Relationship Spotlight: Jughead Jones & Betty Cooper (Riverdale)

I brought up these two back when I was discussing my thoughts about Riverdale apparently not going the ace route with Jughead, but at that point, a kiss was all we’d seen.  It was too soon to tell how they’d be as a romantic couple.  Now, though, with a season under our belts, it’s time to circle back to Betty/Jughead (some Betty/Jughead-related spoilers.)

I won’t rehash my asexual Jughead thoughts, although I would’ve obviously preferred an aro ace Jughead or, barring that, a romantic Jughead with some reasonable hints that he’s ace and probably doesn’t know it yet (can I still hold out hope on that front?)  However, another reason that Jughead and Betty getting together disappoints me a little is that I’d loved them so much as friends.  After Betty’s heavy Archie-preoccupation in the first couple of episodes, it’s so refreshing to see Betty’s friendship with Jughead take center stage, as the two of them run their own investigation into Jason’s murder.  In the first part of the season, they’re just on fire as a pair of teen sleuths and I loved that our female lead’s most significant relationship was turning out to be with her platonic male friend (sigh – I so rarely see these things coming) instead the boy she’s into who’s not into her.

But no – instead we got the building up of the friendship so we could get them together romantically, because that’s the real way to help Betty get over Archie!  I mean… look, in hindsight, I’m not surprised, and I’m not opposed to romantic pairings on the face of it (and really, if there’s going to be romance, I’d prefer to have a basis of friendship,) but it looked (to me) like the show was doing something different with these two, and that’s not what ended up happening.

That said, I do honestly, genuinely like Betty and Jughead as a couple.  Even if I would’ve preferred them to stay friends, it helps that they were such good friends to start.  Now that they’re together, they get more of that couply stuff – the kissing and whatnot, of course, but also more emotional material like opening up to one another about their feelings or getting into a fight that resolves when they (bless them) talk it out.  At their core, though, there’s a lot about their relationship that stays the same whether it’s platonic or romantic.  They’re at their best for me when they’re spitballing suspect theories, hatching plans for following leads, and carrying out secret operations under cover of darkness. 

Not only is it more interesting plot-wise, I also find it the best way to show off what’s good about them.  They’re on the same page on a lot of things.  They both take the murder very seriously and pour themselves into trying to figure it out, and they both have a flair for it, using deductive reasoning, grilling possible witnesses, taking risks (together,) and not shying away from the more devastating theories.  They bring out a lot of good in each other – both are smart and savvy, but they brainstorm best when they’re bouncing ideas off each other, and each looks out for and supports the other without insinuating that the other is helpless without them.  One of the worst relationship sins I think a show can commit is when it puts two friends together and almost instantly strips them of everything I love about them as friends, exchanging it for a far more generic “couple” depiction that makes both characters feel less themselves.  With Jughead and Betty, I appreciate so much that the show has basically kept them who they are, separately and together, and as long as it can keep that up, I’m cool with them romantically.