- Sixty-seven years have gone by.
It's the present day.
Since our last chapter, teenagers have become adults, got married,
raised children of their own.
Many have taken their last breaths.
This story tonight is about saying goodbye to a town that was once lost in time.
But also, goodbye to the people who once lived in that town.
It starts near the end, with a woman named Elizabeth Cooper.
She's 86 years old now, resting in a small room in her granddaughter's house.
She checks the obituaries every day.
You knew him in high school, didn't you, Grandma Betty?
Seems like he was an interesting person.
He was.
Well, we all were.
We had such marvelous adventures.
Oh, you wouldn't have believed it, Alice.
Well, that's it.
That means I'm the last of them.
Alice, honey, I want to go back.
To Riverdale, one last time before it's too late.
I am forgetting more and more every day.
And I want to go back before I forget everything.
Well, let's see how you're doing tomorrow.
If you're up for it, yes, we can take a drive to Riverdale.
Thank you, dear.
Hello?
Ah. I must have fallen asleep.
I was going through our... Our yearbook.
Trying to remember.
- Remember what? - Oh. Everything, I suppose.
I'm going back to Riverdale tomorrow.
My granddaughter is taking me.
Oh, going through these pictures,
I... I just wish I could go back to...
How it was.
How we were.
You can, Betty.
You could pick a day and I'll take you.
Though, it might be painful for you.
Why should it be painful?
Because you won't just be living that day.
You'll be seeing yourself live it.
Still...
If you say we can, then...
I wanna go back to a day I missed.
The day everyone got their yearbook, senior year.
I... I had the mumps and I had to stay home, and...
I never got my yearbook signed.
I've always regretted that.
Then we'll start in the morning.
You just have to walk through that door,
and you'll have your day. The day you missed.
Oh, my goodness, it's my room.
It's exactly like I remember it.
Hello, room.
Is that...
Is that really what I looked like?
There were so many things I wanted to change about myself, back then.
Why? I was perfect.
We were all perfect.
My window.
How many sunrises have I seen out this window?
How many moons, how many times...
How many times have I looked out this window into Archie's?
In the thousands, at least.
Archie is about to have a big talk with his mom
about what he's going to do after graduation.
Hey, sweetie.
Breakfast is ready.
Thanks, Mom.
Hey, Mom.
I don't wanna be a pest,
but I got to let Vic know by tomorrow if I'll be joining his crew on Monday.
It just doesn't make sense to me.
Driving around the country with some dusty road crew?
Pouring concrete, digging ditches.
Well, it's like President Eisenhower said on the news.
I'll be building the highways that help connect people and places.
From coast to coast, all the way to California.
It'll give me something to write about.
But you've written so many wonderful poems in Riverdale.
Mom, it's only gonna be three months.
And then I'll be back.
No, Archie. No.
You'll get one look at the Pacific Ocean,
and forget all about Riverdale.
Forget Riverdale?
Fat chance.
This will always be my home. Our home.
What?
You're just like your father.
He was full of wanderlust.
He always dreamt about settling in the West.
He never did, but...
Maybe you will.
With my blessing.
Thank you.
I love you, Mom.
I love you too, Archie.
I don't remember what happened to Mrs. Andrews.
She bought a dress shop.
And then, one day, a woman named Brooke came in.
They started a conversation,
and a few weeks later she moved into the Andrews' house.
They stayed together until the very end.
Mrs. Andrews was always such a kind woman.
She once gave my mother hell for disowning me.
Stop.
Is that...
A baby shower outside in the middle of June.
Oh, no.
Please, stop being so dramatic, Polly.
Look at those cute little paper fans.
Mom. Polly.
You're alive.
And you're so young, and you're talking again.
Elizabeth, what are you doing out of bed?
You have the mumps, young lady.
No, no, I feel fine. I'm going to school.
Mom, you did it.
You divorced Dad, you became a stewardess, just like you dreamed.
Well, my dream was to see the world,
not pass out peanuts on a puddle-jumper to Poughkeepsie,
but life goes on.
No, wait, don't rush off, Mom.
