In a town like Riverdale, teenagers solve crimes, and having a father for a serial killer is just another day of the week. Riverdale used to be the town of pep but after Jason Blossom’s murder, it soon devolved into a seedy underbelly of crime.
One of the worst parts about it is not the murder and mayhem, but what friends and family members do to each other. No relationship is sacred and no betrayal too terrible to commit. However, some instances of duplicity are worse than others.
Veronica And Archie Play Seven Minutes In Heaven
A definitive moment for Riverdale, Veronica’s arrival to town started a domino effect that coursed through the main characters. Betty had been nursing a crush on Archie for most of her life in Riverdale and made plans to act on them. This was all thrown into chaos the fateful night when the three of them went to Cheryl’s party.
Veronica had been aware of Betty’s feelings and still decided to act on her hormones. Veronica and Archie went into the closet for seven minutes in heaven and Betty’s chance with Archie was destroyed.
Clifford Kills Jason
The mystery of Season One surrounded the murder of Jason Blossom. He was presumed dead after his boat capsized but was found later to be shot in the head. There were many suspects including his sister Cheryl, but Season One came to a close when a video surfaced of Clifford Blossom killing his son.
Jason knew about Clifford’s drug business and had plans to run away with his girlfriend Polly. Clifford cared more about his business than the life of his son.
Jughead Enlists The Snake Charmer
Although FP was not Jason’s murderer, he still went to prison for tampering with the body. With Jughead’s mother and sister living in Toledo, FP was the only family he had. It seemed that FP could be going away for a long time. Jughead was pulled into his father’s gang, having nowhere else to turn.
One of the most insidious components of the Southside Serpents was Penny Peabody, also known as the Snake Charmer. FP warned Jughead not to trust her or accept any help from her. In Jughead’s desperation to save his father, he went against FP’s wishes and got deeper in debt to Penny.
Hiram Owned La Bonne Nuit
Despite Veronica’s insistence that her father Hiram was a bad person, that didn’t stop her from following in his footsteps. While still in high school she opened her own business. La Bonne Nuit was a speakeasy in the basement of Pop’s. She was determined to keep it to herself as Hiram continually tried to sabotage it.
Veronica’s disgust with Hiram stopped her from going into business with him. But that didn’t stop Hiram from getting what he wanted. Hiram had been buying up land in Riverdale and Veronica’s speakeasy was no exception. To her dismay, she found that Hiram owned the deed to La Bonne Nuit, and her agency as a business owner was taken away.
Jughead Uses Betty For A Pitch
After going to school at Stonewall Prep, Jughead quickly became fascinated with the mystery of the Baxter Brother’s franchise. Sure that his grandfather was the one that had invented the successful series, Jughead wanted to take up the mantle. He had an idea for the novel but it was shot down by the investors of the series.
They made it clear that they wanted a grittier and darker tale. With a deadline fast approaching, Jughead plagiarized Betty’s life by pitching a story based on the Black Hood. Jughead didn’t ask if he could use what Betty’s father had done to advance his ambitions.
Betty Has Archie Break Up With Jughead
During the events of the Black Hood, Betty came in contact with the killer. The Black Hood was on a campaign to show Betty how much they were alike. This including cutting out all the people in her life that were holding her back.
Instead of telling Jughead what was going on, she caved to the Black Hood’s whims to sever ties. Unable to break up with Jughead herself, she made Archie do it for her, hoping she could take it back later.
Penelope Sends Cheryl To Conversion Therapy
Penelope never supported Cheryl and this included who Cheryl was in love with. Cheryl had been spending more time with Toni which Penelope found distasteful. Cheryl and Penelope had a battle of wits and Penelope’s next move was to institutionalize Cheryl at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.
The nuns had a program abusing teenagers because of their sexual orientation. Penelope abandoned Cheryl there to their outdated practices.
Alice Abandons Betty For The Farm
Like many teenagers in Riverdale, Betty did not have a stable home life. Her father was in prison and her mother was quickly becoming brainwashed by cult leader Edgar Evernever. They attempted to recruit Betty, but it became clear that was doomed to fail.
Alice became so enthralled that she sold the Cooper home and moved to The Farm full time. She left Betty, a minor, by herself. Although Alice came back from it, she could never make up for the trauma done to her daughter.
Hiram Frames Archie
When Hiram came back from prison, Archie did his best to make nice. Archie wanted to impress his girlfriend’s father and that compromised him many times. Archie soon learned Hiram was still involved in criminal activity. He did his best to stay true to Veronica, but it didn’t stick for long.
Hiram knew Archie had too much information on the Lodge dealings. One of Hiram’s capos killed an intruder who had been trying to hurt Archie and his friends. Hiram later had Archie arrested, who was present at the time of the crime.
Betty Cheats On Jughead
For most of the show, Riverdale balanced on the relationship between Betty and Jughead. The two teen sleuths found each other and were together more than they were apart. Their biggest trial followed Jughead going to Stonewall Prep. They fought more than they ever had before and instead of listening to each other, they broke apart.
Jughead had been traumatized by his near-death experience and having to hide in the bunker. As a coping mechanism, Betty grew closer to Archie and after a particularly tumultuous fight, they kissed. It was the nail in the coffin of her relationship with Jughead.