Why ‘Riverdale’ Didn’t Let Cole Sprouse and KJ Apa Kiss

Warning: this story contains spoilers from Wednesday’s Riverdale series finale.

Even after seven seasons of wild storylines, many Riverdale fans are still trying to wrap their heads around the series finale’s bombshell twist.

The teen drama came to a conclusion on Wednesday, marking the end of an era for The CW. Loosely inspired by the classic Archie Comics, the series followed the wacky adventures of Archie (KJ Apa), Jughead (Cole Sprouse), Betty (Lili Reinhart), Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) and their friends. Over the seasons, there have been many pairings: Betty and Archie, Archie and Veronica, Betty and Jughead, Veronica and Jughead and even Betty and Veronica.

In a truly shocking twist, the series finale revealed that the friends began a four-way relationship, with Betty explaining, “The four of us realized that we could, and maybe should, just be … together. At the same time.” However, they eventually all went their separate ways in the end.

The episode showcased kisses between all the pairings, with one notable exception: Archie and Jughead.

In a recent interview with Variety, executive producer Sarah Schechter discussed the unexpected quad relationship and explained why Apa and Sprouse never locked lips on screen.

“I mean, that’s, like, too hot for TV,” Schechter said. She shared that she didn’t think there was a “reason” for not including a kiss between the two of them, adding, “I think there’s a fantastic, fantastic amount of LGBTQ representation on the show.”

The producer also called the unconventional relationship storyline — and the decision to not have any of the characters end up together — a “brave and interesting choice.”

“I think it was modern and fitting,” Schechter said. “Them not ending up together, in a way, is more honest. It also helps you remember that each one of these relationships is equally important in its moment. If anyone ended up with anyone, it would say somehow that it’s more powerful.”

“[Creator] Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa] is such a theater fan, and you can really feel Our Town in it — with a quad,” she added. “It’s still Riverdale! I thought it was kind of amazing choice, and they kind of all end up in the afterlife together. That allows people to root forever.”

The Riverdale cast has previously acknowledged the outrageousness of some of the show’s storylines. In an interview with Vulture conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Reinhart opened up about how it was sometimes “difficult” to be the “butt of a joke.”

“People see clips taken out of context and are like, ‘What? I thought this was about teenagers.’ And we thought so as well — in season 1,” the actress shared. “But it’s really not been easy to feel that you’re the butt of a joke. We all want to be actors; we’re passionate about what we do. So when the absurdity of our show became a talking point, it was difficult.”

“It is, ‘What the f—?’ That’s the whole point,” she added. “When we’re doing our table reads and something ridiculous happens, Roberto is laughing because he understands the absurdity and the campiness.”

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Riverdale can be streamed on CWTV and Netflix.