Just... Can I... Just... Just look at me. Just... Look at me.
For heaven's sake, I'm looking at you, Betty.
And I'm seeing a girl who, if she doesn't have the mumps,
better hurry up so she's not late for school.
Right. Of course, school.
First...
I love you, Mom.
Oh.
I love you, Polly.
I'm so, so happy to see both of you again.
Was my mom a stewardess for very long?
On the contrary.
One night, her pilot had a steak,
three martinis and a heart attack.
And your mom took control of the plane
and flew it from Riverdale to Poughkeepsie,
landing it safely.
That's right.
And one of the passengers on the plane asked her to dinner
out of gratitude for saving his life,
and a few months later they got married.
He offered to show her the world,
and she wrote you postcards from everywhere they went.
Until one day the postcards stopped coming.
What about Polly?
She had her twins,
Juniper and Dagwood.
She was very fulfilled.
She led a happy life with her family,
but she never got back to performing as Polly Amorous.
I only ever saw Polly perform once
at the Babylonium,
but I can still picture her.
She was such a star.
Are you ready?
To go back to school one last time?
Is this real?
Or a dream?
It's more like something in between.
But this is really what happened on that day, back in 1957.
Everyone is so young and beautiful, and carefree.
They have no idea, do they?
How special this time is,
how quickly it goes by, like the blink of an eye.
Bee?
You're not supposed to be here.
Or did you have some kind of miracle recovery?
Veronica.
Oh, thank goodness.
This is too wonderful for words.
Well, there's an ego boost I didn't know I needed.
You should get the mumps more often.
Well, come on, then.
The day has barely begun, and we're already behind.
There are about a million things to do before the last bell rings.
We're getting our yearbooks today. Don't forget.
I can't believe it, Vee.
This is the last time we'll be walking into Riverdale High
ever in our lives.
Betty, we haven't even graduated yet.
It's too soon to be swamped with nostalgia.
That said, I'm feeling a little verklempt myself.
I'm gonna powder my nose. Catch you later?
Yes, later.
Attention, Riverdale High students.
Toni.
As your senior class president,
I'm reminding all students to pick up their yearbooks in the varsity lounge today,
one per student.
Now... On a more personal note,
as we seniors look forward to graduation,
it's only fitting that I share one final poem with you.
It's entitled "Dreams", by Langston Hughes.
"Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow"
Students of Riverdale High,
we dreamed of a better school for ourselves.
And with Principal Weatherbee's help,
we made it happen.
As some of us head out into the world,
please remember that we, each and every one of us,
have the power to make real and lasting change.
But we have to dream it first.
I remember these.
Articles about Rosa Parks and the bus boycott.
Toni always made sure that Riverdale High was in dialogue
with whatever greater issues were affecting the country.
It's true.
And that will continue, until...
Don't... Don't...
tell me what happened to Toni, please.
I don't wanna know yet.
All right.
I won't.
Ew, barf, what are you doing here?
The word from the bird is that you had the mumps.
Back off. I don't want your mumpy cooties.
No, it's fine, Cheryl. That was a false alarm.
Can I please get my yearbook, and will you sign it for me?
Not right now, Betty. As you can see, I'm busy. Later.
But what if I don't see you again?
You most certainly will, as long as you're not germy.
I expect you at my and Toni's art show opening at the Dark Room, tonight.
And afterwards, we're hosting a little get-together at Thornhill.
-I'll be at both. -Of course you will.
Now move along, Betty. There's a line behind you.
Toodles.
Aw. Thanks, Fangs.
No sweat, Bets.
Fangs is used to giving out autographs
now that he had a hit single on the charts.
Baby, come on. "Pixie Girl" only made it to number eight.
That's a huge accomplishment.
And what finally got my parents to sing another tune about us getting married.
And wait till you hear his next song, Betty.
Speaking of, we gotta motor.
I'm supposed to be at the recording studio in half an hour
to lay down some tracks before going on my summer tour.
Tour?
Six weeks on the road with an all-star lineup.
A different city every night.
They booked us a super-boss tour bus and everything.
Catch you later, Betty.
