Characters / Riverdale - Main Characters

RIVERDALE CHARACTER INDEX
Main Characters (Archie Andrews • Cheryl Blossom) | Riverdale High | Riverdale Townspeople | Outside Riverdale

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Main Characters

Archie Andrews

Archibald "Archie" Andrews

Played by: KJ Apa

A sophomore at Riverdale High School who struggles with his conflicting interests of football and music, as well as the newfound attention he receives from girls after becoming newly attractive over the summer.

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See his page here.

Betty Cooper

Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper

Played by: Lili Reinhart

An archetypical Girl Next Door currently harboring a crush on childhood friend Archie, who becomes fast friends with Veronica—at the expense of her high-strung mother's approval.

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• '20s Bob Haircut: For the first two seasons, her alter-ego, Dark Betty, likes to wear a flapper bobcut wig when she's showing off or trying to be seductive.
• The Ace: Betty is beautiful, popular, smart (she gets straight As and is a stellar student), and a cheerleader for the high school cheerleading squad (the Riverdale Vixens). Jughead even lampshades this during an argument with Betty by calling her the perfect girl in every way possible. Archie's main justification for never pursuing a relationship with her was believing he wasn't enough and didn't deserve her. Even Betty refers to herself as the perfect daughter who does everything right.
• Action Girl: During the 7 years time skip, Betty. an FBI trainee, naturally becomes this. She is far more physically active and capable than the high school cheerleader and straight A student she previously was.
• Action Survivor: Mostly since season 2, Betty is action-involved in the town of Riverdale, especially during the Black Hood's sinner hunt. She doesn't have any conventional fighting skills to speak of, but she manages to fight off attackers when the need arises, mostly by using improvised objects such as a shovel. In 3x20 and 3x22, she successfully fends off assaults by the Black Hood on two different occasions.
• Adaptation Personality Change: In the comics, Betty is light-hearted, enthusiastic, peppy, and a Genki Girl to boot, but in the show, Betty is much more of a Stepford Smiler who's hiding a lot of emotional issues and has a darker side to her.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Betty in the comics is much more light hearted and doesn't seem to have a bunch of personal and emotional issues weighing her down. However, her television counterpart struggles with a highly dysfunctional family, love and relationship problems, and mental health issues.
• Adaptational Badass: In the comics, Betty is more of the regular Girl Next Door who's down to earth and spends most of her time pining for Archie and his affections (although she's a Go-Getter Girl who's intelligent and hardworking). On the other hand, Betty in the show likes to take part in all of the drama and action that occurs in Riverdale and she seems to be more of an adventure seeker. She purposely seeks to solve the mysteries and the dark stuff that goes on in the town she lives in. Unlike the comics, this Betty also has a significantly darker, aggressive side to her personality which makes her much more badass.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Downplayed. In the comics, Betty was super sweet and the epitome of a Nice Girl. In the show however, Betty is a nice girl but with a dark and edgy side. She battles serious anger management issues and she can be very manipulative and cunning as well. It's a side of her called "Dark Betty".
• Affectionate Nickname: She is called "Bets" by both Jughead and Archie, and "B" by Veronica.
• All Love Is Unrequited: Archie loves her, but not romantically. Averted with Jughead whom she develops mutual feelings for.
  • Then subverted by Archie in season 4 who kisses Betty and forms an Official Couple with her in season 5.
• Amateur Sleuth: Together with Jughead, she’s slowly turning into a downplayed version of the trope, if her ‘truth session’ with Alice and the speech she gave at the Jubilee in the season one’s finale is any indication. This is lampshaded by Kevin, who calls her Nancy Drew.
• Ambiguously Bi: Betty seems to start finding herself attracted to Veronica in Season 7, and has an Almost Kiss with her in episode 12. Confirmed in the series finale, along with Veronica, and possibly Archie and Jughead as well.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: In the first episode, Betty tearfully declares to Archie that she loves him after finding out that Archie was with Veronica. Archie tells Betty that he doesn't think that he's good enough for her. This strained their relationship at first, but they eventually became friends again once Betty decided to put her feelings for Archie on the back burner and move on.
• Antagonistic Offspring: Downplayed. Betty has a strained and tension filled relationship with her mother Alice, whom she feels is always trying to control her life. As it turns out, Alice is very controlling towards Betty out of nothing but fear, worry and concern that she could potentially turn out like her older sister Polly. They start moving past it once Alice starts letting up on her controlling behaviour.
• Ax-Crazy: She can only become this when she gets angry.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: With Cheryl.They both care for each other but haven't openly admitted it, therefore they can be seen as friends in denial about their friendship. Possibly and inconsciently more after they find out, they are actually cousins. Cheryl even started to call Betty "cousin".
• Badass Adorable: Emphasied more on the adorable than the badass. For the badass part, Betty is a strong-willed Guile Heroine using more her wits than physical strength. For the adorable part, despite an occasional edgy side, she's generally a sweet girl.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: The main reason why Betty is best friends with Veronica. Veronica defended Betty since the very first episode and she has never stopped supporting her when she needs it. Jughead’s support through her family drama in Season One is also a contributing factor in her romantic relationship with him.
• Berserk Button: In Season One, talking shit about her sister is a big no-no. In general, threatening Betty's family is the most reliable way to set her off. It's the reason why she hands Chic over to the Black Hood to seemingly be killed, and the reason why she threatens to end Evelyn's life after the woman finally starts to show her true colors.
• Betty and Veronica: She is of course Archie's Betty (with Veronica being the Veronica), but she's also Veronica's Betty (with the Veronica being Archie). Her Betty is actually Jughead, while her Veronica is Archie. She was also briefly Jughead's Betty with Toni Topaz as the Veronica.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She is a kind-hearted and loving individual, but if you continually talk shit about the people she cares for, she will set you straight.
  Betty: ...get out of my house.
  Cheryl: Not until you tell me—
  Betty: Cheryl, get out of my house before I kill you.
  • It's also made clear that, despite her sweet nature, she is no pushover, as she stands up to people like Chuck and her own mother on multiple occasions.
  • Betty has a more violent and ruthless aspect of her personality, unofficially dubbed 'Dark Betty', that comes out when she's pushed far enough. For someone who's such a nice girl most of the time, Betty has done her share of disturbing things in the series, like threatening to drown Chuck in a hot tub, blackmailing Cheryl with a video of her father shooting her brother, handing Chic (a murderous impostor who threatened her family) over to a serial killer to be disposed of, kidnapping her brainwashed mother, and threatening to end Evelyn's life in retaliation for the gaslighting cultist threatening her.
• Big Damn Heroes: In 2.19 she strikes her father when he strangles her mother with a shovel (again).
• Big Damn Kiss: Has one with Jughead in 1x06. Betty, of course, manages to ruin the moment.
• Big Sister Instinct: Inverted. Despite being the younger sister, Betty is extremely protective of Polly. Talking crap about Polly or hurting her will make Betty erupt into anger and bring out her dark side. She even threatened Cheryl that she would kill her after talking badly about her beloved elder sister.
• Big Sister Worship: Betty has a strong admiration for her older sister Polly and she constantly talks highly of her. That's why when anyone so much as insults Polly, she absolutely loses her shit and gets very angry.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead:
  • Betty is the Blonde, Veronica is the Brunette and Archie is the Redhead and they are the main trio of the show.
  • Betty is the Blonde, Veronica is the Brunette and Cheryl is the Redhead and they are the main female characters of the show.
• Break the Cutie: Her parents are controlling and domineering, and her beloved sister Polly was locked away in a mental institution. That's only the tip of the iceberg. Her love life goes through the ringer as well. Archie rejects her, while circumstances conspire to prevent her staying with Jughead.
• Broken Ace: Betty is good at everything (beautiful, popular, smart with straight A's and a cheerleader) and she appears to be the perfect daughter...on the outside. However, on the inside, she obviously suffers from a whole lot of emotional issues as well as many insecurities which have been brought on by her highly dysfunctional family (an ultra controlling mother, a stern father and an emotionally unstable older sister) and all of the personal problems that she's constantly dealing with.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: She's the gentle girl to Jughead's brooding boy.
• Brutal Honesty: Betty doesn't always mince her words and she will tell the blunt truth when she thinks its necessary. Sometimes she can come across as very harsh when she speaks her mind.
• Calling the Old Woman Out: Betty is definitely NOT afraid to tell her mother Alice off when she feels that she's trying to control her life.
• Can't Spit It Out: Has had a crush on Archie since second grade, but it's only until sophomore year that she actually says something. It doesn't have a happy ending.
• Character Tics: Betty has a tendency to frequently touch or play with her ponytail.
• Childhood Friends: She and Archie have known each other their whole lives and are best friends.
• Childhood Friend Romance: Archie and Betty have loved each other their entire lives. They don’t become an item in high school, although they cheat together in their senior year. Betty and Jughead were also friends as kids, though not that close, and date from sophomore to senior year of high school.
  • Archie and Betty start a romance as adults, starting in season 5.
• Childhood Marriage Promise: "Little Archie" asks her to marry him after she helps him pass the second grade.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: It's evident that Betty definitely gets jealous of any girl that gets romantically involved with Archie, becoming highly envious of Veronica and Ms. Grundy. Stops applying when she moves on from Archie and pursues a relationship with Jughead instead.
• Cute and Psycho: Betty seems to have some deep-seated rage issues at the least (not that Cheryl and Chuck weren't deserving targets) and may be suffering from some kind of mental illness, based on her apparent dissociation and identity crisis in 1.03.
• The Cutie: Betty is so very lovable and endearing that it's hard not to root for her.
• Deadpan Snarker: Although nowhere near Jughead's level of snarkiness, Betty can definitely spout a witty and sarcastic line or two, especially when she's irritated or annoyed.
• Death Glare: Frequently doles these out, such as the one she gives to Cheryl in 1.02.
• Desperately Craves Affection: She spent so many years clinging to her hopes that Archie would love her the way that she wanted. Justified — she grew up in a troubled family with a very controlling, authoritarian mother and a stern, emotionally distant father. Betty even admits to Veronica that she has a liking for Jughead because he was there to provide emotional support for her during a tough time.
• Detect Evil: The explosion of the bomb Hiram Lodge plants in Archie's house (right under Archie's bed, where he and Betty are making love), somehow grants her the ability to detect people's evil intentions by seeing their auras.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: When Betty is upset or gets angry, her eyes become a mixture of dull and crazy. When this occurs, watch out and get out of her way!
• Everyone Can See It: Within five minutes of knowing Betty, Veronica asks if Archie is her boyfriend.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: After rocking the same Tomboy Ponytail throughout her teenage years, Betty (after the seven-year timeskip) returns to town as an adult, sporting a long, wavy hairstyle. In the second half of season 6, she has loose, short hair.
• Extreme Doormat: Early on in the series, Betty had a huge problem with standing up for herself, letting others demean and control her (namely her mother and Cheryl Blossom). As the show goes on Betty develops the confidence and self assurance to fight back against any perceived threat against her happiness and her sense of right and wrong.
