Riverdale is one wicked little town, that’s for sure. Anything can happen. The April 15 musical episode of Riverdale featured Casey Cott slaying Hedwig and The Angry Inch material, Varchie and Bughead fights, and one kiss that will change everything. Archie and Betty have kissed before, but not like this. The kiss between them in the musical episode was a very real kiss, with plenty of chemistry boiling over.
It all starts when Archie and Veronica fight over Hiram. Hiram collapses and Archie tells Veronica about what happened at the gym earlier. She gets angry with him for not telling her sooner. “How could you be so short-sighted?” she asks him. Meanwhile, Betty finds Jughead looking at the new videotape and not doing his homework. She gets frustrated that she went to bat for him and he’s not even trying. Betty says she’s trying to help make sure Jughead graduates and they “stay together.” Jughead is insulted by that and fires back, “In what future are we not together?” This segues into the four of them singing “Exquisite Corpses.”
Betty shows up for rehearsal, but it’s only Archie. He forgot to text that practice was canceled. They commiserate over their fights with Jughead and Veronica. Archie talks about the stage fright he had at his last performance and how his dad helped him get through it. Betty offers to rehearse with him even though Jughead and Veronica aren’t there. As they sing “The Origin of Love,” we see flashbacks of their friendship. When they stop singing, Betty and Archie kiss. A real, passionate kiss.
After it’s over, they both feel incredibly guilty. In her room, Betty looks at photos with Archie and Jughead. Suddenly, Jughead shows up with his paper and an apology. You can still see the guilt on her face and Jughead even asks if she’s OK. When he walks away, Betty starts to cry. Meanwhile, Archie is in his room and Veronica comes bearing cupcakes and an apology as well. Archie starts to say something but Veronica stops him. She tells Archie that the variety show is now happening at Le Bonne Nuit.
When Veronica leaves, Archie gets up and peers out his window. He looks at Betty’s window and sees her standing there. They stare at each other, just like they did in the very first episode of the show. He puts his hand on the window and she does the same. They imagine they’re back at the school dance from the first episode. They dance in Betty’s room while singing the “Wicked Little Town (Reprise).” The lyrics echo what’s going on between Archie and Betty: “Forgive me for I did not know // ’cause I was just a boy // And you were so much more.”
Later, the Archies perform at Le Bonne Nuit. Betty and Archie steal a few glances at each other during the performance. Veronica and Jughead don’t notice a thing.