Bye.
It didn't work out like they had hoped, did it?
No.
Four weeks into his tour, Fangs' bus was heading over the Rocky Mountains
when one of its tires blew.
There were no survivors.
Poor Fangs.
He was the first one of us to...
pass away.
But,
that's his gold record, over there.
It'll hang in this room for as long as there's a Riverdale High.
What about Midge?
Well, thanks to Fangs' songs,
Midge and their daughter were taken care of for the rest of their lives.
I remember.
I'm remembering more and more.
Hey, Betty, what are you doing for lunch?
It's a beautiful day.
Clay and I are gonna eat outside if you want to join us.
Kevin.
It is a beautiful day. I would love to join you and Clay.
Gosh, I can't believe this is the last time
we'll ever have lunch together at school, Betty. Can you?
I know.
Everything's going so fast, Kev.
And Clay, I feel as if I've barely got to know you.
That'll change.
Clay and I are gonna be roommates next year.
Aw!
With me going to Columbia to study literature
and Kevin going to NYU to study musical theater writing,
it just made sense for us to get an apartment together.
-Mmm. -That's what we told our folks.
Well, my mom and Clay's dad, they were swell about it.
Just asked us to be careful like they always do.
And we always are.
What happens to them?
Nothing awful, I hope.
No.
They lived a very spirited life in the heart of Harlem.
Yes, I remember visiting them.
All they had to do was open a window,
and an entire universe of music and art would pour in.
Clay became a tenured professor at Columbia University.
And Kevin started an off-Broadway theater company.
They saw and survived so much from that apartment.
Kevin was 82 when he went to sleep and never woke up.
Clay passed away a few weeks later.
He went out to enjoy some sun in Central Park,
sat on a bench to feed some pigeons,
and that was that.
Hey, Betty, you okay?
Yeah.
Yeah, I was just thinking about you and Clay and how...
You two are soulmates.
Sorry. I know I'm being silly.
Well, um, speaking about soulmates,
what about you guys?
Have the four of you figured out what you're gonna do yet?
The four of us? What do you mean?
Betty, it's us, Clay and I. We know the truth.
But if you want, even though it's the last day of school,
we're happy to keep up the ruse that you're only dating Archie and not the others.
The others.
What?
Come on. Don't tell me you've suddenly forgotten
that you, Archie, Veronica and Jughead
have been in a quad this entire last year.
A quad?
What are you so happy about, little miss mumps?
Oh, I'm just remembering
where I was a year ago.
Feeling boxed in by my mother's expectations and society's rules.
Fighting to have my voice heard.
Yes, yes, we all read the Teenage Mystique.
And now?
And now I'm remembering,
that it's been a really fun year.
Ugh.
- Thank you for signing my yearbook, Reggie.
Anything for the gal who helped me fix up Bella.
Got to say, though. You and me
could have had one hell of a senior year
taking Bella up to Lover's Lane.
If only you'd chosen me over chowderhead Andrews.
I didn't choose Archie over you, Reggie.
Or over Jughead, for that matter.
Can you keep a secret?
One that only a handful of people know?
Yeah?
Turns out, after Angel Tabitha's last visit,
I remembered what it was like being with Jughead
and being with Archie.
And Archie and Veronica remembered
what it was like being with each other.
But Veronica and Jughead had just started a thing,
and remembering all of that, sort of, just,
took the pressure off of us having to make a single choice.
So the four of us realized
that we could, and maybe should,
just be together,
at the same time.
Are you saying that for the past year,
the four of you have been dating
each other?
It started innocently enough,
with the four of us going on double dates,
me and Archie, Jughead and Veronica.
And then it kind of naturally evolved from there.
Some nights, Archie would sneak into my bedroom
and Veronica would go home with Jughead.
Other nights, Archie would spend the night at the Pembrooke
and I'd go over to Jughead's.
And sometimes,
more often than you'd imagine,
I would find my way to Veronica's.
Okay, but you guys never thought about
bringing me into the mix?
Veronica and I talked about it, of course,
a flutter bum like you.
But you were always so focused on basketball.