• Fatal Flaw: Her Anger. Betty is Hot-Blooded with a violent temper and she has serious anger management issues. The intensity of her anger can be so extreme at times that she ends up resorting to Self-Harm by digging her fingernails into her palms until they are bleeding. This seems to be one of the few ways in which Betty is able to get control of her anger and impulse control issues. Betty's inability to control her anger is due to the probability that she's suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness.
• Flat-Earth Atheist: In Season 6, Betty denies being religious or believing in any sort of divinity. This utterly flies in the face of the main plot of the season involving Betty and the gang actively trying to stop the Biblical Apocalypse in Riverdale, and in the course of this she and her friends battle Percival, who is a wizard and possibly a demon as well. Not to mention Betty knows that Tabitha has time traveled into the past, where she meets archangel Raphael, confirming that God Is Good and exists in their universe.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Surprisingly, Betty is the Responsible Sibling to Polly's Foolish Sibling. While Polly was more wild and rebellious in personality (she partied a lot and eventually got pregnant with Jason's baby as a teenager), Betty is straight laced and obedient (she gets straight A's and is a perfectionist–basically the perfect daughter). Her mother Alice has a fear that Betty will turn out just like Polly and make the exact same mistakes that she made and that is why she's so incredibly controlling towards Betty.
• Formerly Fat: The year before the events of the first season Betty was overweight enough for Cheryl to compare her to "season 5 Betty Draper". Though, this being Cheryl, Betty could've just been Hollywood Pudgy at the time.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Sanguine.
• Freudian Trio: Betty is the Id (emotional, passionate, hot headed, impulsive) to Archie's Ego (balances between emotions and logic, mediator, middle man between Betty and Veronica) and Veronica's Superego (logical, cool, aloof, practical).
• Friends with Benefits: How her romantic relationship with Archie started in adulthood.
• Genki Girl: Betty shows shades of this when she becomes excited or happy about something.
• Girliness Upgrade: She was a tomboy in the comics. In the show she still has her Tomboyish Ponytail, but she's mostly feminine and preppy.
• Girl Next Door: Her bedroom window looks literally into Archie's.
• Girly Girl: She likes to wear dresses and she has a fondness for the colour pink. Not only does she frequently wear pink clothes, but her room is pretty much all pink as well.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: Betty is girly and feminine, as she likes to wear dresses and she has a fondness for the colour pink. Not only does she frequently wear pink clothes, but her room is pretty much all pink as well. All this aside, she also has a tomboyish streak as she is mechanically inclined and has a love of fixing cars. This causes Reggie to become infatuated with her in the final season.
• Go-Getter Girl: Partially at the urging of her abusive, controlling mother, Betty has numerous extracurriculars and stellar grades.
• Good Girl Gone Bad: What Betty's mother fears will happen because of her friendship with Veronica.
• Good Is Not Nice: Downplayed. Usually, Betty is a kind and well-mannered person, but she can come across as being very blunt and antagonistic at times.
• Good Is Not Soft: Betty is nice and friendly to pretty much everyone, but she doesn't take kindly to people that she sees as bad or to those that she doesn't like or trust. It's unwise to mistake Betty's kindness for weakness, especially when it comes to her enemies.
• Guile Heroine: Betty can be very underhanded and manipulative in her quests to do what she thinks is right, even toeing the line of Villain Protagonist and Manipulative Bitch.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Betty is a sweet girl with blonde hair.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Downplayed. While her temper isn't explosive, it doesn't take much to get her angry or irritated. And when she does, she becomes Cute and Psycho to the extent that she comes across as threatening.
• The Heart: She's the emotional aspect of the core group and she tries to get everyone together during times of need. She shares this role with Archie.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners : With Veronica. They connect the very first day they meet. It helps that Veronica gets her into the cheerleading team, and helps Betty to build up her confidence.
• Hormone-Addled Teenager: Betty spends most of the final season (seven, when the cast is shunted into the 50's), fantasizing about sex. In fact, her entire plot is about being horny ever since breaking up with Kevin (after discovering he's gay) and Ethel's sex book serving as an awakening for her.
• Hot-Blooded: Betty is rather passionate, hot headed and emotional with a Hair-Trigger Temper. Therefore, it isn't a good idea to even think of getting her pissed off or upsetting her because she's quite nasty when she's angry.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: Betty has very blue eyes that highlight her sweet, friendly personality. They, however, can become very icy and intense when her berserk button is pressed.
• Inter-Class Romance: Betty’s clearly upper middle-class while Jughead’s a lot poorer and comes from the bad side of town. ^note  Aside from Jughead alluding to it once, the issue hasn’t been an overtly addressed disparity in the show.
• Intrepid Reporter: Restarts the Blue and Gold, Riverdale High’s newspaper and develops into an Amateur Sleuth over the course of the show.
• Karma Houdini: In the course of hunting for the guy who murdered her sister Polly, Betty kidnaps and tortures a random truck driver, leaving him in the middle of the woods. As she is an FBI trainee, she should at least have been expelled from the agency, if not been sentenced to prison for abusing her position and taking the law in her hands.
• Kick the Dog: Blackmailing Cheryl in Season Two revealed a much colder and crueler side to sweet little Betty Cooper for sure.
  Betty: And I'm telling you, to help FP, or...
  Cheryl: Or what?
  Betty: Or I will release the video of your father shooting Jason.
• Last Wish Marriage: With an oncoming comet about to obliterate Riverdale, with seemingly little to no hope anyone will survive, after getting into the right headspace, Betty proposes to Archie. He says "yes".
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: The light to Veronica's dark. She's a sweet Girl Next Door while Veronica is an edgy Fallen Princess. She's the light to Cheryl's dark as well who is a kind of gothic Lady in Red.
• Light Is Good: Generally, she wears light-colored clothes, and is a very sweet and caring person as well.
  • Light Is Not Good: Subverted. However, she does have a darker, vengeful side to her personality that comes out at times.
• Like Parent, Like Child: Betty is kind and pleasant most of the time, but if you push her Berserk Button, she will turn unbelievably nasty so fast your head will spin, a trait she shares with her father.
  • It is also revealed by Jughead's dad that her parents relation might have an inverted take on the Uptown Girl relation she has with Jughead. Her mother was also a South Side Serpent, while her father, who comes from an offspring of the Blossom clan, was upper middle class.
• Living Emotional Crutch: Jughead serves as this to Betty in the second half of Season 3. As her friends and family repeatedly betray her and abandon her for the Farm and Edgar Evernever, her boyfriend Jughead and her two best friends, Archie and Veronica, are eventually the only people Betty can really trust or lean on anymore.
• Love Confession: Attempts one on Archie in 1.01. It doesn't end well.
  • shares a mutual one with Jughead in 1.13.
• Morality Chain: Veronica's a good person, but rough around the edges and prone to occasional bitchiness. However she will always—always—put Betty first. It's clear that no matter how she feels about Archie, Veronica treasures Betty's friendship above all else.
• Nice Girl: For the most part. When Cheryl tries to use Betty's sister's relationship with Jason against her in cheer tryouts, Betty doesn't take the bait and remains civil. She does, however, have a tightly suppressed dark side, as seen in 1.02 when she threatens to kill Cheryl.
• Official Couple:
  • With Jughead. They have their share of ups and downs, but they generally have one of the most stable and loving relationships in the series.
  • She becomes an Official Couple with Archie too after the 7 year time-skip.
• Opposites Attract: Outwardly, she and Jughead are very different with contrasting personalities, upbringing and even hair colours. Inwardly, they are more well-matched.
• The Perfectionist: Sees herself as this. Has to be a star academic and the good girl and slim. She grows more confident in her skin later on.
• Plucky Girl: In 1.12, due to her determination, she's the one who discover a USB flash drive revealing who killed Jason.
  Betty: No. I'm not giving up yet.
• Predatory Prostitute: Her "evil" alter ego, Dark Betty, is a cam girl.
• Promoted to Love Interest: To Jughead.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Despite the good girl/bad girl contrast, she's the Red Oni (impulsive, passionate) to Veronica's Blue Oni (level-headed, in self-control).
• Related in the Adaptation: It's revealed in 1.12 that her ancestors and the Blossom's were brothers, Thus making her and Polly third cousins with Cheryl and Jason.
• Ruling Couple: A gang version. In the Season 2 finale she becomes the Serpent Queen, "consort" to her boyfriend Jughead, Serpent King of the Southside Serpents.
• Self-Harm: A minor example; in 1.01 when Cheryl is berating her, she squeezes her hands so tight that her nails cut into her palms. She does this again in 1.10 when Chuck mentions her going "Dark Betty" as she is barely able to contain her anger.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: One of the reasons Betty gets into a romantic relationship with Jughead is because he’s compassionate, and was understanding and supportive during an emotionally difficult time.
  Veronica Did I just notice Riverdale High’s very own Holden Caulfield, put his arm around you?
  Betty: [smiling] Okay, so, the past couple of days I haven’t been in a great place emotionally and, Jughead was really there for me.
  Veronica: Oh my god, swoon!
• Sins of the Father: Betty is denied the chance to get into Yale in season four due to being the Black Hood's daughter.
• Stepford Smiler: Betty has a lot of complex emotional issues which she typically keeps behind a peppy smile, especially apparent when she interacts with her parents.
• Tomboy Ponytail: For the first 4 seasons, Betty wears her comic book iconic ponytail.
• Took a Level in Badass: Starts as a typical Girl Next Door to an action-involved Amateur Sleuth to a FBI trainee in her twenties after the time skip.
• Trauma Conga Line: While Betty had had her share of traumatic experiences in Seasons 1 and 2, the Farm arc in the second half of Season 3 puts her through absolute hell. Betty has to investigate the cult that's set up shop in Riverdale alone because everyone else is either not interested or a part of the cult themselves. Her mother donates all her college tuition money to the Farm, sells their house and then abandons her, both emotionally and literally, so she can try to bury the past and live out a fantasy with Edgar, the cult leader. Her friends - Kevin, Cheryl and Toni - repeatedly desert her and betray her to join the farm themselves. Edgar and Evelyn taunt her and gaslight her at every turn about how they're always one step ahead of her. After a while, the only one she can seemingly confide in besides the Core Four is her insane, serial killer father, who also uses her to escape prison and then tries to kill her. In the penultimate episode of the season, Betty finally learns the cult's real secrets and tries to warn her friends, which gets her kidnapped and prepped to be operated on by Edgar to ensure her silence. In the Season 3 finale, Betty and Veronica are forced to poison themselves, and then Betty gets to watch Penelope shoot her father in the head in front of her. If Betty had trust issues or abandonment issues after this arc was over, it would be completely understandable.
• Two Timingwiththe Bestie: Played with. In 4x17, she kisses Archie while she's with Jughead and he, Veronica, both characters being the others best friends. However, Archie and Betty have been best friends since childhood.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: She quickly knocked out Chic with a rolling pin when he tried to harm Jughead in Chapter Thirty-two: Prisoners.
• White Sheep: While Betty has her own mental health issues, she is by far the most normal and moral within her family, amongst her dogmatic serial killer father and cultist mother and sister. Applies to her extended family as well, with the Blossoms being the “gothic horror show,” that they are and their shared ancestors’ history of fratricide.
• Workaholic: Deconstructed, as a girl who always used to be The Perfectionist, and in present as an FBI trainee and agent, she cannot stop from working not even in her free time, trying to resolve cases, even when she is told to take a break after she suffered a severe emotional trauma.
• Wrench Wench: We see her help her dad fix a car. Like her comic book counterpart, she appears to be a competent mechanic.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: After Betty forces her into taking the stand on FP’s behalf (under the threat of wide releasing the video of Jason’s murder at their father’s hands) Cheryl smirks and calls Betty a “stone cold bitch,” with clear veneration. Betty looks disconcerted and immediately leaves the room, much to Cheryl’s amusement.

