It was life and death in Riverdale season 6, episode 19, as many characters faced the “Sweet Hereafter.”
The town took a big hit in he previous episode of Riverdale when Percival took out the first born children with his final plague. Luckily, it turns out some of the first borns were actually spared. Some because Percy had other plans for them, and one for a very different reason.
Kevin was one of those fortunate few, although that’s not exactly how he saw it. Because of his history on the dark side, he correctly guessed that Percival spared his life simply to punish him, and planned to get far out of town before he had the chance. Honestly, my first thought here was that I couldn’t believe Kevin was going to leave Anthony, considering he’s now the child’s only living parent. However, when Percy tried to use Kevin against his friends all over again and Kevin fought him off for their protection, his choice made perfect sense.
Kevin wasn’t the only one of Percy’s goons to deny him in Riverdale season 6, episode 19. Proving just how devilish he is, Percival asked Reggie to execute Kevin! Thankfully, Reggie refused, but only because his father wasn’t down with taking the heart of a murder victim. Reggie definitely still has some growing to do if he’s ever going to really be on the good side again, but hopefully that can start now with him saving the lives of himself, his father, and the very peer he was asked to kill, Kevin Keller.
As for the first borns who did meet their demise in the previous episode of Riverdale, they honestly seemed to be having way more fun in the “Sweet Hereafter.” Archie was living his ideal life with Betty, their kids Fred and Polly, and most importantly, Vegas. Toni and Fangs were living in harmony with the Serpents and Ghoulies, and still looked young and hot despite the fact that “baby” Anthony was apparently old enough to get married, although that’s certainly up for debate. Jughead was a beloved author of “Mad House Glads” and spent all of his time eating at Pop’s. Dagwood was living at Thornhill with his two, very alive parents, Jason and Polly.
Related: Riverdale season 6, episode 18 review: Blood in the water
Because Riverdale definitely doesn’t want anyone to be happy for long, and obviously because we need these characters to be alive, Heather called in Sabrina Spellman to save the day in Riverdale season 6, episode 19! They only had three days to resurrect everyone, so time was of the essence. That is, at least until Sabrina saw an opportunity to spend some time with Nick in this realm thanks to a very well-fed Jughead Jones.
It was interesting how Riverdale season 6, episode 19 was just as much about bringing closure to Sabrina’s story as it was about her furthering this show’s plot. We found out that Nick resurrected her from the Sweet Hereafter, but that he needs to stay there, hence him having to return before the end of the episode. The ending to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina was quite controversial, so this may be the showrunner’s attempt to retcon their own ending. Unfortunately I’m not sure this addition will make the show’s conclusion feel any more satisfying to its fans. It seems like it’s too little, too late.
Since Sabrina suddenly had more important things to do, she had to empower some new witches to fulfill her role in the Sweet Hereafter. Luckily, “all powerful, disruptive women have the power to become witches” and go to the Sweet Hereafter. Except for Betty. Because of the whole “Harlot of Babylon” thing, which apparently there is some truth to. This left Veronica to awkwardly step in to convince Archie to come home.
This felt like just another weird consolation prize for Veronica, but it led to her learning some interesting information. Tabitha kindly told her that in all the potential futures she saw, there were just as many Varchie endgames as Barchie endgames, so her romantic future was up for grabs! I’m interested to see what kind of fire this lights under Veronica, although I really hope they don’t turn this into a dramatic love triangle. They’ve done such a good job of keeping it away from that until now, but unless someone dies, it does feel like that’s what the show is moving toward for the final season. Even Riverdale season 6, episode 19 made this into a choice between listening to Veronica or staying in his family life with Betty for Archie.
I truly couldn’t believe when Archie said “no” to returning home to fight. Coming back seemed like the only choice Archie could make. While he did end up deciding to return, I was shocked that he even considered the alternative. The fact that he and the others would prefer to stay in the “Sweet Hereafter” really shows how much pain everyone is carrying and how hard their lives have become. Even the strongest among them was willing to take the escape pod when it was offered.
Sadly, their preference didn’t end up mattering, because Cheryl “MarjoriePhoenix” Blossom brought them all back, and then some. When I realized the premise of this episode I was immediately terrified. I’ve watched too many supernatural shows to think that a resurrection plan could ever go smoothly. Someone always gets left behind.
Riverdale went the other way, having Cheryl decide to save Jason and Polly along with the more recently deceased. Since we didn’t lose anyone in Riverdale season 6, episode 19, I fear the consequences of this may come for her later, as does Sabrina. “Death doesn’t like to be cheated,” as she said, which doesn’t sound like a great omen for Cheryl Bombshell! The Riverdale characters are now in debt with death, which is a very scary thought.
For the others, it turned out being resurrected wasn’t all bad (lol). Jughead has his hearing back and can still read minds. He also remembered that he caught a glimpse of Rivervale Jughead before he got plagued, so I’m so interested to see what he does with that information.
We also learned two huge pieces of information in Riverdale season 6, episode 19. Not only is Baby Anthony immortal (please tell me he won’t be “baby” Anthony forever), but Tabitha is the town’s “guardian angel!” How did this happen and what does it mean? No clue! There are only a few episodes left, but you still have a lot of explaining to do, Riverdale season 6!