'Riverdale' Finale Leaves Fans, Poly Community Rolling Their Eyes

"Riverdale" has never exactly been a carbon copy of the long-running comic book's vanilla storylines, but the finale's "shocking" revelation of a four-way relationship among Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica left fans livid – along with some in the polyamorous community.

"During the episode, a present-day Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) travels back in time to relive her high school days in the 1950s with the help of pal Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse)," USA Today recounted.

"During a conversation with classmate Reggie Mantle (Charles Melton), Cooper reveals she was in a polyamorous, or 'quad,' relationship with Jughead, Archie Andrews (K.J. Apa) and Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes)," the site detailed.

Betty's admission was a head-scratcher even for fans who have followed the show's numerous outrageous twists and turns, but it was lacking in several notable ways. Telling Reggie that Archie and Jughead would sometimes play musical girlfriends, Betty admits that she and Veronica would occasionally – all right, "more often than you'd imagine" – hook up. No similar disclosure about Archie and Jughead pairing off seems to have been forthcoming, however.

But that was only part of the reason for the plot twist's unsatisfactory execution.

TMZ reported that, far from being pleased at seeing polyamory represented in the popular television series, the head of the Organization for Polyamory and Ethical Non-monogamy (OPEN) vented at how the show introduced the subject.

"It's frustrating that 'Riverdale' used its characters' non-monogamous relationship as a 'shocking twist' rather than engaging with an authentic portrayal of non-monogamy as simply being part of people's identities," Chamberlain told TMZ.

"We didn't see or hear anything about why these characters practice non-monogamy, what it means for them, the substance of their relationship agreements and communication practices, or any of the other underlying motivations and work that makes relationships of any type function."

"The quad relationship was a clear response to the passionate ship wars that fans had waged over the show's seven seasons, with the primary question being which of the ever-changing couples would be 'endgame,'" posited Elite Daily.

But some fans accused the show's writers of simply running out of steam and resorting to the polyamory angle for lack of any better ideas.

Others offered harsher assessments.

Some actually saw it coming.

Others simply stuck with their own preferred interpretations.

And some took their fandom to the logical conclusion.

What did you think of the "Riverdale" finale?