Trust me, I would have made the time, Goldilocks.
But, speaking of that,
I better get back to it.
I'm so glad I got to know you, Reggie.
This you.
And I think you're destined for greatness.
You too, Cooper.
Did Reggie go professional?
Yes.
The following year he played for Kansas State.
And then he got drafted by the Lakers.
During the off season,
he would work at his family farm
until his folks passed away.
Then he had to sell the land.
At which point he started coaching here, at Riverdale High.
He was buried in Duck Creek,
next to his wife and his parents.
He had two sons,
who still run the used car dealership, Mantle Motors.
We go to the Babylonium next.
How's that absinthe, Betty?
It's delicious. It's just a bit early in the day for me.
Well, I want to prepare you because I have news,
that I haven't yet shared with the boys.
The final pieces fell into place yesterday,
but I'm moving back to the City of Angels.
Los Angeles?
Why? How?
Josie McCoy's words about taking over Hollywood
have been ringing in my ears since her visit.
So I finally called my good friend Peter Roth
and asked about getting a job, working for him in La La Land.
I've done the small town thing.
I've done the theater owner thing,
and I now know what I wanna do next.
And what is that, Miss Lodge?
I want to produce movies.
And run a studio someday.
Just like you.
I can't tell you how excited I am
to begin this next chapter, Betty.
To get in on the ground floor,
learn the ropes, work my way up to being a studio executive,
one of the gatekeepers.
Wow.
It sounds like an opportunity of a lifetime.
It is.
But I'm detecting something, Betty.
I'm so proud of you.
Of all the things that you've done,
of all the businesses that you've started.
This move feels...
The most right.
I agree.
Like it was my destiny.
To be in the movies.
The only thing is, California's so far away.
Betty,
it doesn't matter how far away we are.
We will always be in each other's lives.
I promise.
I always loved this theater.
It had a good run.
Lots of kids made out here.
Lots of gum under these seats.
And Veronica?
The summer after graduation,
Veronica started as an assistant at Silver Shield Studios.
But within a few years, she was running the place.
She became known for her impeccable taste
and for taking risks on young, raw talent.
She won two Oscars,
and produced some of the most iconic movies of our time.
Vee was buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
I visited her grave once.
We went to some of her premieres before that.
She was such a force.
I wish...
I wish I had kept in better touch with her.
With everyone, all of us. We were so close.
Inseparable.
And then we just...
That's what today is all about.
Remembering and getting one more chance.
And no regrets.
Thank you all for coming tonight.
This is the culmination of a year-long collaboration
between myself and my partner in all things, Toni Topaz.
Our relationship is the most thrilling thing I could have ever imagined.
We're always creating.
There's no separation between our art and our love.
So, please mingle, enjoy the work,
- and feel free to buy a piece or two.
Also, I'll be sitting at that table over there,
selling a collected edition of the first six issues of Black Athena,
Riverdale High's acclaimed literary magazine.
It's sure to be a collector's item.
Thank you.
These paintings are incredible.
I should try to buy one.
In case you were wondering, Cheryl had an incredible career as a painter.
Her work was shown in galleries and museums across the country.
Even a couple in Europe.
What about Toni?
Toni and Cheryl stayed together.
Moved out west together.
They settled in the Oakland hills in a Craftsman house,
where they lived as artists and activists,
and they had a son, Dale,
named after Riverdale, of course.
And how did they pass away?
Peacefully.
After living full, gorgeous,
sexy lives.
What about Julian?
A bit of a lost soul.
After graduation, he enlisted, served and died in Vietnam.
He was 28.
Nana Rose?
Reincarnated multiple times.
The Bee and Mrs. T got married.
Oh, them.
Frank Andrews and Tom Keller were murdered.
By who?
A hustler they picked up one rainy night, named Chic.
What's happening over there?
Veronica has just told us about her plans to go out west,
and we are not taking it well.
I wasn't there for that conversation?
No.
Well, you should be.
Might help cushion the blow.
What's the tale, nightingales? Why the long faces?
Ronnie just dropped an atomic bomb on us.
I told them my Los Angeles news.
