'Riverdale' ended its fandom ship wars by putting the core 4 characters in a polyamorous relationshi
Redeem now - Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for the seventh and final season of The CW's "Riverdale."
- The series finale aired on Wednesday and included a big revelation about the core four characters.
- Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica were in a quad relationship for about a year in high school.
"Riverdale" finally came to an end on Wednesday after a seven-season run on The CW, but not before dropping a major, polarizing bombshell about the show's core four characters.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in.The series finale jumped 67 years forward, showing Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) in her 80s and longing to relive her high-school years with her friends. She was able to travel back in time with the help of a guardian-angel version of Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse).
In doing so, Betty lets viewers in on a big twist.
Betty, Jughead, Archie, and Veronica were in a polyamorous relationship and dated each other for about a year in high school
As a refresher, the characters were transported to the '50s at the end of season six with no recollection of their past experiences. With this reset, different dynamics were explored on the final season, like a blossoming romance between Jughead and Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes).
Tabitha Tate (Erinn Westbrook), who transported them to the past, returned later in season seven and helped them regain their memories by playing a tape with the highlights. This was the catalyst for their decision to date each other, rather than choose one person.
"Remembering all of that sort of took the pressure off of us having to make a single choice, so the four of us realized that we could and maybe should just be together at the same time," Betty explained to Reggie Mantle (Charles Melton).
"It started innocently enough with the four of us going on double dates — me and Archie, Jughead and Veronica. And then it kind of naturally evolved from there," she said.
"Some nights, Archie would sneak into my bedroom and Veronica would go home with Jughead," she continued as a montage of romantic moments played on-screen. "Other nights, Archie would spend the night at the Pembrooke, and I'd go over to Jughead's. And sometimes, more often than you'd imagine, I would find my way to Veronica's."
It's implied that Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) and Jughead were also romantic with each other, though that wasn't shown in the steamy montage.
Putting the core 4 in a quad relationship was a clever loophole and an ingenious way to put the fandom ship wars to rest
From the very first episode, "Riverdale" toyed with the idea of which characters in the core four would end up together.
Betty and Archie had been friends and neighbors since childhood, but he was immediately drawn to Veronica upon her arrival in town. And Jughead, despite being a self-proclaimed "weirdo" did eventually bond with Betty and date.
These ships — Barchie (Betty and Archie), Bughead (Betty and Jughead), and Varchie (Veronica and Archie) — played out over the show's seven seasons. With each passing development in the love triangle/square, the fandom only became more fervent, and at times toxic, about the couple they were rooting for.
Given the intensity of the fandom, it's not surprising that "Riverdale" played it safe and didn't have any of the aforementioned couples be endgame.
Even when the foursome reunited in the Sweet Hereafter, Betty held hands with Archie and Jughead, indicating that in the afterlife, she still didn't choose between them.
Perhaps the show's writers anticipated the wrath that would follow and saw a way to minimize the potential blowback.
Still, the plot twist elicited strong, mixed reactions on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
"riverdale having the show end with archie, betty, veronica, and jughead all in a relationship together is crazy but something about writers doing a poly relationship to get out of choosing an endgame is a little real," one person wrote.
One fan called it the stupidest thing the show has ever done. Another argued that "it's just so bad that it's actually… genius."
Regardless, even though "Riverdale" didn't end with any of the main four characters being endgame, Choni fans will sleep well at night knowing that Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) and Toni Topaz (Vanessa Morgan) lived a long and happy life together.
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