Betty's Graduation Speech On 'Riverdale' Will Make You So Emotional

Graduation day is emotional no matter what your situation is, but if you're a teen in Riverdale, it's even more so. After a dramatic few years full of mysteries, romances, cults, and murder, the seniors are finally getting their diplomas and heading off into the great unknown. As if to further exemplify just how much the gang has gone through, Betty's graduation speech on Riverdale will make you feel all the emotions ahead of the big time jump.

Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers for Riverdale Season 5, Episode 3, "Graduation." Fans knew going into the Feb. 3 episode that a lot was going to happen. Prior to production getting shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, the graduation episode was going to be the Season 4 finale, which means it needed to pack quite the punch. And that it did.

Toward the start of the episode, Betty was struggling to write her valedictorian graduation speech. Considering she was still grappling with the information that her half-brother was killing people and the guilt of having kissed Archie, her writer's block made sense. So instead of a usual "we did it" speech, she decided to focus her sentiments around her hopes for the future and her sadness over her classmates' shared trauma from their turbulent past.

Betty started her speech by telling her fellow graduating Bulldogs how she felt about what they had to go through to make it to that point.

Hi. I admit I've been struggling with what I wanted to say today. High school is supposed to be this amazing, safe time. But our years were coopted with heartache and drama and even death. And it's not fair that so many of our classmates aren't here to walk with us today. And it's not right that some of our parents aren't here to watch those of us who are.

After paying tribute to those classmates and parents who had passed (such as Jason, Midge, and Archie's dad, Fred), Betty talked about how she wanted future generations to know a Riverdale that isn't riddled with grief and loss.

Those younger than us have known no Riverdale other than the one steeped in violence. Our class is lucky enough to remember a time before the era of tragedy. When this was just a small, sleepy, slightly boring town. That's the Riverdale I wish upon the generation coming up behind us.

Betty then closed out her speech by imploring her fellow graduates to remember the sweet town they once held so dearly.

And the one I want us, our class, to remember as we head into the future. So please, stay young for as long as you can. Stay innocent for as long as possible. Even if it's only for one more moment. Thank you.

Despite Betty's best wishes, it looks like there might be more drama ahead. The episode ends in preparation for the seven-year time jump, with Jughead saying a "new crisis" would bring them all back together. Whether she likes it or not, mystery seems to be returning to the beloved town of Riverdale.

Riverdale airs Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.