Veronica Lodge

Veronica Cecilia Lodge

Played by: Camila Mendes

A New Transfer Student from New York City who returns to her family's native Riverdale after a scandal involving her father makes the news, making quick friends with Betty—and taking a romantic interest in Archie.

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• Adaptation Personality Change: Veronica's personality in the comics bounced between being genuinely friendly with a number of Pet the Dog moments, if not a bit snobby, and a full-out Alpha Bitch and Rich Bitch. Here, she's a Nice Girl with a past of being a Rich Bitch like Cheryl.
• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Her parents sometimes call her "mija," which is a Spanish affectionate term for "my daughter."
  • Her friends, especially Betty and Archie, call her Ronnie, Ron or V.
  • Her sister calls her "hermanita," which is a Spanish affectionate term for "little sister."
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She is very sophisticated and can be very cold with others.
• Alpha Bitch: Formerly. Veronica used to be a mean girl back in New York, but following her family's public disgrace, she realizes the error of her ways. In the present she occasionally borders on being a Lovable Alpha Bitch.
• Ambiguously Bi: Her first thought when she and Betty get in trouble during cheer trials is "Let's make out!" She was invoking Girl on Girl Is Hot to make them seem more interesting, but still. Her desperation to get Betty's friendship back in "A Touch of Evil" also comes off as more of a jilted lover than a spurned BFF. Her actress has expressed interest in making her genuinely bisexual.
  • In season 6 she kisses Cheryl, as this is the only way to transfer everyone else's powers into Cheryl's body. Veronica smiles satisfied and lets out a Haughty "Hmph" afterwards.
  • Confirmed in the series finale, right along with Betty. Hinted at with Archie and Jug(?).
• Antagonistic Offspring: Since the Season Two finale, when he framed Archie for murder, Veronica has become outwardly antagonistic towards her father Hiram.
  • This antagonism ultimately results in Veronica getting Hiram offed by a hitman, after he nearly nearly murders Archie and Betty with a planted explosive.
• Arachnid Appearance and Attire: After learning her body can secret a deadly poison, Veronica starts to adopts more black in her attire. She starts to use dark-colored lipstick, her favorite book is The kiss of the Spider Woman, compares herself to a Black Widow and has the overall seducing and stoic demeanor that comes with the trope. Bonus point, Cheryl offers to Veronica as gift her iconic red spider brooch.
• The Atoner: A lot of her dialogue implies that she was a former Alpha Bitch; however, in the present day, she's trying to be a better person. Later on, in her friendship with Ethel after the latter's father attempts suicide after losing everything because of Veronica's father's embezzlement she also attempts to make up for Hiram's wrongs.
• Baby Factory: According to Veronica, her husband wants her to Stay in the Kitchen and turn her "into a baby-making machine", all because of an accident with the helicopter that he uses as an excuse to keep Veronica under control.
• The Beautiful Elite: Veronica’s beautiful, wealthy, popular and privileged and grew up living a very lavish and expensive life in New York.
• Berserk Button: "Body Double" makes it clear that Slut-Shaming is hers. She goes full "scorched earth" on Chuck and his cronies for it, and rips into Cheryl for perpetuating it.
• Betty and Veronica: She is either the Veronica to Archie (with Betty being the Betty), or his Betty (with Miss Grundy being the Veronica). She is also Betty's Betty (with the Veronica being Archie). Her Betty is Betty, and her Veronica is Archie. In mid-season 3, she became the Archie to Reggie's Betty and Archie's Veronica. Archie wins.
  • As an adult, Reggie wins her heart over.
• Beware the Nice Ones: The majority of the time Veronica is one of the nicest people in Riverdale. However, she has a strong ruthless streak towards those who get on her bad side, and is not above resorting to public callouts, humiliation or even violence if she feels prompted.
  • She finally puts a hit on her father's head and gets him murdered. She comes to regret it.
• Blessed with Suck: When in the sixth season she gains superpowers (alongside the rest of the main cast), it turns out poison is the basis of her superpower. She is able to kill people with a kiss, secreting toxins through her skin that can seriously harm even a strong young adult like Reggie when she's angry enough. And for a person like Veronica (who wants to love and touch other people and have them reciprocate), this power seriously impairs her chances to have a normal, romantic life with any potential partner. The only time the empowered Veronica can enjoy a human kiss is in the rare instance someone like Archie (with super-invulnerability) is the other participant.
• Broken Ace: Veronica is beautiful, popular, rich, and intelligent. She's seemingly got everything going for her on the surface, but she does battle some huge personal issues, such as tremendous guilt towards her past choices and family troubles.
• Broken Pedestal: Indicated she loved and admired her father Hiram, and was thus ripped apart to realize he was a massive fraud and criminal whose actions have humiliated and bankrupted the family. It gets doubly worse when she discovers that her mother Hermoine (whom she also loved and looked up to) not only knew about Hiram's misdeeds, but is actively assisting with his latest plans to destroy land values in Riverdale.
• Brutal Honesty: Veronica does not mince her words.
• Character Development: She's actively trying to force it on herself, not wanting to be the person she was pre-series.
• Color Motif: Ronnie's wardrobe leans towards darker colors, with her always wearing shades of black, dark blue and purple.
• Daddy's Girl: It is clear from the way that she talks about him that Veronica was very close to her father. Even after going through a major Broken Pedestal at discovering how corrupt he is, she still clearly loves him and openly calls him "Daddy."
• Dark Is Not Evil: Most of the time she wears all black, but is really a good-hearted person at best, despite having some Alpha Bitch tendencies.
• Deadpan Snarker: Veronica's trademark is her constant use of sarcasm and dry wit. She rivals Jughead and Cheryl for being the wittiest member of the cast.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Originally an aloof, icy mean girl but with Character Development and a Heel Realization, she reveals a kinder, caring, and warmer side of her personality.
• Disappeared Dad: At the series' start, Hiram Lodge is on trial for fraud and embezzlement, and is thus not in Veronica's life. after being convicted, he later starts sending her messages from jail (some including threats), and by the end of the season, it is revealed that he is about to be released from prison.
• Fallen Princess: Thanks to her father Hiram's scandal, at least until Season 2. Once he's released from prison, the Lodges' swiftly regain their wealth, but with a dark cost.
• The Fashionista: Veronica is a style icon and she is known for her expensive and fashionable wardrobe. Since she's a rich girl, this comes with the territory.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Choleric.
• Genre Savvy: She is well aware of most of the tropes she is expected to fulfill, and refuses to play along. She is also very aware of the tropes about Riverdale itself, foreshadowing the murder plot of the season by comparing the town's vibe to In Cold Blood, without having early knowledge about the death of Jason Blossom.
• Girly Girl: Veronica is very feminine and is always up to date when it comes to the latest fashion trends and clothing. She's exclusively seen wearing skirts and dresses and is always favoring heels over any other type of footwear. In addition to her attire, Veronica also wears the most accessories, jewelry and makeup of the cast next to Cheryl.
• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: When she’s not wearing black or dark blue clothes, Veronica is commonly seen wearing dark purple going with her graceful and sophisticated attire and attitude.
• Hard-Drinking Party Girl: She used to be one, going on benders when her mother and her would argue when they lived in New York—she goes on one in Riverdale for the same reasons, but not to the same extent.
• Has a Type: Veronica is generally attracted to guys who fit the jock archetype, or who just happen to be well-built like Archie, Reggie and Chuck. Her husband Chad (in Season 5) fits this as well.
• Heel Realization: Pre-series, she had one, after her father's scandal. The media made her out to be a Rich Bitch Ice Queen with no heart... and she realized they were right. Veronica then vowed to use the move to Riverdale as a chance to change her ways.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Betty. Veronica considers Betty to be her bestie from the first day she met and stood up for Betty when Cheryl was treating her bad. They go through a lot of hardships together and share their deepest secrets. After the time skip, their friendship suffers from no being in contact for 7 years.
• Ice Queen: The pre-Riverdale Veronica is explicitly described as one. She can still be frosty when she needs to be, but nevertheless actively trying to be a warmer individual.
• Iconic Item: Veronica almost always accessorizes her outfits with pearls, whether it be necklaces, chokers, bracelets, earrings, headbands, or even belts. Her original set of pearls were a childhood gift from her father Hiram.
• Incest Subtext: Veronica takes her "daddy issues" to another level.
  • She sings a song called "Daddy Lessons" which perfectly describes their relationship.
  • In 4x09, Mrs. Burble insinuates the bond between Hiram and his "mija" is primal and sexual, officially diagnosing Veronica with both the Oedipus and Electra complexes, which explains her destructive competition against her father, her constant need for Hiram's approval and extreme jealousy over the attention Hermosa receives from him, despite constantly denying she wants nothing to do with Hiram.
  • In Season 5 she ends up marrying her own Hiram: Chadwick, a rich and intelligent man who’s also controlling, wants her to Stay in the Kitchen despite the fact that she’s “The She-Wolf of Wall Street” and shows signs of emotional and financial abuse. Even their actors share a faint resemblance.
• The Lancer: Switches back and forth this role with Jughead for Archie. If Jughead isn't acting as Archie's right hand man, it's always Veronica that's right by his side.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: The dark to Betty's light. This is highlighted in their dress choices in the pilot—Betty wears a more conservative, vintage-styled pink dress, while Veronica's is darker and more modern.
• Like Parent, Like Spouse: After spending years trying to fight Hiram, Veronica ends up marrying Chadwick, who is similar to her father. Even Hermione points out that Veronica married a vain man like Hiram. And according to Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, "Veronica has married a guy that is in some ways very much like Hiram".
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: Her standing up for Betty, and bringing out the claws against deserving victim Cheryl earn her this status.
• Mafia Princess:
  • As the full scope of Hiram's illicit activities becomes apparent in season 2, it also becomes clear that Veronica's charmed life is rooted in organized crime. She's later even involved in her parents' shady activities, although after facing the consequences of their doings, she begins to regret all of it.
  • She refers to herself as one in "Shadow of a Doubt".
• Male Gaze: She is subjected to these occasionally, Archie being awestruck by her the first time he laid eyes on her.
• Ms. Fanservice: She is a very beautiful, Latin American young woman who tends to wear attractive outfits that highlight her slender yet voluptuous body and show off her long shapely legs.
• Nice Girl: Veronica used to be an Alpha Bitch back in New York, but in the present she is one of the most genuinely kind, caring and compassionate characters on the show. But don't get it twisted: cross her and she will still end you.
• Odd Friendship: The dark and edgy big city girl who was a Rich Bitch takes an almost instant liking to the sweet and peppy small town girl Betty. Betty even lampshades it when Veronica stands up to Cheryl for not accepting Betty into the River Vixens:
  Betty: Why did you defend me? I know the crowd you ran with in New York.
• Official Couple: After the 7 years time skip, she enters into a stable relationship with Reggie.
• Only Friend: A variant of this to Cheryl.
• Passive-Aggressive Kombat: Her usual method of warfare whenever she and her mother are fighting; she vents her displeasure via clubbing, shopping, and snide comments until Hermione eventually caves.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She's the shortest of the main characters but she once knocked Reggie out with a single punch.
• Poisonous Person: Thanks to Percival, she (accidentally) gains the ability to emanate lethal poison through the pores of her body. She is also immune to her own poisons, just like spiders.
• Pop-Cultured Badass: She peppers her sentences with plenty of movie and pop culture references, and a girl who must not be underestimated.
• Proper Lady: Veronica is wealthy, privileged and sophisticated. She was a socialite back in New York City and still carries herself as such.
• Race Lift: This version of Veronica is Latina, unlike her comic book counterpart (who is Caucasian).
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives a well-earned one to Cheryl during the cheerleading tryouts for snapping at Betty and trying to bully her.
• Red Baron: In the years she lived in New York City, she became known as the "She-Wolf of Wall Street".
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: With Betty. Despite the good girl/bad girl constrast, Betty's the Red Oni (impulsive, passionate) while she's the Blue Oni (level-headed, in self-control).
• Reformed Bully: Back in New York, Veronica was a mean girl and a bully. She changed her ways and became a nicer person once she realized how horrible she was.
• Relationship Revolving Door: Veronica broke up with Both Archie and Reggie around three times.
• Rich Bitch: A deconstruction. The Lodges were filthy rich, and flaunted it in New York. She admitted she was even worse than Cheryl. But following the scandal around her father, she is actively trying to change, though the edge is still there.
• Screw the Rules, I Make Them! : Lampshaded by herself in 1.04.
• Shipper on Deck: It crosses over with I Want My Beloved to Be Happy a lot of times.
  • In Season One, she shipped Betty with Archie and tries to get them to be together despite her own attraction to Archie.
  • She says "I ship it" when talking to Kevin about his relationship with Moose.
  • Says "Oh my god, swoon!" about Betty's relationship with Jughead, adding that she approves.
  • She also openly "endorses" the idea of Archie dating Valerie. In general, Veronica really wants her friends to be happy.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Like her mother, she looks like a Proper Lady but don't underestimate her. She's a Lodge after all.
  • Season 5 takes this further, as she’s both skilled in Wall Street and selling jewelry.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Much of Veronica's love and attraction for Archie stems from how genuinely good and kind hearted person Archie is. She even calls him her “shining light” amongst all the moral complexities she faces in her life.
  • She rekindles her relationsip with Reggie because he changes for the better as an adult, always providing emotional support for her and doing everything he can to help Veronica, despite become overwhelmed at times from dealing with the Lodges.
• The Social Expert: She manages to talk herself in or out of any situation she wants. In the pilot, she gets Betty onto the cheer squad by deconstructing Cheryl in front of everyone.
• Socialite: She and her mother were ones in New York. She mentions how she used to attend high-profile events such as The Met Ball.
• Spicy Latina: Averted. She's even-tempered and was a noted Ice Queen before, and still demonstrates Sugar-and-Ice Personality tendencies.
• That Man Is Dead: She references her past behavior before moving to Riverdale with shame, and whenever she occasionally comments about "the old Veronica," it's clear she doesn't think much of her.
• Uncle Pennybags: Veronica is generous and giving with her money and wealth. She won't hesitate to help those who are less fortunate such as anonymously paying the entirety of Fred Andrews' hospital bills.
• Undying Loyalty: To her best friend, Betty. There's nothing Veronica wouldn't do for her, no matter how insane or illegal.
• Uptown Girl: Her relationship with Archie. The beautiful and glamorously rich, albeit reluctant Mafia Princess, who falls in love with the humble working class Nice Guy.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Cheryl. The two constantly snark and bicker but they do genuinely care for each other.
• What You Are in the Dark: If she hadn't gone to comfort Cheryl, very few people would've known, and even fewer would've blamed her, given Cheryl's behavior. Veronica helps her anyway.
• Women Prefer Strong Men: Veronica is clearly attracted to Archie largely due to his feats of strength. She falls for the equally hunky Reggie as well.

