The end of Riverdale begins this week as the show premieres its seventh and final season on The CW. Picking up from Season 6's cliffhanger, Season 7 will see the crew tossed back in time to 1955, where they have no recollection of their previous lives. Along with the blast to the past, the upcoming season will bring some relationship shake-ups for the characters. Ahead of the premiere on Wednesday, creator and showrunner, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa teased the new romantic dynamics ahead.
During an interview with TVLine, Aguirre-Sacasa explained some of the reasoning behind the new pairings, some of which we've already seen teased in the first trailer. One of the primary motivations was how to keep the show fresh and avoid repeating dynamics already explored in earlier seasons. He shared two pairings doing this are Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Kevin (Casey Cott), and Veronica (Camila Mendes) and Archie (KJ Apa).
"You don’t want to go back and then immediately just land in the same dynamics. There is fun and dramatic irony in us knowing that Kevin is gay, but he’s in a relationship with Betty…There is fun to seeing Archie and Veronica first discovering themselves again, as opposed to knowing they had this deep history. So it felt like it would be a missed opportunity to not do a little bit of scrambling."
Furthermore, Aguirre-Sacasa assures that the shift in relationships won't undo what's been previously established. Rather, the season will focus on how certain pairings find their way back to each other, despite having no memory of present-day Riverdale. It will be interesting to see how that plays out through a couple like Tabitha (Erinn Westbrook) and Jughead (Cole Sprouse), as only Jughead remembers.
"Even if characters don’t remember all of the specifics about the Black Hood and the Gargoyle King and Gryphons and Gargoyles, there would be an emotional memory that the multiverse and the time shift would not erase. Characters who had feelings for each other would still feel that and be drawn towards each other."
What Else to Expect from Riverdale Season 7
Along with the backward time jump, the new season will see Jughead attempt to kickstart everyone's memory about life before the comet. He and the others will also be reliving their high school days -- just in a new context. They will again face a slew of drama on all fronts, including the challenges that come with living in the 1950s, as well as learning more about themselves as individuals. Additionally, there will be a new murder mystery to solve. The season will also pay more homage to its Archie comics source material.
Riverdale Season 7 premieres this Wednesday, March 29, at 9 p.m. ET on The CW, streaming the next day on The CW app and website. Watch a new promo for the season below: