Camp aside I do think Dark Betty was a compelling route for Betty’s character. Throughout the comics and various adaptations, she has always been depicted as the domestic option in the love triangle. White picket fences, settling down with a couple of kids and a dog. The safe option, the less “exciting” option. Veronica frequently wins Archie over with sex appeal, something Betty is shown to lack (at least when compared to Ronnie). And so to take that character and depict her as being so severely sexually repressed that she can only express her sexuality when she’s pretending to be someone else…I think it goes a lot deeper than most viewers realize
Archie Comics are my go-to example for the Madonna/Whore complex. For those of you who don’t know, it is the idea that society characterizes women as either the “Madonna” (wife) or the “Whore” (mistress). Is Archie going to choose the sexy socialite or the girl next door? He’s crazy for Veronica, but Betty is frequently written to be the smarter option. Again, the safer option. The option that may not be as exciting, but is ultimately more realistic. Both these archetypes are rooted in misogyny (tho I must stress, it’s not always written that way), they express the concept that some women are not meant to be lusted after, and some women are not meant to be loved
When women irl are pushed into these roles, it can understandably cause a lot of issues. For women pushed into the Madonna role, it can lead to sexual repression. Hence why Betty has to become the “Whore” in order to express her sexuality. She even wears a black wig, Veronica’s signature hair color. Veronica, the mysterious new girl who Archie is crazy for. I also like that Veronica’s alter ego, Monica Posh, wears a blonde wig. To me these choices speak to the admiration Betty and Veronica have for one another
Betty’s sexual repression is a consistent part of her character, at least during her teen years in both timelines. It’s more explicit in season 7, seeing as her entire arc centers around repression and purity culture (shoutout to the bathtub masturbation scene). But it’s present in more subtle (or more obvious) ways in the early seasons. She’s the only character who really gets an arc with losing their virginity. Veronica and Archie have both had sex before the series begins, and with Jughead it’s never treated as a big thing. With Betty though, the first time she brings up (almost) sleeping with Jughead, her mother says something along the lines of “I hope you didn’t let that hobo defile you.” This is another form of misogyny irl, using extreme language to describe a woman losing her virginity. Before she’s even done it, she’s hearing sex described with degrading words like “defile” by the person who’s supposed to teach her about those things. Her main role model. It’s said as somewhat of a joke, but given that Alice is extremely critical of Betty, I wouldn’t be surprised if that attitude had a deeper effect on her
Later on, when Alice finds out Betty is in fact having sex with her long-term boyfriend, she freaks out about this. She accuses Betty of distracting herself when she’s supposed to be applying to colleges (despite the fact that Betty is valedictorian), even getting mad at her for using birth control to protect herself. It’s understandable that Alice would react this way, given that she had a teen pregnancy at Betty’s age. I do believe she is trying to look out for Betty, and that she’s having a hard time watching her grow up. But again, that attitude from a parent does have a massive effect on a child. If we can assume that Alice has held this attitude on sex throughout Betty’s upbringing (which is likely given the teen pregnancy backstory), then it’s no wonder Betty grew up feeling repressed. Add that to her perfectionist complex and need to fulfill everyone’s expectations, and you’ve got a severely traumatized young girl! And that’s before we get into all the serial killer stuff!
TW: CSA
I’m not gonna go into the Hal thing because that’s a whole other can of worms, but I do think the interpretation of Betty being a CSA victim adds another layer to her arc with sexuality. I think she knows that she’s sexually repressed, but she may not realize why she can’t express her sexuality in a healthy way (at least to begin with). She needs to be desired so deeply that at one point, she resorts to filming herself online for strangers- while she’s still 16, mind you. So she’s groomed not only by her father, but by her faux-brother who teaches her how to let more people take advantage of her. This could also be why Alice is so wary of Betty having sex, even when it’s in a committed relationship. It could be why, according to Bret, she “can’t go more than two hours without it.” Sexual trauma isn’t the only thing that can lead to hypersexuality, sexual repression can do the same on its own, but given the dynamic between Betty and Hal, I do think it’s very likely that her childhood plays a role in why she behaves this way
End of TW
These issues with sex follow Betty all the way into adulthood, as seen when she’s talking to Polly about all the bad things she’s done in the past. Of course, she can’t think of many, because her darkness is mostly in her head. But when she gets to the part where she kissed Archie, she says “that’s definite whore behavior” (in reference to her being the Whore of Babylon) (she might have said harlot instead here, I’m paraphrasing). It was one kiss, they never even slept together, and yet Betty thinks of herself as a whore for it. After subconsciously characterizing herself as the Madonna for so long, it makes perfect sense that she’d take innocent acts as more extreme than they are. Sexual repression isn’t something that entirely goes away once you start having sex, sometimes it creates trauma that can follow you into adulthood. It’s not easy to stop thinking of sex as dirty and defiling when you’ve had that idea reinforced so strongly, especially at such a young age
Though not at the forefront of her character in seasons 1-6, sexual repression is still an important part of Betty’s arc. It’s part of the meta Riverdale does on the comic characters; comic Betty is a freak too, one who handcuffs Archie on their dates and ties him up to film “love scenes” to send to Veronica. But she still maintains her good girl image. No matter what she does, she can’t escape the Madonna archetype. Not until Riverdale, where viewers are met with Dark Betty before the fourth episode airs. Right away, our expectations of Betty are subverted; and thus, she’s allowed to step away from her domestic future-housewife image. It doesn’t entirely forget this image though, instead the show uses it to further Betty’s arc with her sexuality. Characters like Veronica and Archie also have issues with sex to some extent, but with Betty her issues stem very clearly from the strict expectations that have been forced on her…the expectations born from her comic counterpart. It’s a really interesting meta and I wish more fans were able to look past the shock-value to see that
the saddest part in riverdale to me is jughead and tabitha timeloop family. because jughead . he IS generational trauma. he is his dad wanting to not be like his dad. he didn't want to be like his dad. they all wanted to be better for their sons, and then they grew up. and they tried but you have no role models and no resources so even if you are able to get into the best writing program in the country you are still destined to fail because its a cycle and then you become an alcoholic and yell at your girlfriends and are terrible with money BECAUSE YOU DONT KNOW HOW ELSE TO BE
and here is this girl and here you are and you fit perfectly and in this moment you break the cycle and you have a family and your kids grow up..... but this is something that can't be real! not in the same way! because she is outside the narrative and you are the narrative and you are the one fighting the narrative and she is the one sewing the narrative together and she is the one trying to make it hurt less and you are both trapped and you will never break the cycle because even breaking the cycle is done in a loop. DO YOU UNDERSTAND???
disclaimer: you're welcome to disagree but don't be rude about it
okay, so i thought about it because im rewatching riverdale for like the 4th or 5th time and i find seasons 5-6 to be very similar to the first two seasons of riverdale, especially when it comes to internal conflicts the core 4 are facing, their behaviours and even things they say
it's like season 6 mirrors the first two seasons
let's start with jughead! do you remember fp from the beginning? he was a drunk, good-for-nothing father at the beginning of the show. once he went to jail for his role in covering up jason's murder, he gets clean, goes to aa and wants to leave the serpents. he even works at pop's after being released from jail. he only comes back to the serpents to fix jughead's mistakes (the whole penny peabody debacle). and back then, jughead really disliked his father. so in s5-6, we find out that he became everything he hated as a teenager in his dad: a drunk who can't keep up with the world around him. s1-2 jughead desperately wanted to belong (despite his im a weirdo speech), and have a family which throughout seasons 1-5 he found either in the serpents or within the core 4. once he's left alone: his family doesn't seem to be in touch with him (wtf happened to fp? and jellybean?), his friend group fell apart, and the serpents are too far away, he just turns the alcohol. probably because of loneliness. so we have him mirroring his father's arc: he first has to get clean, work at pop's, and show support for the town he hurt (bc jason's death def hurt riverdale). of course, unlike fp, he didn't clean up a murder, he just completely exposed every single person in his book, especially the serpents (and i'll forever laugh at the fact that he changed fangs' name to toothy).
veronica also mirrors her father. hiram appears in season 2 and the first time we get an insight into his character is when archie goes into his study. above his desk, hiram keeps veronica's portrait "to keep him honest". it doesn't stop him from killing papa poutine or doing other nefarious things but she's there: a symbol of the one morally good thing he has in his life. veronica keeps her father's portrait for the same reason. he also keeps her honest but he's there as a symbol of evil. he doesn't symbolize just his sins, he's also a symbol of veronica's biggest regret and, arguably, the worst thing she's ever done: killing her own father. so he's there to keep her away from evil and stop her worst instincts. it's very interesting bc veronica is also on the verge of the law, the only difference between her and hiram is that she actively tries not to hurt anybody, especially those she loves. (which is what ended up being hiram's demise)
so archie also mirrors his dad. idk if you guys remember when archie wanted to live in new york with jughead? write music? enjoy life? it was so long ago but archie really didn't want to follow in his father's footsteps. he was dead set on forging his own path. of course, it all changes in s2, when his dad almost dies after the black hood attack. this is when archie's path changes and is no longer soft and sweet; it takes a darker turn. archie we see in s5-6 mirrors fred from s1-2. he's the soul of riverdale, someone who wants to unite the town, save it. we know that fred's dreams at a young age were to settle down and build a better riverdale. archie currently wants the exact same thing. that's why he's being so pushy with betty about taking the next steps, despite her clearly not wanting the same things (every time he mentions kids or marriage or whatever, she gets silent, cagey, and says nothing. take a hint, arch).
bonus: kevin was again so obsessed with cruising and back in s1-2, whenever he wasn't doing that, he'd find himself with moose. which is exactly what's happening now as well. just saying.
and now my fav: betty! i love betty. it's kind of hard to see her in s5-6 because most of the time we see her through archie's eyes and they're not doing betty justice. we mostly see her either trying to catch the trashbag killer or having a relationship moment with archie. she is, though, the only person reflecting herself from season 2. do you remember that episode when the black hood sent her to a murder house where she put on the hood for the very first time? that was such a defining moment for betty bc for the first time, she saw her inner darkness, she saw all that she is and the potential for evil she apparently has. this was such a crucial moment for betty! this was the moment she stop being the girl next door, and whatever dreams she had of a normal life were gone. betty before and after this moment are two different bettys with different wishes and outlooks on life. i believe that just as it was back then, betty is looking for an anchor, someone or something to steady her and keep her on the light side. but from that moment in the house, betty was always dancing on the line between good and bad. she doesn't want anyone to stop that dance, she just needs someone to join it.
which is what brings me to the relationship between betty and archie.
when betty described archie as the light in the dark and i remember thinking that this line was somehow familiar. and sure enough, i found it: in season 2. during veronica's confirmation, she tells archie "you're my beacon in the night". she's also trying to protect archie from her family's mob ways, keep him good and honest, and not taint him with the evil doings of her family members. throughout the entire episode, she describes archie as this light in the dark, the good amongst the evil of the world. this is also such a veronica line who looks at archie in the exact way jughead wants to later portray him: as the hero. the symbol of what's good and right in the world.
that one conversation between betty and archie is also almost a word-for-word copy of the conversation she had with jughead. it's insane how similar those are.
both of those situations are very similar to those of their previous relationships which is very weird. why would betty say such veronicasque line and archie something so similar to what jughead did? it's almost impossible and sometimes those moments made me think that we have another story in front of us (comic book, whatever), instead of what's actually happening. and i wouldn't put it past riverdale.
but i also have this feeling that none of the couples we're seeing right now are endgame. so betty and archie, jughead and tabitha, cheryl and heather, toni and fangs, they're not going to end up together bc they're set for break up.
