Riverdale Queer Watch season 6 episode 4: Echoes of Cheryl

Welcome to Riverdale Queer Watch, where we look out for the LGBTQ+ folks on The CW’s Riverdale each week. Whether it’s a snuff film or prom night, we’re watching.

Last week’s episode of Riverdale saw the body count in Rivervale climb higher when the devil came to town, claiming Kevin and Jughead’s souls and sending Reggie straight to hell.

This week’s episode saw Cheryl dive into more of her family history during a rare comet’s arrival in Rivervale. Without further ado, let’s dive into what happened.

Riverdale Queer Watch: Cheryl

This week’s episode was very Cheryl-centric, revolving between three timelines, Abigail in the 1890s, Poppy in the 1950s, and Cheryl in present-day Rivervale. Each story reiterated the Blossom “witch hunt” narrative that has been a motif over the last season or so.

We also saw a queer version of Cheryl in each timeline, with Abigail falling in love with one of Toni’s ancestors, Thomasina, and Poppy connecting with Bitsy, an apparent ancestor of Betty’s (and therefore Poppy’s cousin?).

(Sidebar:  It was nice to see Lili Reinhart get to have a queer moment on the show since coming out as bi.)

While each timeline has its arc, the episode ultimately culminates in Sabrina’s arrival for a big transference spell which can only happen on a night as energetically charged as one that the comet brings.

Cheryl and Sabrina do the spell at Nana Rose’s bedside before telling Cheryl’s charge, Britta, and effectively the audience, what they did in explicit detail:  swap Cheryl and Nana Rose’s souls before Nana Rose died.

As it turns out, all the Cheryls were the same (not so subtle), and Abigail/Poppy/Cheryl had been cursed with immortality. By swapping souls, Cheryl died but was freed of the curse, and Nana Rose was gifted a new youthful body.

This leaves us in an interesting spot. Cheryl has died, but Sabrina is in town. Will she begin to detect that Rivervale is not as it seems? And what aspects of Rivervale will remain before we inevitably return to Riverdale? Only time will tell…

What did you think of this week’s episode of Riverdale? Tell us in the comments below!