Ain't that just the pits?
Come on, boys.
I know we haven't been talking about it lately,
but we all knew we'd be going our separate ways after graduation.
Yeah, but now it just feels so real.
And final.
Hey, do we really want to spend what could be our last night together,
acting like a bunch of wet blankets?
Senior year was amazing and incredibly fulfilling.
Not just physically, emotionally, too.
Seriously, how lucky were we to have been brought together?
Given the opportunity to know and love each other
across, not one, but two lifetimes?
We should be celebrating that. Not mourning it.
Not yet, at least.
Betty's right. The future can wait.
Tonight is about appreciating everything we've been through.
And let me tell you, we have been through a hell of a lot.
You know, I gotta say,
if I had to live through high school twice, which we did,
I'm glad it was with you three yahoos.
I love you all so much.
Meeting you was the best thing that could have possibly happened to me,
heartbreaks and all.
And I'm so glad to be here to say that to you tonight.
Hey, should we all take one last ride in my hotrod together
to Cheryl's after party?
Where are the others?
Already inside.
-Why aren't you there? -I can't.
I can't go in.
-How come? -Because I know and you know
that this is the last time that all of us will be together, ever.
Betty...
I don't want to say goodbye.
I just don't.
It will be too painful, too much to bear, like you said.
It was a mistake to come back here.
I should be at home with the mumps.
I should not be saying goodbye.
-It's... It's... -That's life, Betty.
You say hello.
You walk alongside someone for a while,
and then you say goodbye.
That's the arc of a life.
Isn't it?
Every minute counts.
Okay.
As some of you may know, I'm kind of a big-time poet now.
We know, Andrews.
- You won't stop talking about it.
In any case, I wrote something to commemorate our time together.
Aw! Are you gonna make us get the weeps, Archie?
This is an ode to my best friends
and every good thing that must come to an end.
"Tomorrow, we won't see each other in study hall
So, here's a few memories for us to recall
And no, I won't be mentioning the epic highs and lows of high school football"
"I grew up next door to Betty Cooper
Who everyone thinks is super duper
Just don't mutter the word 'tangerine'
'Cause it sets off her serial-killer gene"
"Veronica Lodge, always in pearls,
There isn't a business you haven't given a whirl
Funny to think you were never prom queen
Then again, you were, once upon a time, a human dialysis machine"
I specifically asked Angel Tabitha not to let anyone remember that.
"Cheryl Blossom, you're as rich as a Rockefeller
You also kept your beloved Jason down in a cellar
But I'm glad to see you and the serpent queen back together
Only thing, Toni, 'Southside' is one word.
So, whoever designed your jacket is a terrible speller
Jughead Jones needs no intro
He made his teacher jump out a window
Thinks himself a private eye
Chained himself to Southside High"
Do me next.
"Kevin's voice is so beautiful he belongs in a chorus
But he spends most of his time cruising Fox Forest"
"Fangs, look at you now
You're a rockstar greaser
A long way from a cult member who stole organs to put in a freezer"
"Last but not least, Mantle the Magnificent
Pound for pound you're my closest equivalent
But there's that other Reggie so how do we know you're even legitimate?
I'm gonna need to see some kind of birth certificate"
Not cool, Andrews.
You know I'm sensitive about that.
"These are just some of our wild endeavors
But now we've come to the end of our time together
It's truly one of my life's greatest pleasures
To call you all my best friends
Forever and ever"
You weren't planning on leaving without saying goodbye, were you?
I'm afraid it's time for me to go.
Oh...
Okay, well...
Tonight isn't goodbye anyway.
I know we'll see each other again.
Maybe...
Maybe we'll even end up together.
You know, I've always felt
that it would be you and me at the end of the road.
I mean, it started with us, didn't it?
A boy and a girl next door to each other.
That's a lovely sentiment, Archie.
But that's not what happens in the future.
No?
No.
Your mom was right.
You make it to California and you don't look back.
Then you meet a sweet, strong girl who makes you laugh.
And you settle down in Modesto.
And you have a beautiful family.
You're a professional construction worker and an amateur writer.
