‘Riverdale’s KJ Apa Reveals His Final Season Choice: Barchie or Varchie

After seven seasons of adventures on The CW’s Riverdale, Archie Andrews might have finally achieved his ultimate form: the classic, naive, earnest character that fans know from the Archie Comics source material. And for star KJ Apa, this is perhaps the way things always should have been.

“In my opinion, this is the Archie that I should have been playing from the very beginning,” Apa told Decider.

In the seventh season, due to circumstances too complicated to explain here, the cast has been flung back to their teen years, once again Juniors in high school, though now in 1955 instead of the 2000s. And while some characters are dealing with difficult issues, like how Toni Topaz (Vanessa Morgan) tried to spark a conversation about Emmett Till’s murder in the season premiere, or how Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) and Kevin Keller (Casey Cott) are back in the closet and grappling with their sexuality, Archie is a big dumb doof who doesn’t understand what birds and bees have to do with sex.

In this week’s episode, he maybe finds out a little bit more about that, thanks to the ladies in his life. After having his heart broken by Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) before the school’s sock hop in the previous episode, she’s trying to win her Archiekins back; though he’s still holding off on trying to date the Hollywood ex-pat. Meanwhile, his next-door neighbor Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) is starting to feel “stirrings” for Archie — despite, or perhaps because she’s dating Kevin — leading to a moment where she trains him in make-out party etiquette until an ill-timed boner on Archie’s part puts the kibosh on that.

Archie’s most complex relationship, though, is his pairing with Cheryl. After Cheryl’s brother Julian (Nicholas Barasch) urges Archie to ask his sister out, she agrees, attending a poetry reading at the coffee shop The Dark Room. Toni’s performance, however, causes a sexual awakening in Cheryl, and in response, she kisses Archie. By the episode’s end, the duo has not only made out but also seemingly given each other their virginity, something Cheryl lords over her mother Penelope (Nathalie Boltt) who has been pushing back on Cheryl’s lesbian tendencies.

There’s a lot more on that plot to come in next week’s episode (and we’ll have Apa’s thoughts on the plotline as a whole on Decider after that episode airs on April 19), but as we rocket towards the series finale on August 23, there are also a lot of big, open questions. From what Apa knows about the end of the season (not much), to what he’s taking home from set, to — one last time — if he thinks Barchie (Betty and Archie) or Varchie (Veronica and Archie) should end up together, read on.

Decider: Are you excited for when the show is over, for people to stop asking you Barchie or Varchie?

KJ Apa: [Laughs] You know what? I’d say I’m more excited about not having to dye my hair every two weeks than that question popping up.

Well, I’ve got a follow-up question then: Barchie or Varchie?

I think at this point in the last season, I’m happy to go with… Well, I don’t know man, that’s a really hard one. I think in terms of the long term, I’ve always seen Archie — Archie and Betty are really such good friends that it’s hard not to see them together for the rest of their lives.

What’s it been like playing this more innocent, pure, more comics ideal version of Archie this season?

It’s amazing, man. It’s amazing. It’s been so refreshing. Bringing this side of Archie out, I think he’s definitely, like you said, he’s more pure. He’s a little more self– not self-aware. Which, which leaves so much fun to be had. And you know, the innocence is just incredible. It really reminds me of the comics. And that was something that I was dying for this season, to just bring it right back to the beginning. And I think everyone’s been doing that really well. Roberto was a genius in him thinking about doing that. And it’s been fun, you know. It’s always a risk when you decide to play a character like that, because you’re stuck with whatever decision you make. And I’m really happy and grateful that it’s been it’s working really well. And that people are liking it.

From behind-the-scenes videos, you seem like such a goofy, funny guy. But you’re playing this Archie for the most part who is very deathly serious. Here, you’ve gotten to finally play a lot of comedy notes, like on this week’s episode. What’s it been like leaning into that? And is that something you’d like to do more going forward?

It’s been great. I’ve always wanted to be involved in a comedy. Because I really enjoy that tone. And I’m loving it, and I’m glad that everyone else is loving it too because it’s given me a lot of confidence. You know, as I continue the rest of the season with that tone, it gives me a lot of confidence. I’m glad people like it. And I think, in my opinion, this is the Archie that I should have been playing from the very beginning. Some of the storylines didn’t really allow for that. But then comedy is something that I’ve always wanted to do. And it’s a new thing for me. So I think moving forward, on other projects, it’s something that I would like to do.

It seems pretty clear that Betty now knows what she wants, and that’s Archie, even if she’s with Kevin. What’s it been like redeveloping the Betty and Archie relationship in this new setting with Lili this season?

It’s been really cool. It’s really cool because of the humor. She brings it out of me. And working with Lili is something I love. I absolutely love working with Lili because she’s so talented. And we have a lot of fun. And especially with my character this season… We talk about a lot of the notes in terms of, specifically with certain things, and it’s always fun with her because we have a lot of fun with it. And it’s just a completely different relationship between them that we haven’t really haven’t seen because of the humor. He’s nervous as hell, but it’s interesting because they know each other so, so well. So it is awkward in certain ways.

Lili gave an interview to EW where she said you were so good acting-wise in a scene you had just filmed that you made her cry. I was curious if you could say anything more about that scene?

