Favorite Characters: Betty Cooper (Riverdale)

Oh, Betty… There’s a lot to enjoy about crazy, glorious Riverdale, but probably my favorite thing about it is how it handles main girls Betty, Veronica, and Cheryl.  While I like both Betty and Veronica in the comics (Cheryl has yet to show up in Jughead, so I can’t speak to her there,) all three girls are just fantastic on the show, none more so, in my opinion, than Betty (a few Betty-related spoilers.)

Even in the pilot of the series, which heavily features the famous triangle from the comics, Betty is immediately interesting.  She’s painfully into a woefully clueless Archie, yes, and her insecurities start to mount as soon as gorgeous Veronica breezes into town, but it’s clear from the start that she’s not just “one of the two girls” in Archie’s story.  Hers is the strongest perspective in the opening triangle stuff, and the story takes time for things happening in her life besides Archie, like her genuine burgeoning friendship with Veronica and her attempt (with Veronica’s backing) to stand up to Cheryl and join the River Vixens.

But there’s so much more going on with Betty, and the pilot only begins to delve into it all.  She has a personal stake in Jason Blossom’s murder, since her sister had been his girlfriend, and Betty is kept in the dark about a mysterious Something that went down between Polly and Jason.  Her interest in finding the truth there, along with nearly-singlehandedly running the most ambitious school newspaper around, leads her to begin her own investigation into Jason’s murder and the many secrets that surround it.  It doesn’t take too long to realize that Sheriff Keller’s investigation skills are laughable compared to Betty and Jughead’s, and the pair are our first really significant window into the murder.

The investigation shows off a lot of Betty’s great qualities.  She’s smart, obviously, as well as curious, determined, and creative.  She can be a lot steelier than she’s usually given credit for, and her pursuit of the truth brings out her courage in spades, both in confronting intimidating people and in facing truths she might not be ready for.  Also, during a non-related mini-investigation, we discover that she can jimmy open the lock on a car and employ assorted other lockpicking skills.  I love how pleased she sounds with herself when she credits Nancy Drew books with teaching her the latter; Betty Cooper is a wonderfully-nerdy badass.

Even better, the show explores Betty’s flaws and fears in a pretty serious way, too.  Her parents, especially her Everything Just So mother, have done a number on her.  Betty’s perfectionism is a stress-filled need, not a desire.  Although she of course wants to do well, fit in at school, etc., she’s been taught to maintain a carefully-constructed façade of a prototypical happy suburban family, and her role within in it is that of the impeccably-behaved high achiever.  Her mom’s expectations for her, coupled with Betty’s awareness that she doesn’t know the full truth but realizes her family isn’t as polished as it pretends to be, fuels her anxiety, and she fights hard to suppress her strong emotions.  Betty does tons of plot heavy-lifting with the mystery and a major romance, but another huge part of her story is finding the courage to be who she is:  to allow herself to deal with her messier parts honestly and to let her parents see her rather than just the person they want her to be.

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.

Relationship Spotlight: Veronica Lodge & Betty Cooper (Riverdale)

While I wouldn’t say that Betty and Veronica’s relationship is the best thing about Riverdale – partially because, after a strong start, it (and Ronnie in general) spends a good chunk of time on the backburner – I do think that making them such good friends might’ve been one of the single best decisions the show made.  I love both characters on the show, and their relationship is so much more awesome than I would’ve expected based on the comic history (a few Betty-Veronica spoilers.)

When Veronica blows into town in the pilot and gets an eyeful of Archie, who we’ve been told “got hot” over the summer, the writing seems to be on the wall for her and Betty.  Betty likes Archie, Veronica likes what she sees, and Archie’s tongue is lolling like a cartoon dog over the new girl.  However, one of Veronica’s first official acts in Riverdale is declaring herself friends with Betty, and that’s a role she takes seriously.  As soon as she finds out Betty is into Archie, she jumps into wingman mode, bound and determined to pair them up if only she can get past Betty’s insecurities holding her back.

Things don’t go quite as planned, naturally, and the girls do spend a small amount of time on the outs.  However, even at its most trianglest, it’s never about two girls competing for/fighting over a guy.  For Veronica , it’s about trying to balance her interest in Archie with a burgeoning friendship that she very clearly values, and she doesn’t want to do anything to screw that up.  For Betty, it’s more about simply believing that a girl like Veronica is interested in a genuine friendship with her, and that a girl who could likely have any guy she wanted would refrain out of respect for her (Betty’s) feelings.

But while this decisive rejection of the typical love triangle drama is refreshing, it’s not even the best thing about these two.  I love their frequent “us against the world” vibe – with Veronica’s ferocity and Betty’s knowhow, they’re capable of being a pretty unstoppable team.  Whether their attentions are pointed toward a bullying head cheerleader, a sexist jerk, or a sketchy teacher, the girls can get things done.  Both of them are smart and capable, with Betty leaning more towards practical skills and Veronica emphasizing strong people smarts.  I love Betty and Jughead as a sleuthing duo, but I do feel a bit disappointed that the heavy focus on them as the season progresses means less of Betty and Veronica being awesome together.

I also love them for their strong support for one another.  They only ever clash over majorly serious matters, and by and large, no matter what one of them wants, the other is ready to have her back.  These girls share their secrets and worries about their insane family dramas, they talk through their problems, and they’re often ready to drop everything to go to bat for the other.  With issues both large and small, they’re prepared to tackle them together, and if it’s something with no immediate fix and one just needs a listening ear and emotional support, the other will provide that as well.  Let’s hear it for the girls!