betty and archie will break up bc they want different things. that dream of a fence and this dream of betty as a housewife or whatever is something that her mother once wanted (you know, this whole perfect family trope), but betty doesn't. she says it so clear that she's not ready for it and that she doesn't even know if she wants it in the first place. and why would she? her whole thing in s5-6 was about those serial killer genes, it's doubtful she wants to pass them on. even her serial killer bestie the trashbag killer points out that what archie wants doesn't align with what she wishes for. and idk what's up with archie's nesting wish? is it because he lacks family and longs for it? his mum is nowhere to be found, his uncle is gone for now, and for most of the s5-6, he wasn't very helpful. tbh, i don't like him this season bc he's insanely pushy about the whole babies and picket fence thing and i just dislike men like that so yeah
jughead and tabitha might break up bc jughead is super hung up on betty. there are clearly some unresolved feelings there and tbh, tabitha deserves better. also since she's an angel, she's probably going to have to do some other things? like helping people? idk, rafael doesn't seem to be earthbound so i guess we'll see what happens with tabitha.
heather seems to be a placeholder for toni and she's going to be out of the picture bc we never really got to know her. she's there to help cheryl with magic and she makes her happy but we're not getting enough of her for the show to keep her.
and toni and fangs are set for failure from the moment toni lies about why she wanted to get married. and she did it to win the custody battle, not because she loves fangs so much (although i think she does love him).
ultimately, what keeps me wondering is whether we'll come back to the moment of the explosion. this is when rivervale happened and the universes started leaking. bunker jughead didn't do a clean break and we're either going to face another recreation of it or we're gonna go back in time. s6 has to end rivervale. rivervale was leaking into riverdale and maybe that's also why some of the stories seemed off and the characters were also a little bit misplaced at times. and what will this new riverdale be like once its twin universe is gone? once they don't affect each other? who stays the same and who changes? those are some big questions and im sure s6 finale will leave us with a cliffhanger. or the question it always leaves us with: what now once this new tragedy is over?
In the final chapter of this fanfic-within-the-canon that has been the ride through Rivervale, there’s a truly Herculian effort to resolve the in-AU storylines that have received varying levels of development, and an attempt to tie it all back to Riverdale, to which we will return. And a lot of it is very witty and so much of this episode encapsulates what I so love about Riverdale the show as a piece of entertainment.
There are six elements that serve as tentpoles to this AU finale, and they are:
Just Go With It
It was All A Dream
It Hath Been Foretold
Fanservice/ Fan Provocation
Jughead Jones is Always Ready to Die
Riverdale Writers Find Writing Very Hard & Want You To Know
Here we go!
1. Just Go With It
Narration Jughead opens the episode with the very portentous statement that “The following isn’t an imaginary story. It happened” but then we jump immediately to - “Archie Andrews has *somehow* just come back from the dead.” No explanation, no attempt at curiosity as to how - he just has. SOMEHOW is the answer, OK?
The Barchie Wedding is introduced with this same Just Go With It energy. Jughead is himself and not himself, and so when everyone has to explain to him what they (inclusive of Jughead) have been aware of for weeks, they all give him appropriately weird looks.
When the piling on of narrative elements gets too unwieldy (trust me - trying to SUMMARIZE this episode proved to be too much for me, and I’m pretty intrepid) Jughead just tells you that “The rules of this universe were making less sense every day.” I suppose you could call this a cop out, or bad writing, but then you’re no fun and you lack Just Go With It energy.
Because Jughead Narrator is a Bughead Stan and does not want to even LOOK AT the Barchie Wedding (though he does want to have Betty rescue him in a wedding gown by literally shooting Archie from behind - remember that nightmare Jughead had about stabbing Archie in the back when he ‘got’ Betty?? I mean. Jughead Jones as a writer is not subtle!) we don’t get any of those scenes. Even more blatantly, Betty, after preparing a wedding, getting dressed up and made up, being stood up at the altar in front of all her friends by her childhood first love and best friend, calmly says: I JUST KNEW TO COME HERE to explain her timely appearance. We need to just go with it.
2. It was all a dream
There’s a super easy trope for off-universe off-piste adventures often deployed in both professional and amateur storytelling: It Was All A Dream. Betty, Fangs, Veronica, Reggie, the Blossom women - everyone wakes up to say they had ‘a dream’ about their particular episode.
The one apparent exception to this, because Jughead is Narrator and Author and accordingly made himself the most important person in this universe, Jughead von Rivervale jolts awake from a dream he has about an explosion that happened in Prime Universe Riverdale to Jughead von Riverdale (who didn’t actually experience the explosion in that way).
And yet! Was he really sleeping? Did he really wake up? Or does Jughead think he woke up only to keep on dreaming?
Coming to in Archie’s garage, Jughead von Rivervale walks all the way home to where he lives with Tabitha and they have the weirdest conversation ever. Or maybe it’s just me. If someone I live with walked in barefoot, disheveled and clearly not having slept in their own bed when they almost always do, I would never have had the ho-hum no-reaction reaction that Tabitha has. It’s just such a telling choice, to have her as ‘HOW DID YOU SLEEP’ when he just walked in through the front door. See? This might be Jughead’s dream still, mind you, so this is a fun quirky way to destabilize the narrative to make room for all the shenanigans that are coming down the pipeline.
Archie’s actions too seem to be fueled by dream-logic more than anything else, as well. Archie murders, in sequence, two women (Veronica and Cheryl) and then his lesbian coded friend Jughead in order to get his Daddy back. Herr Freud? Sind Sie da?? Archie being the one who has figured out the rules of “this universe” and says things like, “I am on the threshold of revelation.” This statement strongly argues for This Was All A Dream because Archie Andrews is just not bright like that and just does not talk like that.
3. It Has Been Written/ Foretold and /or ‘Tis Inevitable!
Jughead starts to read the 95 issues of Riverdale, the comics, and the comic covers say things like: America’s Typical Teenagers. Rivervale. What is the Jughead Paradox. And they even show Barchie in a wedding setting. Jughead is a faithful reader (Hermione Coded!) and reads to solve every problem. I got a big kick out of the Neverending Story reference, where the next ‘chapters’ or ‘frames’ of the book remain blank unless Jughead of Rivervale, the Object that Thinks He’s a Subject, lives it.
