Riverdale should press fast forward after the characters graduate from high school.

The end of Riverdale season 4 is nigh, and with it will come the end of an era for the students of Riverdale High. Soon, they will graduate high school and head off to do bigger, brighter, and better things.

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It’s still up in the air what those things will be, since some students may not even graduate. For others, pesky murder plots and family conspiracies have gotten in the way of their decision making. However, whatever these characters decide to do next, one thing is certain:

I don’t want to see it.

Sorry, but if the characters of Riverdale are heading off to new places to forge new friendships, relationships, and hobbies, I’ll pass. Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean I’m not eager to see these characters grow and have new experiences. I would love to see that. But for many reasons (wait for it), I just don’t think Riverdale would work if the characters went off to college.

That’s why I think Riverdale needs to jump ahead and begin the next season five years in the future. Here are four reasons why.

1. College kills TV shows

College is poison to a TV series. Unfortunately, the place where ideas, opportunities, sexuality, and alcohol consumption thrive the most is also often the stake that pierces the beating heart of a teen TV show. Dawson’s Creek, Gossip Girl, The OC, Veronica Mars and many more have all tried to navigate these treacherous waters, and to some degree, they all sunk.

College is tricky because it uproots a show from its foundation and attempts to plant it somewhere new. The problem is that, as it turns out, a foundation is actually pretty important. Even though we’re watching the same characters, removing a show from its primary setting fundamentally changes it to a point where it often becomes a different show entirely. One that the show’s fans may or may not have the same affection for.

This is especially true if all of the characters go to different colleges. Then you’re not only dealing with a location change, but a complete shift in character dynamics. This storm is almost impossible to weather, no matter how good the new characters are.

Related: What should the Riverdale characters do after graduation?

Keeping the characters in Riverdale for the college years also doesn’t solve the problem. For one thing, there isn’t a college in Riverdale, although I wouldn’t put it past the show to conveniently create one now. Also, it just wouldn’t make sense for so many characters with vastly different drives and dreams to all stick around and go to the same place. Some of them would have to compromise their aspirations to a level that we just couldn’t tolerate as fans.

All of this is why shows like One Tree Hill and Pretty Little Liars have skipped the college years entirely, facing minimal fallout from the end of the high school era. You’re faced with a few fun episodes of trying to figure out what you’ve missed, and then things settle back into the same groove. This is what Riverdale needs to do!

2. The show is about Riverdale

As much as we would love to watch shows about Betty and Jughead solving crimes, Veronica and Cheryl launching illegal businesses, or Archie working out, those shows aren’t Riverdale. Riverdale isn’t about any of these specific characters. It’s about a town.

This “murder capital of the world” town is the glue holding this show together, and I don’t think it would last long without it. There’s so much crazy history left to uncover in Riverdale, and we can’t waste seasons not chipping away at it!

Riverdale and its mysteries have been the basis for every season of the show so far, and that’s so much of what’s great about it. Everything is so intertwined with the characters and their families that it adds so many amazing (and yes, often ridiculous) layers to the story. Taking any piece of the show anywhere else would be to sacrifice what the show is really about.

3. We’ll be spared from the core four drama

However you feel about the recent developments between Archie and Betty, it’s going to have huge implications for all of the show’s lead characters. Every inter-character relationship within Riverdale’s core four is about to be shaken up in a big way, no matter where the chips fall.

Related: Riverdale season 4, episode 17 review: Wicked little town, indeed

The show is best when the core four is working together, and that’s probably not going to happen for a while now, unless they’re doing so reluctantly. Everyone is going to need some time to recover from whatever happens.

So, let’s give them a few years! If everyone goes off and lives their college lives before coming back to Riverdale, they’ll already be in a better place to start the healing process. Their wounds will be well licked, with only light scars remaining. Even if some grudges remain, that’s way better than having to watch years of bitterness and animosity play out.

If the characters have some time to process, they’ll be much closer to finding their way back to each other.

4. The parents

At this point, what would Riverdale even be without the parents? They’ve become just as beloved as the kids on the show, and we can’t imagine ditching them completely. The role of a parent is pretty minimal for a kid away at college, so they would likely be sidelined at best if Riverdale took us through the college years.

Unfortunately, Skeet Ulrich (FP Jones) and Marisol Nichols (Hermione Lodge) have already announced they’ll be leaving Riverdale in season 5, but they could always come back as guest stars. Alice Cooper and Mary Andrews just keep getting better and better, so I really hope they can remain a big part of the show. Also Hiram, I guess.