History YMMV / Riverdale

** Frank Andrews. Viewers find him bland and unnecessary at best, and him suddenly acting as a father figure to Archie insincere and a reach. He's only gotten more unpopular as the show has gone on, especially as he becomes a hindrance for Archie's happiness. He’s clearly meant to hold the role that Fred used to have after [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim the death of Luke Perry]], but he largely lacks the same chemistry Fred had with Archie.

** Frank Andrews. Viewers find him bland and unnecessary at best, and him suddenly acting as a father figure to Archie insincere and a reach. He's only gotten more unpopular as the show has gone on, especially as he becomes a hindrance for Archie's happiness.

** Penny's obsession with Jughead also comes off this way, and the witty insults they exchange come off as flirtatious at times. Doubles as NoYay considering the age difference between the two characters and the fact that it's implied Penny has history with Jughead's ''father'', though it's less creepy when you consider that Cole Sprouse is 26 and Creator/BritMorgan is only 31, and the weird vibe could be an unintended result of onscreen chemistry.

** Many, ''many'' fans support Archie/Betty/Veronica/Jughead as a one true foursome, pointing out the chemistry between each pairing and that it would resolve a lot of drama.

* EvilIsSexy: This show has a very attractive cast, but a lot of the most alluring characters are also the most morally ambiguous.
** Hermione is involved in increasingly shady dealings... and she's also a gorgeous, classy, elegant woman, whom Veronica clearly takes after.
** General fandom sentiment towards Hiram seems to be, "He's an awful person, but he sure is nice to look at." Again, it's obvious where Veronica got her beauty from.
** Cheryl is a ManipulativeBitch, but she dresses in very fanservicey outfits and seems to be half-flirting with nearly everyone at almost all times.
** Betty's "Dark Betty" persona is this for some fans.
** "Evil" might be overstating things, given that the Serpents are generally meant to be sympathetic, but Alice embracing her Serpent past generally involves her wardrobe getting tighter and more revealing. The dress she wears to the gala in [[Recap/RiverdaleS2E5Chapter18WhenAStrangerCalls 2x05]] is particularly notable for the reaction it draws in-universe, and the fact that it's her response to being outed as a former Serpent.
** Chic may be creepy and gives [[ParentalIncest more]] [[BrotherSisterIncest than]] his fair share of [[IncestSubtext incesty vibes]], but many fans point out that he's just so ''pretty.''
** For a minor villain, Penny is quite stunning.
** Penelope Blossom is one of the most hated villains on the show, and deservedly so, but also very elegant and alluring.

** The [[SerialKiller Trash Bag Killer (TBK)]] captures and [[CruelAndUnusualDeath mutilates women while they are still alive, cauterizing their wounds until they expire]]. With a trail of bodies in multiple states, TBK only frees Betty out of a belief she'll become a murderer herself and later stalks and torments her, fixated on killing everyone around her until Betty finally breaks and accepts him.
** Season 6:
*** [[LouisCypher Louis "Lou" Cypher]], [[{{Satan}} the Devil]] himself, [[Recap/RiverdaleS06E03Chapter98MrCypher comes to Rivervale]] intending to [[HopeCrusher rob the town of its beacon of hope]], Pop's Choc'lit Shoppe, and [[YourSoulIsMine damn its residents]]. A vicious trickster, Cypher makes Betty see visions of her family in Hell to coerce her into joining his army and spares Veronica only on the promise of being given a soul per week, while ultimately hoping to conquer Heaven with his forces.
*** "[[Recap/RiverdaleS06E05Chapter100TheJugheadParadox Chapter 100: The Jughead Paradox]]": The Rivervale universe's [[ItsAllAboutMe Dilton Doiley]] is an unassuming physicist hoping to observe the effects of universes colliding. Trying to keep Jughead in the dark about the destructive event, Dilton [[MurderByInaction means]] to [[OmnicidalManiac let billions perish]] just to [[ForScience view the phenomena]].
*** [[FauxAffablyEvil Percival Pickens]] is a centuries-old [[EvilSorcerer Satanist sorcerer]] from the Rivervale universe hellbent on ruling the town with enslaved ghosts. Transported to the Riverdale universe, Percival begins corrupting the townsfolk, even going back in time to make it a place of [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain racist hatred]]. When defied by the heroes, Percival summons [[MysticalPlague Biblical plagues]], culminating in killing many of Riverdale's firstborns, and when finally damned to hell, spitefully sets [[TakingYouWithMe Bailey's Comet to destroy the town]].

