When Riverdale announced its Season 6 event series would take place in town called Rivervale, it was clear that fans were in for some serious surprises. Those surprises included Archie's murder, the ghost of La Llorona, and even Cheryl having a secret witchy identity, yet it was only in the final episode of the event series did Riverdale pull out all the stops. "The Jughead Paradox" brought back nearly all the characters who died on the show, showing them aged up and very much alive and well.
It makes perfect sense that Riverdale would use "The Jughead Paradox" to pay tribute to the characters who have come and gone — it is, after all, the show's 100th episode, and therefore a major milestone for the franchise. But who got to live again in Rivervale, after their sad Riverdale departure? Here's who came back around for Season 6.
Ben Button
For those who don't quite remember Ben, he was the character who threw himself out the window in sacrifice to the Gargoyle King (never forget the board game) in the show's third season. Jughead runs into him in the bathroom during Jughead's first day back teaching at the high school. When Jughead reminds Ben about his hospital suicide, Ben says Jughead may be confusing him for "that guy from Stonewall Prep," aka Mr. Chipping, the teacher who hurled himself out a different window to his death in Season 4.
While Ben may seem like a minor character, he also pops up on Netflix's The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, where he's killed by Madame Satan.
Dilton Doiley
Like Ben, Dilton sacrificed himself to the Gargoyle King. While both he and Ben drank poisoned blueberry Fresh-Aid, Ben survived the ordeal, only to die by suicide at the hospital after being rescued.
Jason Blossom
He speaks! And in Rivervale, he's very much alive. When Jughead visits Cheryl to talk to her about the parallel universe, he's shocked to learn that Jason is perfectly fine, having not been murdered by his dad Clifford Blossom just prior to the events of the show's first season — thus kicking off the entire show. And speaking of Clifford Blossom...
Clifford Blossom
The Black Hood may be Hal Cooper in the Riverdale universe, but in Rivervale, Cliff attempts to shoot and kill his own son Jason while donning the hood once worn by Betty's father. Fortunately, Sheriff Keller is able to take down Cliff before he kills Jason. (Again.) In the Riverdale universe, Cliff was murdered by his wife Penelope for killing her beloved son, and Cliff's death was made to look like a suicide.
Hal Cooper
In Rivervale, Hal is just a regular proud dad (he gives a speech at Betty's engagement party!) and doesn't seem to have any murderous tendencies. He and Alice even have a healthy relationship. In the Riverdale universe, Hal operated as the serial killer the Black Hood, and the trauma from discovering her father's secret identity inspired Betty's whole FBI agent thing. Like Cliff, he was also murdered by Penelope Blossom.
Geraldine Grundy
It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, but Mrs. Grundy does appear in this episode as well, albeit in more of a hallucination than in a Rivervale version of her character. Still, Mrs. Grundy is technically dead — she was killed by the Black Hood for her inappropriate relationships with students. In fact, it was just after her lesson with Ben (see above) that Hal killed her with her cello bow.
Images: The CW