pursuing either for a while. Kevin also writes a song for Betty, Veronica, Cheryl and Toni, which none of them approve of. Betty and Veronica decide to focus on their friendship instead of Archie, while Cheryl and Toni drop out of the musical after Kevin writes a song about their relationship that he cannot include. Kevin, meanwhile, struggles with tension between his parents, who eventually tell him they are getting a divorce, while Principal Featherhead tells him his musical will not be produced. Kevin blows up in front of the other students, but after Clay explains why, they console him. | |||||||
| 132 | 15 | "Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Two: Miss Teen Riverdale" | Michael Goi | Aaron Allen & Chrissy Maroon | July 19, 2023 | T13.23915 | 0.22[147] |
| Riverdale's beauty pageant, which will be broadcast on live television, arrives. The girls compete, coached by Alice, who tells Betty she won in her day, and had dreams of being a stewardess and traveling before she married Hal. After noticing Ethel feeling left out, Betty encourages her to join in, while Alice realizes Midge is pregnant, and has her sent to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Ethel decides to participate in her place, but Alice refuses, so Betty and Veronica blackmail Hal into allowing it, while Cheryl and Toni console Fangs, eventually getting him a phone call with Midge. Ethel wins the pageant after singing "Who Will Love Me As I Am", though it is later shown Alice lied and the judges actually chose Betty. | |||||||
| 133 | 16 | "Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Three: Stag" | Rob Seidenglanz | Ryan Terrebonne | July 26, 2023 | T13.23916 | 0.16[148] |
| Julian gets a pornographic film, which Veronica allows him to screen at the Babylonium, only for it to be shut down when Betty finds out her sister Polly is the star of it. She contacts Polly, who comes to Riverdale and admits she is now a burlesque dancer, which Alice and Hal know about. She also tells Betty and Veronica she is engaged, and agrees to perform her act for the women at the Babylonium. After Alice refuses to attend and Betty reprimands her, telling her she can't wait to leave Riverdale forever, Alice slaps her. After being told about the Beats, Archie is aroused watching a wrestling film with Reggie, who is also aroused. They later have a questionable encounter with a prostitute, Twyla, and tell each other they love each other. Cheryl and Toni do a photoshoot in lingerie. Jughead attempts to help Mr. Fieldstone come to terms with Dr. Werthers and the board censoring comics, but Dr. Werthers tells him the terms are already set. Veronica consoles Jughead, and they reignite their relationship. | |||||||
| 134 | 17 | "Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Four: A Different Kind of Cat" | Kevin Rodney Sullivan | Ariana Jackson & Evan Kyle | August 2, 2023 | T13.23917 | 0.21[149] |
| Josie McCoy, an actress, comes to Riverdale to screen her new film at the Babylonium, and befriends Veronica, who is now openly in a relationship with Jughead. Archie, attempting to get more experience for his poetry, is rejected by Twyla, and performs a poem about Mrs. Grundy, who rejects him and tells him to write about his greatest pain. He writes a poem about his father, but Frank disapproves. Betty tries to write a book about her newsletter, and discovers Cheryl and Toni are dating. She admits she is the writer of the newsletter and asks them to do a photoshoot starring her. They do, using one of the photos as the cover for the book, and Cheryl later tells her about masturbation. Inspired by Veronica, Jughead creates a new comic character, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, only for the publishers to reject it. Toni introduces Fangs to Josie, who recognizes his talent and offers to connect him to her producer. Despite problems at the screening, the movie is a success, and Josie suggests to Veronica that she should direct movies instead of managing a theater. | |||||||