* CompleteMonster:

* [[PortmanteauCoupleName/{{Riverdale}} Portmanteau Couple Name]]

* [[Woobie/{{Riverdale}} Woobie]]

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%% Ship names SHOULD be listed under the PortmanteauCoupleName list. They should NOT be mentioned in parenthesis every other listing. %%

!!YMMV tropes with their own pages:

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* TheWoobie: [[Woobie/{{Riverdale}} Has its own page]].

* JerkassWoobie:
** Cheryl seems like a stereotypical and unsympathetic AlphaBitch in the first episode, but her grief over Jason's death as well as her mother's incredibly harsh treatment of her that almost makes ''Alice Cooper'' seem like a loving parent, makes it hard not to feel sorry for her. Her moments of genuine empathy as the show progresses makes her increasingly sympathetic with each appearance, especially once it becomes clear that she suffers from some extreme mental issues that are largely being untreated and ignored by everyone around her.
** Penelope herself, to a lesser extent. She’s a god awful human being and a worse mother, but it slowly becomes apparent that she’s faced a lot of hardship in her life. Losing her clear favorite child [[spoiler: at the hands of her own husband,]] being burned to the point of needing a full body cast for weeks, and it’s revealed in Season Three that she [[spoiler: was an orphan who grew up at the Sisters Of Quiet Mercy- which a horrified Sierra notes has violated just about every humanitarian code- until she was adopted by the Blossoms at age nine, afterwhich she was groomed to become Clifford’s eventual wife.]]
** Chuck. He's a misogynistic jerk and bully but he didn't really deserve the torture Veronica and especially Betty (who he did nothing wrong to) put him through (said torture was him being ''drugged without his consent'' and ''waterboarded'' with maple syrup while being ''boiled alive in a hot tub''). He then got punched out by Jughead when he revealed it to everyone and when he returns to school from his suspension he genuinely wanted to redeem himself and make amends to everyone he hurt (he even apologized to Ethel in person) only for that to be ruined by Cheryl.
%%** Reggie.

* TheWoobie:
** Betty has low self-esteem and an emotionally abusive mother, her sister suffered a nervous breakdown and is currently in a group home, and she seems to be struggling with mental issues herself. Add in her angst over Archie not liking her the way she likes him and the bullying she gets from Cheryl, including the comments she keeps making about her sister Polly, Betty is far from okay.
** Jughead, at the start of the show, has lost most of his friends after falling out with Archie (with it implied Archie said some pretty mean things to him), leaving him a lonely introvert bullied by Reggie. While things fortunately get better when he and Archie repair their relationship and he starts hanging out with Betty again, it's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:he's been homeless for an indeterminate period of time and when the drive-in theater he was staying in closed he started living in a cupboard under the stairs at the high school. His father is an unemployed alcoholic and gang member who has been and in out of jail, and his mom and little sister left. Then, Sheriff Keller accuses him of being Jason's killer.]] And it gets worse after his father is arrested.
** Polly Cooper, Betty's sister. She was forced by her parents to go to a youth home/convent because of what Alice and Hal insist was a severe mental breakdown, her parents keep her beloved sister away from her by saying Betty doesn't want to see her (and keeping Betty in the dark as to where Polly is), her boyfriend is dead - a fact her parents kept from her, and she's [[spoiler:pregnant with Jason Blossom's child.]] Both Polly and Betty seem to be on the receiving ends of some major gaslighting. [[spoiler:And to top it off, she has it abruptly sprung on her that she and Jason were actually blood relatives, to which she understandably looks like she's about to throw up while completely unnoticed by either family due to the massive argument they're having.]]
** Kevin, as of Season 2, [[spoiler:reveals that he's been emotionally lost ever since Joaquin left town and Moose is stringing him along, even going so far as to cruise random men while in the woods in a bid to find some kind of companionship. When Betty tries to ask him to quit it out of concern for his safety (both due to the dangers of anonymous sex ''and'' because of The Black Hood prowling around and murdering people in that area), he instead calls her out and reveals that, inwardly, he's a lonely gay teenager in a small town, and that she can't possibly relate to his problems due to her own sexuality. He also calls her out for always asking his advice regarding Archie, but never reciprocating the sentiment about ''his'' relationships. When Betty finally tells Sheriff Keller about what Kevin has been up to, he confronts Kevin, and the kid breaks down in his arms. Even further than that, Betty's well-meaning but misguided attempts to protect him have briefly ruined their friendship.]]
** Archie as of the end of Season 1 and throughout Season 2. [[spoiler: After seeing his father Fred being unexpectedly shot by the Black Hood, he began suffering from an obvious-but-untreated case of PTSD. As a result, he starts to emotionally spiral out of control and become a much angrier, aggressive and darker person, who no one save Veronica give any constructive support. After they take the Black Hood down, he's then roped into an apparent FBI sting that ends up being the Lodges' manipulative attempt to bring him into the fold to ensure their daughter's boyfriend can be trusted, which eventually results in damaging his relationships with everyone outside the Lodge family. And then he loses his father.]]
** Nana Rose Blossom, who might be the only ''completely decent'' living member of the family left, is a very under-stated example. Because of her lack of lucidity, inability to walk, and half-blindness, she was unable to protect her grandchildren from the abuse they suffered from Clifford and Penelope, with her initial attempt to help Jason and Polly only resulting in getting Jason killed. In season 2, [[spoiler:Penelope and 'Claudius' launch a plan to get her and Cheryl out of the way of their inheritance, meaning she's no longer safe in her own home or from her own son and daughter-in-law.]]

* [[HilariousInHindsight/{{Riverdale}} Hilarious In Hindsight}]]

* ShipTease:
** Archie/Veronica was teased a lot throughout season 1, until they [[spoiler:finally became an official couple towards the end]].
** Archie/Betty. [[spoiler:Possibly canon as of Chapter 21. Officially canon in Chapter 22 as they shared a mutual kiss along with lingering romantic feelings between the two]].
** FP/Alice, they are strongly implied to have had a past relationship and still have UnresolvedSexualTension.
** Toni/Jughead was teased heavily for several episodes until [[spoiler:they finally kissed in 2.05]], now it's [[spoiler:being teased again as of 2.08]].
** Cheryl/Josie, albeit mostly one-sided.
** Betty/Veronica in the early episodes, though this turned out to be nothing more than BaitAndSwitchLesbians.
** Fangs/Kevin. It initially seemed as if Fangs might be flirting with Kevin, but it turns out he was actually involved with Midge. Then they did get together, but it was because of being brainwashed by The Farm. By the end of season 4 they're a legitimate couple, however.
** Cheryl/Toni had some before [[spoiler: it starts becoming an official relationship.]]
** Archie/Jughead gets some in 3.07, when Jughead’s mother [[MistakenForGay mistakenly believes Jughead and Archie are dating,]] and states that she has “always known” there was something between them.

* HilariousInHindsight: [[HilariousInHindsight/{{Riverdale}} Has its own page]].

