Characters / The Veronica Exclusive

WARNING: Character sheets are spoileriffic.

Main Characters

Veronica Sawyer (Casey Caplin)

My teen angst bullshit has a body count.

"In all honestly, it kind of feels like they're just people I work with, and our job is being popular and shit."

The main protagonist, a high school senior who documents her membership of a Girl Posse and accidental killing spree through her video diary.

• Accidental Murder: She honestly didn't mean to kill Heather, Kurt, or Ram. J.D., on the other hand...
• Action Survivor: She's apparently survived some catastrophe at the beginning of the series.
• Annoying Laugh: Well, she thinks it's annoying. The other characters seem to think it's cute.
• All Girls Want Bad Girls: Deconstructed. In this case, the bad girl is an Ax-Crazy serial killer.
• The Atoner: She really regrets most of the things she does over the course of the series.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Accused of being one by Martha after Martha finds out the note from Ram was forged by Veronica. Veronica doesn't dispute it.
• Break the Cutie: Shown in the first episode — when she shows us her first video diary, the Veronica on the screen cuts from a worn-down, beaten, somewhat hysterical girl to a happier, more well-adjusted girl from months before.
• Can't Hold Her Liquor: It doesn't take long for her to get wasted when playing a drinking game with Heather Duke.
• The Cassandra: She drunkenly confesses to killing Heather Chandler. Heather Duke doesn't believe her.
• Catchphrase: "How very." Also a Signing-Off Catchphrase.
• Corrupt the Cutie: At the hands of the Heathers, and then J.D.
• The Cynic: She's not exactly confident in the world's ability to get better. However, she's nowhere near as bad as J.D., and ultimately grows out of it.
• Deadpan Snarker: Sarcasm is her only defense against a lot of what happens to her.
• Despair Event Horizon: Martha's suicide attempt does this to Veronica, though the ending implies she may be on the way to recovering.
• Faking the Dead: She pretends to shoot herself to throw J.D. off.
• I Can Change My Beloved: She initially hopes that she can "help" J.D. She eventually abandons the idea and dumps her.
• In with the In Crowd: Deconstructed. She's a member of The Heathers, but hates them and has very mixed feelings about it.
  Being under Heather's mighty reign can be fun. ...Bitchy, but still fun.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Veronica's sarcastic, jaded, cynical and prone to doing some not-so-nice things to secure her place on the social ladder or cover her ass after the killing spree starts. She's still an ultimately good person that cares deeply for other people, and genuinely regrets what she did.
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: After joining the Heathers.
• Love Makes You Crazy / Love Makes You Evil: Downplayed. She claims that she feels like she has no control over herself with J.D., but even at her worst, she's never in favor of the whole serial killing thing, and eventually ditches J.D.
• Motor Mouth: Whenever she's really upset.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After killing Heather Chandler.
• Odd Name Out: Heather, Heather, Heather, and... Veronica.
• Only Sane Man: She's the only person that realizes just how bad things are getting at Westerberg.
• Outlaw Couple: With J.D., though the "outlaw" part isn't exactly Veronica's idea.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: She's the calm, reasonable, optimistic blue to J.D.'s red.
• Sanity Slippage: After the murders begin.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In episode 9, she finally gets sick of Jane's crap and dumps her.
• The Snark Knight: Veronica's very jaded and cynical, but is doing what she can to push back against all the problems at her school... with biting sarcasm, but still.
• Toxic Friend Influence: She's very prone to falling victim to this. Heather Chandler and Heather Duke's influence makes her bitchier, J.D.'s influence makes her an accomplice to murder.

Jane "J.D." Dean (Megan Lambie)

Our love is God.

"I kind of like Westerburg. It's got a 'it's a cruel world, let's toss ourselves into the abyss' ambiance."

The new girl at school, and Veronica's girlfriend. Also a Serial Killer.