Jughead Jones

Forsythe Pendleton "Jughead" Jones III

Played by: Cole Sprouse

Archie's best friend and the series's Character Narrator, who is investigating Jason Blossom's murder as part of a book he is writing about Riverdale in an attempt to expose the town's dark underbelly.

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• Adaptation Personality Change: In the comics, Jughead is usually more of a Plucky Comic Relief type character. He is far more serious in this adaptation.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Jughead in the comics is more light-hearted and fun. But Jughead in the television adaptation is much more serious, moody, and brooding because he comes from a dysfunctional family and has loads of personal and emotional issues.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: While Jughead has never been particularly bad looking in the comics, he's more conventionally handsome if looking a little grumpy and weary in the show.
• Affectionate Nickname: Betty and Archie tend to use "Juggie" or "Jug". "Jughead" itself is a nickname, as his legal name is "Forsythe Pendleton Jones III".
• The Alcoholic: As of season 5, he seems to have developed a dependency on alcohol and is frequently seen pouring liquor into his coffee while at work.
• Alliterative Name: Jughead Jones. Subverted because his legal name is Forsythe Jones.
• Badass Bookworm: Due to his great interest in writing an article, he became this after he joined the Serpent bikers.

• Beta Couple: Subverted. While Jughead himself may be a supporting character to the main character Archie, the girl he's going out with, Betty, is considered one of the top two girls in the Archie-verse.
• Betty and Veronica: He plays the Betty to Archie's Veronica for Betty Cooper herself. Briefly, Toni Topaz was the Veronica to Betty's Betty for his Archie.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: When Chuck uses a party game to emotionally corner Betty about her shaky mental health, Jughead, with no warning, punches him.
• Big Brother Instinct: From the way Jughead talks about his little sister Jellybean, he seems very fond and protective of her.
• Big Eater: Still a part of his characterisation like in the comics, but greatly downplayed. His hunger isn't cartoonishly insatiable here, but he's seen frequently eating regardless. Takes a darker edge when it's revealed he's homeless so his food fixation probably comes from being genuinely underfed and having to eat whatever he can get his hands on.
• Book Smart: Despite his fraught home life with an alcoholic father (in Season 1), Jughead does well in school. He also documents town events for himself in his free time, sort of a diary.
• Break Them by Talking: Quite often, but given his snarky Intrepid Reporter status, understandable.
  Jughead: [to Archie] Weirdest thing. This summer we were supposed to go on a road trip over the July 4th weekend. Which you bailed on at the last minute. Is there something you wanna tell me, pal?
  Jughead: [to Dilton] Save it for your statement. Which you can make to Sheriff Keller, or to me. I suggest the latter.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: The brooding boy to Betty’s gentle girl in Season 1.
• Byronic Hero: Known to be very intense.
• Characterization Marches On: In Season 1, Jughead is a snarky loner nerd who doesn't want to socialise and has an absent mother and an abusive alcoholic father. From Season 2 onwards, his relationship with his father (who is suddenly no longer an alcoholic or abusive) is good and he leads his own gang while being extroverted and domineering. The only trait remaining is that he's still nerdy.
• Character Narrator: The show is told from his POV with narration.
• Childhood Friend: With Archie. Also with Betty, too, but less prominently.
• Childhood Friend Romance: With Betty. No longer the case as adults as moves into a loving relationship with Tabitha.
• Color-Coded Eyes: Jughead has greenish grey eyes, which highlight his resilience, determination and intense, introverted personality.
• Creepy Good: Jughead is a good guy whose quiet, introspective nature and striking appearance make him a tad bit intimidating. His appearance and sketchy history eventually lead to him being a suspect for Jason Blossom's murder.
• Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: Downplayed. He has perpetual dark shadows under his eyes, which are more pronounced because of his dark hair and pale skin. With his life being increasingly difficult over the course of the season, it makes sense that he wouldn't get healthy amounts of sleep.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Despite the fact that Jughead looks dark and gloomy in appearance, he's still a good person willing to help out his friends. Being a Serpent member is also played straight.
• Deadpan Snarker: While Comic!Jughead had his moments, here he's a snarker through-and-through.
  Jughead: It's called "necrophilia," Reggie. Can you spell it?
• Delinquent: Formerly. He spent time in the juvenile detention center when he was younger for playing with matches, which the teachers took to mean he was trying to burn down his elementary school.
• Drowning My Sorrows: After the 7-year timeskip, he has become a writer perpetually suffering from writer's block, and he seeks to conquer it via constant binge drinking.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Quiet, keeps-to-himself, with jet black hair. Reggie lampshades it when he accuses Jug of killing Jason Blossom.
• Emo Teen: His wardrobe reflects this trope, as does his attitude (he's not quite playful or flamboyant enough in his cynicism and pessimism to be goth) and he is compared at least once to Donnie Darko.
• Emotionally Tongue-Tied: He seems to have trouble expressing himself when it comes to his deeper feelings. He gets flustered when trying to articulate his romantic feelings for Betty and seems unable to speak beyond some simple "okay"s when his father leaves him in Fred Andrews' care.
• Grow Old with Me: In the season 6 finale, Tabitha uses her time travel abilities to speed up time where we see her and Jughead grow old together.
• The First Cut Is the Deepest: For Jughead, Betty was his First Love and first serious romantic relationship. After finding out she cheated on him with Archie right before going to college, he tried but couldn't get over it for years. In time, he became an alcoholic.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic in Season 1. Choleric from Season 2-onwards.
• Handicapped Badass: The explosion of the bomb Hiram Lodge planted in Archie's house grants Jughead (and the rest of the core cast) superpowers, Jughead's being the ability to read minds. But a side effect was the loss of his hearing.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: He has a really low opinion of himself and is highly insecure about his relationship with Betty.