* HilariousInHindsight:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djRAiiFlCy8 Point Blank Creative]] actually made a parody trailer for a DarkerAndEdgier Archie reboot called ''Riverdale'' way back in ''2011''.
** ''WebVideo/AndreTheBlackNerd'' noted in his review of the sixth episode, "Faster, Pussycats, Kill Kill" that the show, based on what he called the "whitest of all comics", one-upped ''Film/LaLaLand'' by having the man obsessed with saving jazz actually be Black. He viewed it as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome and said, "Change is coming to Riverdale!"
** With ''Literature/HarryPotter'' having become so popular since the original comics, it's now quite funny to see a romance between characters named Fred and Hermione, plus the latter's daughter sometimes being called Ronnie. Some people who weren't familiar with the comics even assumed those couldn't be their original names.
** A certain meme [[spoiler: "KILL MS. GRUNDY"]] considering that is [[spoiler: exactly what happens in the season two premiere.]]
** All of the theories and jokes about Cheryl and Jason being in a {{Twincest}} relationship are even funnier now after the reveal that [[spoiler: Jason's relationship with his actual love interest, Polly- which many fans grossed out by incest cited as a much better alternative ship- is actually incestuous, given that they're cousins.]]
** In episode two of season two, Josie and the Pussycats (minus Valerie, plus Cheryl) sing a cover of "Milkshake" by Kelis. ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' ended up having Kyle, Butters, Cartman, and Kenny singing the same song (even in a similar, slowed down and a capella style). These two episodes aired on the ''same'' night!
** When it was leaked that Archie and Betty were going to kiss in the mid-season finale, a portion of the fanbase (particularly Bughead shippers) took to calling him out before the episode aired, accusing him of betraying his best friend, seducing poor Betty and disregarding Veronica’s feelings (even though she left him at the end of the previous episode). In the actual episode Betty proceeded to kiss him, after he reassured her in a stressful moment, leaving him more stunned than anything else and the episode ended with him getting back together with Ronnie.
** The third episode shows Ross Butler being among the jocks who humiliate the girls with the ridiculous points game. In ''Series/ThirteenReasonsWhy'' (which he left ''Riverdale'' to star in), he's one of the lone jocks to have a HeelRealization.
** Before it was revealed in Season 1 that [[spoiler:Jason and Polly were third cousins, everyone watching the show had figured out that they must have been related somehow and that was why their parents (particularly Polly's) were so against them being together and why Hal wanted Polly to have an abortion. The most popular theory was that Hal had had an affair with Penelope, resulting in Jason and Cheryl, making Polly and Jason half-siblings. Though the half-sibling theory ended up being false, Hal and Penelope do eventually get together in Season 2.]]
** Cheryl's exasperated, unimpressed reaction to Betty and Veronica [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians making out]] in the pilot is extremely amusing in light of [[spoiler:her [[ComingOutStory falling in love with Toni]] in Season 2.]] One has to wonder about [[ClosetKey the wheels turning in her head]] when watching that scene again.
** Cole Sprouse states that the reason he didn't sing in the musical episode, was he felt it was OOC for Jughead to be singing while everything else was going on. Even saying in an interview "I survived a Disney career without singing"...[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_J5YJBRkU0 and yet...]]
*** And ''then'' he sang in the second musical episode.
** Years prior to joining the cast of Riverdale, Vanessa Morgan starred in Series/MyBabysittersAVampire, which had an episode where the two main characters Benny and Ethan disguise themselves in drag as cheerleaders. Their given fake names? Betty (Ben in a blonde wig) and Veronica (Ethan in a brunette wig).
** In [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/RiverdaleS1E4Chapter4TheLastPictureShow Episode Four of Season One,]] Cheryl forcefully joins Veronica and Kevin at the drive-in movie theatre. Watching Film/RebelWithoutACause, Veronica and Kevin take turns swooning over Creator/JamesDean’s good looks- Cheryl remains stone silent for a moment before reminiscing about how Jason always “adored” the drive in. Knowing [[ComingOutStory what we]] [[ArmoredClosetGay now know]] [[https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/11/19/riverdale-madelaine-petsch-cheryl-blossom-lesbian/amp/: about]] [[LipstickLesbian Cheryl]], this scene comes off as a very subtle bit of {{Foreshadowing}}.
** In the pilot, after witnessing firsthand how much of a ManipulativeBitch she can be, Veronica declares that “Cheryl Blossom truly is the AntiChrist.” [[https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/10/16/archie-blossoms-666-horror-comic-starring-jason-and-cheryl-january-2019-solicitations/ Come the announcement in 2018]] that a new Archie Comics series titled '''“Blossoms 666”'''would premiere in 2019 about Cheryl and Jason Blossom both vying to become the AntiChrist.
** You know how the show plays intentionately the IncestSubtext with Veronica and her father, Hiram and people make "who's your daddy" memes with them? Well, in 3x04, where the young actors play the teenage version of their parents, a young Hiram is played my Mark Consuelos' own son, while Hermione is played by Camilla Mendez, which gives a totally new meaning to the whole Veronica and Hiram thing. [[{{Squick}} Veronica did kissed her "Daddy"]]. [[SarcasmMode Yay?]]
** When the trailer for the first TimeSkip episode (Season 5's "Purgatory") was released, many people mocked the presence of Archie and his fellow soldiers fighting on the football field of all places. Many assumed it was just laziness and incompetence, and made a lot of jokes about them supposedly fighting in a football war, with many finding it utterly baffling. In the episode proper, this is from a dream sequence where Archie's football memories and his Army service ones mix together in even ''more'' overt ways, such as having his commanding officer addressing the football team in the locker room, Cheryl appearing in the battle field, and the extras wearing both army fatigues and football uniforms. So yeah, it was strange, but it was on purpose.