• Abusive Parents: Implied.
• Action Girl: She chases down Kurt with a gun.
• Adaptation Name Change: To go along with the Gender Flip, Jason becomes Jane.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Very detached from most people, with long, dark hair.
• Antagonist in Mourning: She's genuinely heartbroken when she thinks Veronica's killed herself.
• Ax-Crazy: She's a murderous, bloodthirsty teenage girl.
• Badass Adorable: Don't let the cute, shiny eyes and the smile fool you. She will kill you.
• Badass Longcoat: She wears a long, black trenchcoat at all times.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She comes off as a quirky but charming outsider at first. Beneath the mask, she's a manipulative, murdering psycho.
• Break the Haughty: J.D. suddenly loses a lot of her smugness when she thinks Veronica's killed herself.
• Bully Hunter: A dark version — she doesn't just beat up bullies, she kills them.
• Character Death: J.D.'s last victim is ultimately J.D. herself.
• The Charmer: It doesn't take her long to get Veronica on her side.
• Cute and Psycho: Being played by the very pretty Megan Lambie is part of why the "psycho" part is so jarring.
• The Cynic: She thinks most of the world is better off dead than being allowed to continue the way it is. She so cynical, she manages to snap Veronica out of her own negative outlook.
• Dead Person Impersonation: In episode 12, she uses Heather Chandler's old account to goad Veronica into talking to her.
• Deadpan Snarker: Has a wry sense of humor similar to Veronica's.
• Despair Event Horizon: When she thinks Veronica's killed herself, though her dialogue implies that the suicide of her mother probably pushed her the horizon over a long time ago.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Yes, J.D., Heather Chandler was awful, but killing her was a bit extreme.
• Driven to Suicide: She chooses to blow herself up with one of her own bombs rather than let Veronica sacrifice herself to save everyone.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Very light skin, very dark hair, also an insane murderess.
• Even Bad Girls Love Their Mamas: When asked what she'd wish for if she had three wishes, she says, "Personal slushie machine, new trenchcoat... and one more day with my mom."
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Veronica and her late mother. Not that it amounts to much in the end, her mother being long dead and Veronica eventually leaving her due to her psychopathy.
• Evil Gloating: She proudly brags over her plan to blow up the whole school, taking great care to detail how she's going to pull it off to Veronica.
• Freudian Excuse: Downplayed. She has her reasons for being who she is, but it's made clear that nothing excuses what she did.
• Friendless Background: A side effect of moving around so much. Even after she gets with Veronica, she doesn't seem to have any other friends.
• Gender Flip: Jason Dean becomes Jane Dean in this adaptation.
• Hotblooded: How else could you describe someone whose knee-jerk response to an Alpha Bitch is to murder her?
• If I Can't Have You…: One possible reason she decides to kill Veronica.
• I Lied: When she tells Veronica about "ich luge" bullets. Lampshaded by a pop-up on the screen to Google Translate — translating "ich luge" to "I lie."
• "Just Joking" Justification: When she thinks Veronica is dead, having spent the whole episode threatening to kill her herself, J.D.'s response is a horrified, "I was just teasing!"
• Lack of Empathy: It's clear that she's very detached from other people and their problems, not really caring about them. The only person she appears to actually care about is Veronica, and even then, her empathy for Veronica is somewhat limited, and usually results in murder.
• Love Makes You Crazy / Love Makes You Evil: Though she was probably plenty messed up pre-Veronica, too.
• Manipulative Bitch: She's not above twisting her words or charming Veronica into doing what she wants.
• Missing Mom: She died some time before the series began.
• Mood-Swinger: During the finale, it's honestly amazing how quickly she goes from lovesick sweet-talking, to Sugary Malice, to Evil Gloating, to total rage, to heartbreak, and back again.
• Never My Fault: When she thinks Veronica's committed suicide, she says that the other people at Westerberg made her do it. Even though Veronica specifically mentions the murders that J.D. dragged her into in her "note".
• Only Known by Initials: She prefers "J.D." to her actual name.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: No one ever calls her "Jane."
• Outlaw Couple: With Veronica.
• Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: After Veronica dumps her, she makes a nosedive from "unstable and murderous but charismatic" to "full-blown batshit insane Yandere".
• Psycho Lesbian: Probably. (Not the "psycho" part — there's no doubt about that.) J.D. never alludes to being attracted to men, or anyone except Veronica, actually, but she's never explicitly stated to be a lesbian, either. It's most likely this trope, however.
• Psycho Sidekick: She'll do anything to make Veronica happy, up to and including murder.
• Psychotic Smirk: Her default expression.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The passionate, bloodthirsty red to Veronica's blue.
• Sanity Slippage: Not that Jane was ever a pinnacle of sanity in the first place, mind you, but as of episode 12, she's officially gone off the deep end.
• Serial Killer: She kills at least three people during the series, and it's implied that this isn't the first time she's done this.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Jane only has eyes for Veronica. Unfortunately.
• Slasher Smile: Come the finale, she has an expression of absolute glee when she talks about how she'll massacre the whole school.
• Smug Snake: She's very proud of having killed three people and tricked Veronica into helping her.
• The Sociopath: J.D. is initially charming and even comes off as kinda reasonable from a certain point of view, but beneath the mask, she's highly manipulative and vindictive, and incredibly dangerous.
• Stepford Snarker: Once you scratch the surface, it doesn't take long to find the craziness underneath J.D.'s snarkiness.
• Suddenly Shouting: Prone to this when she's really angry.
• Teens Are Monsters: She's maybe eighteen years old, but that doesn't stop her from becoming a fledgling (or all-out) serial killer.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Slushies.
• Tsundere: An extreme example — sweet and charming to Veronica, a brutal, ruthless murderer to everyone else. Deconstructed, as Veronica realizes that sooner or later, J.D.'s bound to turn on her and kill her, too.
• Villainous Crush: Even after Veronica dumps her, she's still very much in love with her.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: J.D.'s definitely the villain, and is manipulative, murderous, and vindictive, but she's also severely psychologically messed up, and, like her film and musical counterparts, she's definitely had a hard life.
• Yandere: There's nothing she won't do for Veronica.

