Riverdale has drawn to a close with its Season 7 finale, featuring a twist ending that has divided fans and garnered criticism from a polyamory group.
It’s official: Riverdale is over, with the popular and wildly unpredictable mystery-drama series, based on the characters of the Archie Comics series, airing the finale of its seventh and final season last week.
When Season 1 dropped back in 2017, the series started out as a darker, more mature twist on the comics. But as it progressed, the storylines became increasingly bizarre, incorporating a wide range of genres and plot elements, ranging from crime drama to supernatural and even musical episodes.
Though Riverdale has proven to be divisive in recent years, the fans who remain have continually asked the same question: which couples end up together? Well, we finally found out in the Season 7 finale, and it hasn’t gone down too well with some. Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Riverdale slammed by polyamory group for its shocking finale
Riverdale Season 7 ended with the revelation that Betty (Lili Reinhart), Jughead (Cole Sprouse), Archie (KJ Apa), and Veronica (Camila Mendes) had been in a polyamorous “quad” relationship for a year.
Some viewers felt blindsided by the twist, and it didn’t go down too well with OPEN (Organization for Polyamory and Ethical Non-Monogamy), a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the polyamory and non-monogamy movement.
Speaking with TMZ, OPEN’s executive director, Brett Chamberlin, said that while it’s “tempting to celebrate every portrayal of non-monogamy in popular media,” it needs to be done with sensitivity, care, and knowledge.
“It’s frustrating that Riverdale used its characters’ non-monogamous relationship as a ‘shocking twist’ rather than engaging with an authentic portrayal of non-monogamy as simply being part of people’s identities,” he explained.
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Chamberlin went on to say: “We didn’t see or hear anything about why these characters practice non-monogamy, what it means for them, the substance of their relationship agreements and communication practices, or any of the other underlying motivations and work that makes relationships of any type function.”
The online community weren’t quite as forgiving with their critiques, with one writing on Twitter: “Introducing Betty, Archie, Jughead, and Veronica to all be in a quad relationship in the finale has got to be the most stupid thing Riverdale has ever done.”
Another said: “All the stuff that happened in Riverdale and people think the worst thing is the little poly twist? Was it dumb? Yes. Was it the worst? No, definitely not.”
introducing betty, archie, jughead and veronica to all be in a quad relationship in the finale has got to be the most stupid thing riverdale has ever done pic.twitter.com/2x6WOEBx00
— tia ♡ (@barchiesorigin) August 24, 2023
Others, however, have defended the show, including this person who said: “As a poly person who’s obsessed with Riverdale – I really didn’t give a sh*t. if they had dragged it across episodes and still messed it up then maybe I would’ve cared but it was for like five minutes so who cares??”
“I haven’t watched Riverdale in years but I heard they ended with the leads in a polyamorous relationship and some people are mad about that and like… why?” added another. “Poly people exist and we have little to no representation? Yeah I’d rather it not be Riverdale but I’ll take what I can get.”
Riverdale Seasons 1-6 are currently available to stream on Netflix, while Season 7 drops on the streamer on August 31. You can check out some of our other Netflix coverage below:
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