http://nerdist.com/riverdale-finale-deleted-scene-questions/

There was so much packed into Riverdale‘s first season that the pacing always felt off. In a TV series about a murder mystery with the characters from Archie Comics, it’s to be expected that the show would move at a breakneck pace as that story unfolded over only 13 episodes.

One big casualty from the super fast pacing was that a lot of characters got pushed to the sidelines if their stories weren’t integral to the main murder mystery, resulting in deleted scenes galore. But I’ve made my feelings known about how Riverdale should have gotten more episodes than just 13 for its first season. I’m not going to rehash everything I’ve already said again. But the deleted scene that The CW and Warner Bros. TV just released from the season one finale confused me. A lot. I have so many questions.

First, check out the deleted scene for yourself below:

It’s a funny little scene showing Betty (Lili Reinhart) helping her pregnant older sister Polly (Tiera Skovbye) settle back in to life at Riverdale High after the drama of Jason Blossom’s (Trevor Stines) murder investigation died down. In a moment scored to Josie (Ashleigh Murray) and the Pussycats’ “Fear Nothing,” Betty and Veronica (Camila Mendes) walk Polly through the school halls, all three wearing Riverdale Vixen uniforms.

Of course, other students are obviously shocked to see the pregnant Polly not only back in school like nothing had happened but also in a cheerleader’s uniform (I honestly didn’t know they made maternity cheerleader uniforms until now). I love how the trio don’t even bat an eyelash at the camera phones flashing in their faces. Their confidence and no-f-cks-given attitude is just the best. I’m all for the basically-widowed Polly returning to some semblance of normalcy after losing the father of her (cough, incest-bred, cough) unborn baby.

And then Reggie Mantle (Ross Butler) crashes the female empowerment party, ruining the moment with a classic Reggie leer and gross comment about “mommy issues” and how good Polly looks pregnant. Gross, yes, but this little moment wouldn’t normally be a big deal …

But The CW already announced two weeks ago that Riverdale was recasting the role of Reggie for season two.

Butler, who stars as a series regular on Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why (also renewed for a second season), had scheduling issues with the two series and chose to give his time to the buzzy Netflix drama over The CW’s series. That resulted in Riverdale effectively not using the iconic character of Reggie for most of the first season. That definitely hurt the series, as Reggie is a huge part of the Archie Comics world as Archie’s (KJ Apa) rival, and the producers decided to recast the role for season two so they could use the character more without having to work around Butler’s 13 Reasons Why production schedule.

It’s a sad loss for Riverdale as Butler made a great Reggie, but I’d rather have more Reggie played by a different actor than no Reggie at all. You just can’t tell a good, complete Archie Comics story without Reggie!

Based on this deleted scene, however, that decision to recast came after the finale was filmed. I find it nuts that the producers not only wrote a scene with the old Reggie, but they had Butler fly back to Vancouver to film it. It was edited out before the hour made it air. But then the network released the scene online anyways! I don’t have to tell you how weird it is that they brought Butler back to film this scene, only to cut the scene and recast his role and then release this scene regardless. I mean, why release the scene at all?!

Of all the twists and turns presented in the season finale (#prayforFred), this is the one I just can’t get over. Am I overreacting or do you think it’s weird too? Tweet me at @SydneyBucksbaum and let’s chat all things Riverdale … including the mysterious case of the reappearing Reggie.

Images/video: The CW, Warner Bros. TV