Subheading: Physics is Magic is God. Despite the efforts of brilliant eminent physicists, most of us just don’t understand physics. Not any more than previous generations of people really understood theology. We just go with it because we’re told smart people figured it out, and we benefit from bridges and tunnels and airplanes and satellites that use physics and they work. So Riverdale writers use the same tropes to just push us to accept that whatever they’re doing is supposed to happen by reaching for physics. When Ethelhead and Dilton are figuring things out, the board in the room says Physics Words like: observer (effect??), Einstein tensor defined, a space time interval. Vacume(? misspelling) law of special? relativity - all so that we can rest assured this has all been foretold and is inevitable.
4. Fan Service/ Fan Provocation
The one-two rapid punch of fan service (for portions of fandom) and fan provocation (apparently aimed at the entire fandom, sometimes) makes for a very dizzy 100th episode.
Fan service: Nostalgia for Seasons Past. This is a frank acknowledgment of the fact that a show has to have initial, early-season momentum that keeps viewers coming back. So they play the song “Don’t you forget about me” and this weird time capsule thing happens - with the S1 Riverdale-style Veronica- Betty- Kevin walk through the corridor at Riverd(v)ale High. Archie is with Grundy (implied), and Jughead is somehow still getting body checked by Reggie 2.0 (who didn’t really do this - that was Reggie 1.0). But Reggie 2.0 seems to see the current and past and yet this just turns out to be the actor being interesting. Cheryl is a sneery cheerleader again, and Toni as she was first styled when Jughead first met her walks by. Then Jughead sees himself.
This whole bit reminded me of corps de ballet ballerina memoirs where they talk about fitting into the Swan Lake or Giselle wili costume from the year before - some can and some can’t. In the several years of this show, some of these actors really do look exactly the same and most don’t, so I wondered about the advisability of doing this as a production, but I still got a kick out of it.
Fan Service: Bringing back as many actors as they could from earlier seasons.
I LOVED IT. I am very sad of course at the omission of SWEET PEA and also MALACHAI but it is what it is. Ben Button showing up only to be told, point blank, BEN YOU DIED was PEAK Riverdale to me and I had such a good time. Jughead, you can’t just tell people they died. The comeback that Ben has is hilarious - being told ‘you’re dead’ - he answers, “You have symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia” and then wishes all a good day. By the same token: Jason gets to talk!!!! They really owed it to this actor, I think, to give him a close up and some lines because of what they did to Jason’s corpse all these years.
Fan Service: They address the Reggie Recasting. Regarding the Reggie situation, Jughead calls it an ANOMALY but otherwise doesn’t attempt to explain how Reggie entered the anomaly by himself. I prefer my own explanation - that Reggie 2.0 speaking of himself in the third person (“How can Reggie make it all better?”) is what summons Reggie 1.0. Reggie is such a fun character (“I’m Reggie prime baby.” - “You’ve been in like three issues.”) and has similar Hermosa-Veronica vibes in terms of wanting to be the elder sibling if they can’t be the only child. Reggie is also the only male character, really, that you could realistically send to be a stripper at a Bachelorette Party.
Aside: The rules of American television are so weird: Women getting off to a male stripper are not erotic, are not adult, it’s just SILLY, so this is not obscene, but a woman being a stripper for men would be all those things, so we get a boy stripper at a women’s party and then the young men at the Bachelor’s party having THE MOST sedate evening ever.
The fact that the two Reggies kill each other instead of having a threesome with the very willing Veronica was a huge disservice to Veronica and I am very disappointed in the Reggies, but the fact that I can think these thoughts and then write them out is, in fact, very high quality fan service indeed.
Fan Service: Dilton is back!! By the way, the librarian seems really furious that Dilton is alive and never returned the library books but also has never asked for them apparently was more dream logic. Can I just say - Dilton has the most excellent hair. Dilton does the same kind of interesting ornate hand gestures as Jughead when he delivers lines like “peaceful coexistence with one another” and “Stop trying to figure out the secrets to the universe. You have a good life here Jughead.”
The absolutely cursed items of clothing that they keep giving Jughead this season (what the fuck are these PATTERNS people??) have had me silently cursing the costume department but they get something absolutely right on Dilton here: HE WEARS A BOWTIE FOR NO REASON. Dudes who do this, wear bowties casually like it’s a normal thing to do, are villains. Absolute villains. VILLAINS! In real life. So if you see one, watch out, friend. (End of public service announcement.) So anyway Dilton gives a villain laugh and then he dies a second time, by murder, again - this time at Ethel’s hands and we will be talking about Ethel in a bit.
Fan Provocation: They bring Hal back to be a nice dad. NOBODY WANTED THIS. This is harmful to EVERYONE. Death to Hal in all universes please. And this is paired with the fact that they killed Hiram - OFF SCREEN. This is pure provocation.
Fan Service/ Provocation: A Barchie Wedding! Betty has been talking about getting married to Archie since her early childhood (interestingly, I don’t recall Betty planning to MARRY Jughead, but just being with him) so it’s fitting that she is shown in a wedding dress for the 100th episode. That’s what happens when you’re the female lead. This is Barchie fanservice but blatant Bughead provocation, and they tried to have their cake and eat it because they show both Betty and Archie in their lovely wedding outfits, but we never see the venue or how it was decorated or the VERY dramatic fact of Archie standing Betty up. This AU’s narrator, though, is a pro-Bughead Jughead so it made me laugh that he was UNWILLING to imagine the Barchie wedding in great detail (though he used to imagine exactly what Veronica and Archie did together in bed down to the last kiss lol).
Fan Service/ Provocation: ETHELHEAD. I’m a pro Ethel, pro Ethelhead person. Mostly because the extremely meanspirited way canon scoffed with such contempt at the idea that Ethel could ever EVER get Jughead (who’s literally, Jughead hello) rubbed me the wrong way. So the fan service to people like me came in the form of Ethel getting to say things like, “I can save Riverdale.” And Ethel and Jughead explaining back and forth to each other that Barchie Love is THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF GOODNESS in the UNIVERSE cracked me up.
Ethel also gets to have a really important thing in common with Jughead - she is ready to accept a reality in which her existence is not of primary importance. Jughead Jones is in fact the only being of her generation that would calmly accept and agree with statements like WE WERE NOT MEANT TO EXIST and WE ARE ABERRATIONS. See? SEE?? They belong together!!!