* PortmanteauCoupleName: [[PortmanteauCoupleName/{{Riverdale}} Has its own page]].

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[AwesomeMusic/{{Riverdale}} Has its own page]].

* PortmanteauCoupleName: The ''Archie'' fanbase doesn't traditionally use ship names of any sort, but the ''Riverdale'' side of the fandom does. Where to start...
** '''Alice/FP:''' Falice
** '''Alice/Fred:''' Fralice
** '''Alice/Hal:''' Halice
** '''Alice/Penelope:''' Palice
** '''Archie/Betty:''' Barchie, Betchie, Archetty
** '''Archie/Cheryl:''' Archeryl or Charchie
** '''Archie/Dilton:''' Archilton, Darchie
** '''Archie/Hiram:''' Hirarchie, Harchie, Archiram
** '''Archie/Jughead:''' Jarchie
** '''Archie/Josie:''' Archosie
** '''Archie/Kevin:''' Karchie, Kevarchie, Archevin
** '''Archie/Reggie:''' Archiereggie, Archeggie, Rarchie
** '''Archie/Valerie:''' Archieval, Valarchie, Varchie, Valerchie, Archerie
** '''Archie/Veronica:''' Varchie or Archieronnie
** '''Archie/Betty/Jughead:''' Barchead
** '''Archie/Betty/Veronica:''' Beronchie
** '''Betty/Cheryl:''' Chetty or Beryl
** '''Betty/Jughead:''' Bughead
** '''Betty/Kevin:''' Bevin
** '''Betty/Reggie:''' Beggie
** '''Betty/Sweet Pea:''' SweetBee, Swetty
** '''Betty/Toni:''' Coopaz, Bettoni, Tonetty
** '''Betty/Veronica:''' Beronica
** '''Cheryl/Josie:''' Cherosie
** '''Cheryl/Polly:''' Peryl or Cholly
** '''Cheryl/Toni:''' Choni
** '''Cheryl/Veronica:''' Cheronica
** '''Chuck/Veronica:''' Churonica, Clayronica
** '''Ethel/Jughead:''' Jethel, Ethelhead [[note]]This last name is actually used in episode 3.7[[/note]]
** '''Ethel/Veronica:''' Ethonica, Vethel
** '''FP/Fred:''' Fredsythe
** '''Joaquin/Kevin:''' Joavin
** '''Josie/Chuck:''' Chosie
** '''Josie/Reggie:''' [=McMantle=], Rosie [[note]]Used in Season 2 as their campaign name[[/note]], Joseggie, Reggosie
** '''Josie/Veronica:''' Verosie, Josieronnie, Josonica
** '''Jughead/Cheryl:''' Chughead
** '''Jughead/Reggie:''' Reghead
** '''Jughead/Toni:''' Jopaz or Tughead
** '''Jughead/Veronica:''' Jeronica, Vughead, Juronica, Jugonica, Ronhead, or Ronniehead
** '''Kevin/Veronica:''' Kevonica
** '''Kevin/Moose:''' Moovin, Mevin
** '''Reggie/Veronica:''' Veggie, Reggieronnie, Reggonica
** '''Toni/Veronica:''' Lopaz
** '''Cheryl/Jason:''' Cherson occasionally, though they're more commonly known as Blossomcest
** '''Jason/Polly:''' Jolly, Pason, Polson
** '''Veronica/Cheryl/Betty:''' Verchetty
** '''Veronica/Cheryl/Toni:''' Verchoni
** '''Betty/Veronica/Cheryl/Toni:''' Berchoni
** '''Betty/Jughead/Cheryl/Toni:''' Bugchoni
** '''Betty/Jughead/Veronica/Archie:''' Bugvarchie