And you are so, so content
and happy.
And when you die,
you ask to be buried here in Riverdale
next to your father.
Glad you went in?
I am.
But it reminded me...
There's one last person I want to visit before we leave
if we have time.
We do.
I just want to get some flowers first.
It was right after the beginning of senior year that he...
Yes.
It was a terrible blow to the town.
At least it happened in his sleep.
What do you think happens to us
when we die?
Well, I can't speak for everyone.
But for a man like Pop Tate,
I have a feeling he's probably still doing what he loved best.
Flipping burgers and mixing shakes, and making people smile.
For the rest of eternity, I bet.
It's strange to say, but I read your obituary
in the paper.
It was lovely, Jughead.
Yours was a life well lived.
Well, as we used to say back in the day,
"It was swell."
I put all my eggs in one basket.
Jughead's Madhouse Magazine.
It became an institution.
It was juvenile satire at best.
Just mocking all of the sacred cows.
People loved it.
And they still love it 70 years later.
It's mostly teens and kids who read it,
but I'm not gonna lie.
As far as legacies go, I could have done a heck of a lot worse.
Do you think about that a lot, legacy?
No.
-Not too much. -Well, you should.
First, it was the Teenage Mystique,
a self-published bestseller.
Then there was your advice column,
Betty's Diary.
All I remember from those days were the never-ending deadlines.
Then it was New York...
Freelancing and protesting.
There was so much to be angry about back then.
Hmm. Still is.
The same fights.
But other people are fighting them now,
the younger generation.
Who grew up reading the magazine you started,
She Says Magazine.
The go-to source for feminists and progressive causes,
exposing hard truths.
Still being published today, I might add.
As far as professional legacies go,
I could have done a heck of a lot worse.
Do you have any regrets about not getting married?
None.
But I'm so happy I adopted my daughter Carla.
I loved being a mother.
And a grandmother.
That's my true legacy,
my family.
What about you? Any regrets about not getting circled?
Sometimes.
I know it's impossible, but...
I wish that we could stay in Riverdale forever
with all of our friends,
as we were.
Young and beautiful,
full of hope.
Bursting with love for each other.
I know it's not possible.
No.
It's not.
In fact, it's time to get you back.
I know.
I'm ready
to face whatever comes next.
Oh, Grandma, look. We're nearly there.
Goodbye, town sign.
Goodbye, Sweetwater River and all its mysteries.
And Fox Forest and it's haunted trees.
Goodbye, red door and the secrets behind it.
Goodbye, room. Goodbye, window and Archie's room.
Goodbye, Pembrooke, with your crackling fires and sexy sleepovers.
Goodbye to cups of coffee and late nights of writing
and to maple-syrup mornings and spin-the-bottle parties.
Goodbye to buttered popcorn and double-features and double-dates.
Goodbye to music and poetry and art.
Goodbye, Riverdale High.
Goodbye to basketball games and pep rallies and dances at the gym.
Goodbye, lockers.
Goodbye, Blue and Gold.
Goodbye, chalk dust and bobby pins
and whoopee caps and whoopee cushions.
Goodbye to friends and feeling scared
and Fourth of July camping trips and time capsules
and time.
I wish... I wish there were more of it.
Goodbye, Riverdale.
It was wonderful getting to grow up here.
Grandma Betty, we're here.
Look, honey. She's asleep.
I don't think she's asleep, honey.
Perfect timing, Betty.
We got you a shake.
Your favorite, strawberry.
Thank you.
We'll leave them here, I think.
Where they're forever juniors.
Forever 17.
Always grabbing a burger or a shake.
Always going to or coming from some dance,
talking about school, the big game,
who's dating who,
homework,
whatever movie was playing at the Babylonium,
you know, the moments that make up a life.
That's where they've... Where we've always been.
In this diner,
in this town,
in the sweet hereafter.
So, if you happen to see that neon sign,
some lonely night at the end of that long journey,
the journey that every one of us is on,
pull over, come on in, take a seat.
Know that you'll always be among friends,
and that Riverdale will always be your home.
Until then,
have a good night.