As a dark take on the popular Archie Comics, Riverdale just gets weirder and weirder each season. While dubbed a teen drama, it often floats into horror territory and even the supernatural.
Despite these shocking twists and turns, and storylines that sometimes leave us scratching our heads, central to the show is the friendships forged among the high schoolers, as well as their parents who all grew up in the town of Riverdale as well.
Some friendships, as is typical with teens, are stronger than others. While some so-called friends will steal your mate when you aren’t looking, other true friends will have your back through thick and thin.
Which friendships are the strongest on The CW series and which are the worst? The answers might surprise you.
Best: Archie And Betty
Close friends and neighbors since they were young and in grade school, even though Betty went through a phase where she thought she had romantic feelings for Archie, and maybe she really did, it’s clear these two are better as best buds.
They might have diverged onto their own paths as the seasons, and drama, progresses. Archie found love with Veronica and Betty with Jughead. But rather than grow apart from one another, they’ve simply become the fearsome foursome. When push comes to shove, it’s clear that these two will always have one another's’ back, and the backs of their respective mates.
Worst: Cheryl And Her Squad
Cheryl seems to follow to the beat of her own drum. But there’s also a squad of girls who follow her beat. Mainly from the cheerleading team, these ladies are often seen following loyally behind Cheryl whenever she approaches someone to deliver a biting remark or exclusive party invitation.
This friendship is clearly terrible since all these girls do is, well, whatever Cheryl tells them to do. And it’s clear she doesn’t respect them, simply using them to boost her appearance and popularity at Riverdale High.
Best: Archie And Jughead
They seemed to have lost one another early on in the series but managed to pick up where they left off when they joined together to fight a serial killer and murderous gangs. Markedly different from one another – Jughead the long-time bad boy and Archie the clean-cut athlete – something drew them together when they were kids, and they’ve remained close ever since.
Maybe opposites do attract. Nonetheless, these two balance one another out. And while Archie has shifted more to the bad boy side of late, they will always make a great yin and yang-type pair.
Worst: Hermione And Fred
Friends when they were in high school, and possibly having dated (or at least had a fling) there are clearly some feelings leftover between these two. They shared a passionate kiss, despite Hermione being married to the corrupt Hiram, who was in jail at the time. Maybe their friendship was loyal at one point. But they have led very different lives since high school. And they simply aren’t a good match romantically, nor do they make very good friends.
Hermione backstabbed and used Fred, proving that she wasn’t worthy of his affection. This friendship, or whatever it was, should be shelved for good. And with the passing of Luke Perry and the pending death of his character, it will be.
Best: Archie And Veronica
OK, so these two are way more than friends. But they started out as just that. And there’s insane chemistry between them. Even after they had broken up, Veronica still made it clear that she would go to the ends of the earth to protect him – something any good friend would do.
Meanwhile, Archie remained devoted to Veronica, even when she seemingly moved on and he left town.
As their romantic relationship grows once again, so will their friendship. These two are lovers and BFFs.
Worst: Josie And The Pussycats
Josie has changed considerably throughout the course of the series. Now singing solo, and seemingly less arrogant and all-consumed by her budding singing career, this might be best considering that her relationship with the Pussycats seemed strained. They were always bending to her wishes as lead singer and songwriter and felt more pressure from her than friendship. They were simply tools to help Josie get gigs and hopefully impress her father by finally making it big.
Theirs was a working friendship that seemingly fizzled out once the band did.
Best: Jughead And Cheryl
An unlikely pair, these two don’t spend much time together on their own. But there’s a friendly connection between them that’s oddly cute. Whenever Jughead calls upon Cheryl, she’s right there with her trusty bow and arrow to take down enemies. She met her love Toni through the Serpents and even become one.
Despite her banishment from the gang, Jughead seems to have great respect for Cheryl and seems to understand her, despite the tough exterior she tries to put on. Though he might give her an eyeroll now and then, Jughead and Cheryl have a friendship chemistry that we want to see more of in season 4.
Worst: Kevin And Betty
What on earth happened to Kevin? While he might have been a good friend to Betty before, the friendship between these two has all but disappeared as Kevin became brainwashed by a cult known as The Farm. He doesn’t even seem like the same person and has disconnected completely from Betty.
Betty might be trying to reach Kevin any way she can, as any good friend would do. But unless he snaps out of his spell, this friendship is officially one of the worst.
Best: Veronica And Betty
Instant friends, they come from very different worlds but have helped each other through plenty of hardships, and Veronica can be credited for finally convincing Betty to come out of her once prudish shell. The friendship might have gotten off to a rocky start when Veronica swapped spit with Archie at the time when Betty was pining for him. But they kissed and made up and have been inseparable ever since.
The fact that Veronica grabbed what she thought was a single poisonous drink from Betty and drank it before Betty had the chance to shows that these two are true sisters.
Worst: Reggie And Archie
More arch-rivals than friends, they competed in school sports, then for the affection of Veronica. After Archie was sent to juvenile detention, Reggie swooped in and became Veronica’s right-hand man and lover. Talk about a bad friend!
Sure, Archie and Veronica were broken up. But Reggie has a pool of women from which to choose. Why Veronica? These two might have helped each other out. But there just isn’t a connection between them that would suggest anything more than friends that will likely lose touch once school is over.