Favorite Characters: Jughead Jones (Riverdale)

The return of Riverdale brought the show back to mind for me, and although the last couple seasons of the show haven’t been as fun for me as its debut season, I still enjoy it, and the characters are a big part of that. The “less fun of late” thing is unfortunately-true for Jughead as well, since none of the Serpent stuff really interests me and that’s been most of Jughead’s story for the last two seasons. However, Serpent trope-iness aside, I do like the show’s take on the character (a few Jughead-related spoilers.)

The series initially takes a bit of a slow burn with Jughead.  Even though he’s the show’s narrator from minute one, we get hardly more than a glimpse of him as a character before episode two, and even there, it’s basically just hints of what kind of person he is.  Clearly, he’s not the funny, hungry slacker from the comics.  He can be nihilistic at times and he’s not much of a joiner, but a slacker he is not.

So what is he?  He’s weird, a little dark, and (more than) a little pretentious.  He waxes about classic films and reads Kafka before bed, and he’s writing a book about the death of Jason Blossom that he envisions as being the next In Cold Blood.  He’s the sort of kid that the jocks are suspicious of, which doesn’t bother him too much, as he’s never put much stock in high school hierarchy. 

While he’s still Archie’s best friend, much more of Jughead’s time is spent with Betty. They start out as friends/partners in crime-investigation when she cajoles him into joining her on the school newspaper, enticing him with the promise of uncovering Jason’s murderer. Before long, though, they’re in a serious ride-or-die romantic relationship in which each regularly serves as the other’s only-good-thing standing between them and all the craziness of their lives.

When the show plays with noir/detective elements, Jughead is usually at the center of it and it’s always fun.  He takes the work seriously and follows each trail of clues with the honest consideration it deserves, but he also just vibes on this stuff.  You can tell Jughead is reveling in all the insane stuff going down in Riverdale and picturing himself as a jaded detective, probably played by Humphrey Bogart. Give me Jughead constructing a murder board or shaking down a suspect any day.

While Riverdale’s verson of Jughead is intense and can veer into overwrought at times, I like that the show maintains its own brand of Jughead’s knowing humor.  He’s usually good for an awesome dryly-sarcastic line or two, and he can do literary reference, self-deprecation, and wry observation with equal aplomb.

Another important aspect of Jughead is his deep-rooted family issues, and while the sheer piling-on of all that heartache ranks pretty high on the angst-o-meter, I never doubt of the sincerity of Jughead’s fears and anguish over it.  Despite talking a good game of being apathetic and not letting things bother him, Jughead hurts deeply, and the more he lets someone in, the more he’s (very gradually) willing to reveal on that front.

But while the show keeps that part of the plot from wallowing in too much angst (most of the time,) where they lose me is when Jughead gets involved with the Southside Serpents, the local gang formerly run by his dad. It’s a bummer first of all, since Jughead was previously so against having anything to do with the Serpents, knowing the havoc it wreaked on his family life. But also, nearly everything Serpents-related since season 2 has been ridiculous, most of it not in Riverdale’s good-ridiculous sort of way. “Legacy” or not, it’s goofy that adult gang members would take orders from the teenage Jughead, and it’s absurd that Jughead acts like he and the other teenage members are an oppressed minority when the school bans gang memorabilia (dude, you’re in a gang, what did you expect Mr. Weatherbee to do?) Luckily, season 3 strikes more of a balance between intrepid-investigator Jughead and gang-leader Jughead, and season 4 has yet to hit the gang stuff too hard. Is there hope yet?

Before I go, I do have to express my disappointment that one of the show’s most popular characters isn’t portrayed as asexual, like he was in his own comic. Of course, given the army of Bughead stans out there, there’s a distinct possibility that Jughead wouldn’t be as popular without his romantic relationship with Betty (though I maintain that the show could have split the difference and given us an ace Jughead who was heteroromantic.) I’ve talked before about how I’ve come to terms with it, but it is a shame. Asexual Jughead Jones in the comics means so much to me, and it could’ve been incredible to see another version of that character on a wild CW teen drama.

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.

Some Thoughts on Jughead in Riverdale

I’ve been holding off on writing about Riverdale, the CW’s new, totally cracked reimaging of the Archie universe – it’s like Dawson’s Creek meets Twin Peaks meets Archie comics, and it’s ludicrous and amazing – but after the events of last week’s episode, I knew there was one thing I had to talk about sooner rather than later (spoilers for episode 6, “Faster, Pussycats!  Kill, Kill!”)

