Riverdale Season 6 Episode 22 Review: Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen: Night of the Comet
The town faces its biggest threat yet on Riverdale Season 6 Episode 22, “Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen: Night of the Comet,” forcing everyone to band together for what may be their final moments.
After the long-awaited (and teased) face-off of good vs evil on Riverdale Season 6 Episode 21 “Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen: The Stand”, Percival is defeated with one final parting gift; changing the course of Bailey’s comet to hit the town of Riverdale head on rather than pass over.
This begs the question: what would you do if you only had 24 hours left on Earth?
Our characters grapple with this question in various ways as they try to find a last-minute miracle to save their town. The impending doom brought forth sweet moments and promises from some characters, while others left a sour taste.
The latter comes in the form of one of the series’ most beloved ships; Choni. Now before the pitchforks come out, let me explain.
Choni is one of the best ships for a reason, they’ve been influential since they first started dating all the way back on Riverdale Season 2. But for the past two seasons, their scenes have read as manipulative and cold.
Surely there’s a better way to include longing looks from Cheryl that don’t involve her and Toni being forced to use their bodies as hosts for Abigail and Thomasina to consummate their love.
Don’t get me wrong, the scene itself is beautifully done, but it would have been much better if saved for a proper Choni reunion and not their 1800s counterpart. Especially given the context, and the fact that both parties are in relationships with other people.
Just give us proper Choni content, I beg!
In perhaps the most shocking moment of the episode, Veronica is given more to do than just standing idly by while things happen around her — in fact, she’s technically the one who saves them all.
I’ve been screaming for justice for Veronica’s character for multiple seasons now. She has so much potential, and as we’ve seen, can be such a fun character — but she’s been consistently used as nothing but a driving force in her father’s schemes.
Even with Hiram now out of the picture, Veronica still feels separate from the rest of the group, as if she’s on a whole other show. So it was satisfying to see her act as more than a background character.
Her power remains the most confusing in terms of necessity. Unlike the other characters, her “kiss of death” doesn’t serve much purpose other than sounding like an excellent spin-off comic.
So seeing it finally come to fruition and be used to transfer everyone’s powers to Cheryl and save the town is brilliant and so gratifying for Veronica’s character.
But is the town really saved in the end?
In what is possibly the greatest plot twist imaginable for a season finale, the characters are sent back in time to 1955. Before Jason Blossom’s murder, before The Black Hood, before any of the crazy things we’ve seen on this show — heavily leaning into the comic book aesthetic that has been teased throughout the series.
How Riverdale went from a relatively normal, small-town murder investigation to time travel and multiverses will never cease to baffle me.
Admittedly, I’ve not been a huge fan of the multiverse aspect. Sure “Rivervale” was a fun concept, but as this season went on it became stale and repetitive.
This spin on the idea of time travel and multiverses is so much better. The fact that Jughead is the only one of them who remembers their lives pre-comet just makes it all the more thrilling.
I’d love to see this be the only “big bad” of Riverdale’s final season, a Riverdale-style Wizard of Oz if you will.
This show often piles too much on its plate, making its storylines unnecessarily convoluted. Like the TBK storyline, for instance, that was a huge aspect of the time jump and carried on into Season 6 and yet it was wrapped up in the most anti-climactic way — so much so that I forgot it even happened.
Riverdale can be a mess from time to time but it’s never short of unique ideas; here’s hoping they go back to their roots and write a more concise story for its final season.
Stray Thoughts:
- The Barchie feels were so strong this episode (even if I have admittedly been rooting for a Betty/Agent Drake romance during the season.) Maybe we’ll see a long-desired wedding next season?
- Jughead and Tabitha seeing their future together is one of the most beautiful moments of the entire season. They are such a delight in every episode.
- I want SO much more Mary Andrews next season, I love when she comes around.
- They captured the 50’s aesthetic so well and I am stoked for an entire season in that time period.
What did you think of this episode of Riverdale? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
Riverdale airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Samantha Graves
Samantha is an avid pop-culture enthusiast who arguably watches too much TV and movies and can often be found on Twitter gushing about her favourite things. She’s #TeamJess, a Lucas and Peyton defender, and an all-around Hollywood fanatic. She also has a podcast (Enter The Fangirls).