The Riverdale season 4 finale delved deep into the active and dark imaginations of Riverdale High’s students.
That’s a wrap on Riverdale season 4! Another chapter of this story has been closed, although the season’s mystery still remains wide open.
This was definitely a different season finale than Riverdale usually delivers. For starters, not even one murderer was unveiled in the episode! Only six wannabe murderers, it seems. It’s evident that they still tried to end the season on a big climax and cliffhanger, as usual, but unfortunately, that attempt fell pretty flat.
In reality, all the Riverdale season 4 finale did was rule out a relatively new suspect and escalate the voyeur’s video game slightly. It’s definitely interesting that the voyeur invited Jughead and Betty to the cabin, but as for the video that was waiting for them, I’m not getting too worked up about it yet.
If former Principal Honey was actually dead it might have been a decent cliffhanger, since Jughead just essentially wrote the manual on how they would kill him. However, he’s alive and well and headed to Stonewall Prep to exert his torturous methods on more deserving students. At least, we think he’s not dead, but at this point, that’s a question for another season. As it stands, the video is just one more addition to the creepy collection.
That being said, I will definitely cut them some slack on this being a “meh” season finale since it was largely out of their control. This just means we’ll get to stay in high school with the Riverdale High students a little longer when the show returns for season 5!
Related: Why Riverdale season 5 needs a time jump
Overall, this episode was a fun end to the season. We got to see the whole gang working together, both in real life and in Jughead’s fiction, we got to call back to past Riverdale murders, and we got an update on everyone’s post-secondary plans. It was awesome to finally have everyone united, even if it was under fairly dark circumstances.
I’m not going to lie, I don’t feel even a tiny bit bad for Mr. Honey. Sorry Ms. Bell, but even if he has tried to help the students in some ways, that does not take away from how much he’s revelled in their misfortune and failures in the past. Riverdale will never make me believe that his motives were purely altruistic, no matter how many nice letters he pens. Normal principals don’t just go around cancelling proms at every school they work at.
Despite my lack of sympathy for Mr. Honey, I did really like what his letter brought out in Jughead. His time at Stonewall definitely directed him deeper into darkness, and he needed someone to show him some light. The University of Iowa probably isn’t quite as broody as Riverdale, so he has some perking up to do.
The Riverdale season 4 finale was also a great episode for the parents. Never have Alice Cooper and the town’s gang of moms looked better than when their heels were locked in step to stand up for their children, and Nana Blossom wheeling down the hallway might be my favorite Riverdale moment ever. Mr. Honey didn’t stand a chance. Oh, and F.P.’s glee at Jughead being the first Jones to go to college? I’m not crying, you’re crying!
Since the Riverdale season 4 finale left us with way more questions than answers, we’re going to have a lot to deal with when Riverdale returns for season 5.
First of all, there’s the obvious question of who is making the videos and why. The most clear choice is Charles and Chic, but it’s been so long since we’ve heard of them working together that I’m starting to wonder if Riverdale has just dropped them entirely. However, Charles has to be more than just an FBI buddy for Betty and Jughead, so he’s still my prime suspect.
I’m also interested to see if the fact that Jughead made Betty the darkest character in his revised story will cause any problems. Will their paths diverge as they try to solve this final high school mystery, or will they grow together toward the light?
With Betty reminiscing for the innocence of her childhood feelings for Archie and Jughead trying to straighten the dark twists of his mind, I’d say things actually look pretty good for Bughead. That being said, Betty was also getting super dark in real life when discussing what to do about Honey, which could lead to a sticky situation. (Get it? Because honey is sticky!)
Archie mentioned that he’ll be going to the Naval Academy in Jughead’s story, but we still haven’t seen Veronica’s real reaction to the news. These two are definitely in need of a conversation very early in Riverdale season 5, as they have some big obstacles on the horizon, and even bigger obstacles lurking in the shadows.
On top of all that, we’re desperate to see graduation, the newly reinstated prom, and everything that comes along with the end of senior year. It’s going to be a long summer with no Riverdale drama, but we can’t wait to come back in the fall.
That’s almost it for this week. However, since it’s Riverdale’s senior year, each week I will be giving out some yearbook superlatives for the episode. Check them out here!
‘Riverdale’ season 4 finale awards
Cutest couple: It has to go to Bughead, even though things got pretty dark for a while.
Best dressed: The entire Riverdale mom gang, of course.
Most likely to pull through with a perfect prank: Reggie, for the win!
Most likely to conveniently invent a local community college right before graduation: Riverdale. Well played.
Most likely to tell everyone he meets that his boy’s away at college: F.P. Jones is such an adorable proud daddy
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