For a few episodes now, the hints have been there for a potential romance between Jughead and Betty, and last week, Jughead went for it, kissing Betty during an intense moment.  Things got crazy immediately afterwards (the two of them have been conducting their own investigation into the death of Jason Blossom, a Riverdale golden boy whose murder shocked the town, and there was an important lead they had to follow up on,) and the two finished the episode without circling back to the kiss, but I would imagine the matter is far from closed.

Plenty of news outlets, in writing about Riverdale, have picked up on the Jughead of the Chip Zdarsky comic series being asexual, and Jughead’s kiss with Betty had many of them quick to declare that this Jughead is now and forever straight.  Before I keep going, I do want to point out that this isn’t necessarily the case (even if any wiggle room comes mostly from my own wishing thinking.)  It’s entirely possible that Jughead is a romantic ace who has feelings for Betty.  If he doesn’t know this yet, he may start to figure it out over the course of whatever romance they might have.  It could also be that Jughead is an aromantic ace who doesn’t realize it yet.  If he has a platonic crush on Betty, he could very easily assume his feelings are romantic – it’s hard to understand what you are when no one has given you a name for it or told you it’s possible – and so kissed her because That’s What You Do.  We could be heading for a storyline of Jughead realizing what he really wants with Betty is the beautiful friendship they already had.  (Since I myself am aro, and I read Jughead as an aro ace in the comics, this would probably be my first choice, but I acknowledge that, even among ridiculous meager asexual representation, romantics don’t get their share, and there are a lot more romantic aces in the world than aromantics.)

So, yes – there’s every possibility that Jughead could still be ace, aro or otherwise, and I’ll cling to that until the show definitively proves me wrong.  But that’s not actually what I want to look at today.  Especially after posting my most recent Dear Hollywood Whitewashers yesterday, it struck me:  why am I not more upset at the prospect of Riverdale’s Jughead not being asexual?  After all, people of color may be underrepresented in Hollywood, but ace representation is just over infinitesimal.  I’ve encountered shockingly few asexual characters, and I’ve been looking – not to mention, most of the ones I’ve found are only potential aces who aren’t expressly identified as such.  So why am I not raging at the thought that Riverdale might have straightwashed my favorite fictional ace?

Don’t get me wrong.  The thought disappoints me; I’d love seeing an ace Jughead on TV, and my impression so far of Cole Sprouse, who plays him on Riverdale, tells me he’d do a bang-up job at it.  There are definitely more interesting, unique places the story could go if the show takes advantage of this aspect of Jughead.  But there are extenuating circumstances here, which Sprouse detailed quite articulately after episode 6 aired.  In an interview with Archie Digest:  A Riverdale Podcast, he outlined his thoughts about the matter.  There’s a lot to go through, so I’ll summarize rather quote. 

First of all, I’ve watched and read a handful of other interviews with Sprouse (and other cast members, but I’m naturally biased toward Jug,) and one thing that’s immediately evident is that Sprouse does his homework.  In preparing for the role, he read a lot of comics featuring Jughead in different incarnations, including Zdarsky’s Jughead, the current Archie series being handled by Mark Waid, and the classic-style “digest” Archie comics that you’d find in, say, a grocery store checkout line; he also read up on the history of the character and, after checking out the Zdarsky iteration, asexuality.  In preshow interviews, I saw him expressing the same general sentiment in multiple places – asexual representation is something that’s sorely needed on television and he’d love to play Jughead that way, but that’s not necessarily the direction the show is going to go with him.

In his “post-kiss” interview, Sprouse brought up a few salient points.  1) Jughead is the only comic that expressly identifies Jughead as ace.  Even though it’s consistent with his 75-year history, it in and of itself is both a recent development, having only occurred in 2016, and still the exception rather than the rule.  Even other Archie universe comics that run concurrently with Jughead – like Archie, Betty & Veronica, and Reggie and Me – don’t specify him as ace.  Now, this doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have been a golden opportunity for Riverdale to capitalize on this unique side of his character in Jughead; it’s just to point out that the “prevailing Jughead” is not an expressly asexual one.  2) The long history of Archie comics also features recurring seeds for Betty/Jughead, and just as there are asexual fans who want an ace Jughead, there are longtime comic fans who want to see that pairing play out on screen.  (Even more reason for Riverdale’s Jughead to be a romantic ace – the best of all possible worlds!)