Yeah, I remember that scene. It’s actually interesting because it was a scene, without spoiling too much, it was a scene that I really need to prepare because of the nature of what I was doing there were a lot of lines and stuff like that. And sometimes the writers throw some very heavy material at us out of left field, and you have to figure out a way to do it. To make it grounded with the world of the ’50s that we’re living in, in this heightened reality. It always comes down to you have to lean in as much as you possibly can. Otherwise you look like an idiot. I always take it really seriously and I was also having a hard day, so it was easy to get there emotionally for me.

Archie has already said in the season, he felt like he was struck by lightning when he first saw Veronica, and there’s a moment in this episode this week where he’s clearly completely enchanted by her, even with all the Barchie stuff bubbling in the background. Is Varchie done, or is there potentially more to come?

There’s potentially more, I think we only really got to touch upon it at the beginning. I think there is going to be more. Maybe it’s not in more of a romantic way, but more of a friendship. But I think you can expect more, for sure.

I don’t know if this is getting into spoilers, since Roberto told me a week or two ago that they haven’t really finished writing yet. But he’s long said that he thought the show would end when Archie has a kid. Given that we don’t exactly know how the season ends, do you see the show still ending that way? Or maybe they’ve told you at this point, I guess.

I don’t know. I have no idea. I was thinking last night, it was weird… I was actually thinking, are they going to kill me? I don’t know if they’re gonna kill me or not. I think even that could be cool. You know what I mean? And if it’s done, whatever they do, I’m sure they will do it incredibly, because our writers are really talented. Whatever it is, it’s going to be pretty, pretty gnarly, I think, because it’s at the end of such a long road. And maybe it is him getting married and having kids and settling down. That would be cool. It also leaves things open for years to come. If we were to make a reboot or something like that. It could be really cool.

Hey, listen, you’ve died enough times on the show that they could bring you back to 10 years anyway.

[Laughs] It is true! It is true.

Roberto also mentioned that the show definitely won’t be staying in the 1950s the entire time. I was curious if you could offer up any more information about that, as fans are worried we’ll just get a montage at the end of the final episode. Or will we start jumping decades, earlier than that?

Oh, well I’m actually really sad to hear that. I would love to stay in the ’50s the whole time just because I love working in that realm. So, no, I don’t actually don’t know what the plan is, if I’m being honest. No idea.

This is definitely a bigger question for you, but I was curious, you’ve been on the show for seven years, it’s been a good chunk of your life, and your life has changed a ton. Do you have any big takeaways or life lessons you’ve learned from doing the series?

The biggest takeaway, being at the end of this season, is when you come to the end of something so big and so monumental, at least for me, you start to realize moments that you could have been more grateful or that you could have been a little more present. It makes me think about moving forward in my life and whatever projects I’m working on, just to be in the moment, and to be grateful. It’s so important to be in gratitude. And it allows for a happier, happier life. And it comes with life experience, too. I think that would be my takeaway. I’m just really grateful. And I want to continue, no matter what happens in my life, to be in a place of gratitude is really important.

I know you still have a couple of months, or a couple of weeks at least left to film… Do you have an eye on something on set that you’re gonna snag before you exit for the last time?

Oh, the only thing that I keep seeing in my trailer that I want is, I mean… I’m not I’m not gonna get out of that place without my letterman jacket, that’s for sure. But there’s also the statue of me from the El Royale from when I was boxing. And that statue I’m taking with me… I want that in my house. I think that’s pretty funny.

I’d like to see you like try to sneak that off of set on the last day, just sort of under your jacket or something like that.

[Laughs] Yeah. yeah, exactly.

What else can you tease about Archie over the course of this season? Not even necessarily specific plot lines but emotionally, starting in this very naive place, where eventually is he going to go as he continues to grow over the course of the final season?

Yeah, something that I’m really excited about [is] how we start to explore his sexuality a little more and we haven’t really gotten into to do that with a lot of straight characters on the show. But there’s really interesting conversations to be had and things to be explored in there, [and] I love doing. It’s something we haven’t done with him before. And also, there’s a lot of humor to be had in it… Archie is a character on the show that also can be can be a vehicle for those types of conversations.

And just to clarify, you’re saying that he’s going to be exploring his sexuality, or he’s going to be having discussions about sexuality with other characters?

He’s going to be exploring his sexuality. Yeah. With other characters on the show, who also have questions about it. I think the cool thing that we can play with this season, and that we have been playing with, is that we’re back to being really young. And being young comes with questions, and a desire to want to explore. And also with Archie, he also has another cool thing that I haven’t mentioned is that he discovers a form of self-expression that he falls in love with, and that, at that point in time in the ’50s, as a man, in high school, as a boy, wasn’t really the cool thing to do. So he experiences a little bit of shame around it, but in order to guarantee any form of self-expression, especially a creative medium, like writing or acting, or directing, we need to experience more in our own personal lives. And that’s another whole thing, you know, with sexuality, with friendships with going through grief and stuff like that, that we kind of need to go through in order to have more flesh to bite into as artists, and Archie’s more on the artistic side of himself, which is really, really cool. And it’s not music this time

is it poetry? We’ve seen that a little bit already.

It is poetry.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.