• Idiot Ball: Grabs this hard in Tales from the Darkside, when he believes Penny Peabody's claims that FP has been roughed up, ignoring that FP adamantly told him not to trust her.
• Inner City School: As of 1.13, Jughead’s transfers to Southside High. The contrast between it and Riverdale High is staggering.
• Insecure Love Interest: He fears rejection and being hurt, which strains his relationship with Betty before they talk it out.
• Intrepid Reporter: For the Blue and Gold, the first that Betty asks to join.
  Jughead: I'd love to stay, but I got to shake down an evil Adventure Scout. See you.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Distant, sarcastic, and moody, sure, but he genuinely cares about his friends.
• Jock Dad, Nerd Son: Downplayed. According to Fred Andrews, Jughead's dad FP was popular when he was a student, while Jughead himself is an introspective loner who prefers to read or write over playing sports.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: He's a serious, snarky, bookish and responsible young man, while his father is more boisterous, talkative and prone to making bad decisions. FP is aware of their difference and openly praises Jughead for taking after his mother by being smart, creative and responsible.
• Love Confession: To Betty in 1.13. Her response is positive: she happily says it back.
• Man Hug:
  • After he and Archie mend their friendship before the start of Archie's football game, Jughead humorously discourages the trope.
  Jughead: We're not going to hug it out in front of this whole town! So why don’t we just do that bro thing where we nod like douches and mutually suppress our emotions?
  • Played straight later on after Archie's father is shot and his best friend is shaken to the core.
• Missing Mom: Zig-zagged. His mother Gladys and little sister Jellybean are no longer in Riverdale, but he is in touch with them. His father FP lives on the "south side" of Riverdale and runs with the local biker gang.
• Mistaken for Murderer: Because of his and Betty's intricate "murder board" (a perfect recreation of Sheriff Keller's), Jughead is brought to the police station as a suspect in Jason Blossom's death.
• Mr. Fanservice: Without actually having much in the way of any deliberate fanservice like Archie or Kevin get, Juggy drives the audience nuts just by being broody and smouldering. It helps that he's played by Cole Sprouse.
• Not So Stoic: When Jughead is alone and talking with Betty after being questioned by Sheriff Keller he seems genuinely terrified of what might happen to him.
• Official Couple: With Betty. They have their share of ups and downs, but they generally have one of the most stable and loving relationships in the series.
  • As of Season 6, he dates Tabitha Tate.
• Opposites Attract: He's Tall, Dark, and Snarky compared to bubbly Nice Girl Betty. It starts off as an Odd Friendship until it reaches Relationship Upgrade.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Goes by Jughead, rather than either of his given names.
• Parental Abandonment: Inverted with his father FP, who he voluntarily no longer lives with even after he becomes homeless. Played straight by his mother Gladys, who took Jughead's sister and left to go live with her parents. When FP confesses to Jason's murder and Jughead calls her to propose a reunion, she turns him down.
• Perpetual Frowner: Well let's just say he isn't one given to smiling a lot.
• Preppy Name: As his school records show, his given name is actually Forsythe Pendleton Jones III.
• Pretty Boy: He is the leanest guy in the show, has a very boyish voice, is attractive and Cole's Sprouse delicate facial features make him look like a younger version of Orlando Bloom.
• Promoted to Love Interest: With Betty.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Jughead’s rational, pragmatic, and aloof Blue Oni to Archie’s big-hearted, enthusiastic, hot-headed Red Oni.
• Ruling Couple:A gang version. In the Season 2 finale, he becomes the Serpent King alongside his girlfriend (and "consort") Betty's Serpent Queen of the Southside Serpents.
• Second Love: After Betty cheats on Jughead (leaving him with trust issues), he finds love with Tabitha Tate in season 5.
• Serious Business: Justified example with the local drive-in theatre. He takes it being closed extremely personally and dramatically compares it shutting down to the death of the 'American Dream', something no one else takes any interest in. It becomes darkly justified when we find out that he's been living there and shutting it down is effectively kicking him out onto the streets.
• Signature Headgear: Jughead is almost never without his unique beanie, which he himself once lampshades as "weird". It's part of his iconic look from the comics, though the show updates it from a modified trilby "whoopee cap" to a more era-typical beanie.
• Snark Knight: Intelligent, world-weary, and full of biting quips about the idiocy that’s surrounding him.
  Jughead: Not saying anything to either you or Betty was the most moral, apathetic choice I could make.
  Jughead: [regarding Archie’s romance with Mrs. Grundy and his own campaign to save the drive-in he works in/living at from demolition] Yep, I feel that. Trying to hold onto something a lot older than me, too.
• Socially Awkward Hero:
  • Visibly uncomfortable around large groups of people and openly refers to himself as weird and dislikes being around anyone other than Betty and Archie. When his birthday party turns into a rager, he very quickly retreats.
  • Averted when he is transferred to a school in a less-preppy and more crime-ridden area. The rest of the gang bursts into his new school, worried about him... only to find him surrounded by other similarly dressed students who laugh heartily at his jokes, and he's completely at ease.
• Stepford Snarker: Jughead has a very tumultuous home life, is a bullied loner and has had a falling out with his best friend Archie, but he hides most of his true feelings behind sarcasm.
  Jughead: Sardonic humor is just my way of relating to the world.
• The Stoic: Despite being emotionally detached in most situations, he's starting to become less of this as the series continue.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: He is distant, aloof and apathetic to everyone except from Betty, Veronica and Archie.
• Surrounded by Idiots: There’s a clear sense of general exasperation with his fellow peers.
  Jughead: Oh, look; it’s the rich kids from the Goonies.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: 6'0"? Check. A dark ensemble? Check. Played by Cole Sprouse, who could (and sometimes does) moonlight as a model? Check.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Jughead is a natural snarker and is 6'0", as per his actor's height.
• Telepathy: After the bomb Hiram implanted in Archie's house explodes, Jughead is left deaf, but develops the ability to read people's minds.
• Tranquil Fury: After witnessing Betty being harassed at a party over her mental health, he snaps and gets into a fight with Chuck.
• Uptown Girl: Downplayed with Betty, whose family is upper middle class, while Jughead himself is poor and lives in a trailer park.
  • Played straight with Tabitha, whose parents are wealthy.
• We Used to Be Friends: He and Archie used to be close friends, but something came between them before the start of the series. They end up repairing their friendship shortly into the series.
• What the Hell, Hero?: He rips into Archie for staying quiet about what he knows about Jason's death, and for sleeping with a teacher.
• Writer's Block: After the 7 years time skip, we find Jughead suffering a bad case of lack of inspiration, causing him to retreat into heavy drinking. This destroys his relationship with his girlfriend who dumps him.
• Wrong Side of the Tracks: In 1.04, the audience learns that Jughead grew up in a home that didn't have much money. He calls himself this trope, word for word, in 1.10.As of the finale, seems to have officially joined the ranks of the Serpents.

Cheryl Blossom

Cheryl Marjorie Blossom

"I'm Cheryl Blossom, a.k.a. Cheryl Bombshell, which means I need no reasons. I simply am. Feel free to tremble."

Played by: Madelaine Petsch

Riverdale's resident Manipulative Bitch whose twin brother Jason is murdered, launching the series' plot.

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See her page here.

Josie McCoy

Josephine "Josie" McCoy

Read my glossed lips, Justin Gingerlake. Not. Gonna. Happen.

