Can Riverdale survive without Bughead?

Riverdale is no stranger to crazy twists and turns, and it just pulled the biggest one yet which puts a fan favorite couple in potential jeopardy. Could Riverdale survive without Bughead?

Riverdale has become known for its crazy twists and out-there plots. We’ve seen cult leaders with rockets, Archie fighting a grizzly bear and winning, minors owning an underground club and a secret rum operation, serial killers, and murderous nuns. And all of that is barely even scratching the surface of the insanity that is Riverdale.

Yet the recent episode of Riverdale delivered a twist that was somehow even more shocking than any of those. In the most recent episode, Betty and Archie get caught up in a moment and seemingly act on feelings that until one episode ago didn’t even seem to be there anymore. It was a moment we sort of saw coming and yet didn’t because it seems so out of character for both Archie and especially Betty.

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Betty had unrequited feelings for Archie in the early days of Season 1 but after it was clear that Archie didn’t feel that way about her and was 100% into Veronica she moved on and found love with her soulmate Jughead. It was a huge part of her arc in Season 1, not only to move past her childhood fantasies but to also move past her perfect girl next door image and embrace who she really is.

Implying that she still has feelings for Archie or never really got over him regresses her character back to who she was at the start and erases all of her character growth over the past 4 seasons.  That is a shame, considering she has become one of Riverdale’s strongest characters and she’s come too far to go back now. The writers need to let her move forward, not backwards.

Riverdale does like to tease the Archie/Betty pairing once per season to stir up some drama and pay homage to the comics but it’s usually been contained to one to two episodes and it never really amounts to anything. If the writers were aiming to write a slow-burn romance they missed the mark because while slow burns do take time and happen over several seasons they require consistent development, not a one-episode tease every time the show needs drama. The teasing of Archie/Betty would happen suddenly and then the fallout would happen and be wrapped up just as suddenly and the show would go on as if nothing had happened.

This time feels different though. There was no life and death situation this time to provide an excuse and it was no fake ploy as part of a plan. Granted tensions were high but Betty and Archie still acted of their own free will while both currently being in loving relationships with each other’s best friends. They cheated on their significant others after just recently reassuring them that no old feelings had been stirred up and not only does this damage both of their characters but it makes it very hard to come back from.

So what happens if Jughead and Veronica find out about what’s happening between Archie and Betty and decide not to forgive their significant others? Archie and Veronica have been separated and come back together before, and as a staple of the comics I’m confident they’ll never truly be gone, but could the show still survive without Bughead?

My honest answer? I don’t think it can. Like it or not Bughead has become one of the biggest defining features of Riverdale. On a show that thrives on relationships and mysteries Bughead are at the center of both. Not only are they one of the most popular ships on the show with a large and loyal fanbase but they are the investigative duo who actually move the story forward and solve the big mysteries.

Without Bughead what would the show be left with? With Archie and Betty essentially cheating on their significant others it’s hard to imagine that we would ever have the four of them happily in a friend group again if Archie and Betty chose to start a relationship. It’s also hard to imagine Betty and Jughead still working together to solve mysteries if she has basically confirmed Jughead’s greatest fear that she was just slumming it with him until Archie was ready for her.

So without Bughead we’ve not only lost the core friendships of the show, including the Archie/Jughead and Betty/Veronica friendships, we’ve lost one of the most popular ships, which happens to include the two people who actually get things done and solve mysteries. They’re both smart but even Betty and Jughead can’t solve every mystery single-handed. They work best as a team and if they can’t function as a team I imagine a lot of mysteries in Riverdale will go unsolved, and, frankly, that wouldn’t be much fun to watch.

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We can also add the loss of Betty Cooper’s character to the list, because the Betty Cooper we know and love would not act this way. Betty Cooper would not cheat on the man she loves with his best friend after repeatedly reassuring him of her love. She would not kiss her best friend’s boyfriend after saying the line “Friends don’t kiss each other’s boyfriends” back in Season 3. Yes she’s young and sometimes young people get confused, but her feelings for Archie are something that she put in the past a long time ago and they are best left there.

Let’s be honest, is anyone actually in Riverdale for the plot? I didn’t think so. The mysteries can be fun but the majority of fans are in it for the characters and relationships, and if you’ve sabotaged both the character’s integrity and one of the most popular relationships there really isn’t much left for fans to root for.

And if you are in it for the mysteries, Bughead is the couple that delivers that as well. So no matter which way you look at it, Riverdale without Bughead just isn’t Riverdale.

What did you think of Riverdale’s latest twist? Are you team Bughead or are you hoping to see something more between Archie and Betty? Let us know!

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.