The Heathers

Heather Chandler (Kadi Brazil)

A mythic bitch, she says? Well, it's a mythic bitch she's gonna get.

Veronica, sweetie? You're history. Come Monday, you're through.

The demon queen of high school. Also the first of J.D.'s victims.

• Alpha Bitch: The head of the Heathers, and of Westerberg as a whole.
• Back for the Finale: Despite being dead, she makes an appearance in the penultimate episode in the form of a voice over. Subverted in that it's J.D. impersonating her by using her account and not actually her, but it is really Kadi Brazil's voice.
• Catchphrase: "Shut up, Heather!"
• Character Death: J.D. tricks her into drinking liquid drain cleaner.
• Deadpan Snarker: In the meanest way possible.
• Evil Gloating: She really does seem to enjoy letting Veronica know her social life is basically doomed.
• Hidden Depths: Invoked and subverted by Veronica and J.D. framing her death as a suicide. It causes the school to see her as a tortured, tragic, miserable girl who was a lot deeper than anyone ever gave her credit for, and honestly didn't want to be so mean. The truth is, she really was just a bitch.
• Jerkass: She seems to enjoy being nasty just for the hell of it.
• Lady Swears-a-Lot: She probably has the most curse words out of any character.
• Smug Snake: She's very content in her position at the top of the social ladder.
• Sugary Malice: Keeps up a sickly-sweet tone while telling Veronica she's screwed.

Heather Duke (Leah E.R.)

Oh my God, we'll crucify her!

The yearbook editor. No particular personality, according to Veronica, but at least she has breast implants.

