SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for "Brave New World," the second season finale of Riverdale, which as of publication has not yet aired on the west coast.


After 22 episodes full of murder, mystery, mobsters and musical numbers, Season 2 of Riverdale has drawn to a close, with a fittingly eventful finale for the Archie Comics-inspired series -- and for the second year in a row, another cliffhanger involving misfortune falling upon the Andrews family.

In "Brave New World," Jughead (Cole Sprouse) was revealed to have survived the Ghoulies' attack and later was named the new Serpent King; Betty (Lili Reinhart) came face to face with her father, freshly revealed as the Black Hood, and vowed to put darkness behind her; Hermione (Marisol Nichols) was elected mayor of Riverdale, as Veronica (Camila Mendes) moved to put even more distance between herself and her mafia-connected father; Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) joins the Serpents and Archie (KJ Apa) wins the election to become Riverdale High's student body president.

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Not that his celebration lasts long. Soon after the announcement of his victory, Archie gets arrested, framed by Hiram (Mark Consuelos) for the murder of store clerk Cassidy earlier this season -- and that's where the season ends, with a character associated for 75 years with teenage wholesomeness being led away in handcuffs on a murder charge. (Though admittedly, Archie is certainly guilty of at least some stuff after the events of this past season.)

CBR talked with Riverdale showrunner and Archie Comics Chief Creative Officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa about the many twists in the finale, his thoughts on the second season overall, Jughead's new life as Serpent King, Cheryl's redemptive arc, last week's Black Hood reveal and the odds of meeting more Archie Comics characters on Riverdale Season 3 (count on it).

From left: Robin Givens as Sierra McCoy, Camila Mendes as Veronica, KJ Apa as Archie, Ashleigh Murray as Josie and Charles Melton as Reggie on the Season 2 finale of Riverdale.

CBR: Roberto, we last talked back in December amid the Svenson reveal -- now known to be a red herring -- but at the time you said when the Black Hood was originally introduced, you weren't initially sure who it'd be. Now that we know it was Hal Cooper, is that still true, or was he always the "real" plan?

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: No, when we started writing this season, we had a few ideas as to who The Black Hood might be -- three potential suspects, actually -- but Hal was always in the mix. From episode 11 of Season 2 though, we knew it would be Hal and we began writing towards that.

Let's talk spoilers -- for the second year in a row the season ends with a major cliffhanger involving the Andrews family, as Archie has been arrested, with his student council victory dramatically cut short as he's been framed for murder by Hiram. Safe to say this will dominate the show when it returns in the fall? And while certainly a lot of misfortune has befallen the people surrounding Archie, did it feel like Archie's "turn" for him to land in serious trouble himself?

Archie’s arrest is absolutely going to be one of the big stories when we return for Season 3, and looking back on this past season, it makes perfect sense that Archie would land in hot water after everything he’s done. He’s been through the ringer this past season -- joining up with Hiram as a pseudo-capo for the Lodge family, seeking vengeance on Nick St. Clair, he even took credit for the death of Cassidy at the lake house. Archie was seduced by the dark side, and his arrest a consequence of that seduction.

Speaking of misfortune -- it certainly hasn't been an easy season for Betty. How much do you see her conversation with her father as a turning point for her? Or will her lingering darkness remain an issue?

Betty’s been struggling with her own darkness this season, and having to come face-to-face with someone like herself was a big moment for her. Her conversation with Hal is a turning point in her story, where she acknowledges her own struggle to stray from her own inner darkness and refusing that part of her lineage. While Hal chose to embrace the darkness, Betty is making a conscious effort to be better, like she said in her Jubilee speech. Now, in Season 3, we will hopefully get to see a Betty whose darkness is in the rear-view.

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Jughead as Serpent King, Hermione as mayor and the Riverdale Legion of Doom']

Jughead's life certainly hasn't gotten easier since he became a full-fledged Serpent, and now he's their leader. How worried should fans be about this latest development for Jug?

Fans should actually be very happy with the new family Jughead has made within the Serpents. Taking the mantle of Serpent King from FP was a huge moment for Jug, and he’s finally reached a point where he found that stability and home he was desperately looking for at the beginning of Season 1. One thing they should worry about though is how the rest of his family is going to respond to this new development…

Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom on the Riverdale Season 2 finale

Cheryl has had a pretty empowering season, all things considered -- especially where you look at where she was at last season's finale, then to see her triumphantly putting on the Serpent jacket in this episode. How important was it to have a redemptive arc for Cheryl?

Cheryl has been such a fantastic character to write, because she really has had the most redemptive arc out of all our kids. She started as this quintessential mean girl with a dark secret, and has since come out on top of every adversarial situation she’s been faced with. It’s absolutely been a journey from the premiere until now, and we’ve learned so much about her character that fans never could have imagined.

Hermione is now mayor of Riverdale -- given that she seems to be out of the loop of at least some of Hiram's activities, can she be trusted as a legitimate leader?

We began to see in the last few episodes how truly rattled Hermione was when faced with some of the schemes Hiram has been plotting behind her back, and although she was an integral part of the Lodge family’s mafia ties, there’s going to be some tension in that household come next season. She really does want what’s best for the town of Riverdale, but most importantly she wants what’s best for her family.

I love the Legion of Doom-esque cabal Hiram has gathered, including Penny Peabody and Penelope Blossom. Is it fair to say that alliance is the major threat when season 3 begins?

This Cabal is definitely going to be a major player next season, and over those first few episodes we’ll really get to explore what exactly their intentions are for our once-quaint town.

Charles Melton as Reggie and Ashleigh Murray as Josie

It's been reported that both Vanessa Morgan and Charles Melton will be series regulars starting in the fall. How excited are you to have more screen time for Toni and Reggie?

Both Vanessa and Charles were such great additions to the cast this past season, and we can’t wait to showcase their incredible talents in the coming year. We’ve got some amazing stories in the works for our kids, and we know these two will be able to deliver in spades.

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As you've now put the cap on the second season of Riverdale, how pleased are you with the season, and the new directions the show headed in? Is there anything you would have done differently?

Coming off Season 1, which was as you know 13 episodes, our biggest challenge was figuring out how to make our show work within the context of 22 episodes. Overall I think it turned out great, and now that we’ve fully leaned into the genre elements that make Riverdale such a captivating show for viewers, we’re excited to take things in new directions for Season 3, and learn from how much we’ve grown over the past 22 episodes. Season 2 also confirmed that almost any of our cast members could carry story, so we’ll be diving into a lot more of our supporting characters story-wise.

Finally, have to get a little nerdy -- as a fan, one of my favorite things about Season 2 was incorporating deep-cut Archie Comics references likes the Red Circle and Black Hood in unexpected ways. Fair to say more of that is to come in Season 3? Maybe we'll the show's twist on That Wilkin Boy or Lil Jinx?

Oh, there are definitely going to be some familiar Archie characters coming onto the scene next season -- some you may recognize instantly, and others are going to be a surprise to even the most die hard of fans. Stay tuned.

KEEP READING: This Week’s Riverdale Ended with an Homage to an Iconic Batman Panel