'Riverdale': Betty and Archie Kiss! KJ Apa & Lili Reinhart Dish on Barchie's 'Genuine' Connection (Exclusive)

Riverdale Betty Archie
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Betty and Archie shared a Christmas kiss -- and no there was no mistletoe in sight!

Betty and Archie shared a Christmas kiss -- and no there was no mistletoe in sight!

In this week's mid-season finale of Riverdale, "Chapter 22: Silent Night, Deadly Night," the relationships between Bughead and Varchie were still on ice, but it looks like things between life-long friends Betty and Archie are finally starting to heat up. The detective duo shared a passionate kiss in the car when they were on the quest to discover the Black Hood's identity. (By the way, it was Janitor Svenson underneath the hood. Lame!)

It all started when Archie gifted Betty with a sentimental blast from their childhood past during the gang's Secret Santa party. Archie gave his next-door neighbor a Swiss Family Robinson read-along record they used to listen to when they were five years old. "I love it, Arch! Thank you," Betty gushed.

ET was on the Riverdale set in Vancouver, Canada, during the filming of this gift-exchange scene and star Lili Reinhart spilled on the touching Barchie moment. "To me, it shows that there's just such a genuine friendship between them and they just know each other," the actress dished exclusively to ET's cameras.

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Reinhart continued, "Even though you don’t get to see every little detail of their past or their history, when she says that they listened to it when they were five years old, it just paints a picture for you of how long these people have been in one another's lives and it's just really sweet."

Meanwhile, KJ Apa admitted during ET's latest episode of Sweetwater Secrets that he's fully aware that some fans are going to be "not too happy" when they see the sentimental Christmas gift -- and kiss! -- that Archie gave Betty in tonight's holiday-themed episode.

"I think the Bughead fans might not be happy," he said. "But if they're confident Bughead fans, then they've got nothing to worry about."

"The few Barchie fans that are out there will think that it's pretty good, I guess," he added with a laugh.

Whether you're a fan of Barchie, Varchie or Bughead, Apa revealed that when it comes to shipper wars on social media, he doesn’t pay any attention to the fandom's romantic preferences. "I really don’t, to be honest," he said. "I try not to look at that stuff. I just go with [the Riverdale scripts] one hundred percent."

What did you think of tonight's Riverdale mid-season finale? Share your thoughts with @LeanneAguilera on Twitter!

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