Played by: Ashleigh Murray

An ambitious musician and lead singer of Josie & The Pussycats, and Cheryl's closest friend.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: Gained one in the form of Cheryl Blossom.
• Adaptational Dye-Job: Comic!Josie has red hair similar to Archie, but TV!Josie has jet black hair due to a Race Lift.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Downplayed. In the comics, Josie is much nicer and she gets along with Archie right off the bat. But on the show she's much more of a Lovable Alpha Bitch who has her bitchy and catty moments and starts out not caring for Archie. However, Josie Took a Level in Kindness later on and she eventually comes to like Archie and befriend him.
• Adaptational Personality Change: Normally Josie and the Pussycats get along with the Archies, with Josie herself even serving as something of a Distaff Counterpart to Archie and with Valerie as a Third-Option Love Interest. Here she's much more dismissive initially, due to seeing him as a distraction for her/the band. She shows signs of genuine kindness though and actually develops some respect for him by the end of Season 1.
• Advertised Extra: She's listed as a part of the main cast, and shows up in advertising as such, but currently Kevin, a supposed recurring character, has a higher episode count than she does. 1.06 corrects this in having her & the band as the center of the episode... only for subsequent episodes to immediately render her nothing more than a background character. See Out of Focus.
• Brutal Honesty: Born without a filter. Josie always says exactly what is on her mind and she is very honest and opinionated.
• Cat Eared Headband: Like all members of The Pussycats, Josie wears headgear resembling cat's ears, as it's part of the band's signature aesthetic. They do invoke cats, of course.
• The Cutie: Despite her occasional bitchy moments, Josie is actually very loveable and endearing. The fact that she wears a Cat Eared Headband adds to her adorable qualities.
• Control Freak: Very, very much towards the other Pussycats. Valerie calls her out on it.
• Deadpan Snarker: Josie specializes in snarkiness and sarcasm.
  Josie to Archie: "Read my glossed lips, Justin Gingerlake. Not gonna happen.''
• Even the Girls Want Her: Even her friend Cheryl Blossom lusts after her, to the extremes of leaving scary gifts and threatening messages when she doesn't reciprocate.
• Freudian Excuse: The reason she's hostile towards Archie is due to her experiences with racism, particularly her mother's difficult time in the mayor's office. Archie, being a white guy, would have a much easier time pursuing music professionally, but was still trying to coast off of the Pussycats, which offended her greatly because he didn't seem to realize what he was doing. Her father, a jazz musician himself, doesn't respect her pop music and makes that known fairly often despite not being around much at all.
• Idol Singer: Downplayed, but her band is quite well-received at Riverdale High and has played two school events, thanks to Cheryl's machinations.
• Informed Attribute: In the real world, a sixteen-year-old girl with Ashleigh Murray's singing abilities would be straight-up incredible. But Josie is meant to be a mere local talent and none of the characters contest this.
• Incompatible Orientation: Josie, who is straight, unwittingly attracts the Yandere lesbian Cheryl Blossom as a straight-up stalker.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Josie may be ruthlessly single minded, a strict perfectionist and sometimes arrogant, but she truthfully isn’t a bad person. She's genuinely friends with Cheryl, and softens up towards Archie when he acknowledges that, being a white guy, he doesn't understand the discrimination Josie and her mom have dealt with. Really, if she’s being nasty it’s a sign that something much more serious is going on in her personal life.
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: Josie has her catty moments and she can be somewhat snotty and even a little nasty at times, but she's ultimately a Nice Girl with an overall friendly personality. Just don't get on her bad side.
• Named After Somebody Famous: Josie is short for Josephine, as she is named after Josephine Baker.
• Nice Girl: Despite her occasional bitchy moments, Josie is a generally sweet and caring person.
• Out of Focus: A consequence of Ashleigh Murray filming a movie during the first season.
• The Prima Donna: Downplayed. When it comes to singing and her music, Josie is extremely picky and very much a perfectionist. If someone in the Pussycats isn't performing up to par, she can become very bitchy and demanding. She'll also have no problem kicking someone out of the band if they aren't performing up to their potential. Despite this, Josie's demands about the band are reasonable.
• Put on a Bus: She leaves Riverdale in Season 3 episode 19 to be a main character in what would turn out to be the short-lived show Katy Keene.
• Race Lift: Josie is traditionally portrayed as a red-headed white girl, but is black here.
• Sassy Black Woman: Josie is extremely sassy and will not hesitate to speak exactly what's on her mind. She's most definitely someone who has a penchant for Brutal Honesty.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Comes to be more respectful toward Archie and his music by season's end.
• "Well Done, Daughter!" Gal: She feels this way towards her father. Whenever her dad is in town, she becomes obsessed with earning his approval. Sadly, her dad dismisses her interest in pop instead of jazz, to the point of walking out during a show.

Kevin Keller

Kevin Keller

Game changer - Archie got hot! He's got abs now. Six more reasons for you to take that ginger bull by the horns tonight.

Played by: Casey Cott

A popular (and openly gay) student at Riverdale High who is the son of the town sheriff.

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• Adaptational Dye-Job: Blond in the comics, but dark-haired here.
• Advertised Extra: Has become this in season three. He has very little screentime and most of what he does get is as a supporting character. But he does still appear in promotional content.
• Alliterative Name: Kevin Keller. His first name and his last name both start with the same letter, which is K.
• All Gays are Promiscuous: Subverted. In season 2 it is revealed that Kevin does go cruising in the woods at night. But as he poignantly tells a concerned Betty, he just doesn't have the same relationship options that she (and the other straight kids) have since he is the only openly gay teen male in Riverdale (at least at that point). Kevin would like to be in a relationship, but has nobody to be in a relationship with. Played straight in season 5, where Kevin breaks off his engagement to Fangs because he can't stop cruising.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: After he becomes a member of the Farm, he follows all their laws and even forcefully drags Betty to take a procedure that should remove her pain. Which actually means that her organs, in her case her brain, gets removed and sold.
• Camp Gay: In direct contrast with his comic book counterpart, who is very much a Straight Gay character, this Kevin plays up the gay stereotypes a lot more. It's hinted that he's doing it deliberately. Although, its zig-zagged in that the campiness is more subdued than a lot of other cases in fiction.
• Character Blog: TheKevinthwonder
• Dating What Daddy Hates: He seems to hit it off with a teenage member of the Southside Serpents, who are a biker gang in conflict with Sheriff Keller, Kevin's dad.
• Deadpan Snarker: Definitely has his share of witty and snarky comebacks. He's often the one to provide a degree of light hearted humor in a rather angst-ridden environment.
• Everyone Has Standards: One of the reasons why Kevin is reluctant to reciprocate Moose's feelings for him despite the attraction being mutual is because Moose is already in a relationship with Midge.
• Fake Guest Star: Has appeared in every episode (unlike main characters Josie and Cheryl), is often seen hanging around with the main characters and even has a fleshed out love storyline. Yet he isn't part of the main cast, at least until Casey Cott is given main billing in Season 2.
• Formerly Fat: In season 2 Cheryl says to Betty that he used to be overweight, and is still insecure of his attractiveness.
• Gay Best Friend: Lampshaded by Cheryl.
  Kevin: Is cheerleading still a thing?
  Cheryl: Is being the gay best friend still a thing?
• Gay Guy Seeks Popular Jock: Kevin clearly showed that he was attracted to Archie, but this mostly amounts to acknowledging he’s hot. He also has some ship tease with Moose.
  • Subverted in season two, when we learn that he intends to join the school's wrestling team. That makes him a Gay Jock Seeking a Popular Jock.
• Hidden Depths: Despite his camp personality, Kevin apparently really enjoys wrestling, planning on joining the school’s wrestling team once he bulks up enough. He does so in "The Wrestler".
• Mr. Fanservice: Casey Cott is very easy on the eyes, and he has his share of steamy make out sessions with some other attractive guys.
• Nice Guy: He's one of Betty's best friends, and is very kind and friendly. Certainly less troubled than most of his peers.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: A few times, most notably his first interaction with Veronica where he mentions how everyone in town has heard about the allegations against her dad. Although this may count as Foreshadowing, since Hiram turns out to be every bit as criminal as the gossip implies and Veronica is aware of his ties to organized crime.
• Out of Focus: Ironically, after being Promoted to Opening Titles, he gets relegated to the background, apart from 2x03, and even then the plot is made about Betty.
• Promotion to Opening Titles: Starting in Season 2.
• School Idol: He's well-liked at Riverdale High.
• Shipper on Deck: He's very vocal about his belief that Archie and Betty belong together.
• Took A Level In Jerk Ass: After he officially joined the Farm.

Reggie Mantle

Reginald "Reggie" Mantle

Reggie: "I get you're pretty much Beyoncé, but today, you're just like us commoners."

Josie: "I think your biceps can handle it, Mantle."

Reggie: "You trying to get me to flex?"

"Veronica! I heard you got a face full of dairy. I've got some nuts to top off that shake if you want. One question I gotta ask, as future Student Body President. What are the odds your dad's the first inmate in that prison he's building?"

Played by: Ross Butler (season 1), Charles Melton (season 2 — onwards)

The top jock at Riverdale High, and Archie's nemesis.

