Veronica
was the first character on Riverdale
to hook me back in the pilot, something I never would’ve anticipated. I’m not against Veronica in the comics – I
enjoy her presence well enough in Jughead,
and Archie does some pretty good
things with her – but I didn’t love her or was particularly invested in her
outside of Riverdale. But this version of Veronica is terrific, and
even though she, like most of the characters, has been dinged up by the show’s
fluctuating levels of quality, I still root for her (a few Veronica-based
spoilers.)
One of Archie comics’ most enduring features is
its Archie-Betty-Veronica love triangle, and I wasn’t surprised when, within
seconds of Veronica meeting the other two in the show, that plot was off and
running. However, the series did surprise me with how quickly it
pushed that idea aside to make room for more interesting storylines and
directions in which to take the characters (sad when love triangles are so
ubiquitous that a teen show opting instead for something interesting is
noteworthy, but here we are.) It’s an
important pivot for the series in deciding what kind of story it’s going to be,
and while she’s not the only factor in this change, Veronica’s character does
have a lot to do with that.
While
comic-book Veronica is a prototypical spoiled princess, a materialist daddy’s
girl with all the boys at her beck and call, that’s not the tack they take with
TV Veronica. TV Veronica, it’s true, has
until recently been a spoiled
princess, and a mean girl to boot. But
she had a recent change in fortune after her father was arrested in a very public scandal. This is what brings her to Riverdale in the
first place, leaving New York with her mom after the family’s dirty laundry
airs on national news and most of their assets are frozen. In season 1, Veronica still has a fair amount
to learn about not being rich anymore (she’s awfully quick about making lavish
purchases,) but she’s taken what happened to heart and is determined to come
out of it all a better person. Over the
course of the series, of course, things happen with Hiram and the Lodges are
back in the money, but while Veronica flirts with how associated she wants to
be with her parents’ dirty dealings, she doesn’t leave behind the new attitudes
she gained during the family’s period of disgrace.
This is a
Veronica who’s been working to reform herself.
She doesn’t want to be the cruel, popular girl who laughs at those
weaker than her, not now that she’s learned how quickly circumstances can
change. So, instead of initially rolling
with Cheryl and her cliquey squad, Veronica branches out. She uses her fierceness as a force for good,
standing up to Cheryl’s tyranny on the cheerleading squad and leading the
charge for the reptuations of girls who’ve been slut-shamed by the football
team. She also becomes very genuine
friends with Betty and puts that friendship above love-triangle considerations –
although Veronica and Archie start dating eventually, it’s not until after
Betty gets together with Jughead.
I like
that Veronica is tough and formidable even as she learn to be kind, and I love
that she’s highly literate and effortlessly bright at the same time that she
waxes poetic over shoes and rocks a pearl necklace. She’s girly and smart, considerate but not a
pushover. That’s beautifully complex for
a girl on a teen drama, and that’s on top of her general solidarity with other
girls, which, again, is awesome.
Unfortunately,
Veronica has never quite equaled the heights of her first season for me, but
that’s largely because of how she’s been weighed down by one Hiram Lodge. Hiram and his secret deals and dastardly
plans mostly just annoy me, and both Veronica and Archie are depressingly
caught up in the Lodge Family Crime Syndicate story in season 2. Season 3 still has Veronica very much in
Hiram’s orbit, but at least she’s now placed more in opposition to her father
and has been bringing her back in more interesting directions.
Still,
though, Veronica can’t be fully dragged down by these less-entertaining
storylines. Because ultimately, she’s
still the poised, erudite rich girl who’s been humbled and come out better for
it but who continues to love a good bit of dramatic flair (no wonder she and
Cheryl eventually became friends – they’re made for each other!) She’s witty, she’s fierce, she’s delightfully
extra, and on the whole, I’m happy to love her.
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