Ethelhead get to hatch an insane scheme together too. Jughead says, We just need to detonate a bomb under Archie’s bed (This is the guy who lay under the bed while Barchie made out on top of it on the bunker!) but refuses to actually blow up Barchie (because he doesn’t hate them! Bless!). And Ethel gets to be told she’s brilliant.
Fan Service: We Miss Fred Andrews Everyone wants Fred back - this is a GREAT motivation for Archie to do anything. .
Fan Service: Heaven to Jughead is the Diner. I mean - this is funny. Some fanfic writers literally create a whole universe but others reuse things. It’s hard to imagine what heaven is like but you can just send Jughead to the one place he always consistently seemed to like going to and that’s the diner.
Fan Provocation: Archie BEATS DOWN THE DOOR WITH A BAT while the terrified off-key Bughead combo of Narrator Jughead and Betty cling to each other in panic. This was the funniest thing I’ve seen on this show. This is apparently how the Barchie-Bughead fandom dynamics look like to the Riverdale writers - that the Bugheads feel literally imperiled, with the armed and dangerous Barchies violently knocking down the door. I have no idea if this is accurate, because to me both sets of fandoms have people who get kind of scary about it and an equal number of people who just wanna vibe with their ship and pretend the other one is not a thing. And I will note that the thing that ends the world is Archie attacking Jughead.
Fan Provocation: Jeronica Is Not Allowed. It’s not even called Jeronica, which is such a better name than Vughead (NOBODY CALLS IT THAT).
There is an acknowledgment that textually, Jeronica are set up to be counterparts to Barchie. Jughead is willing to die to save billions in a world that may or may not exist, and so is Veronica and this is a prime Jeronica moment. She says, “Let’s make out to save the universe.” While THIS IS THE MOST FANFIC THING TO EVER SAY, the way they have Veronica say it like she’d really rather just eat dog poop, that was rude
5. Jughead Jones is Always Ready To Die
Jughead dies in some way every season, and this AU arc is no exception. It’s not any sort of Riverdale finale when Jughead isn’t dead on a slab. Except - and this was truly delightful - for the first time ever, Jughead gets to see HIMSELF dead on a slab.
Jughead’s been pretend-dead on this slab before. Now one of him is actually dead. And he’s standing looking at it. And Curdle looks freaked out but also calmly accepting (shades of Tabitha). And literal cracks appear in reality when Jughead of Rivervale sees a Jughead Jones dead on the slab.
Jughead is so ready to be dead at all times that he just asks “How did I- How did HE die?” without much freaking out. (If I saw Me dead on the slab I would mourn so hard, people, you don’t even KNOW.) When Jughead the Alive goes to see the Rivervale sign, there’s an infinity sign on it and the phrase, “There’s No Place Like Home’ - just like Wizard of Oz maybe, except everything is in dank green and blues. The RiverDALE sigh though, on the reverse side, says THE TOWN WITH POP’S (not the town with Pep!) HUH!!
The consistency of characterization is very important in creating credible alternate universes, and since Canon Jughead is someone who wouldn’t center himself, it makes sense Rivervale Jughead accepts the idea that his world (Vale) is the parallel reflection rather than being world-prime. (Despite Tabitha giving him a You are cRaZy look.)
6. Writing is Really, Really Hard, you guys
So this is how Riverdale writers summarize what Riverdale the show is, and they have Jughead say it: It’s a universe of high school dances and masked serial killers,of football and milkshakes and musicals and cults, diabolical board games and murderous nuns.
Note the wording. It’s not A STORY ABOUT a boy and a girl and whatever. It’s not about some sort of narrative thread. It’s about these elements someone wanted to smoosh into a show and stir.
Anyway they really want you to know that writing is extraordinarily important, that writers are people who grind their very bones into dust, sealed into an underground bunker with nobody for company but people they don’t want to have sex with, being used as living batteries to generate the very world in which we all live.
“Soon you will forget about Jughead’ the writers’ sacrifice for you and for us and he they will fade from memory.”
Honeys, you wish. We know what you did. WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID. You only wish you could fade from memory.
My Opinions on Varchie, Bughead, and Barchie’s Chemistry
I know a lot of my fellow Varchie/Bughead shippers strongly dislike Barchie. One of their biggest arguments against the pairing is that they lack development over the past four seasons and that seemingly, this cheating scandal has come out of nowhere with very little warning or sense attached, which I agree with. It does feel like Betty and Archie’s (especially romantic) relationship has been very minimally developed over the last few years, making this seem sudden, unexpected, and in my personal opinion, not logical. Especially considering how good, strong, and healthy Betty and Jughead’s, and Veronica and Archie’s relationships appeared in S4. I didn’t really think that we were headed for infidelity or dishonesty, secrecy or betrayal. Not at all. I understand and respect why, from a drama and entertainment standpoint, it was done, but within the story, to me, it just doesn’t really make much sense. I hope most Varchies/Bugheads/ maybe even some Barchies or “on the fence” Barchies at least, could agree with that.
Another major argument for the anti-Barchies is the lack of chemistry shared between the characters and even more so, the actors, KJ and Lili. Now I don’t totally disagree with this, however, I believe there are different forms of chemistry that actors can display.
(Before I begin, this is entirely my opinion, with my terminology and categorizations, my ideas of where each fits, etc. All me, no actual research done other than looking at scenes of Riverdale to find examples. It is 1000% okay to disagree with me or to think about this differently. This is just my interpretation as a long-time teen drama tv watcher and someone that spends way too much time analyzing fictional characters, actors, and relationships of all kinds. I have no expertise or credibility in this. I’m just doing it for fun. Also, I believe this can be true in all industries and all relationships, not only in entertainment or on a fictional tv show/movie.)
First, there is Working chemistry. As in two people or a group that just make sense when they are together. There is a natural ease and comfortability between actors that makes those scenes flow well and makes the actors’ portrayal of the friendships/relationships their characters have a lot more believable and enjoyable to watch. KJ, Lili, Cami, Cole, Mads, Vanessa, Casey, etc, all possess this chemistry with each other. It’s obvious that they enjoy working with each other. They enjoy each other as people and that comes out on screen very well I think. Their irl close friendships and trust between each other definitely make this a lot easier and more authentic in the show as well as in interviews and promos for sure, which is one of the reasons I’m really drawn to this show. (Examples: Core 4 scenes at Pop’s, group scenes in musical episodes, the family groupings, the romantic pairings, one on one friendships like Betty and Veronica, Archie and Jughead, Kevin and Betty, Cheryl and Veronica, the list goes on.)
