"Chapter Thirteen: The Sweet Hereafter" is the thirteenth and final episode of the first season of the American television series Riverdale. The episode was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by Lee Toland Krieger. It originally aired on the CW in the United States on May 11, 2017.
The episode revolves around the fallout from the revelation of Jason Blossom's murder, which concludes the season-long arc. The episode received overall positive reviews, with several reviewers highlighting the cliffhanger ending. In its initial broadcast, it was watched by 0.951 million viewers.
Plot
In the previous episode, Clifford Blossom was found hanging in his barn from an apparent suicide. This episode picks up with that and reveals that Clifford killed himself when it became apparent that he had killed his son Jason Blossom. Jason had threatened to expose his dad's crime, as it is revealed that Clifford had used his maple syrup business as a front for trafficking heroin from Canada. At the same time, FP Jones is incarcerated for his involvement with Jason's death. While Sheriff Tom Keller wants him to give him the names of Southside Serpents (Jones's gang) who were involved in Clifford's drug businesses, though Jones maintains their innocence and refuses to name names.
At Riverdale High School, Archie Andrews and Veronica Lodge reveal that they are dating. Meanwhile, Betty Cooper is writing an article on FP's innocence, though her mom Alice Cooper refuses to print it in The Riverdale Register out of fear of retribution for defending the Serpents, who have become a target for the town's anger. Betty decides to publish the article anyways on the school newspaper's website, which leads to her locker being vandalized with "Go to Hell Serpent Slut" written in pig blood. Around this time, Betty also begins pushing her mom to reveal more family secrets, where she learns that, while in high school, her mom gave up a son for adoption through the Sisters of Quiet Mercy and never mentioned this to Betty or her sister Polly. At the same time, Jughead Jones (FP's son and Betty's boyfriend) gets placed with a foster family and transfers to Southside High School. Later, some Serpents tell Jughead that they respect his father for not ratting them out and offer Jughead their protection and a leather Serpents jacket.
Clifford's daughter Cheryl Blossom, distraught over her father's death, walks out onto the frozen Sweetwater River in a suicide attempt, though Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica arrive there just as she falls into the water. Archie manages to save her by punching through the ice and performing CPR on her. After recovering, Cheryl burns down her family's mansion, Thornhill, in an act of rebellion against her mom, Penelope Blossom. That same night, Mayor Sierra McCoy is hosting a jubilee for the town's 75th anniversary where Archie performs an original musical number with Josie and the Pussycats. After this, Betty gives a speech that both highlights the good of Riverdale but calls attention to its many flaws and that the town must do better in order to avoid future tragedies like what happened with the Blossoms.
The next morning, Archie meets with his dad Fred Andrews at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe. However, while he is in the bathroom, a masked gunman tries to rob the store before turning his attention to Fred, who is shot. The episode ends with the gunman fleeing from the store as Fred, bleeding, is held in Archie's arms.