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic/{{Riverdale}} Has its own page]].

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
** Josie and the Pussycats' half-school band, half-hip hop cover of "Candy Girl (Sugar Sugar)".
** Dean Lewis's "Waves" from ''The Last Picture Show''.
** Most of Josie and the Pussycats' songs fall under this.
** Archie and Veronica doing "Kids In America."
** Music/ImagineDragons' "Believer" from the Season 1 finale.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ab2_ASBnb0 "Start a War"]] from the Season 2 premier. It just highlights the feeling that shit's gonna go ''down'' this season.
** Cat Pierce's "You Belong To Me" also falls into this.
** Imagine Dragons' "Thunder" and Harry Style's "Sign of the Times" from "When a Stranger Calls".
** K.Flay's "High Enough" during the Southside High raid in "Death Proof".
** Archie, Veronica and Betty singing Gary Jules' cover of Music/TearsForFears' "Mad World" in Chapter 21.
** Veronica and the Pussycats singing Music/DuranDuran's "Union of the Snake" at the Pickens Day festival. Full version of their cover [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZw5-A_rx1Y here]].
** Veronica and Josie’s cover of "Suffering until Suffrage" from ''WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock'' in "Primary Colors".
** “Higher” by The Score, during the season two finale.
** Josie's downright ''epic'' rendition of Music/ColePorter's [[https://youtu.be/d2qO6UAsgqY "Anything Goes"]] from "As Above, So Below".
** Kevin’s high energy cover of "Tear Me Down" from "Wicked Little Town".
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMTTcXCjZkE&ab_channel=RiverdaleCast-Topic Archie's cover]] of Music/GreenDay's Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) for high school graduation.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/{{Riverdale}} Has its own page]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse: [[EnsembleDarkhorse/{{Riverdale}} Has its own page.]]

* HoYay: [[HoYay/{{Riverdale}} Has its own page.]]

* MemeticMutation: [[Memes/{{Riverdale}} Has its own page]].