Emotional/Relational chemistry is similar to working chemistry, but I think it’s a level deeper. This can occur between short-lived romantic relationships, such as a character’s rebound or fling, along with family members, friends, neighbors, etc. I most commonly associate this kind of chemistry with primarily words and sometimes actions or deeds. Childhood best friends are a really good example of this to me, such as Betty and Archie in my mind. This chemistry means that actors/characters deeply trust each other and this trust has usually been built up and developed over the course of many years. The people involved are usually very comfortable with each other, again, trust one another in scenes, and depend on each other. A huge characteristic of relationships that include emotional chemistry is the ability of these characters to be vulnerable with one another, to have deep, meaningful conversation, know how to comfort one another, and the desire to protect, be there for, support, and look after each other. I like to call these brother-sister relationships sometimes.
Though most serious romances possess a large amount of emotional chemistry, a relationship that contains solely an emotional bond cannot progress further, such as a lasting, healthy romance. In my opinion, this is where Barchie’s relationship can be categorized.
Consequently, I greatly disagree with anyone who says KJ and Lili don’t have any chemistry with each other whatsoever. In nearly all of their scenes since S1, we can see that Betty and Archie care deeply for each other. They really trust each other. They feel safe and comfortable with one another and feel the need to protect the other from any kind of harm or danger. They have been there for each other through some very painful and difficult circumstances and have been constant sources of comfort and safety for each other since they were children. They grew up together. They know so much about one another and have been through so much together. KJ and Lili do a fantastic job with this kind of chemistry. Very emotionally driven scenes, scenes of saying what the other needs to hear, being a shoulder for the other to lean or cry on, giving advice to help each other through the trouble they face in their lives, having a good time together, being emotionally vulnerable and honest, showing up when the other needs them, and occasionally letting their emotions get the better of them and, in Archie and Betty’s case, believing that chemistry is a different kind than it really is. (Ex. Archie helping Betty calm down after the Black Hood and breaking up with Jughead for her in S2, 3x5 Archie’s escape when Betty gets him out of the pipe and hugs him, Betty working with Mary and Sierra on Archie’s case to prove him innocent, the glances out their windows. Look, they have good emotional/relational chemistry is what I’m trying to say.)
However, Betty and Archie have only ever kissed while broken up with or in a fight with the character they are most associated with romantically. (And the plan to help Jughead in S4, but that doesn’t count since it didn’t really have any romantic intention and was purely (at least initially) a ploy to distract everyone from the truth of Jughead being alive.) KJ Apa and Lili Reinhart have amazing emotional chemistry. It’s obvious that they care about and trust each other as real life people as well as their characters. They are clearly close in real life and have a pretty similar relationship to Betty and Archie from my observation. KJ and Cami also have phenomenal emotional chemistry with clearly a very deep trust or at the very least, the front of one, between each other as people and scene partners. Cole and Lili obviously do as well, and I could argue that the majority of actors on Riverdale share this emotional chemistry with many of their costars.
What I believe KJ and Lili, not particularly to fault of either of them, lack, is Physical, Sexual, and/or Romantic chemistry. I believe this is the only kind of chemistry that can’t be forced or faked. Physical chemistry is most often displayed in serious, long-term dating relationships and marriages, but can also show up in various other relationships in some circumstances. This usually comes in handy when actors/characters are kissing, hugging, holding hands, innocently touching like rubbing hands, holding faces or playing with hair. This can also be in the forms of heart eyes, certain smiles or flirty glances, etc. I see this as very intentional and almost second nature to most actors portraying couples. Actors with a lot of physical chemistry have to be incredibly comfortable with and trusting of each other. As has been said on countless occasions, lots of romantic scenes in films and tv are very very staged so making them look authentic, unplanned, attractive, and believable is a whole nother level of talent and trust in my opinion.
Most pairs of physically compatible actors tend to come up with their own ideas and improv some “coupley” gestures or ways of showing affection towards each other’s characters in ways that make sense for the story, those characters’ individual personalities, and the relationships between them. The first couple on Riverdale that I think of with strong romantic/physical chemistry is Archie and Veronica. KJ and Cami being the actors that portray them, of course. They have incredible physical chemistry and Varchie are also often seen as an overall very physical couple, constantly wanting to be near and touch each other. Yes, they also kiss, make out, and even have sex often on the show, but their physical chemistry really shows in the little things if you ask me. The overall show of physical affection displayed towards each other is truly so beautiful and looks so real and believable on screen. It’s especially obvious when actors are so comfortable and so invested in their characters that they come up with their own little moments for their couple that they know fans will enjoy. For KJ and Cami, they seem to find 100 different little ways to hold hands or to be very affectionate by touching each other’s hair and having specific movements or gestures they do every time they kiss that real life couples would definitely have, and overall using pretty simple facial expressions and body language to portray the love and the very believable (to me) relationship between Archie and Veronica.
Cole and Lili’s portrayal of Betty and Jughead is also very physically authentic, such as when Cole kisses Lili’s forehead or how she was laying on him in the season 4 Halloween episode. Vanessa and Mads and Choni have great physical chemistry too, due to how much they trust each other and how comfortable and close they are with each other in real life as best friends. Some of those little moments could be suggested by the director, but I know many of the small things are not scripted or directed. I do believe that genuine, physical chemistry is natural and cannot be fabricated. It sure can be exaggerated or diminished by good actors, but it really can’t be entirely faked without being very obvious in my mind.. All this to say, I believe that Betty and Archie lack that physical/romantic connection and I personally think KJ and Lili just don’t naturally have the same level of that chemistry as they do with Cami and Cole. Again, that is not remotely a diss to either actor. Some pairings just don’t work like others do and that’s not because the actors are incapable or “not talented enough” to portray it.
