"Chapter Seventy-Nine: Graduation" | |
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Riverdale episode | |
![]() Several of the main characters during their high school graduation | |
Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 3 |
Directed by | Gabriel Correa |
Written by | Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa |
Featured music | Blake Neely Sherri Chung |
Production code | T13.22703 |
Original air date | February 3, 2021 |
Running time | 42 minutes |
"Chapter Seventy-Nine: Graduation" is the third episode of the fifth season of the American television series Riverdale . The episode was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by Gabriel Correa. It originally aired on The CW in the United States on February 3, 2021.
The plot revolves around the main high school student characters of the show graduating from high school and moving on with their lives outside of the titular town of Riverdale. The episode received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with several reviewers noting the emotional impact of the graduation and the grounded nature of the episode compared to other episodes of the series. In its initial broadcast, it was watched by 0.557 million viewers.
Following the revelation in the previous episode that Jellybean Jones was the person creating the mysterious videotapes that had been showing up around Riverdale, her father FP decides to take her back to live with her mom in Toledo, Ohio. He also resigns as sheriff of Riverdale and says he will be staying with her in Toledo. While Jellybean's brother Jughead says he wants to come with them, FP rebuffs him and tells him to focus on college, as he had recently been accepted to the University of Iowa.
On their last day at Riverdale High School, the seniors reminisce over their yearbooks and reflect on the time they've spent at the school. A time capsule buried in 1945 is opened and one of the items is a photograph of four seniors taken right before the four were deployed to war. Meanwhile, Mr. Weatherbee, the principal, tells Archie Andrews that he will be unable to graduate and will have to retake his senior year of high school. However, he still allows Archie to participate in the graduation ceremony and asks him to record a song for the event. Later that night, Veronica Lodge visits Archie and, although the two of them had broken up several weeks earlier, they spend the night together. At the graduation ceremony, Betty Cooper gives a valedictorian speech talking about the events that the seniors have gone through and how she has hope for a better future in Riverdale and for the graduating seniors. The ceremony occurs with Archie's recording of "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". Meanwhile, Cheryl Blossom's mother Penelope, who clandestinely attended the ceremony, tells her daughter that she is turning herself over to the police for some of the crimes she had earlier committed.
After graduation, Archie, Betty, Cheryl, Jughead, Veronica, Kevin Keller, Reggie Mantle, and Toni Topaz bury a time capsule with some of their own personal items. Archie, inspired by the photograph, talks to some Army recruiters and enlists, and when he reveals this to Betty, Jughead, and Veronica, Veronica leaves, saying she cannot support his decision. Later, Jughead reveals how he has noticed how odd their friends have been since prom. Realizing that Archie must've confessed to Veronica, Betty finally tells Jughead that she and Archie had kissed, which led to their breakup. The next morning, Jughead drives Archie to the bus stop for him to go to basic training. At the same time, Betty and Veronica talk about what happened and, deciding to talk to Archie before he leaves, go to the bus stop, but Jughead tells them the bus had just left. The three of them catch up to the bus and say their goodbyes to Archie, with he and Veronica saying they love each other, before he boards the bus again.
Over the summer, Veronica leaves Riverdale to live with her mother in the Hamptons, while Betty leaves to go to Yale University and Jughead departs to Iowa. One year later, honoring a vow the four had made, Jughead returns to Riverdale to meet with his friends at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, though they do not come. In a voiceover just before the end credits, Jughead reveals that it would be six years before the four of them would see each other again.
The episode was originally intended to serve as the season finale for season 4. [1] [2] However, production on the final three scheduled episodes for season 4 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] As a result, "Chapter Seventy-Nine: Graduation" aired as the third episode of the fifth season. [1]
The episode received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Film website CinemaBlend ranked it number 10 on their list of the best episodes of Riverdale (as of December 5, 2021). [4] In their review of the episode, they highlighted the emotional impact of the characters' graduations and cited the episode as the best of an otherwise bad season of the show. [4] However, they stated that the characters returning to Riverdale shortly afterwards deflates some of the emotional intensity of the episode. [4] The A.V. Club gave the episode an A− rating, praising KJ Apa's performance. [5] Den of Geek gave the episode 5 out of 5 stars, calling the episode "arguably the most grounded episode the show has ever done…and maybe the best". [2] In further discussing this, the reviewer states, "But what feels revolutionary here is that this episode is excellent while still being rooted firmly in reality. Riverdale can still be compelling by just focusing on the friendships that bind these characters without relying on narrative gimmicks." [2]
The episode was watched by 0.557 million viewers and received a television rating of 0.1 in the key demographic of 18- to 49-year-olds. [6]
Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper is one of the main characters appearing in American comic books published by Archie Comics. She is the lead guitarist, percussionist and one of the three singers of The Archies. The character was created by Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater, and first appeared in Pep Comics #22, on the first page of the first Archie story, serving as a love interest to Archie Andrews.
