The Riverdale gang preps for doomsday in the upcoming Season 7 Episode 18, “For a Better Tomorrow,” airing on August 9. TV Insider has an exclusive look at the Riverdale gang in the Varsity Lounge as they fear the threat of nuclear war and share what they’d do if the worst was to happen.
In the episode, filmed in black and white, the town’s past secrets start to bubble to the surface, forcing Jughead (Cole Sprouse) and the gang to make a difficult decision that will change each of their lives forever. Everyone’s hypothetical plans for nuclear winter align perfectly with their characters’ personalities.
Jughead, ever the bleak realist, lays things out plain for the gang. “If a bomb drops on or near Riverdale, all of us are vaporized in less than a nanosecond,” he says. “Not to mention the radiation we would all be exposed to even if we manage to survive the initial detonation.”
As starlet Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) says, “I’d sequester myself in the Pembrooke sub-sub-basement. It’s like a little underground city down there. You’d be invited of course, Juggykins.” Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) gets the ick from Veronica’s response. Her idea is to “seek shelter in the abandoned Blossom mines. They have stood strong since before the Revolutionary War.”
“Isn’t it dark and cold down in those mines?” Toni (Vanessa Morgan) asks, to which Cheryl cheekily replies, “Why yes, Toni, it is. I would have to find some way to stay cozy and warm.”
Archie’s (K.J. Apa) idea is peak Archie energy. “If we hear these sirens, I’m hopping in my hot rod, I’m grabbing my mom, and I’m heading out west. There’s no way these radiation clouds are gonna cross the Rockies.” Our favorite response: “You can’t outrun an atomic bomb, Archie. No matter how screaming fast your hotrod is.”
Kevin’s (Casey Cott) idea becomes a subtle jab at the infamous fridge scene in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
“I read somewhere that if you were inside of a refrigerator when the big one hits, you’re safe,” he says. When Betty (Lili Reinhart) asks what he would do about food and water when stuck in that fridge, Kevin’s reply is simply, “I mean, I’d be inside of a refrigerator.”
See how the crew’s spirits are raised in the full clip above, and find out how Riverdale escapes certain death (again) in Episode 18.
Riverdale, Wednesdays, 9/8c, The CW
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
