Like It Or Not, We're Probably Getting A Betty & Archie Romance On 'Riverdale' Soon

Spoilers ahead for Riverdale Season 4, Episode 11. Guard your hearts, Bughead shippers: there may be a Barchie romance looming ahead. During Riverdale's Jan. 29 episode, a flash-forward showed Betty crying in Pop's, lamenting to her old friend Archie that she keeps waiting for Jughead to come back. Archie then placed his hand on top of Betty's and promised they'd get through it together. Are we meant to think this is just two close friends supporting each other, or like, are Betty and Archie going to finally date?

It's certainly something showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has hinted at before — and more recently than you might think. Speaking to Us Weekly at San Diego Comic-Con last July, Aguirre-Sacasa said that Riverdale "would be a failure" if they didn't somehow explore "Archie and Betty together romantically" at some point, as the original comics did.

He added that to him, the core of the Archie comics has always been two things: that the characters are in high school, and that there's always been a love triangle. "Strangely, on Riverdale, we haven't played a lot of high school stuff, and we have not played the classic love triangle as much," he said. "So my hope is that this season we’ll be playing a lot more of the high school stuff and more of the love triangle stuff.”

The show did start out by setting up a potential Barchie relationship (remember Betty's unrequited crush on Archie?), but not long afterward, they'd all paired off with their current love interests — Archie with Veronica and Betty with Jughead. However, that doesn't mean either couple is meant to last. They're seniors in high school, after all, and young love is often not long for this world. With Jug and Betty now likely going to different colleges, they may be doomed to face the infamous Turkey Dump. Or, you know, if Jughead does really die, as these flash-forwards keep suggesting, Betty may end up falling for Archie will they navigate their grief together. It's a dark prospect, but really, what isn't in Riverdale?