| 135 | 18 | "Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Five: For a Better Tomorrow" | Gregory Smith | Ted Sullivan & Greg Murray | August 9, 2023 | T13.23918 | 0.22[150] |
| Sheriff Keller kills a man suffering from radiation poisoning, who turns out to have worked for the Blossoms. Archie considers joining the merchant marines, but Frank pressures him to join the army instead, like Fred. When Mary finds out, she kicks Frank out. Frank moves in with Tom, coming to terms with his family before leaving. Jughead realizes everyone killed by the milkman worked for the Blossoms at some point, and asks Cheryl to investigate. She does, overhearing her parents speaking Russian and finding a room full of milkman uniforms, while Jughead is shown Dilton's bunker. They call the FBI on Clifford and Penelope, who are revealed to be Russian spies building bombs. Meanwhile, the girls sign up for drivers education, but need a birth certificate to get a license. When retrieving Ethel's from her house, Betty finds a picture of Hal holding baby Ethel and checks paid from her family to Ethel’s for years. When she confronts her parents, Alice reveals Hal had an affair with Ethel's mother and is Ethel's biological father, and she kept the secret to avoid the scandal. Betty forgives her past behavior. The Coopers offer to adopt Ethel, but she refuses and leaves Riverdale. | |||||||
| 136 | 19 | "Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Six: The Golden Age of Television" | Tara Dafoe | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa & Tessa Leigh Williams | August 16, 2023 | T13.23919 | 0.19[151] |
| Principal Featherhead resigns and is replaced by Waldo Weatherbee, who rehires Mrs. Thornton. Archie decides to travel as a writer during the summer, but after Reggie cannot attend basketball camp due to having to work at the farm, Archie offers to work in his place, to use the experience for writing. Cheryl regains control of the River Vixens and admits her relationship with Toni. Betty's book is published, and she shows it to Alice, who reads it and bonds further with her daughter. Jughead writes a comic about the book Tabitha gave him which is rejected, but Mr. Fieldstone decides to publish it anyway, but closes Pep Comics afterward and has Jughead write its eulogy. Veronica and Clay decide to turn the story into a movie. Kevin sees Tom and Frank together. Returning home, Jughead meets Tabitha from the original timeline, who reveals the future is saved, but she cannot send them back to it and offers to restore their memories. He agrees, tells the others, and their memories are restored. Afterward, they decide to reset their minds and only remember the good memories, which Tabitha agrees to before leaving, though Betty and Jughead choose to also remember the bad. | |||||||
| 137 | 20 | "Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven: Goodbye, Riverdale" | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa | August 23, 2023 | T13.23920 | 0.21[152] |
| In the present day, after reading a recently deceased Jughead's obituary, an aged Betty tells her granddaughter Alice she wants to go back to Riverdale one last time. The night before they leave, she sees an apparition of Jughead as a teenager, who brings her back to the day they graduated high school. Passing through her house, the school, the coffee shop, Thornhill, and eventually ending at Pop Tate's grave, she recalls the final fates of all her friends and their families, including her own. The next day, Alice and her husband bring Betty back to Riverdale, now a ghost town, and stop in front of Pop's, now out of business, only for her to die in the back seat. A teenage Betty leaves the car and walks into a functional Pop's, meeting all her friends from high school, teenagers once again, in the afterlife. She sits in a booth with Archie, Jughead and Veronica. Outside, the apparition of Jughead gives closure to the series. | |||||||