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• Abusive Parents: Reggie's father Marty is physically abusive to him...at least until season five, when he realizes he's got 50 pounds on his dad and decisively lets him know it.
• Affectionate Nickname: Often called "Reggiekins" by his off-again on-again lover Veronica.
• Bash Brothers: Becomes this with Archie in season two. Reggie is Archie’s loudest supporter in forming the Red Circle to protect Riverdale from the Black Hood. He immediately makes himself Archie’s second-in-command and the two of them even go out on patrol together. Reggie also leads the other Bulldogs to join Archie in his brawl against the teen Serpents in “The Town That Dreaded Sundown.”
• Big Man on Campus: Reggie seems to think of himself is this, but he actually comes across as more of The Bully.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Reggie is very outgoing, loud, and extroverted. Everything that he does is excessive and over the top. He's very much a large presence in how he presents himself.
• Book Dumb: Along with being a Dumb Jock. Reggie doesn't care about his studies all that much and he's probably pulling average grades. He's much more passionate about football and partying.
  • Somewhat deconstructed in season 6, which reveals that he suffers from dyslexia, at least in the past.
• Brutal Honesty: Reggie is extremely blunt and frank and he says exactly what's on his mind no matter how mean or unpleasant it is.
• The Bully: He spends a lot of his time teasing, taunting and bullying Archie and Jughead unnecessarily. Part of his Jerk Jock personality.
• Calling the Old Man Out: After letting his father Marty know that he's not gonna take anymore of his violent shit, he calls him dad a coward who even Hiram Lodge compares favorably to.
• The Captain: Of the Riverdale Bulldogs football team, after Archie (preferring to focus more on his music) relinquishes the position.
  • Becomes captain of the Riverdale Bulldogs basketball team in season 7.
• Casanova Wannabe: Downplayed. Reggie will flirt with any attractive girl who gets his attention. Whilst he is a handsome man, and his efforts are sometimes reciprocated, most of the time he's just too forward. He's somewhat envious of Archie's ease at attracting woman, but refuses to admit it.
• Cool Car: Reggie owns a vintage Chevrolet Camaro that he lovingly calls "Bella". He uses it when going out on patrol for the Red Circle, and later lends it to Jughead to drag race the Ghoulies.
• Deadpan Snarker: He seriously rivals Jughead with how snarky and sarcastic he is.
• Delinquent: As Chapter 15 reveals, Reggie sometimes deals drugs, especially Jingle-jangle, hooking up several members of the student body. He starts providing Archie with some, due to him having trouble staying awake whilst acting sentry.
• Demoted to Extra: He was a part of the Main Crew in the comics, but in this iteration he's a recurring character during Season 1 due to Ross Butler being busy elsewhere. For Season 2, he was recast as Charles Melton and has a more prominent role, though he remains a recurring character. For Season 3, he is upgraded to starring cast.
• Didn't Think This Through: He decides to play a prank on Archie by dressing up as the Black Hood and going to his house. Not only is this in very poor taste considering that the Black Hood almost murdered Archie's father, but since then Archie has become obsessed with protecting his family and putting an end to the Black Hood. Naturally, his first response is to charge Reggie and try to beat him senseless.
• The Dog Bites Back: After enduring years of physical abuse, he finally stands up to his dad, slamming him for his shitty behavior and putting an end to the violent cycle.
• The Dragon: To Hiram Lodge, in season 5. He does all of Hiram's dirty work, including harassing and intimidating people, physically assaulting dissidents, obtaining "clean" guns and burning property.
  • He actually serves in this capacity to Hiram's daughter Veronica, in the instances where he's employed as her bouncer, bartender, pit boss and salesman at her various business enterprises.
• Dumb Jock: Reggie is more concerned with football and sleeping around than about studying. Plus, he's not the most intelligent guy on the playground.
• Entitled Bastard: Considering that he's presumably wealthy, it's understandable why Reggie displays such a spoiled and entitled attitude.
• Foil: To Archie. Both of them are athletes but Reggie is a Jerk Jock while Archie is a Lovable Jock. Reggie is Tall, Dark, and Snarky while Archie is a Redheaded Hero. Reggie is presumably wealthy and rich while Archie is working class and financially struggling.
• Frat Bro: Reggie displays frat bro behaviour as he's a Jerk Jock and a Dumb Jock all rolled into one. He also takes pleasure in partying, drinking and sleeping around with girls.
• Frenemy:He mocks, bullies and jeers at Archie every opportunity he gets. He also hangs out with him whenever he can, is his loudest supporter in facing the Black Hood and seems to think he’s Archie’s best friend at times.
• Freudian Excuse: The longtime physical and verbal abuse he's suffered at the hands of his father is a major reason for his jerkassery. Interim principal Mr. Honey probably hit the nail on the head when he tells Reggie that his antics are a cover for the various insecurities he's developed being victimized by Marty over the years.
• Good Counterpart: To Chuck Clayton. They're both popular Jerk Jocks on the football team, who have a reputation for skirt chasing and antagonising the main cast. However, Reggie is a harmless Casanova Wannabe, as well as a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who normally resorts to nothing more than jeering and mocking the main cast, when he's not joining up to help or just hanging out them. Chuck on the other hand is a full-blown misogynist who preys on women and will slut-shame them mercilessly. This however stops applying following Chuck going through his Heel–Face Turn.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Part of the reason why he constantly picks on Archie like he does is because he has considerable jealousy towards him and feels like he's a big threat to his athletic prowess. Reggie is also threatened by Archie's popularity and appeal to the opposite sex.
  • After Fred Andrews' death, Reggie admits to Archie's face that he envied how close Archie and his dad were, adding that he wished his own father Marty died instead of Fred.
• Heel Realization: Whilst Archie manages to stop him from shooting Fangs himself just in time, seeing Fangs get shot causes Reggie to realise what he almost did and being abandoned by Hiram makes him realise he’s been used. It’s implied this causes him to lose his hatred of the Southside, as he helps Archie ensure the Serpents aren’t kicked out of Riverdale High and drops out of the student president race, admitting he’s not the great leader he thought he was.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: He can go from being an Arch-Enemy and rival for Archie to more of a Frenemy to Archie and being Vitriolic Best Buds with him who genuinely has some degree of concern and Pet the Dog moments with him. In season 5, it's revealed that he's fallen in with Hiram over the course of the Time Skip and become his right-hand man. But he later realigns with the heroes and is instrumental in Hiram's downfall.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Archie, in the final season. He lives in Archie's home, they train together, Archie lends him his beloved jalopy, and Archie volunteers to work at the Duck Creek farm on Reggie's behalf while he goes to basketball camp. After they lose their virginity on the same night, they voice their love for each other.
• Hot-Blooded: Reggie is hot headed, impulsive, reckless, passionate and boisterous. This becomes a problem near the end of season two, when Hiram manipulates Reggie’s temper to the point that in a fit of rage, he would have murdered Fangs if Archie hadn’t been there to stop him.
• Hunk: Reggie combines this with being a Pretty Boy because there's also emphasis on his athleticism and him being physically fit.
• Irrational Hatred: Downplayed, and then played straight. Reggie dislikes the Southside, particularly the Southside Serpents. Initially this causes him to simply act smug and antagonistic towards them, believing (not without some merit) the Serpents are violent criminals. However, over time, partially due to bad experiences, his views grow into an unjustifiable hate to the point that he immediately leaps to the conclusion that one of them killed Midge when Moose admits Midge had a fling with a Serpent just before her death. A combination of circumstantial evidence making it appear he was right and Hiram’s manipulation of this hatred leads to him almost shooting Fangs in a fit of blind rage. It’s implied his views originate from a combination of elitism and his father’s own hatred of the Southside.
• Jerk Jock: Constantly bullies Archie and Jughead.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: To a tee. Reggie is happy to mock and bully others, but the second things become serious and there is a chance someone could get hurt, he snaps out of it and shows a more caring side, taking safety both on the football field and in life quite seriously. Examples include him sincerely advising Archie to sit out when he injuries his hand, offering him his full support when Fred's in the hospital, or visiting Moose when he's injured.
  • He and Veronica break up multiple times over the course of the series. But whenever Ronnie suffers a tragedy or serious reversal, Reggie is always there to have her back and/or console her. Notably, he is the only member of the main cast who attends her father Hiram's funeral, despite knowing Veronica was the one who had him killed.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • He's far from the nicest student, but he wasn't wrong when he told Archie that he needed to sit out once he noticed that Archie had a hurt hand. And he turned out to be right because Archie's insistence on playing did make things worse for his hand later on.
  • His warning Archie about trying to confront the Black Hood, pointing out he's an armed criminal who’ll happy kill people and that Archie trying to take him on with a baseball bat is near suicide. Unfortunately, this inspires Archie to get a gun.
  • He's definitely in the wrong for stealing slot machines from Veronica's casino and running a side business without her knowledge or permission. And he's a huge jerk for coldly rebuffing her even after Veronica wanted to make amends and get back together with him. But when he told Veronica that she couldn't be alone and always needed some rebound, he wasn't far off from the truth because later in the same episode, she got together with Heraldo as a new rebound guy.
• The Lancer: Reggie is Archie's loudest supporter in forming the Red Circle to keep Riverdale safe from the Black Hood and immediately takes the position of unofficial second in command. He is the one who partners up with Archie when they go out on patrol.
• Last-Name Basis: Reggie frequently calls Archie by his last name "Andrews" than by his first name. The reason why he does this is because it's much more insulting and disrespectful.
• The Leader: Reggie is the head and undisputed captain of the Bulldogs. Following Chuck getting kicked off the football team, he is made their captain and the group follows him, whether it be on the field, with Archie’s vigilante crusades or in his rivalry against the Serpents. Fitting his personality, Reggie’s style is the Headstrong with a dash of the Charismatic, leading through force of personality and determination, as well as genuine care and encouragement towards the Bulldogs.
• Mr. Fanservice: Since Reggie is Tall, Dark, and Handsome, it's understandable why he would be appealing to the female fans.
• Pet the Dog: Despite being a Jerk Jock, he's had some sympathetic moments such as when he showed genuine concern for Archie playing football with an injured arm. He had told Archie that he should sit out of the gamed so that his injury doesn't become worse. Archie, however, interpreted Reggie's concern as him being threatened by Archie's athletic ability on the football field. It's a moment like this that make Reggie more of a Frenemy than a full on Arch-Enemy to Archie.
• Preppy Name: His full name is Reginald Mantle. Reginald is commonly given to preppy, snobbish male characters. It's fitting since Reggie is a rich kid in the comics.
• Pretty Boy: Come on, have you seen Reggie and his portrayer Charles Melton? The guy is so pretty that he could easily be a model.
• Race Lift: His counterpart in the comics is white, but both of the actors portraying him are of mixed race Asian descent
  • Season one he is portrayed by Ross Butler who is of mixed European and Asian heritage (British Dutch father and Indonesian mother).
  • Season two he is portrayed by Charles Melton who is of Korean, white and Cherokee descent.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Finally gives his father Marty an epic and very-well deserved one for using him as a punching bag for years. There's something to be said when even Hiram Lodge comes off as a better parent than you.
• The Snark Knight: Reggie seems to thrive on making sarcastic and snarky comments. There's never a time that he's not being sarcastic. He almost rivals Jughead in this department.
• Spoiled Brat: Reggie is supposedly wealthy like his comic book counterpart and he definitely displays spoiled tendencies.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Reggie is tall, handsome and athletic even though his personality isn't so pleasant.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He's Tall, Dark, and Handsome and also snarky and sarcastic.
• Third-Option Love Interest: For Veronica, after she got rid off her husband and Archie was already in a relationship with Betty. He even voices to Veronica, that he feels rather like a Replacement Goldfish for Archie and Chad than her actual romantic partner and breaks up with her.
• Those Two Guys: With Moose Mason. They are very close friends and they are always seen together.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Reggie always had a nasty side, but due to Hiram encouraging his hatred towards the Serpents and convincing him Fangs really is guilty of murder and going to get away with it, Reggie comes dangerously close to shooting Fangs in a fit of anger. Thankfully Archie stops him and the experience snaps him out of it.
  • While he became a Jerk with a Heart of Gold in Season 4, Season 5 has him joining with Hiram is his assistant in ruining the town he grew up in. Subverted as he comes to his senses at the end and joins Veronica and the gang in running Hiram outta town. In fact, it is Reggie who procures the key piece of video evidence of Lodge murdering the aged and infirm Don Vito Alto.
• Took a Level in Kindness: In the final season's snap back to the 50's, Reggie Mantle is an athletically gifted farmboy who is far more humble and introverted, due to the hard life eking a living off the land and the racial discrimination he and his family have had to deal with. Archie and his family take him into their home and treat him like family; Reggie in turn looks upon Archie as a brother and, while he can still be snarky and a little abrasive at times, is considerably nicer and respectful than his contemporary counterpart.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Only one episode after Archie gave up the potential position of football captain to Reggie, Reggie still continues to be verbally antagonistic towards Archie, making fun of him as he tries to play music live.
• Unwitting Pawn: Towards the end of the second season, upon Hiram realising that he’s lost control of Archie, he instead manipulates Reggie by playing on his anger and disdain towards the Serpents and fostering his belief they are guilty of the town’s problems, to organise a vandalism raid and later shoot Fangs to spark a riot. Hiram then casually abandons Reggie to be murdered by the Serpents.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Seems to swing back and forth between supporting Archie and mocking him.
• Wrench Whack: Takes to carrying a large wrench around with him when he goes out on patrol for the Red Circle, just in case they run into the Black Hood.

Toni Topaz

Antoinette "Toni" Topaz

Played by: Vanessa Morgan

A student of Southside High and a junior member of the Southside Serpents.

