WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 5, Episode 1 of Riverdale, "Climax," which aired Wednesday, Jan. 20 on The CW.
At the very core of the mythology of Archie Comics is the love triangle between Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge. In the comics, Archie has always hovered between the two girls, dating one or the other without ever completely committing to either. In The CW's Riverdale television series, a modern and gritty reimagining of the Archie Comics world, the relationship between Archie, Veronica and Betty was once again the focus -- but perhaps to a lesser extent. In fact, for the better part of the series, Archie and Veronica have been a couple, while Betty and Jughead have had their own love story.
But with the ending of Season 4 and the Season 5 premiere, Riverdale has brought the love triangle back to the forefront. And now that the series is soon to experience a time jump, this would be the perfect time for Riverdale to take a cue from the comics and split off into two universes.
At the end of Riverdale's fourth season, the spark between Archie and Betty had been rekindled after Jughead faked his death. After the two kissed, they swore to remain in their respective relationships. However, in the Season 5 premiere, Archie reveals to Veronica that he has feelings for Betty, which promptly leads to the end of their relationship. After multiple seasons, Archie and Veronica are no longer together, and we may now see him pursue a relationship with Betty as the season continues.
The plotline also demonstrates that the love triangle between the three lead characters is the focal point of Riverdale, just like in the comics. And now that the television series is set to make a time jump that will take the characters into their adult years, it sets up the perfect opportunity to adapt the Archie Comics series, Life with Archie: The Married Life.
The Married Life was a series that essentially worked as a spinoff of the "Archie Marries Veronica/Archie Marries Betty" event storyline published in 2009-2010's Archie #600-606. As the title implies, these six issues by Michael Uslan, Stan Goldberg and Bob Smith presented two alternate realities: one where Archie married Betty and the other where he married Veronica. After the conclusion of the popular storyline, Life with Archie: The Married Life continued that premise for 37 issues, which were split into two stories: one that showed Archie's married life with Veronica and the other with Betty.
Riverdale may tell a continuous story, but it's no stranger to the mysterious and the unusual. If the series' next step was to split off into two universes, then it's almost guaranteed that this new story would be an event all on its own. The premise of hopping between one universe and the other is perfectly fitted for television: if Riverdale adapts The Married Life, each episode could alternate between the two universes, showing an adult Archie now married to Veronica in one and Betty in the other.
Better yet, this could even allow Riverdale to remain its moody, unsettling self. After all, each season of the series has revolved around a murder mystery or something similar, and this could be the same in a Married Life adaptation. The hop between universes could showcase how characters are involved in this mystery, and how they react to the events in completely different manners depending on their circumstances in a given universe.
There is definitely a lot of mileage that could be gained by Riverdale adapting The Married Life. It would give fans of both ships plenty to chew on, it could serve as an inventive fresh start and it could become an intriguing event all on its own -- one that could make the series bigger than ever.
Riverdale stars K.J. Apa as Archie Andrews, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl Blossom, Casey Cott as Kevin Keller, Mark Consuelos as Hiram Lodge, Charles Melton as Reggie Mantle, Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz, Mädchen Amick as Alice Cooper and Erinn Westbrook as Tabitha Tate. New episodes of Season 5 air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
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