|
Main article: Riverdale (season 1) § Ratings |
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
DVR (18–49) |
DVR viewers (millions) |
Total (18–49) |
Total viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chapter Fourteen: A Kiss Before Dying" | October 11, 2017 | 0.8/3 | 2.34[21] | 0.6 | 1.40 | 1.4 | 3.74[153] |
| 2 | "Chapter Fifteen: Nighthawks" | October 18, 2017 | 0.6/2 | 1.76[22] | 0.6 | 1.34 | 1.2 | 3.10[154] |
| 3 | "Chapter Sixteen: The Watcher in the Woods" | October 25, 2017 | 0.6/2 | 1.62[23] | 0.6 | 1.32 | 1.2 | 2.94[155] |
| 4 | "Chapter Seventeen: The Town That Dreaded Sundown" | November 1, 2017 | 0.6/2 | 1.51[24] | 0.5 | 1.30 | 1.1 | 2.80[156] |
| 5 | "Chapter Eighteen: When a Stranger Calls" | November 8, 2017 | 0.5/2 | 1.47[25] | 0.5 | 1.23 | 1.0 | 2.70[157] |
| 6 | "Chapter Nineteen: Death Proof" | November 15, 2017 | 0.5/2 | 1.43[26] | 0.5 | 1.23 | 1.0 | 2.66[158] |
| 7 | "Chapter Twenty: Tales from the Darkside" | November 29, 2017 | 0.5/2 | 1.45[27] | 0.5 | 1.19 | 1.0 | 2.64[159] |
| 8 | "Chapter Twenty-One: House of the Devil" | December 6, 2017 | 0.5/2 | 1.48[28] | 0.6 | 1.20 | 1.1 | 2.68[160] |
| 9 | "Chapter Twenty-Two: Silent Night, Deadly Night" | December 13, 2017 | 0.5/2 | 1.43[29] | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | "Chapter Twenty-Three: The Blackboard Jungle" | January 17, 2018 | 0.5/2 | 1.44[30] | 0.5 | 1.14 | 1.0 | 2.59[161] |
| 11 | "Chapter Twenty-Four: The Wrestler" | January 24, 2018 | 0.5/2 | 1.39[31] | 0.5 | 1.15 | 1.0 | 2.54[162] |
| 12 | "Chapter Twenty-Five: The Wicked and the Divine" | January 31, 2018 | 0.5/2 | 1.34[32] | 0.5 | 1.06 | 1.0 | 2.40[163] |
| 13 | "Chapter Twenty-Six: The Tell-Tale Heart" | February 7, 2018 | 0.5/2 | 1.28[33] | 0.4 | 0.96 | 0.9 | 2.24[164] |
| 14 | "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Hills Have Eyes" | March 7, 2018 | 0.5/2 | 1.26[34] | 0.4 | 0.95 | 0.9 | 2.22[165] |
| 15 | "Chapter Twenty-Eight: There Will Be Blood" | March 14, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.19[35] | 0.4 | 0.91 | 0.8 | 2.10[166] |
| 16 | "Chapter Twenty-Nine: Primary Colors" | March 21, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.16[36] | 0.4 | 0.94 | 0.8 | 2.10[167] |
| 17 | "Chapter Thirty: The Noose Tightens" | March 28, 2018 | 0.3/1 | 0.96[37] | 0.4 | 0.91 | 0.7 | 1.87[168] |
| 18 | "Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember" | April 18, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.10[38] | 0.3 | 0.83 | 0.7 | 1.93[169] |
| 19 | "Chapter Thirty-Two: Prisoners" | April 25, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.17[39] | 0.4 | 0.81 | 0.8 | 1.97[170] |
| 20 | "Chapter Thirty-Three: Shadow of a Doubt" | May 2, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.11[40] | 0.4 | 0.93 | 0.8 | 2.04[171] |
| 21 | "Chapter Thirty-Four: Judgment Night" | May 9, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.00[41] | 0.3 | 0.90 | 0.7 | 1.91[172] |
| 22 | "Chapter Thirty-Five: Brave New World" | May 16, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.28[42] | 0.4 | 0.76 | 0.8 | 2.04[173] |
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
DVR (18–49) |
DVR viewers (millions) |
Total (18–49) |
Total viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chapter Thirty-Six: Labor Day" | October 10, 2018 | 0.5/2 | 1.50[43] | 0.7 | 1.34 | 1.2 | 2.84[174] |
| 2 | "Chapter Thirty-Seven: Fortune and Men's Eyes" | October 17, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.28[44] | 0.6 | 1.27 | 1.0 | 2.55[175] |
| 3 | "Chapter Thirty-Eight: As Above, So Below" | October 24, 2018 | 0.5/2 | 1.40[45] | 0.4 | 1.03 | 0.9 | 2.43[176] |