The casting team struck gold with KJ and Cami’s and Lili and Cole’s chemistry and that is very rare to find, especially for an entire cast to be so authentically compatible with each other. In conclusion, I am not completely against the idea of Betty and Archie as a couple, but I’m just not a huge fan of it because I don’t think it would be as realistic or believable as Varchie and Bughead are, solely based on the natural, romantic chemistry the actors have with each other. Not to mention the story and what makes the most sense in that regard.
TL; DR: I don’t blame you. This is my mind at 2am. Basically, I believe there are three major levels of chemistry between people, especially actors and the characters they portray.
1) Working Chemistry: pretty much people (actors) that genuinely like one another, get along, and make the relationships of their characters believable and enjoyable on screen. (aka the entire cast of Riverdale)
2) Emotional/Relational Chemistry: Kind of similar to working, but a level deeper. I refer to these as “sibling/family-esque” relationships. Usually expressed through words and sometimes actions or deeds. This is where I personally believe Betty/Archie’s relationship is.
3) Physical/Sexual/Romantic Chemistry: Everything from flirty glances to making staged romance scenes look authentic, to coming up with sweet little gestures to show affection. I believe this cannot be faked/forced entirely. Physical chemistry is something I believe Veronica/Archie and Betty/Jughead display incredibly well. In my opinion, this is what Barchie lacks. Both the characters and the actors that play them. Not dissing either of them, they’re obviously phenomenal actors and KJ/Lili have amazing emotional chemistry, I just personally think the romantic chemistry between them isn’t as strong as KJ/Cami, Cole/Lili, Madelaine/Vanessa, etc.
*If you made it this far, you’re also in too deep with this show. I’m kidding, I love you. Thank you for reading all of this. I would absolutely love to hear what you think.*
Also, thank you Freya @loverofthor-2 for proofreading and encouraging me to post my brain dump yet again. ❤️
Breaking News: Entitled Dude Throws a Fit; No One is Shocked.
I woke up to a temper tantrum I’d missed yesterday by a dude in the entertainment industry. I know what you’re thinking. How could you even keep track of that anymore? Truth is, we can’t, but occasionally when I’m browsing social media looking for awesome cosplayers or banging fanart to feature, I run across it. And today I found another.
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, better known on Twitter and Instagram as @writerras, was throwing a giant-sized manbaby fit about the similarities between the Riverdale posters and those of other teen shows. I want to point out that he wasn’t wrong. They do look eerily similar, but that’s not the point. The point is he assumes his show, his team, and his precious brain only produce super original content and that is inherently untrue. It hasn’t been true of anyone for a long, long time. You borrow something from everything you see, read, and watch. It’s human nature. And it’s okay.
Now, I know we’ve talked about this particular topic plenty of times here. Why? Because we think it’s important to note that no story is 100% original anymore. This is why fanfiction is not only more than okay, but should be condoned as a form of creative expression. This is why fanfiction isn’t a dirty word. This is why you shouldn’t be ashamed. Just because some entitled dude calls his show “original” doesn’t make it so. It’s still fanfiction any way you slice it, and they’re only calling it that when women do it for free. It’s a way to put you down and keep you there. There is no difference. None. Zero. Zilch. It’s all fanfiction, so calm yourself, Roberto. You’re not special. No matter what your mom told you growing up.
I think the majority of this boils down to thinking because you were first, you’re also original. Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive and never were. It’s okay to base your model off something that works. You’re not trying to invent the wheel or anything. You’re telling a story. Why wouldn’t you build on what’s already there? What even would be the point in struggling when you already know what works?
As a side note, I’m not saying the ole copy and paste is a good idea. I am not condoning plagiarism, in any form, but I am saying no one can throw a fit unless it’s straight, black and white, exactly the damn same plagiarism. P.S. It rarely is. You are not so smart, so awesome, and so clever to be the only one in the world to be able to come up with this idea. I’m sorry to have to tell you that. But you’re not. Is it all pointless and no one should tell stories anymore? No. We need stories. Crave them, even. Just because it’s not super original doesn’t make it any less yours. You are the only person who can tell your stories that specific way. If I made a Riverdale right now, it might have similar qualities, but it would be different. It’s unavoidable.
So what’s the point? Well, that’s simple. Everything is fanfiction of something else at this point. Fanfiction isn’t a dirty word. And Riverdale is Archie Comics fanfic, so everyone needs to sit down, shut up, and just write. Stop making excuses. Just write.
And to you, Roberto, try harder next season because I’m so confused, I’m bored.
barchie would've 100% happened already if Cole was still playing Archie bc the only reason bughead is the main teen favoured ship is the fact that everyone vicariously lives thru betty,,, Cole is an all round favourite with the younger girls in this fandom and u Know they wanna be betty so whichever ship he's originally in plays out the fantasy
this doesn't work with jeronica as much as veronica isn't a typical girl like betty meaning less can relate to her and her situation. I mean the main backbone of bettys character is the girl next door but one with the attitude of a child burn out, stressing over grades and wearing cutsie clothes. like obviously forgetting daddy's killer tendencies and mommies breakdowns, a lot of kids can relate to her.
kids cannot relate as easily to veronica. unless they're all rich and Latino and wear £100 dresses to school everyday with a snappy tongue and a character that draws in every popular guy in school. that's not the main audience of riverdale. so relationships with her in are less favoured bc they're less relatable therefore making them less easy to live through
and then i think the writers did it initially bc u have famous cutie patootie Disney star who was the most well known at the start of the show and what better move is there than pairing him up with a blonde hair blue eyed fairy??? putting him in a main couple in a series does wonders for sales as it is; putting him in a couple with a character they anticipate the majority will love is like a power move. and then yanno there's the added bonus that 13 year olds just seem to fuckin Adore 'bad boy with random ass white girl' tropes bc a lot of them are right there in that edgy stage and this is the perfect tv couple they can fantasize through. bc they worked so well, what would be the point in even thinking about trying out another ship??? when the money is being raked in from the absolute blatant fan service
now listen, this is just psychological inference. OBVIOUSLY not everyone who watches riverdale lives through one of the characters and in turn not everyone who loves through a character lives through one they can relate to, but more often than not it's usually characters they wish to be more like as well == which again usually leads to betty, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. i mean shes pretty, not overly popular but comfortable, with a bunch of friends and everyone seems to love her. I'm just pointing out that the blonde white girl is usually loved more bc people are like her or wanna be like her. we all know they usually get the guy anyway, so why wouldn't people wanna watch a show imagining themselves in her position. I'm just showing the correlation between that and how the ships seem to work out in order to keep the majority of fans the happiest
got tagged by @raptorlily (thank you!!!) and y’all i’m so sorry because this is gonna be another one of my eight year long essays
but i don’t always talk about riverdale, even though i’ve got thoughts coming out my ears---and so it builds up and then, well, this happens
rules: answer the questions and tag seven people!