And ultimately, 3) Riverdale is its own take on these characters.  For all of the comic history and canonical parsing, the show is doing exactly what it wants here, and while the characters remain versions of themselves at their core, the series takes wild departures with the details.  This is, after all, the same show that gave us a murder investigation, a Betty with mental health issues, and a “hot, young Miss Grundy” in an illicit relationship with 15-year-old(!) Archie.  There are departures.  It’s not a situation where we’re looking at a mostly-faithful adaptation except when it comes to Jughead’s relationships with girls – this is a case of “anything goes.”

(Quick side note:  to the extent that this is an issue, it’s also a purely storytelling one, not a casting one like the Dear Hollywood Whitewashers posts have addressed.  Though it still reflects a problem with representation, it’s not taking a role out of a marginalized actor’s hands and giving it to someone who has more opportunities.)

The last thing I want to mention here is that I appreciate Sprouse’s continuing comments about asexuality and the importance of representation for us.  He comes across to me as very genuinely cognizant of the representation that’s been lacking in this community, and I very much get the sense that he is/was the loudest voice within the show arguing for that sort of characterization.  I hope he knows that what’s happening on the show now can still be compatible with that representation, and now that the show’s been renewed for a second season, maybe he can bring the creator, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, around to that line of thinking.

Asexual Sighting: Jughead Jones (Archie)

The last (possible) Asexual Sighting I did was Arthur Martin on Six Feet Under, ages ago.  Fortunately, I stumbled across this brand-new (old) discovery at The Mary Sue.  Jughead.  Canonically asexual (and aromantic.)  That happened.

Okay, background information:  Archie comics have been around since 1941, and Jughead, Archie’s best friend, has been a key member of the Riverdale gang from the start.  Like any comic series, Archie has changed and evolved a lot over its long history.  It’s taken different iterations and acquired offshoots, one of which is the new Jughead comic that began last fall.  Penned by comic writer Chip Zdarsky, it’s here that we get an ace Jughead.

Jughead’s asexuality was revealed in the comic’s most recent issue, which came out last month.  I love the issue’s handling of it for several reasons.  First, it’s not a coming-out narrative.  Within the context, it’s clear that Jughead’s friends already know about his aceness, and it’s brought up casually in conversation.  Second, his character doesn’t revolve around his sexuality.  In fact, it’s just a handful of lines on one page, the epitome of “no big deal” representation.  Third, Jughead is a 100% contented aro-ace.  He doesn’t mind being asexual at all.  Quite the reverse – he claims he’s the only one in school who “can think clearly” because he’s “not hobbled by these hormonal impulses.”  (I can relate to that; while I don’t argue that being ace is “better” or anything, I absolutely love being who I am and really wouldn’t have it any other way.)  Fourth, it fits surprisingly well into his characterization from the last 75 years.  This is no retcon situation.  Jughead has never been a big dater, and while he doesn’t hate girls or think they’re gross, he’s not into them (or boys) in “that way,” and he’d rather think about cheeseburgers than cheerleaders.  It’s just that there was no name for it in the ‘40s, and now there is.

I’ve only read the ace-reveal issue (No. 4) so far, but Jughead is enjoyable enough that I’ve ordered the back issues and plan to keep buying the comic.  Jughead himself is a fun, unlikely hero.  A bit of a slacker, a bit of a slob, but also smarter than he looks and something of a daydreamer.  He’s chill and smart-alecky, and in moments of stress (like dodgeball games,) he evidently imagines himself as a pirate named Captain Slackbeard – who doesn’t love that?  He doesn’t have the typical social-awkwardness quirks that frequency accompany suspected aceness (see Sherlock, The Big Bang Theory, and Six Feet Under.)  Rather, the only thing that signals him out as ace is simply that:  his lack of sexual attraction.  Very refreshing, and I’m looking forward to reading more.

On a personal note, this is a represention coup that feels really personal to me.  I know that comics tend to play around a bit more with the LGBTQ alphabet soup than other media do, so I wouldn’t have necessarily run out and bought any comic starring an asexual character.  But it’s Jughead.  I still have crystal-clear memories of stretching out on the floor at my grandparents’ house, reading and rereading my mom’s old, crumbling Archie comics, and I remember Jughead the funny sidekick.  This is a character who’s been part of the pop culture lexicon for three-quarters of a century, a familiar, beloved figure, and he’s like me.  That’s huge, and I’m so glad that Chip Zdarsky recognized how Jughead’s history lent itself to incorporating some sexual diversity into his hero’s characterization.  Way to go!