Entertainment
Betty on 'Riverdale'

This Detail In 'Riverdale's Flash-Forward Scene Will Make Barchie Stans Scream

by Sarah Halle Corey
Jack Rowand/The CW

This season of Riverdale has been all about trying to piece together Jughead's story through flash-forwards. The Riverdale writers have been hinting at some kind of dark fate for Juggie in time-jumps, and they continued to tease it in the Jan. 28 episode of the show. But, this week's Riverdale flash-forward with Betty and Archie also hints at another major twist among all the Jughead drama.

Warning: Spoilers for Riverdale Season 4, Episode 11 "Quiz Show" follow. Right now in the Archieverse, Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Jughead (Cole Sprouse) are still going strong, but the latest episodes did show some signs of possible strains in their relationship. For one thing, Jughead had to pitch stories on the fly for his Baxter Boys novel and ended up mining Betty's real life for material. When he was speaking to his publishers, Jughead shared the story of Betty's dad being the murderous Black Hood, and the publishers loved it. Betty, on the other hand, understandably didn't enjoy her boyfriend using her personal trauma to fuel his own creative project. The couple managed to make up by the end of the episode and gave fans some adorable Bughead moments in the process. But, in the flash-forward to four weeks later, Betty told Archie (KJ Apa) she couldn't keep waiting for Jughead's return. Then Archie squeezed Betty's hand in a way that could be construed as friendly and supportive... or hint that a there might be a romance between them in the very near future.

Fans will remember the Riverdale writers went down the Barchie path once before... sort of. When the horror of the Black Hood was at its height in Season 2, Betty and Archie shared a steamy kiss. But afterward, they chalked it up to being in the heat of the very dangerous moment, though it did make things awkward between the Core Four for a bit.

Of course, Archie and Veronica (Camila Mendes) always say they're endgame, while Betty and Jughead have just made plans for a future in Connecticut together. So what happens between now and the latest time-jump scene? Archie and Betty could simply get together in the future after something goes wrong with Jughead, or perhaps Betty and Archie's relationship could be the reason that Jughead's in trouble. Only time (and Jughead's narration) will tell.

Season 4 of Riverdale continues on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.