• Beta Bitch: She's Heather Chandler's second in command. After Chandler dies, Duke ascends to Alpha Bitch.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She comes off as vapid but harmless at first. Then she becomes the Alpha Bitch.
• Bookworm: She loves reading.
• Butt-Monkey: Takes the main brunt of Chandler's abuse.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: If Veronica's claim that she has breast implants is to be believed.
• Jerkass: She's not quite as up-front about it as Chandler, but she's every bit as nasty.
• Phrase Catcher: "Shut up, Heather!"
• Stepford Smiler: She acts like she's happy to be under Chandler's reign, but it's pretty clearly not true.

Heather McNamara (Lizzy Phipps)

Sorry, Heather...

The head cheerleader. Somewhat dim but not as bad as the other two.

• Break the Cutie: Your best friend and boyfriend both (allegedly) committing suicide and your other best friend treating you like garbage will do that to a girl.
• The Ditz: She asked Veronica if they have Thanksgiving in Africa.
• Extreme Doormat: She just does what the other two Heathers tell her.
• Phrase Catcher: "Shut up, Heather!"
• Prone to Tears: The string of deaths has left her incredibly sensitive and able to start crying at the drop of a hat.
• Puppy-Dog Eyes: It comes with being played by Lizzy Phipps.
• Stepford Smiler: As revealed by episode 10. By the time both Heather Chandler and her boyfriend Kurt are dead, the smile is starting to crack.

Other Students

Martha "Dumptruck" Dunnstock (Lyric Bowman)

Listen, there's no rule that says you can't have more than one friend, it's totally fine.

Veronica's best friend, a sweet but nerdy outcast.

• All Love Is Unrequited: She still harbors a crush on Ram, who doesn't even know she exists.
• Bespectacled Cutie: She is a sweet, nerdy girl who wears a very cute pair of glasses.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She is scary when she finally snaps and yells at Veronica.
• Break the Cutie: After finding out Veronica betrayed her and participated in a prank against her.
• Driven to Suicide: In episode 12, she tries to kill herself because of all the bullying she faces. She survives, though.
• Girlish Pigtails: How she usually does her hair.
• Morality Pet: Even after joining the Heathers, Veronica's still very kind to her. It's part of what makes their fight so heartbreaking.
• Nice Girl: She's kind and friendly, and doesn't hold a grudge against Veronica for joining the Heathers. But even she has her limits, as Veronica found out...
• Pink Means Feminine: Martha's sweet and girly, and mostly wears pink clothing.
• What the Hell, Hero?: To Veronica, in episode 11.

Kurt Kelly (Poncho Ortega)

Punch it in!

A jock. He's attracted to Veronica. The feeling is not mutual.

• Character Death: He's gunned down by J.D.
• Jerk Jock: On the football team, and a thoroughly unlikable person.
• Jerkass: How Veronica describes him. J.D. agrees.
• Malicious Slander: He spreads a rumor about having had a threeway with Veronica and Ram.
• Villainous Friendship: He's genuinely friends with Ram.

Ram Sweeney (Roan O'Brien)

Hey, hotties of Westerberg. I'm Ram Sweeney, but you already knew that. I'm six foot, seven inches. And those are two different measurements.

Another jock, Kurt's best friend. Second year senior and poster child for binge-drinking. Also the object of Martha's affections.

• Abhorrent Admirer: Like Kurt, he finds Veronica very attractive and attempts to hit on her. Veronica, meanwhile, couldn't be more open about her loathing of him.
• Catchphrase: "Punch it in!"
• Character Death: Along with Kurt, see above.
• The Ditz: Wasted or sober, he ain't bright.
• Dumb Jock: What he lacks in brains, he makes up in brawn.
• Jerk Jock: He's a football player, and he's downright mean.
• Jerkass: He's a mean, hurtful and downright unpleasant person to be around.
• Large Ham: Especially while drunk.
• Malicious Slander: Spreads a rumor about sleeping with Veronica.
• Oblivious to Love: He apparently has no idea Martha has a crush on him.
• Villainous Friendship: He's genuinely friends with Kurt, despite how mean he is.