* {{Narm}}: [[Narm/{{Riverdale}} Has its own page.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** Archie Andrews:
*** A lot of fans interpret Archie's rejection of romance with either Betty or Veronica in this series as being a result of him still dealing with PTSD and guilt from Grundy's grooming and [[TeacherStudentRomance sexual abuse of him]], rather than his comic book counterpart's infamous indecisiveness.
** Betty Cooper:
*** While Betty having mental issues becomes more apparent with each episode, exactly ''what'' diagnosis is questioned among fans. Many agree on some form of anxiety, but her 'Polly episode' in "Body Double" makes some wonder if she has a personality disorder. Note that mentions of Polly seem to bother her in more ways than one--when talking to Trevor, who mentions Polly out of concern, the music slows down as Betty's smile slides off. Alice gives Betty Adderall pills, but some fans question if it's to actually help, or if Alice is just giving them to Betty as another way of pretending she's perfect.
** Cheryl Blossom:
*** How much of Cheryl's grieving for Jason is genuine, and how much of it is her just milking it for attention... or so she won't look suspicious to the police? For that matter, is the IncestSubtext just that, or was there ''really'' something going on? This just continues into the subsequent episodes, with her at one point admitting to the sheriff she's guilty in front of everyone then privately clarifying she meant she was guilty of lying about what happened, not of killing him, following her simultaneously singing and dancing at a pep rally then breaking down when reminded of him. It's clarified at least that until his body was found, she was under the belief he was alive and FakingTheDead so she ''was'' faking it at first, but once his body is found and she finds out he did, in fact, die, then she starts to break down.
*** In an episode specific example, in the antepenultimate episode of Season One, Polly and Cheryl discover [[spoiler: that Cheryl's parents have been hiding Jason's ring- which he had had on before running away- and Polly tries to take the ring in order to bring it to the police,]] only for Cheryl to snatch it away and ominously declare that if Polly thinks that the fact that she's carrying Jason's babies will keep Polly safe, she is in for "a rude awakening." Now, is Cheryl [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry threatening Polly that Cheryl herself will hurt her,]] or is Cheryl warning Polly of what Cheryl's parents might do to Polly and trying to keep Polly from putting herself (and the babies) in harms way by incurring their wrath?
** 'Grundy':
*** Many fans believe that Miss Grundy was lying about her [[spoiler:past as a victim of domestic abuse]], given her frequent manipulation of Archie, as well as a scene showing her [[NoYay checking out another group of teenage boys]]. Though her supposed past would explain her reserved and quiet nature, [[spoiler:being an ephebophile equally explains why she'd have a fake identity]].
** Jason Blossom:
*** Both InUniverse and out: What kind of person was Jason? What kind of relationship did he have with Polly? The first few episodes have Betty's mother accusing him of hurting Polly and 'leading to her downfall', while Cheryl proclaims that he was one of the nicest people she knew. Come episode "[[Recap/RiverdaleS1E3Chapter3BodyDouble Body Double]]" and the reveal that he [[spoiler:wrote Polly's name down in the football teams playbook used to [[SexinessScore "rate girls"]]]], Cheryl suffers a BrokenPedestal moment. But later episodes reveal that despite their somewhat rocky relationship, [[spoiler:Jason was planning on running away to marry Polly after he had gotten her pregnant, with the real reason Polly being sent away by her parents was to keep it all a secret out of shame.]]
** Jughead Jones:
*** Jughead's conflict in the second half of Season 1 is that he and Betty are too different to be compatible. However after his birthday episode - when he learns about her 'Dark Betty' stunt on Chuck - they have less friction over the matter. Given his "I'm weird" speech, was he actually attracted to the idea that Betty has an undiagnosed psychological disorder?
** Fred Andrews:
*** Fred changing his mind about [[spoiler: running for mayor: was it his idea, or was it his ex-wife's idea as a way to get Archie out from under the Lodges' thumb?]]
** Penelope Blossom
*** After it's revealed that Penelope is vehemently homophobic and [[spoiler: lashed out at Cheryl after finding her in the same bed as the girl - Heather - she had reciprocal romantic feelings for]] some of her behavior towards Veronica and Cheryl in season one's "Heart of Darkness" is called into question. Was some of her anger and hostility coming from Penelope suspecting that [[spoiler: Cheryl had feelings for Veronica]]? And for an AlternativeCharacterInterpretation for Cheryl, was Penelope ''right''?
*** Many fans interpret Penelope as a closeted bisexual given her inexplicable extreme homophobia, the ridiculous amount of FoeYayShipping between her and Alice, and [[spoiler:indications that she had a crush on Sierra in the parent flashback episode]]. Penelope’s actress Nathalie Boltt has supported this theory.
** Relationships:
*** Does the relationship between Cheryl and Betty ''really'' depict [[TheBully a bully]] and her victim, respectively, slowly [[BullyTurnedBuddy becoming friends]] after discovering that they’re cousins, as the show presents? Or, as a good portion of fans believe, is it an example of AllTakeAndNoGive, with '''Cheryl''' doing the giving, oddly enough? It’s worth noting that to most fans, Cheryl’s worst offenses of “bullying” Betty— calling her [[HollywoodPudgy ‘Season Two Betty Draper’]] before the series, and calling her a cow in the second episode— are far outweighed by both the things Betty has done to ''her,'' and by all of the things Cheryl’s has done ''for'' Betty. A particular sour point is that Betty was not at all involved in rescuing Cheryl from the conversion therapy at The Sisters of Quiet Mercy— instead later repeatedly using this information to blackmail The Sisters— while Cheryl’s immediate reaction to learning Betty is there (in the next season) is to insist on rescuing her. In general, Cheryl shows a great deal more care and concern for Betty, Cheryl’s snark aside, than she gets in return.