Archibald "Archie" Andrews, created in 1941 by publisher John L. Goldwater and artist Bob Montana in collaboration with writer Vic Bloom, is the main character in the Archie Comics franchise, including the long-running Archie Andrews radio series, a syndicated comic strip, The Archie Show, Archie's Weird Mysteries, and Riverdale. He is the rhythm guitarist and one of the three singers of the fictional band The Archies. He is portrayed by KJ Apa on Riverdale and Agastya Nanda in The Archies. For his physical appearance, he mainly has red hair, freckles on his cheeks, and light-colored skin. In Archie's Weird Mysteries, he appears to be of Scottish-American descent, as shown in the episode "The Day the Earth Moved", when his father wanted to keep with their family tradition and wear a kilt while ringing the bell of Riverdale.
Riverdale is a fictional town in the United States where most of the characters live and appear in Archie Comics. Conflicting details on its geographic location have been given over the years. It is located near the fictional town of Greendale, home of Sabrina the Teenage Witch comic book series. In the television series Riverdale, it is located near Greendale related to the television series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Cheryl Marjorie Blossom is a fictional character of the Archie Comics universe. She is a wealthy teenage girl, the privileged daughter of a businessman. The live action version of Cheryl is portrayed by Madelaine Petsch in Riverdale.
"Love Showdown" is a four-part comic book story arc, first published in 1994, featuring the characters from Archie Comics. Publicized as a possible resolution to the decades-long love triangle between Archie Andrews and his longtime sweethearts Betty and Veronica, Love Showdown received more publicity than any other event in Archie history. The story, written by Bill Golliher and Dan Parent, was originally published in Archie #429, Betty #19, Betty and Veronica #82, and Veronica #39.
Life with Archie is a comic book published by Archie comics from 1958 to 1991. It featured Archie Andrews in adventure stories that were more dramatic than the standard Archie tales. In 2010, it was revived as a magazine-sized comic devoted to stories that grew out of Archie Marries Veronica/Archie Marries Betty. Archie's character was killed in the second to last issue, Life with Archie #36.
The following is a list of members of the families of Archie's Gang appearing in Archie Comics. Primarily featured are the parents of Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge and Jughead Jones.
Afterlife with Archie is a comic book published by Archie Comics beginning in 2013, depicting a zombie apocalypse that begins in the town of Riverdale in an alternative reality. It is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, with art by Francesco Francavilla, and is inspired by a zombie-themed variant cover which Francavilla did for an issue of Life with Archie.
Riverdale is an American television series based on the characters of Archie Comics. The series was adapted for The CW by Archie Comics' chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and is produced by Warner Bros. Television and CBS Studios, in association with Berlanti Productions and Archie Comics. Conceived as a feature film adaptation for Warner Bros. Pictures, the idea was re-imagined as a television series for Fox. In 2015, development on the project moved to The CW, where the series was ordered for a pilot. Filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"Chapter One: The River's Edge" is the pilot and first episode of the first season of the American television series Riverdale, based on the characters by Archie Comics, revolving around the character of Archie Andrews and his life in the small town of Riverdale while exploring the darkness hidden behind its seemingly-perfect image. The episode was written by series creator and Archie Comics' chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and was directed by Lee Toland Krieger.
Jughead: The Hunger is an ongoing comic book series published by Archie Horror and Archie's Madhouse, imprints of Archie Comics, beginning in 2017. The story, which takes place outside of the main Archie Comics continuity, focuses on Jughead Jones and his family's dark legacy to explain the sinister origin of his hunger. The one-shot "pilot" was created by writer Frank Tieri and artist Michael Walsh.
"Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of the American television series Riverdale and the thirty-first episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Jason Stone and written by Arabella Anderson and Tessa Leigh Williams and choreographed by Heather Laura Gray. It centered around the stage musical Carrie by Lawrence D. Cohen and Michael Gore, which is based on the 1974 book of the same name by Stephen King.
"Chapter Fifty-One: Big Fun" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of the American television series Riverdale and the fifty-first episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Maggie Kiley, written by Tessa Leigh Williams, and choreographed by Heather Laura Gray. It centered around the stage musical Heathers: The Musical by Laurence O'Keefe and Kevin Murphy, based on the 1989 film of the same name written by Daniel Waters.
"Chapter Sixty-One: Halloween" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American television series Riverdale and the 61st episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Erin Feeley and written by Janine Salinas Schoenberg.
"Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the American television series Riverdale and the seventy-fourth episode of the series overall. The episode was written by Tessa Leigh Williams, directed by Antonio Negret and choreographed by Heather Laura Gray. It centered around the stage musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch by Stephen Trask.
The first season of Riverdale premiered on The CW on January 26, 2017 and concluded on May 11, 2017, with a total of 13 episodes. The series is based on the characters from the Archie Comics, created by Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John L. Goldwater, and was created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.
"Chapter Thirteen: The Sweet Hereafter" is the thirteenth and final episode of the first season of the American television series Riverdale. The episode was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by Lee Toland Krieger. It originally aired on the CW in the United States on May 11, 2017.
"Chapter Twelve: Anatomy of a Murder" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the American television show Riverdale. The episode was written by Michael Grassi and directed by Rob Seidenglanz. It originally aired on The CW in the United States on May 4, 2017.