Spoiler alert: Don’t read on if you haven’t watched Riverdale Season 6, Episode 1, “Welcome to Rivervale.” Riverdale has toyed with axing its main characters several times before, but considering Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica are so central to the series, fans were never too worried when storylines teased Jughead potentially being murdered or Betty getting in over her head during a dangerous investigation. That all went out the window in the Season 6 premiere, though. The episode culminated in the ultimate shocker: Archie’s murder. And now fans are wondering if KJ Apa is actually leaving Riverdale, or if he’ll be back once the “Rivervale” event is over.
Thankfully, it doesn’t sound too likely that KJ Apa is leaving the show for good following Archie’s demise. As Jughead’s narration made very clear at the beginning of “Rivervale,” this five-episode event is set in an alternate universe, so while Archie may be gone in this world, that doesn’t mean he perished in the core Riverdale universe, which the show will return to in Episode 6. Then again, Season 5 did end with a bomb exploding right next to Archie and Betty, so Archie isn’t exactly in the clear in the main Riverdale universe either.
While Archie’s fate is looking pretty grim in more than one universe, there is a bit of encouraging info for KJ Apa stans. Back in 2020, the actor revealed he signed a contract to be on Riverdale for another three years, suggesting Archie isn’t going anywhere until at least 2023. At the time, Riverdale was in the middle of airing its fourth season, so if Apa’s three years were meant to correlate to seasons, then he’ll likely still be playing Archie in the rest of Season 6 and in the yet-to-be-picked-up Season 7.
So basically, don’t expect to see Archie anymore in the remaining “Rivervale” episodes, but once Riverdale exits its alternate universe and shifts focus back to the town of Riverdale, fans will most likely get to see Archie once again... even if there is that bomb issue to still worry about. But hey — Archie’s survived worse, right?
New episodes of Riverdale’s “Rivervale” event air Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.
