Riverdale: 20 most shocking moments during the first three seasons

Riverdale — “Chapter Thirty-Three: Shadow of a Doubt” — Image Number: RVD220a_0236.jpg — Pictured: Cole Sprouse as Jughead — Photo: Diyah Pera/The CW — © 2018 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

13. Archie Cuts Jughead’s Chains

Episode: “Chapter Twenty-Nine: Primary Colors” (Season 2, Episode 16)

In the midst of The Many Mistakes Of Archie Andrews tour that was Season 2, our red-headed hero went out of his way to infuriate and antagonize both his friends and family (and fans of the show). However, as the season hurtled towards its conclusion, tensions arose in the South Side – an event that forced him to make another bad judgment call that would damage his friendship with one of the few people who supported him his entire life: Jughead.

Upon learning of Hiram Lodge’s plans to demolish Southside High and build a prison in its place, Jughead and the Serpents decided to take some drastic action. Standing up for what they believed in, they chained themselves to the school and went on a hunger strike, protesting its planned-destruction and refusing to move until it was safe.

Knowing who he was at loggerheads with, Jughead was prepared for the onslaught of offense that Hiram would throw his way. But not even he could have expected his best friend, a pawn in Hiram’s much bigger game, to show up with his Dark Circle and bolt-cutters in hand.

The friends faced off and a sombre Jughead accepted his fate, already knowing that his longtime brother was willing to do Hiram’s bidding. With that, he gave Archie the go-ahead, begging him to do it in front of all those who were watching because, at that stage, it was nothing more than a formality as Jughead knew that he had lost his buddy.

As Archie slowly snapped the chains around his wrists, it was symbolically representative of the breaking of their friendship as, just like the chains, Archie’s actions had shattered that into pieces.

This was an incredibly powerful sequence highlighting how far Archie had fallen from grace, and one that left us all shaking our heads in disbelief.