Riverdale just teased Archie and Betty romance amid Jughead's "death" storyline

30 January 2020, 13:58

By Katie Louise Smith

Was that a friendly gesture at the end of Riverdale or is a Barchie romance about to shake the table?

While Riverdale is edging closer and closer to revealing Jughead's "death" (Is he dead? Is it fake? Is it part of an elaborate Baxter Brothers plan?), season 4 is also shaking the table with some new character pairings.

In this week's episode (episode 11, titled 'Quiz Show'), we see Veronica and Cheryl join forces to take their definitely illegal rum business to new heights and in the latest flash forward, we're given a hint of Barchie. Yes, kids...Betty and Archie had an emotional moment at Pop's – and a lot of people have a lot of feelings about it.

READ MORE: Did Betty kill Jughead? Riverdale drops huge midseason finale clue about his death

For those who haven't been keeping up with the Dead Jughead™️ flash forwards, here's the latest: This week, we were shown a flash forward that takes place "four weeks later".

Archie is seen arriving (as soon as he could!) at Pop's at the request of Betty, who is absolutely distraught over this whole Jughead situation. He reaches across the table to comfort her, touching her wrist before she takes his hand. "Day by day, we'll get through this Betty. Together," he says, as the two of them sit staring at each other.

But are we meant to believe this is platonic? Or is Riverdale hinting at an Archie and Betty romance?

As we all know, their relationship hasn't exactly come out of nowhere. Back at the start of season 1, Betty was basically in love with her childhood best friend Archie. The two drifted apart, and into Jughead's and Veronica's (and then Valerie's and Josie's) arms. Since season 2, they've rarely teamed up as a duo.

Of course, with our beloved Bughead already in a liiiittle bit of jeopardy thanks to this whole Dead Jughead™️ storyline, shippers of the couple aren't living for what the flash forward might be serving. Neither are the Varchie shippers, who haven't been fed in a while.

But some fans, however, cannot cope with the intimate moment... Barchie nation, this is your time!

So, what do we think? Will a bit of hand holding between best friends with, let's face it, lingering feelings turn into something more?

To be honest, Archie and Betty getting together as a couple never really seemed to be completely off the table anyway. Show-runner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa even teased at San Diego Comic Con 2019 that the show "would be a failure" if they didn't explore "Archie and Betty together romantically" at some point. (via Us Weekly)

But even if no romance brews between the two, it's honestly just really nice to see Archie and Betty together again. The two were such close friends back in the day and they've barely spent any time together what with bear attacks and serial killer dads and organ-harvesting cults...

Barchie or no Barchie, here's hoping Riverdale gives us Archie and Betty content we deserve.