Riverdale Season 7: Are Betty and Archie endgame?
The CWRiverdale Season 7 has Betty and Archie reunite in the 1950s, but will the show rip them apart again before its finale?
Riverdale, the drama-mystery series that brought Archie Comics characters to life in various wacky ways, continues to make a name for itself in pop culture. We really enjoyed this season, and you can read our review of the first three episodes here.
This season – which is the show’s last – takes us back to the 1950s, but when it comes to teenage sexuality, there are no traditional 50s values here. There’s tons of hooking up, fighting against slut shaming, and plenty of people getting in relationships.
One of which is Archie and Betty, which have been one of the most slow-burn relationships on TV. But will this lead guy end the series with the not-so-innocent girl next door? Let’s get into it, but first: Warning! Riverdale spoilers up ahead!
Betty and Archie’s relationship so far
Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper’s friendship and growing romance has captivated many an audience member ever since the series began back in 2017.
The pair began as childhood friends, and in said childhood Archie proposed to Betty, who told him to ask her again when they were older. In high school, the pair remained close, but Betty began growing real feelings. In Season 1, she revealed said feelings, but despite the athlete harboring some similar sentiments, he ultimately told her that he didn’t think he was good enough for her.
After this rejection, Betty began exploring a relationship with Jughead (#Bughead), while Archie pursued new girl Veronica. The pair were still friends though, and supported each other threw all of the issues thrown their way – and trust us, Riverdale gave these kids a lot of issues to deal with.
However, their feelings for one another never quite left, and they ended up kissing while tracking down some murderers in Season 2. Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa acknowledged that the creative heads in the show were aware of the popularity of #Barchie: “I think that that’s one of the dynamics we haven’t played is the idea [of] Archie and Betty together romantically,” he told Us Weekly.
So things began to develop in Season 4. After Betty’s boyfriend Jughead faked his own death, Betty and Archie started a fake relationship to sell that Betty was moving on. However, their chemistry was hard to ignore. Archie began to pine for Betty, and the pair kissed for real. They contemplated a relationship, and Archie even wrote a song for Betty, but Betty decided not to go through with the idea. #Barchie shippers were thus heartbroken again.
Their infinitely did cause a ripple with their respective partners however. Veronica and Archie broke things off, and after a seven year time jump, Season 5 showed that Jughead and Betty had also broken up.
Season 5 brought Betty and Archie together in a casual sense, with Archie only pushing for a real romance at the season’s end. However, their relationship potential was once again blocked by a bombshell: That being an actual bomb, which went off, and gave them all superpowers.
There was also a fake pregnancy scare, and when Archie briefly dies, he pictures a version of heaven in which he is married to Betty, and the have two kids. Then, as the Bailey’s Comet in Season 6 threatens to wipe out Riverdale, Archie proposes to Betty, to which she eventually says yes.
You’d think this would be the end, but the comet’s aftermath ends up blasting the kids back to the 1950s, with no memory of their past lives, including Betty and Archie’s engagement.
Will Betty and Archie be Riverdale’s endgame?
As of the show’s final episode, Archie and Betty are endgame – but only temporarily. It’s complicated, so let us explain.
In the 1950s, it seems like a major time jump isn’t stopping these main characters from eventually gravitating towards each other.
See, at the beginning of the season, Betty discovers a book about sexuality at Ethel’s house – amongst other things – and said book causes her to have some very scandalous dreams about Archie. The pair ended up stripping for each other in the windows of their respective houses – to varying results – and finally seemed to make things official as of Episode 11.
But there’s plenty of obstacles between the pair that then seem to push them apart. Archie has a pregnancy scare with Cheryl, and has just recently shared a kiss with Veronica. Meanwhile Betty feels momentarily torn between the redhead and Reggie, and even has an electric song with Veronica as well.
In Episode 14, things kind of seem over again for the pair. Archie, who is the main subject of this season’s musical episode, struggles with the fact that he can never make clear choices, be it about his career, or the women he loves. Because of this, he steps away from both Veronica and Betty, leaving the two girls to discuss things between themselves.
However, Riverdale’s finale finally puts the shipping wars to rest, kind of. See, in the final episode, through Betty’s eyes, the character’s fates are revealed, along with their relationship status. And as you’ll see in the clip below, our main four characters all end up in a romantic quad together. Meaning, yes, that’s right, Vughead, Bughead, Beronica and Barchie are all endgame.
However, once high school ended, the whole group went their separate ways and dated different people, meaning that Barchie may have been endgame in Riverdale, but not in the rest of the world. However, they do all get reunited in the afterlife in the show’s final scene, and the pair even hold hands, so perhaps they are fully endgame after all.
This finale has been met with some pushback regarding polyamory representation, but Barchie fans can at least get excited that their ship did eventually become endgame.
Check out the rest of our Riverdale coverage here.