a character/characters you hope gets more screen time:
the facts were these: kevin keller
but---really, i want a lot more kevin. that kid is so funny and so dry but also like i want him to see him be more than a comedic relief! like he’s pretty blindly moralistic and judgmental in a way that’s gonna have him coming down on a different side than betty or jughead, and i see him butting heads with his best friends and i am super excited to see how that plays out.
i also am excited to see more of reggie! i’ve said before that reggie just felt like a character that showed up to be an antagonist whenever cheryl was in a good mood and that bugged me. i realize now that some of that was the filming schedule for the previous actor but like---still, c’mon, there has to be more nuance to this guy.
also also, probably an unpopular opinion but: archie, in some ways. i felt like the show really dropped the ball on archie. there was so much potential. like i was really excited for his narrative to explore the downfall of golden boys (especially as someone being thrust into the mantle of jason blossom), social expectation and grooming in small town hierarchies.
not to mention completely flat-out ignoring the fact that this kid was raped by a repeat sexual predator who was established as having cut him off from his relationships, fucking with his head, manipulating his self worth, etc like??? i’m still waiting for that to come up bitch
instead archie has just felt so lackluster and goofy high school musical, which sucks, because there was just a lot of potential there. anyway we’ll see where it goes from hereon out
character you’ll miss: i mean i wish we’d seen more of joaquin, who ostensibily did nothing but stare into a corner and think about how utterly fucked he was and then make out with kevin a bit
but building off my earlier point about grundy, she should be on trial and i wish she wasn’t just welp, viva las vegas! and out the door without any consequences
though i wouldn’t really classify this as “missing her” lmao
one death you would like to see: i hate deaths on tv, generally. most of the time it’s just a cheap attempt to shake up the other characters for 3 episodes (i’m definitely not talking about robin from ouat what do you mean)
but a death can also be a good catalyst for radical character development, so it all depends on how it would go down
then again i mean i hate hal cooper and how he pulled his whole family into his shakespearean melodrama and the resulting gaslight bullshit he pulled so like i wouldn’t sweat over his death
one death you would hate to see: i’d write a very angry but also very polite MLA format letter to the writers if betty cooper died
a storyline you like: i loooove when riverdale dips its toe into classism. i’ve said this so many times so i apologize, but the show really reaches an important level when it touches upon privilege and class.
i’ve seen this floated around as a “civil war” in the press junkets and i think that’s a good way to generate buzz but also heavily simplifies what i hope to see; which is the desire that the show continues to present things as gray zones.
for example, i’ve seen a lot of romanticization for the serpents and that’s really interesting. we’re definitely made to empathize with them and that’s important but also gang inductions and gang life is driven by class warfare; people are left disenfranchised by their local infrastructure and have to turn to each other for help, but it also is usually a deeply destructive cycle.
the parents get wrapped up in gang life, the children are neglected, the rest of the gang swoops in and takes care of them, then inducts them, and so on. it’s a really complicated narrative that has a lot of real world grittiness and i hope to see it handled right!
similarly, i think that an honest dive into the drug epidemic sweeping across america, particularly rural/small towns/suburbs would be really fitting on riverdale. i mean they already showed a very graphic overdose death and the show ended with a reveal that a character was moving major quantities of hard drugs, so....i know it’s a teen show on the cw that i’ve convinced myself is being written by the showrunners of true detective.....but, i mean, you never know
a storyline you don’t: i mean can i just take a moment to be upset that veronica took cheryl to her house to warm in front of the fire, fresh off a suicide attempt, and then left the damn girl alone to go to a dance?????????? that really upset me and if you thought i wasn’t still thinking about it we haven’t met properly
i also deeply disliked the show’s portrayal of chuck clayton. i get that they needed a villain but like did it have to be the sweet, artistic black character who was created at a time of limited positive representation? anyway, here’s an article that speaks to it better than i could: [x]
a pairing you hope to see more of: i mean mostly just bughead lbr
but i’m also very excited for cheryl’s upcoming relationship, who i expect will be with the new character toni! i also feel like i haven’t been sold on varchie beyond a basic appreciation for some cute moments so i’m looking forward to seeing them more
something you would like to happen: a solid discussion about mental health issues and how they manifest. i want to see a deeper exploration into the kind of trauma jughead has gone through (i loved when he talked about why he didn’t like his birthday), for example. i also see cheryl as a bipolar character (an illness very close to my family and which i see a lot in her) and i’d like to see that hopefully touched upon.
mostly though, i want a more nuanced approach to betty’s obvious mental health issues. i’ve seen a lot of people chalking it up to sort an “evil alter ego” type thing, as if she’s jean gray or something, but in reality, dissociative personality disorders are rare and very complex. and not really something i trust in the hands of the cw, nor something i see in betty.
i see her as having pretty intense anxiety disorders and as someone with those, i would love to see that treated not as a stigma, but as something that one lives with and accepts and works through.
on that line, i also want to see more of betty’s somewhat black and white perspective on justice competing with jughead’s moral apathy/grayness and how that creates a tension that will ultimately lead to a better understanding of one another and life.
also: i know, i know, jesus christ sarah please relax
I tag:
listen to be honest tagging people fills me with a weird type of social anxiety that i’ve otherwise mostly moved past so i like can’t tag people without it stressing me out! but if you want to do this, i will cover for you, i have tagged you
