'Riverdale' Season 6 Spoilers: Deaths, Recap, Biggest Bombshells

Warning. Spoilers ahead.

Riverdale season 6 is introducing some supernatural elements into the show … and we’re kind of here for it.

The show premiered on The CW in January 2017 and immediately became a fan favorite. Throughout the first four seasons, viewers watched as Betty (Lili Reinhart), Veronica (Camila Mendes), Archie (KJ Apa) and Jughead (Cole Sprouse) handled high school while dealing with murder and love triangles. Then, when season 5 came around, the core four experienced a seven-year time jump putting them right into adulthood. Now that fans are used to the adult version of their favorite characters, the story continues.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, production on Riverdale was pushed back, changing the show’s production schedule. So, season 6 kicked off with a five-episode special set in Rivervale before the rest of the episodes premiere in early 2022.

“One of the things that we really worked hard on is to make sure that these five episodes … obviously, we wanted to make them as fun as possible, and we wanted to event-ize them and all that stuff, and we wanted a little bit of a clean slate and a fresh start with these episodes,” showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told TVLine in November 2021. “But it was really important to make sure that they were what we call ‘in continuity,’ meaning that things that happen in Rivervale would continue or echo or speak to the events of Riverdale. Every year, we start very disparate storylines, and we always try to weave them all together, and this year is no exception.”

The Rivervale event kicked off where season 5 ends, with the discovery that Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) unleashed a curse on Riverdale as revenge for events that happened in the town’s past. It was previously revealed that Betty, Archie and Jughead’s ancestors accused Cheryl’s cousin, Abigail, of being a witch and burned her at the stake. The inclusion of supernatural elements in Riverdale allowed for the reintroduction of Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka).

According to an interview Roberto did with Variety ahead of the season 6 premiere, fans were asking: “When is Riverdale going to go full-horror, full-supernatural?”

The producer explained: “That’s always a big decision and a big swing, but it felt like, ‘Oh well, this could be the time to do it.’”

Riverdale is leaning into the supernatural big time, especially with the first five episodes. Scroll through our gallery for the biggest season 6 bombshells and spoilers, including character deaths and more.

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What Is Rivervale?

“Season 6 starts off with a special 5-episode event, which takes place in a different ‘universe’— Rivervale — while the rest of the season will air in January,” Lili wrote on Twitter. “I know it’s confusing. But these 5 episodes are a trip — you’ll see our characters like never before.”

Cheryl’s Magical Background

The character is descended from witches, and to Madelaine, that “made sense.”

“A lot of the things that have happened over the course of her five years on the show made a lot of sense now,” the actress told ELLE in November 2021. “And now that we’re well into season 6, it just makes so much more sense. Because there’s really nowhere we can’t go anymore. As an actor, you want that, right? I feel like I can play anything with my character.”

The Future of #Choni

“I think people know I am like the world’s biggest Choni-shipper. So, I don’t think [fans are] really angry at me about that, because I want them back together more than anybody. Who can say they’re not already, you never know,” Madelaine told ELLE. “You never know … just know that I am pushing for it. That’s all you need to know.”

Vanessa, for her part, told Us Weekly that “there could be [Choni] element this season as well.”

“I think it would be really interesting to see how things play out,” the actress gushed. “I think there’s a lot of built-up things that were left unsaid and tension there. I don’t think the chapter’s closed, but we’ll see.”

It’s the Witching Hour

During episode 4, Sabrina Spellman makes her first-ever appearance on Riverdale. Together, she and Cheryl complete a transference of Nana Rose’s soul into Cheryl’s body. She also explains that witches never really die, which is how she’s alive following the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina finale.