I'm rarely used to seeing accurate — or minimally non-sexualized — representations of teenage girls on television. Objectification intersects with women all too naturally in any form of media, so I was doubly surprised when I stumbled across Riverdale and its protagonists, Betty and Veronica. You see, Riverdale is casting Betty and Veronica as feminist heroes, which is certainly a recent trend on The CW, but that wasn't always the case. Adding Betty and Veronica to The CW's female characters like Rebecca Bunch ( Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ), Jane Villanueva ( Jane the Virgin ) and Kara Danvers ( Supergirl ) could help Subverting our expectations of these young women. The show - a teen soap opera - is skewed towards teens and young adults in a network context. As a long-time viewer of shows like this, I can attest that what Riverdale does with these two amazing female characters is rarely seen in this genre.
On the surface, Betty and Veronica's friendship smacks of another iconic CW pairing: Gossip Girl best friends Serena and Blair. While Serena and Blair's relationship was one of notorious frenemies, the feeling that Betty and Veronica were always at odds disappeared by the second episode. Rather than creating an extended arc where Betty and Veronica become frenemies or outright enemies, Riverdale makes sure they reconcile and move on. Betty and Veronica are now established teammates, besties, and all the other good things that come from healthy female friendships.
When Veronica becomes the target of a slut-shaming conspiracy, Betty is there to defend her (and the other young women at Riverdale High who are targeted). When Betty isn't sure she's worthy of joining the cheerleading squad, or later feels she's unworthy of Archie's affection, Veronica supports her, boosts her confidence, and tries to help her find her voice. After just a few episodes, these young women are more than just cheerleaders—they're each other's cheerleaders.
If we expand our gaze to where these women fit into Riverdale's lineup, another interesting image emerges: a world in which two young women are (arguably) more well-rounded and distinctive than their male counterparts . Discussing how Archie is objectified and at the center of a horrific statutory rape plot is for another article, but it's hard to ignore that the "Teen Outlander " vibe Veronica gave him has seeped into how we, the audience, feel about him in view.
Riverdale should be Archie's show. Keyword: "should". However, he's now Riverdale 's Dawson Leery - a lovable, vaguely tortured, local good guy who's at the center of the action but never the most interesting thing. Archie's personality is such that he is never very noticeable when alone. When he is in the bedroom, it is through Betty's window (meaning we see him through her eyes and, therefore, he is defined by her gaze). He had to jog to Ms. Grundy's house at night rather than suffer his feelings alone. Hell, he wasn't even a meaningful musician until Josie and the Pussycats were interested in helping.
Archie's blandness and his tendency to become a sex object (interestingly, two things that often happen to young women on television) have become some of his defining characteristics. While Betty and Veronica are funny even when alone, it's hard to say whether Archie is funny enough when he's not sharing the screen with anyone else. Being a brooding, aspiring musician doesn't make for a great protagonist.
Just half a season later, Archie is still just a hot, sad guy. To some extent, so does everyone else in Riverdale . Jughead is a lone-wolf, Capote-esque local reporter. He also barely hooks up with Betty, Veronica, and Archie (something the show will ostensibly address). Jughead definitely didn't get as much secondary character development as the women of Riverdale like Hermione Lodge and Josie McCoy. The same goes for Kevin Keller, who sadly is still struggling in the "gay best friend" realm. Feel free to correct me, but four episodes later, he's yet to appear in a scene where his sexuality or semi-campness (as Riverdale 's niche pop culture references demonstrate) isn't mentioned.
So Riverdale seems to be doing something that teen TV shows don't usually do: focusing on really developing its female characters (and moving them away from potential archetypes) while marginalizing or supporting the male characters. Previous CW shows like "90210 ," "Gossip Girl" and "The Vampire Diaries" either created emotionally charged female friendships or relegated their teen heroines to archetypes (Hot Girl, Queen Bee, Sweet Girl Next Door, Flirty Girl). tortured artist, etc.). , or focusing on good girls versus bad girls, Riverdale is doing the opposite. Betty and Veronica are just as important, if not more so, than their male friends. Even better, they contribute meaningfully to moving the plot forward, which is a breath of fresh air.
At this point, all I know now is that Riverdale 's biggest draw is—who would have thought this—Betty and Veronica. How about a plot twist?
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect that Archie is seen through Betty's window in Riverdale .
