Riverdale's Cole Sprouse Teases the Return of Old Beloved Characters in Bonkers 100th Episode

Riverdale is about to hit a major milestone of 100 episodes, and it's about to change everything you know about TV's most bonkers teen drama. There's a reason this show is so insane, and it's all getting explained in what might just be its best, funniest, and most complicated episode ever. And as you might be able to guess by its title "The Jughead Paradox," Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) is at the center of it all. In a conversation with TV Guide, Sprouse explained why it's also his favorite episode yet. 

"The thing I love about it is that it explains why Riverdale is the way it is," he says. "It explains why the characters act or suspend their disbelief for certain outrageous circumstances. It explains the tone of the show. It also speaks directly to the audience for storylines that they've loved throughout the seasons. It brings back old characters that we love. It just kind of puts everything in a nice little gift wrap and I think it's really well done." 

The episode is sort of hard to describe without giving anything away, but basically, Jughead notices some weird things going on in the town of Rivervale, and he goes in search of answers. It ends up being a trip down Riverdale memory lane, with old familiar faces popping up and reminding us of all the absolutely insane things that have happened in this town over the years, from the highs and lows of high school football to evil cults and bear attacks and serial killers. It is, to use a very overused term, a love letter to the show. It also offers a new context to the show we've been watching for the past five years. 

While Riverdale is far from over (as far as we know), after 100 episodes, Sprouse already has a pretty good idea of the legacy he thinks it will leave behind one day. 

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"I'm not able to predict what the audience will see it as but I do know what I will see it as, in a much more passive sense. Like if I were able to suspend my role as a part of this production and view Riverdale almost as a passenger, I'd go, 'Okay, this is a wild ride. Truly, truly crazy. I'm just gonna watch it for the sheer entertainment value of it,'" he says. "I think if you don't take the show so seriously, and you view it almost as a tongue-in-cheek comedy poking fun at the teen drama genre in general, you're gonna have a really, really, really good time." 

Sprouse does not think it needs to be a "broader, impactful legacy kind of program" that "lives within the cultural psyche of our society," but he does think that with time, it will find its rightful place in the television pantheon. 

"I think it's really just, 'Why don't you turn on like three episodes of this and wonder what the hell just happened?' I think ultimately this is a cult show, and things like this are appreciated after they [have] fermented into a nice alcohol over the years. I think in 10 years' time, people are going to go 'Wow, this is what this was,' in a much more objective sense." 

Just don't take the show too seriously, Sprouse says. That's the job of the characters. 

"The show is taking these incredibly strange circumstances and acting like they're normal," he explains. "And I think if you watch it with that understanding, you're going to love it." 

So, if you're still watching every week (or if you gave up long ago) and you're constantly wondering what the heck is going on, maybe just sit back, relax, and let that maple-syrupy wackiness take you for a ride. Or, tune into the 100th episode and maybe things will make at least a little more sense. 

The Riverdale 100th episode airs Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 9/8c on The CW.