'Riverdale' Season 6 Episode 1 Explained: Is Archie Andrews dead?

Things have changed, but in what came as the ultimate gasp moment, Archie Andrews had his heart cut out after being stabbed dead by Cheryl Blossom
KJ Apa as Archie Andrews in 'Riverdale' Season 6 (The CW)
KJ Apa as Archie Andrews in 'Riverdale' Season 6 (The CW)

'Riverdale' Season 6 began in trademark 'Riverdale' fashion as the premiere centered around the town of 'Rivervale', a new synonym for weird. Things have changed, but in what came as the ultimate gasp moment, Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) had his heart cut out after being stabbed dead by Cheryl Blossom.

The episode started off with Jughead and Tabitha's living in was spoiled by bugs infesting their apartment, Cheryl and her cronies stick a bunch of creepy totem dolls to scare the town from getting into maple business. And if that wasn't terrifying enough, Archie's met his maker, but not before knowing that Betty was pregnant with his baby. All of these come off as impossible considering that Archie and Betty have sex only a few hours ago before she declares she was pregnant.

Earlier in the episode, Cheryl was seen offering solutions to the townsfolk who has their share of issues — and for Betty, being called barren was a major issue. If the solution to the town's sins being absolved was Archie, then he was crucified so they could live a better life.

RELATED ARTICLES

'Riverdale' Season 6: 5 things you didn't know about KJ Apa

'Riverdale' star KJ Apa hints that storyline will continue after high school: 'Show's not called Riverdale High'

All of this is mighty absurd. And here's what showrunner, Roberto Aguirre-Sacars told Entertainment Weekly: "I can say that Archie is dead. In [season 6, episode 2], the town isn't exactly mourning him, because they killed him, but the town does know that they sacrificed Archie. There's a scene in fact where Cheryl and Nana are toasting Archie's sacrifice because now their maple trees are producing maple syrup again. And Betty is pregnant with Archie's love child. And we won't see K.J. [next episode]. All of those things are true."

However, what's to take away from is the fact that this is 'Rivervale' and not in 'Riverdale'. This was where a woman could get pregnant in a couple of hours, two dudes could eat over 200 pancakes, and where the grim supernatural exists. So when 'Riverdale' indeed does return, there surely will be Archie Andrews alive and kicking. Until then, 'Rivervale' will just continue to dish out more intense episodes and only time will tell if he's the start of the body count.

'Riverdale' Season 6 airs Tuesdays at 9 pm ET on The CW. 

GET THE BIGGEST ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

‘Slow Horses’ Season 6 trailer teases a deadly new threat and the shocking return of a character fans thought was gone for good.
22 minutes ago
JJ’s parentage, the Blue Crown, and a trail of deaths set up the Pogues’ revenge mission in ‘Outer Banks’ Season 5.
53 minutes ago
‘Outer Banks’ Season 5 brings an interesting new backdrop for the Pogues’ final adventure, with a filming location that may surprise fans.
1 hour ago
‘Lanterns’ creator answers the question of the missing power ring by linking it to Green Lantern and raises a new question about the DCU timeline.
2 hours ago
‘Victorious’ spinoff set to stream on Netflix and then air on Nickelodeon and Paramount+.
6 hours ago
FX has dropped the trailer for its Snowfall spinoff, and fans finally have a premiere date to circle.
8 hours ago
'Mindhunter' fans long believed high production costs hurt the show’s future, but Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos now has a different explanation
8 hours ago
Paramount+ Head of Originals, Jane Wiseman, and James Jordan reflected on writing and filming updates for the upcoming season.
9 hours ago
Episode 6 of ‘Furious’ ends in a thrilling cliffhanger after Alice and Catherine connect through their shared trauma
10 hours ago
OG protagonists Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert's daughter is headed to Hillman in the sequel series
10 hours ago