(Theywill return for shortened seasons in 2024.)
In case you haven’t been keeping up well, you’re not alone.
Save for a two-season time jump into their 20s, the adolescents ofRiverdalestayed forever young.

Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart in ‘Riverdale’.Justine Yeung/The CW
Tonight’s series finale is a sweet and unexpectedly straightforward tribute to the power of memory.
“Well, that’s it,” she sighs.
“That means I’m the last of them.”

Camila Mendes, Lili Reinhart, Cole Sprouse, and KJ Apa in the ‘Riverdale’ series finale.Justine Yeung/The CW
(The CW releasedan extended version of the episode onlineThursday.)
“That’s life, Betty.
“That’s the arc of a life, isn’t it?”
For Betty Cooper, it was her town, her friends, her youth.
So goodbye,Riverdale, and Godspeed to what’s left of the CW.
Like Betty said, we had no idea how special this time was until it was gone.