Warning: SPOILERS ahead forRiverdale season 6
Riverdale star Vanessa Morgan confirms that the show’s alternate reality will continue to have an impact moving forward. Returning to The CW on November 16, Riverdale season 6 began a five-episode event that’s known as “Rivervale.” Aided by the narration of Cole Sprouse’s Jughead Jones, who is channeling Rod Serling of The Twilight Zone, viewers are introduced to a town that’s similar to Riverdale except for some key differences. And, by the end of the event’s first installment, those differences come into sharp focus as the lead character of Archie (KJ Apa) is killed off in a scene that’s quite reminiscent of Midsommar.
Things only got weirder in the second part of “Rivervale,” which sees Toni Topaz (Morgan) accidentally kill the son of Darla Dickinson (Azura Skye) during a gang brawl. This schism brings to light the legend of La Llorona, who drowned her children in an act of vengeance. Fearing retaliation from Darla, and desperate to protect her baby Anthony, Toni holds a séance to speak to the ghost and to learn the truth of what happened. This backfires, as the ghost takes the baby to be killed. But in the end, Toni offers to sacrifice herself. She becomes the new La Llorona, asking Betty (Lili Reinhart) to look after the infant she’s left behind.
Speaking with Us Weekly, Morgan shed some light on what’s really going on in Riverdale season 6. The actress confirmed that the alternate reality of Rivervale, with all its horror influences, will continue to have an impact on the teen drama moving forward. In particular, Morgan teased that by the end of the season, fans will have a better sense of how the story all connects. Morgan’s quote is included below.
“If you believe [in other dimensions] then there’s alternate realities all going on at the same time, different versions, different outcomes, all playing out at your life at the same time. I believe in that, and I feel like we’re kind of touching on that. And then I think toward the end of the season, it’ll all come together and you’ll really realize how it all relates.”
Morgan’s comments line up with what showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has said in interviews, who promised that Archie won’t be the only Riverdale character to die. Though he stopped short of addressing what is really happening in Rivervale, Aguirre-Sacasa did confirm that the stories shown throughout the horror-infused event will carry over for the remainder of season 6. The showrunner has also hyped Kiernan Shipka’s long-awaited appearance as Sabrina, which will occur in episode 4.
By starting off in an unexpected way, Riverdale season 6 has fans wondering about the CW series in a way that they haven’t since the acclaimed first season. The shift has been largely praised, especially by those who argue that the Archie Comics adaptation is better off for leaning into its absurdities than remaining as a typical young adult drama. So far, that has proved correct – as the long-running CW show has found new life by (at least temporarily) sending characters to their deaths.
Source: Us Weekly