| 4 | "Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Midnight Club" | November 7, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.37[46] | 0.5 | 1.15 | 0.9 | 2.52[177] |
| 5 | "Chapter Forty: The Great Escape" | November 14, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.25[47] | 0.5 | 1.01 | 0.9 | 2.26[178] |
| 6 | "Chapter Forty-One: Manhunter" | November 28, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.27[48] | 0.5 | 1.01 | 0.9 | 2.28[179] |
| 7 | "Chapter Forty-Two: The Man in Black" | December 5, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.09[49] | 0.5 | 1.05 | 0.9 | 2.14[180] |
| 8 | "Chapter Forty-Three: Outbreak" | December 12, 2018 | 0.4/2 | 1.20[50] | 0.5 | 1.08 | 0.9 | 2.28[181] |
| 9 | "Chapter Forty-Four: No Exit" | January 16, 2019 | 0.5/2 | 1.32[51] | 0.4 | 1.00 | 0.9 | 2.32[182] |
| 10 | "Chapter Forty-Five: The Stranger" | January 23, 2019 | 0.4/2 | 1.12[52] | 0.4 | 0.95 | 0.8 | 2.07[183] |
| 11 | "Chapter Forty-Six: The Red Dahlia" | January 30, 2019 | 0.4/2 | 1.26[53] | 0.4 | 0.91 | 0.8 | 2.18[184] |
| 12 | "Chapter Forty-Seven: Bizarrodale" | February 6, 2019 | 0.3/2 | 0.96[54] | 0.4 | 0.93 | 0.7 | 1.89[185] |
| 13 | "Chapter Forty-Eight: Requiem for a Welterweight" | February 27, 2019 | 0.3/2 | 0.86[55] | 0.4 | 0.87 | 0.7 | 1.73[186] |
| 14 | "Chapter Forty-Nine: Fire Walk with Me" | March 6, 2019 | 0.3/2 | 0.92[56] | 0.3 | 0.80 | 0.6 | 1.72[187] |
| 15 | "Chapter Fifty: American Dreams" | March 13, 2019 | 0.3/2 | 0.95[57] | 0.3 | 0.78 | 0.6 | 1.73[188] |
| 16 | "Chapter Fifty-One: Big Fun" | March 20, 2019 | 0.3/2 | 0.81[58] | 0.3 | 0.66 | 0.6 | 1.47[189] |
| 17 | "Chapter Fifty-Two: The Raid" | March 27, 2019 | 0.3/2 | 0.81[59] | 0.3 | 0.76 | 0.6 | 1.57[190] |
| 18 | "Chapter Fifty-Three: Jawbreaker" | April 17, 2019 | 0.2/2 | 0.80[60] | 0.3 | 0.64 | 0.5 | 1.44[191] |
| 19 | "Chapter Fifty-Four: Fear the Reaper" | April 24, 2019 | 0.2/1 | 0.71[61] | 0.3 | 0.70 | 0.5 | 1.41[192] |
| 20 | "Chapter Fifty-Five: Prom Night" | May 1, 2019 | 0.2/1 | 0.70[62] | 0.3 | 0.66 | 0.5 | 1.36[193] |
| 21 | "Chapter Fifty-Six: The Dark Secret of Harvest House" | May 8, 2019 | 0.3/1 | 0.74[63] | 0.2 | 0.70 | 0.5 | 1.44[194] |
| 22 | "Chapter Fifty-Seven: Survive the Night" | May 15, 2019 | 0.3/2 | 0.86[64] | 0.2 | 0.61 | 0.5 | 1.47[195] |
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
DVR (18–49) |
DVR viewers (millions) |
Total (18–49) |
Total viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Memoriam" | October 9, 2019 | 0.4/2 | 1.14[65] | 0.4 | 0.85 | 0.8 | 1.99[196] |
| 2 | "Chapter Fifty-Nine: Fast Times at Riverdale High" | October 16, 2019 | 0.2/2 | 0.80[66] | 0.4 | 0.73 | 0.6 | 1.53[197] |
| 3 | "Chapter Sixty: Dog Day Afternoon" | October 23, 2019 | 0.3/2 | 0.87[67] | 0.3 | 0.66 | 0.6 | 1.53[198] |
| 4 | "Chapter Sixty-One: Halloween" | October 30, 2019 | 0.2/1 | 0.74[68] | 0.4 | 0.75 | 0.6 | 1.49[199] |
| 5 | "Chapter Sixty-Two: Witness for the Prosecution" | November 6, 2019 | 0.2/1 | 0.76[69] | 0.4 | 0.73 | 0.6 | 1.48[200] |
| 6 | "Chapter Sixty-Three: Hereditary" | November 13, 2019 | 0.3/1 | 0.82[70] | 0.3 | 0.68 | 0.6 | 1.50[201] |
| 7 | "Chapter Sixty-Four: The Ice Storm" | November 20, 2019 | 0.2/1 | 0.74[71] | 0.3 | 0.63 | 0.5 | 1.37[202] |
| 8 | "Chapter Sixty-Five: In Treatment" | December 4, 2019 | 0.2/1 | 0.69[72] | 0.3 | 0.65 | 0.5 | 1.34[203] |
| 9 | "Chapter Sixty-Six: Tangerine" | December 11, 2019 | 0.2/1 | 0.73[73] | 0.3 | 0.59 | 0.5 | 1.32[204] |
| 10 | "Chapter Sixty-Seven: Varsity Blues" | January 22, 2020 | 0.2/1 | 0.79[75] | 0.3 | 0.60 | 0.5 | 1.39[205] |
| 11 | "Chapter Sixty-Eight: Quiz Show" | January 29, 2020 | 0.2/1 | 0.73[76] | 0.3 | 0.59 | 0.5 | 1.32[206] |
| 12 | "Chapter Sixty-Nine: Men of Honor" | February 5, 2020 | 0.2 | 0.65[78] | 0.3 | 0.64 | 0.5 | 1.29[207] |
| 13 | "Chapter Seventy: The Ides of March" | February 12, 2020 | 0.2 | 0.65[79] | 0.2 | 0.55 | 0.4 | 1.20[208] |