* AudienceAlienatingEra:
** A good bit of the general audience quit at the end of Season 1 as the show focused mostly on a Betty/Jughead romance and the audience wanted to see other characters like Archie, and Josie and the Pussycats. Most of the general audience therefore jumped ship halfway through Season 2 as the focus on Betty/Jughead only increased, and viewership dropped over seasons 2-4, which is considered stale due to its repetitive plots and lack of focus on characters outside Betty/Jughead.
** Critics and viewership returned somewhat for Season 5 as a time jump into adulthood and a promise of improvement ignited by Vanessa Morgan's criticism of the show's tokenism, and Archie and Betty's blossoming romance, saw renewed interest. Season 7 then undid that once more.
* AudienceAlienatingEnding: The series's final season has been heavily criticised for its detachment from the rest of the series, as the characters are only themselves in appearance. Most criticism is of the show once again tokening characters of colour - Toni, Tabitha, Reggie, Dilton, and new character, Clay, and an inexplicable reintroduction of Archie being sexually assaulted by a grown up, this time having Reggie assaulted too, and playing it as funny.

* InferredHolocaust: [[spoiler:Angel Tabitha explained that she had to wipe out all other universes in the multiverse in order to solidify the one she sent the Riverdale cast to (the 1950's universe) at the end of season 6. This means the universe the rest of ''Riverdale'' took place in is gone, as is its parallel universe Rivervale, which is horrifying enough. The worst implications however come from showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa turning the original ''Riverdale'' into a shared universe with ''The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'' and ''Pretty Little Liars'', meaning those shows and their spin-offs were also destroyed in the process.

* IncestYayShipping: [[spoiler:Angel Tabitha explained that she had to wipe out all other universes in the multiverse in order to solidify the one she sent the Riverdale cast to (the 1950's universe) at the end of season 6. This means the universe the rest of ''Riverdale'' took place in is gone, as is its parallel universe Rivervale, which is horrifying enough. The worst implications however come from showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa turning the original ''Riverdale'' into a shared universe with ''The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'' and ''Pretty Little Liars'', meaning those shows and their spin-offs were also destroyed in the process.

* InferredHolocaust:

* IncestYayShipping:

** In early Season 1, Betty/Veronica was a fairly popular ship, to the point where many fans took their LesYay as canon. Numerous events throughout Season 2 that put them on opposite sides to one-another have killed the ship, as well as started a feud between Betty fans and Veronica fans. It doesn't help that many former Betty/Veronica fans are disaffected LGBT people who thought they were going to get representation and now feel that they were queerbaited. [[spoiler:That said, the continuing ShipTease between Betty and Veronica in Season 7 has caused the flames of their ship to come roaring back to life.]]

** Betty and Veronica are bisexual and into each other, and their relationship will happen at some point or even be endgame; though it has been all but confirmed that this will definitely never be canon. Was popular fanon in the comics as well. [[spoiler:However, the "definitely never" part seems to have gone by the wayside as of Season 7, as Betty and Veronica become more drawn to each other.]]
*** While the theory that Betty and Veronica will get or end up together (and to a lesser extent the idea that Betty is anything other than heterosexual) has lost most of its believers after three seasons, one would be hard pressed to find someone in the fandom who ''doesn’t'' think that Veronica is bisexual, regardless of ships.