WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 5, Episode 4 of Riverdale, "Chapter Eighty: Purgatory," which aired Wednesday on The CW.
In last week's episode of Riverdale, Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica graduated and headed off their separate ways. Now, in "Chapter Eighty: Purgatory," it's seven years later, and all the characters are living different lives as adults: Veronica is married, Jughead is a struggling writer, Betty works for the FBI and Archie is in the army.
However, while the episode begins with Archie in the middle of a war, it isn't long before he gets reassigned back to his hometown. And when Archie finally returns to Riverdale, he is shocked to find that the beloved town is now a shadow of its former self.
After seven years of serving in the army, Archie returns to his home in "Chapter Eighty: Purgatory," and his first stop, of course, is his favorite old hangout, Pop's Diner. He finds that the restaurant is still being run by Pop Tate, and while the speakeasy downstairs is up and running, it's now under the management of the South Side Serpents. Thankfully, some things never change and Archie reunites with Toni, Kevin, Fangs and Sweet Pea at Pop's.
At first, they give him the rundown of everything that's happened to everyone since he left, how their lives changed and how they got to where they each are now. Then, the next day, Toni gives Archie a tour of Riverdale, and she braces him for some drastic changes -- and she isn't downplaying anything.
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Riverdale is now a ghost town, filled with abandoned buildings and littered with garbage. Most of the neighborhood Archie is familiar with is empty, and what little people remain are downtrodden or homeless. His old house is a nest for the Ghoulies, there are no more firemen and barely any police and the streets are a dangerous place to wander alone.
The answer as to how things could've gotten this bad turns out to be Hiram Lodge. The mayor of Riverdale is developing a new neighborhood for the rich and powerful, SoDale, and is ensuring that it thrives while the rest of the city descends into chaos. Riverdale as Archie and his friends once knew it is no more, but it's not completely gone yet. Now, it's up to them to fight back against Hiram and bring Riverdale back to greatness --- to bring the "pep" back in "the town with pep!"
Riverdale stars K.J. Apa as Archie Andrews, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom, Casey Cott as Kevin Keller, Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge, Charles Melton as Reggie Mantle, Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz, Mädchen Amick as Alice Cooper and Erinn Westbrook as Tabitha Tate. New episodes of Season 5 air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.