| 14 | "Chapter Seventy-One: How to Get Away with Murder" | February 26, 2020 | 0.2 | 0.67[80] | 0.2 | 0.51 | 0.4 | 1.18[209] |
| 15 | "Chapter Seventy-Two: To Die For" | March 4, 2020 | 0.2 | 0.66[81] | 0.2 | 0.51 | 0.4 | 1.17[210] |
| 16 | "Chapter Seventy-Three: The Locked Room" | March 11, 2020 | 0.2 | 0.66[82] | 0.2 | 0.55 | 0.4 | 1.21[211] |
| 17 | "Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town" | April 15, 2020 | 0.2 | 0.54[83] | 0.2 | 0.51 | 0.4 | 1.05[212] |
| 18 | "Chapter Seventy-Five: Lynchian" | April 29, 2020 | 0.2 | 0.66[84] | 0.2 | 0.49 | 0.4 | 1.15[213] |
| 19 | "Chapter Seventy-Six: Killing Mr. Honey" | May 6, 2020 | 0.2 | 0.65[85] | 0.2 | 0.47 | 0.4 | 1.12[214] |
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
DVR (18–49) |
DVR viewers (millions) |
Total (18–49) |
Total viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chapter Seventy-Seven: Climax" | January 20, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.63[86] | 0.2 | — | 0.3[215][a] | — |
| 2 | "Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Preppy Murders" | January 27, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.52[87] | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | "Chapter Seventy-Nine: Graduation" | February 3, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.54[88] | 0.2 | 0.36 | 0.3 | 0.90[216][a] |
| 4 | "Chapter Eighty: Purgatorio" | February 10, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.48[89] | 0.3 | — | 0.4[217] | — |
| 5 | "Chapter Eighty-One: The Homecoming" | February 17, 2021 | 0.2 | 0.59[90] | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | "Chapter Eighty-Two: Back to School" | February 24, 2021 | 0.2 | 0.60[91] | 0.2 | — | 0.4[218] | — |
| 7 | "Chapter Eighty-Three: Fire in the Sky" | March 10, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.52[92] | 0.1 | — | 0.2[219][a] | — |
| 8 | "Chapter Eighty-Four: Lock & Key" | March 17, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.45[93] | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | "Chapter Eighty-Five: Destroyer" | March 24, 2021 | 0.2 | 0.46[94] | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | "Chapter Eighty-Six: The Pincushion Man" | March 31, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.49[95] | 0.3 | 0.33 | 0.4 | 0.82[220][a] |
| 11 | "Chapter Eighty-Seven: Strange Bedfellows" | August 11, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.38[96] | 0.2 | 0.37 | 0.2 | 0.75[221] |
| 12 | "Chapter Eighty-Eight: Citizen Lodge" | August 18, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.47[97] | 0.1 | 0.32 | 0.2 | 0.79[222] |
No DVR ratings are available after the twelfth episode.
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
DVR (18–49) |
DVR viewers (millions) |
Total (18–49) |
Total viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chapter Ninety-Six: Welcome to Rivervale" | November 16, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.33[107] | 0.1 | 0.27 | 0.2 | 0.61[223] |
| 2 | "Chapter Ninety-Seven: Ghost Stories" | November 23, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.34[108] | 0.1 | 0.31 | 0.2 | 0.65[224] |
| 3 | "Chapter Ninety-Eight: Mr. Cypher" | November 30, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.26[109] | 0.1 | 0.26 | 0.1 | 0.52[225] |
| 4 | "Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Witching Hour(s)" | December 7, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.27[110] | 0.1 | 0.18 | 0.1 | 0.45[226] |
| 5 | "Chapter One Hundred: The Jughead Paradox" | December 14, 2021 | 0.1 | 0.29[111] | 0.1 | 0.24 | 0.2 | 0.53[227] |
| 6 | "Chapter One Hundred and One: Unbelievable" | March 20, 2022 | 0.1 | 0.23[114] | 0.1 | 0.27 | 0.1 | 0.50[228] |
| 7 | "Chapter One Hundred and Two: Death at a Funeral" | March 27, 2022 | 0.1 | 0.21[115] | 0.1 | 0.20 | 0.1 | 0.41[229] |
No DVR ratings are available after the seventh episode, or for the seventh season.