Riverdale series finale explained: What happened to all the characters?

After seven seasons, Riverdale finally wrapped up its run on The CW. And to no surprise, the finale was a combination of warm-hearted goodbyes and some crazy twists befitting the series. So here’s a look at how it ended up and what happened to our beloved characters.

Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for the Riverdale season finale

Season 7 has had the Riverdale gang living in an alternate 1950s after a time travel mishap while trying to save the world from a comet. The penultimate episode had the gang finally remembering their past lives but they had to still live in the ‘50s in order to maintain the future.

In the present, a now 86-year-old Betty read of Jughead passing away and realized she was now the only one left. Falling asleep, she met an Angel Jughead who whisked her back into the past, with Betty soon learning how each of the gang’s lives turned out.

First, let’s get the wild part out of the way: It turns out the Archie/Jughead/Betty/Veronica love issues were settled in a unique way–by the four becoming a “quad” where the two ladies would swap guys and occasionally be with each other, too. Oh, Riverdale, you crazy show.

What happened to the Riverdale characters?

As Betty (and us) wrapped her head around that, Angel Jughead led her around town and explained what happened to folks:

• Clay and Kevin moved to Harlem, where Clay became a professor at Columbia, and Kevin started his own off-Broadway theater group. They lived to their 80s, dying within weeks of each other.
• Cheryl and Toni moved out west, Toni became a great artist, and she and Cheryl opened some galleries and raised a son named Dale.
• Reggie was drafted into the NBA but eventually returned to coach the Riverdale basketball team, where his sons became star players.
• Mary hit it off with a female customer, named Brooke, at her dress shop, and before long, they were living together.
• Alice became a flight attendant, but (in a twist straight out of a 1970s disaster movie), when the pilot became sick, she landed the plane. A grateful passenger asked her out, and they ended up getting together, with Alice finally traveling the world. Meanwhile, Polly had her twins and settled down.
• In sadder news, Fangs did become a rock star, only to die in a bus crash. Meanwhile, Julien was killed in Vietnam, and Frank and Tom Keller were killed by a hustler, named Chic, they tried to pick up. But hey, Mr. Weatherbee and Mrs. Thornton ended up together!

What happened to our favorite foursome?

As for the “quad,” Veronica broke it to the gang she was heading back to Hollywood. She formed her own studio to become an Oscar-winning producer who paved the way for more women in the business.

Archie read a poem for the gang, which had a few nice slams on the show’s crazier plotlines. He wondered if he and Betty were destined to be together, but Betty sadly knew Archie would move to California, meet a girl, have a family there, and eventually be buried next to his dad in Riverdale.

Betty visited Pop’s grave (he’d died at the start of senior year) as Angel Jughead talked of real Jughead starting a successful Mad-style magazine. Betty published her book and ran her own highly successful women’s magazine called She Says.

In the present, the aged Betty was being driven back to Riverdale by her granddaughter, remembering the now-empty places of her youth. Just as they pulled before a faded Pop’s diner, the granddaughter realized Betty had passed away.

It suddenly cut to night as a young-again Betty exited the car and headed into Pop’s, where everyone was gathered, looking just like they did in high school. She settled into a booth with Archie, Jughead, and Veronica, the four sharing a shake.

Angel Jughead wrapped up his final narration, saying it was best to leave them all here, forever 17 and enjoying the best time of their lives. He walked off as the classic Riverdale logo flashed one more time.

So Riverdale ended with a finale only it could pull off, capping one of the craziest yet enjoyable shows the CW has ever had.

Riverdale season 7 is streaming on CWTV.