Spoilers ahead for Episode 18 of Riverdale Season 7, called "For A Better Tomorrow," and the upcoming final two episodes.
A somewhat bizarre era is coming to an end with the upcoming series finale of Riverdale on The CW, which will wrap after the penultimate episode on August 16 and final bow one week later in the 2023 TV schedule. "For A Better Tomorrow" didn't do much to set up how the series will end, despite my hopes that the recent episodes have been building to something special. The promo for the next episode is more promising, however, and two clues leave me convinced that I – and the rest of the audience – might want to rewatch the pilot ASAP.
Luckily, the full first six seasons of Riverdale are available streaming with a Netflix subscription, so revisiting the series premiere couldn't be much easier if you're a subscriber. But why should you go on a blast all the way back to the Season 1 past for an episode that aired in in 2017? For that, check out the promo and keep an eye out for two quick shots of a TV screen:
Overlooking the fact that The CW evidently released the trailer that was intended to air on the night of the penultimate episode rather than following "For A Better Tomorrow," the promo reveals that Tabitha will make her long-awaited return in time for the ending, and Betty is heard saying that "Riverdale is at a turning point" and Archie saying "rich with possibility," while Cheryl comments on "the beginning of a new era." None of those teases are what had me hitting up my Netflix account to double check something, however. The teases that accomplished that happened in quick succession, around the promo's 11-second mark, with Jughead.
It appears that Tabitha is going to return to the '50s storyline to jog Jughead's memory with something that plays on that screen; if the glimpses of the screen looked familiar to you, that may be because they're from the original Riverdale pilot. In fact, both of the shots on the screen come from within the first thirty seconds of the original Riverdale pilot. It sure looks like Tabitha is about to show Jughead the series premiere of the show, which would be such a meta twist that it would be worthy of Supernatural. Maybe the show really will pay off on Jughead's narration!
Now, do I think that Tabitha is really sitting Jughead down to watch the first episode of the series? Not precisely, and they certainly don't have Netflix in this show's current reality, but it looks like he's in for a blast to the past that jogs his memories from before the comet hit. Between that and the shots from the pilot in the promo, I'm thinking now is the time to go back to 2017.
Honestly, even if the penultimate episode doesn't go any further in nodding to the series premiere than a couple of shots, I think revisiting how the whole show started could be fun. Remember when Riverdale was dark, mysterious, and relatively rooted in reality, when the ideas of twists like somehow going back to the '50s for the final season, Sabrina Spellman coming to town, a Rivervale alternate reality existing, Archie being mauled by a bear, and even musical episodes (with the most recent going full High School Musical) would have sounded ludicrous?
This show has had its fair share of crazy plot twists, but most of them didn't happen until after the first season. Comparing Season 1, Episode 1 to the final season could be an interesting – if perhaps not entirely flattering to Riverdale – experience. Whether or not you go back to the beginning, you can see the end in just a matter of days.
The second-to-last episode of Riverdale airs on Wednesday, August 16 starting at 8 p.m. ET, and the description reveals that Jughead and Co. will have to "make a difficult decision that will change each of their lives forever" as the secrets of the town begin to surface. Be sure to tune in to see how the saga ends!
