A dream showcases a scene of Archie in the army combined with a game of football.  The scene shows Reggie dying from an explosion and Cheryl cheering on as a cheerleader. Archie is carrying an injured Jughead, but Hiram points a gun at him.

Seven years later, Archie is a sergeant in the military. His commander orders him to discharge from the military and restart the RROTC at Riverdale High.

Archie reads a story to his injured friend and says goodbye. Archie gives him his address to look him up.

Upon returning to Riverdale, Archie visits the diner. La Bonne Nuit has turned into the Whyte Worm. Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Toni are performing "After Dark" in front of everyone; Kevin is in the audience.

Toni is pregnant, but she won't reveal the identity of the father. Toni reveals the Southside Serpents own the Whyte Worm.

In the time jump, Betty is at the FBI Academy. Betty is kept as a trainee and dealing with nightmares/trauma; she's been sidelined due to a misstep with the Trash Bag Killer. Betty rebuffs flirting from Glenn.

A flashback reveals she was captured and tortured by the Trash Bag Killer. Betty has another nightmare of the killer coming after her and her cat.

A session with the therapist reveals she was held hostage for two weeks, the killer escaped, and she's been keeping things hidden from her therapist. Betty gets a call from Archie; she's heading back to Riverdale to clean up the satellite office.

Betty is dating Glenn.

The time jump reveals Veronica is married and living in New York; her husband is pressuring her to have a kid. Her husband discovered that Veronica is lying about her job at Lacey's with Katy Keene; she's been secretly working at a jewelry store. Veronica used to work on Wall Street.

Hermione is recording her intro for the Real Housewives of New York. Veronica reveals she wants to work back on Wall Street, but Hermione thinks the "accident" might be the sign to have a family.

The accident was a helicopter crashing in Martha's Vineyard. Chad gives Veronica a glamerge egg as a gift; Veronica resells that gift to a potential client.

In the time jump, Jughead is a frustrated writer in New York. His agent tells him he won't get the job at the New Yorker, he's in a toxic relationship, and he's losing his momentum as a fiction writer. Jughead's first book was a success (The Outcasts), but he hasn't delivered on his second.

Jughead's girlfriend Jess breaks up with him and moves out.

Jughead hooks up with a fan Cora at the bar; the hook-up was a ploy to get Jughead to read her book and share with his agent. After helping him avoid debt collectors, she blackmails him to read the book.

Toni was a social worker, but she is now the guidance counselor at Riverdale HIgh. Kevin is the drama teacher at Riverdale High; he and Fangs are still dating and living together. Sweet Pea stayed in Riverdale; Toni is leading the Serpents.

Flashbacks reveals Cheryl coldly ignoring Toni as Thornhill is being rebuilt. Toni reveals Reggie is working for Hiram as his right-hand man.

While Cheryl is painting Toni, Toni reveals she's fully out to her family and won't reveal the identity of the baby's father. Cheryl thinks her family is cursed, and if she keeps rebuilding her home, it will help rein in her family's curse.

Cheryl painted a duplicate painting of Toni's painting. Nana Blossom asks her if she has the ability to replicate the work of a master painter.

The El Royale is messy and lived-in. Toni takes Archie around town to show how the town has decimated under Hiram Lodge. The firehouse is closed and the police is down to Sheriff Keller. Toni reveals the majority of town who could afford to leave have left; only the people who couldn't afford have stayed.

Toni reveals bad things happen at night on the highway. Also, that Hiram is trying to squeeze out the town to build Sodale, a turnpike that leads to Sodale, and easy traffic for the rich to Stonewall Prep. Hiram is on the board at Stonewall Prep.

The Ghoulies have moved into Archie's old house.

Archie called everyone back for Pop Tate's retirement party, but he needs everyone's help to save the town.

Tabitha Tate wishes Linette "Squeeky" Fields a goodbye after she decides to leave Riverdale. Jughead's voiceover that Linette planned to leave to San Francisco, but she'll never make it there; she's seen getting into a truck on the cursed highway.