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• Action Mom: She is not afraid to kick asses and shoot people to protects what's hers and baby's Tony safety.
• Adaptation Personality Change: Her comics counterpart was merely a rival to Jughead’s eating contest crown, a far cry from her personality on the show.
• All Lesbians Want Kids: Played with as Toni is bisexual, not a lesbian. Toni is pregnant in season 5 with Fangs' child, and for a while wants to repair her relationship with Cheryl and raise her unborn child with her.
• Alliterative Name: Subverted. Whilst she goes by Toni, it’s a nickname and her full name is Antoinette.
• Ambiguously Absent Parent: Exaggerated. Neither of Toni's parents are seen or even mentioned on the show. Toni's first stated to have lived with an uncle who kicked her out because she's bi, and then later her paternal grandparents are added and it's presumed, but never stated, that they raised her.
• Ascended Extra: Barely makes any appearance in the comics, but in the show, she becomes a recurring character and the love interest to one of the main characters. In Season 5, she is officially upgraded to a main character status.
  Toni to Archie, Veronica, Betty and Jughead: I'll leave you guys to it, then.
  Archie: No, you're as much a part of this as any of us.
• Badass Boast: "Now listen up, worm, because I'm only gonna say this once. You don't know me. But I know you. And I know exactly what you did to my girlfriend Cheryl Blossom and what you've probably done to a lot of other innocent young women. You will never step foot in Riverdale again. You will not so much as even think about Cheryl Blossom. And you will never assault another woman because, if you do, I will let the whole world see what was done to you. I will ruin you." Antoinette Topaz to Nick St. Clair.
• Beware of the Nice Ones: Sure, Toni is considerate and kind, but she will tell anyone off, and is capable to even kill a man to protect Cheryl or any other of her loved ones.
• Betty and Veronica: Briefly plays the Veronica to Betty's Betty for Jughead's Archie.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Despite being associated with a morally-dubious group like the Southside Serpents (alongside a tendency to wear mostly black), Toni is one of the nicest and most noble characters in the show and will fight even Cheryl to prevent her from doing immoral things.
• Dating What Daddy Hates: Or in her case, dating what grandma hates. She had to lie to Cheryl that her family, namely her grandmother, doesn't want them together for religious reasons. In reality, it was because they hate the Blossoms for stealing away from the natives and their heinous acts. Toni tries to convince her nana that Cheryl is nothing like her ancestors, but it was with mixed results.
• Deadpan Snarker: Is constantly sarcastic and quick-witted, especially when describing the state of Southside high school. She could rival Jughead himself in this regard.
• Generation Xerox: She and Thomasina Topaz both are bisexual, teachers and had a forbidden relationship with a Blossom woman.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: A platonic version with Sweet Pea. Toni is the shortest member of the cast, and the show seems to love emphasizing how big their height gap is.
• Identical Granddaughter: She resembles her great aunt, Thomasina Topaz.
• In Name Only: Comic Toni wears only pink, has short pink hair, is tough and somewhat tomboy, and a Big Eater, but has so little characterisation that she is just a Flat Character. Show Toni: compassionate, intelligent, mature, kind, passionate about journalism and has a strong sense of justice and humor, wears mostly dark and has long pink hair.
• The Leader: After graduating and returning to Riverdale, the remaining Serpents named Toni the Serpent Queen.
• Living Emotional Crutch: Toni is the main reason why Cheryl didn't went completely nutso, with everything the redhead had to put up her whole life. Cheryl even calls Toni her "emotional support" in front of her mother.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Toni was Satellite Love Interest to Cheryl for most of the series, as she appeared in the life of this Byronic Heroine when she was at her lowest, dragging Cheryl out of her hellish life, dedicating most of her time trying to keep her girlfriend on the surface and making Cheryl overall a better person. When Toni went for the college and returned 7 years later into Riverdale, she finds Cheryl in a worse state of mind than when she met her.
• Morality Chain: For Cheryl. At times, Cheryl’s love and respect for Toni (as well as Toni calling her out for her more catty and self-absorbed actions) are the only thing reining in the former’s more unpleasant and chaotic tendencies.
• Mr. Exposition: Toni spends most of the episode 5x04 explaining to Archie what changed in Riverdale in the 7 years timeskip. She explained how she broke up with Cheryl, how Hiram destroyed Riverdale over the years for his illegal activities, and she walks him trough the city to show Archie how the town turned into Wretched Hive.
• Ms. Fanservice: Toni is attractive, often wearing short skirts, very revealing ripped jeans or blouses.
• Nice Girl: She is patient, friendly and mature. It's her kindness, as well as being the voice of reason that restrains Cheryl from being Cheryl the Nightmare Child.
• Official Couple: With Cheryl from Season 2 onwards.
  • Dates Fangs as an adult, who is also the father of her child Baby Anthony.
• Only Sane Woman: She is often the voice of reason when the other Serpents are about to do something reckless.
• Opposites Attract: Toni Topaz- Grew up in poverty, frequently homeless, considerate and empathetic to all despite her Deadpan Snarker tendencies. Cheryl Blossom- Grew up in extreme wealth, lives in a mansion after burning her original (also a mansion) house down, chaotic and abrasive, though with a Hidden Heart of Gold. They’re dating.
• Pink Is Feminine: She has mostly pink hair, and is an all around Nice Girl.
• Pregnant Badass: Is several months pregnant and is running the Serpents, a guidance counselor for Riverdale High and fighting to keep what’s left of Riverdale from Hiram.
• Rape as Backstory: Season 4 Episode 12 reveals that she is a survivor of sexual assault.
• Rebel Leader: Toni is a legacy Serpent, descended from the Uktena who owned Riverdale before the white supremacist genocide and after the time jump she becomes leader of the Serpents. Even as a teen, Toni fights for social justice in Riverdale, against the town's generational, institutional racism. The Serpents operate by their own laws and often break laws of the legal systems in place to get justice.
• Rose-Haired Sweetie: Pink Hair, even if dyed? Checked. Nice and compassionate? Checked. Loyal to a fault? Checked. Morality Pet? Checked.
• Satellite Character: Her only storylines consist to her relationship with Cheryl (or just of Cheryl) and to be in a group (Southside Serpents or Pretty Poisons or The Farm). Finally subverted starting with season 5 with the revealing of Toni's family and showing some interactions with her grandmother, and then, after the time skip, interacting with Archie alone, which never happened before, and having her own subplot.
• Snakes Are Sexy: Toni wears snake-themed jewels, is part of the Southside Serpents, and is all around a very attractive young lady.
• Twofer Token Minority: Black with some Native American ancestry and is bisexual.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: To the point where she even kills a man to defend Cheryl.

Fangs Fogarty

Fangs Fogarty

Played by: Drew Ray Tanner

A student of Southside High and member of the Serpents. After the 7-year timeskip, he and Toni Topaz have a child together.

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• Adaptation Personality Change: His comics counterpart was often the main antagonist in the "Little Archie" comic series and boyfriend of Penny Peabody, neither of which applies to the show's version of him.
• Adaptational Sexuality: Presumably straight in the comics, bisexual in the show.
• Alliterative Name: Fangs Fogarty.
• Ascended Extra: Went from being half of Those Two Guys with Sweet Pea to getting some extra focus due to flirting with Midge and Kevin, then dating Kevin in season 4, and then becoming a main character in season 5.
• Character Death: Dies on the penultimate episode of season two of the gunshot wound he suffered. Subverted in the season 2 finale, as FP reveals to Jughead that Fangs is actually alive and the Serpents were lied to about his death to motivate them to fight and play into Hiram Lodge's hands.
• The Mole: In "The Stranger", Jughead selects him to go undercover and join the Gargoyle Gang who are in cahoots with Hiram Lodge's Fizzle Rocks drug trade
• Nice Guy: To the point where it’s hard to believe he’s actually a gang member. Fangs is an overall friendly, easy going fella who doesn’t even seem to care that much about the rivalry with the Northside, unlike the other Serpents.
• Number Two: Appears to be Sweet Pea's right hand man.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue, being easy going, friendly, even tempered and more thoughtful, to Sweet Pea’s aggressive red.
• The Scapegoat: As no one wants to admit that the Black Hood could be back and due to Hiram’s manipulations, a large portion of the town turns on him, believing he killed Midge, just because the two had a secret fling. It’s not helped by a video being leaked (implied to be by Hiram) that proves he lied about being the last to see her alive. It gets to the point that literal lynch mob forms outside the sheriff’s station and he’s shot by Midge’s mother. Thankfully, after the riot, it becomes clear the Black Hood really is back and is then caught, everyone comes to their senses and he manages to pull through the gunshot wound.
• Those Two Guys: He is rarely seen without his best friend Sweet Pea.
• Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Unlike most Serpents, it seems Fangs is not a nickname and really is his name, as even Principal Weatherbee calls him Fangs.

Tabitha Tate

Tabitha Tate

Played by: Erinn Westbrook

Pop Tate's granddaughter who arrives in Riverdale to take over Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe hoping to franchise the iconic diner.

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• The Ace: It may not seem at first since she spends a lot of time working at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, but she left at a six figure CEO job to run the family's bussiness instead, and was part of the Varsity Fencing Team and the Debate Team.
• Action Girl: She took several Eskrima studies when she was in college.
• Alliterative Name: Her first and last names start with the letter "T". Just like her grandfather. After she develops time travel powers, when using them for the first time and ending up in other time periods, her aliases Teresa Tate, Tina Tate and Tessa Tate are also alliterative.
• Agent Scully: She’s rather skeptical of Jughead’s pursuit of an alien sighting.
• Benevolent Boss: While stern and rule-abiding she is also kind-hearted. She immediately hires Jughead as a waiter despite not knowing him very well and she even helps him and Betty in their investigations of the Mothmen.
• Black Boss Lady: She is a former CEO and was Jughead's boss for a while.
• Canon Foreigner: She’s created just for the show.
• The Confidant: She understands and helps Jughead and his friends trough all the craziness that is happening Riverdale without putting many questions even when she has her own doubts.
• Determinator: Her character introduction describes her as "the ambitious, entrepreneurial granddaughter of Pop Tate, who has come to Riverdale to take over Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe in the hopes of franchising the iconic diner, even as the town around it struggles to survive." And nothing stops her from running her bussiness, neither Hiram or Percival Pickens, who both tried to destroy the place several times.
• A Friend in Need: When Percival turns the entire town against Toni and the Serpents in Season 6, Tabitha advocates for Toni and stands by her.
• Hero of Another Story: She used to live in Chicago before coming in Riverdale.
• Mental Time Travel: As of 06x11, Tabitha is chronokinetic.
• Nice Girl: She is one of the coolest and most understanding people.
• Official Couple: With Jughead.
• Only Sane Man: Is among the more levelheaded of the cast.