The CW series Riverdale is back for Season 3, with Archie (KJ Apa) on trial for murder, Betty (Lili Reinhart) being forced to deal with her problems head-on, Jughead (Cole Sprouse) leading the Serpents, and Veronica (Camila Mendes) having to turn to her father to step in and help. As these four best friends will have to rely on each other now more than ever and with a new mystery on the horizon in need of solving, there’s no telling what might happen next in Riverdale. The only thing we know for sure is that Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) will have the best fashion while doing it.
During this interview with Collider, co-stars Madchen Amick (“Alice Cooper”) and Skeet Ulrich (“FP Jones”) talked about the journey they’ve taken with their characters, the popularity of #Falice, the parent-child relationships on the show, the return of Jughead’s mother and sister (played by Gina Gershon and Trinity Rose), FP’s desire for revenge, and whether they’re rooting for their characters to be together.
Collider: When did you guys realize that #Falice was becoming a bigger deal than many of the other relationship hashtags related to this show?
SKEET ULRICH: We sensed it was happening and started poking the fire, a little bit.
MADCHEN AMICK: It was in the beginning, probably with the confrontational scene on the street, in the truck. It was when FP said, “You’re still hot, Alice.”
ULRICH: “Too bad you’ve got a stick up your butt,” or something like that.
AMICK: Yeah, that was a good little nugget.
Did you see it happening before everyone start freaking out about it, or was it surprising to you that people really latched onto it?
AMICK: They really latched onto it, and that was a little bit surprising.
ULRICH: Yeah, it’s been interesting. Social media has been an interesting beast, on its own.
AMICK: Because you get more immediate reactions.
ULRICH: And you get a nickname.
What’s been the most surprising thing about the journey with these characters? Is where they are in Season 3 anything like what you thought it might be, when you started in Season 1?
ULRICH: I think it’s very organic and it’s really what I thought would happen, just maybe not so quick.
AMICK: I think I expected us to be where we’re at, but under different circumstances. (Showrunner) Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa] is really good at giving you what you expect, but with a completely different take and putting you in a completely uncomfortable situation.
What can you say about where Alice and FP are at this season, especially after having gone through so much last season?
ULRICH: I think it’s time for change, for both of them. In regards to FP, his role is clear, in terms of guiding Jughead towards leading the Serpents, but to some extent, he’s a little bit unsure of how to get revenge, which is definitely on the calendar. So, it’s certainly a shift in what are the norms for him. It’s been really interesting, so far. Everyone is brought together – kids and parents alike – to fight this central dilemma in the town. It’s really smart how they’ve brought everyone around. We really wondered if we’d be able to get back to that, after Season 1.
AMICK: Right. Everybody was so disjointed, but now the town has been brought back together.
How does Alice feel about her husband being revealed to be a serial killer?
AMICK: She thinks she’s putting everything back into place and that she’s healing her wounds. As a spectator, she’s still a complete and total mess. Yet again, she’s trying to find something to cover up the pain, but never wants to face what really happened. So, here she goes again, down another road that may not have the best outcome. The Farm sells a good game. You can live a great life and turn over a new leaf, and be truthful and honest, and live your best life, but really, it’s you not facing what happened. She is running away from it, yet again.
What’s it like to have Jughead’s mother and sister come back?
ULRICH: I’m excited. I think it will raise a lot of interesting questions in FP’s heart. From what I understand will happen, it’ll be very interesting and not at all expected. I’m curious to see how it affects Alice and FP, how it affects Jughead and FP, how it affects Betty and Jughead, and certainly what it does to the Serpents. There are a lot of things that can be changed, based on their return.
How does FP feel about the position Jughead is in now, as leader of the Serpents?
ULRICH: Obviously, he is supportive of it. It’s part of a long master plan that ultimately will end in revenge. It’s a way to reconfigure and attack, in a different and unexpected way. The Serpents are pretty disbanded group the serpents and they don’t really have their lair anymore, so they’re trying to figure out what’s next, where to go with that, and what will work best to serve them all, in the future. They’re basically living in a tent city. It’s a pretty disjointed group that needs a fresh idea.
AMICK: I love how, in this show, they figured out a way to make people pull for and care about a gang of outsiders. It’s really cool to de-stigmatize this idea of gang members and what it stands for, and to really show you the heart of why people are drawn together. They’ve all been tested and pushed aside, and they’ve come together to protect each other. That’s a really cool thing that Riverdale is doing, showing the underbelly of it and the heart of it.
How does Alice feel about Betty being involved now?
AMICK: On the surface, she’s supposed to say, “Don’t do that. It’s bad.” But she sees that she’s doing the same thing that she did, back in the day, and she understands why. That’s hard for Alice. She knows she’s supposed to be saying one thing, but she feels another.
Where are things at for Alice, with both Betty and Polly?
AMICK: It’s all women in the house now, except for the babies. There is one little boy baby. But, they don’t get a say yet. It’s interesting because they’re three quite strong women, so there’s a play for who’s dominant in the house and who’s really in charge. That’s fun to explore. Alice thinks she’s in charge.
Nobody can enter a room as good as Alice enters a room.
AMICK: It’s true!
Do you talk about what her entrance into a scene can be?
AMICK: I think that’s her, at her core. At her core, she’s a bad-ass little Serpent rebel girl. She’s been trying to put on this other facade to cover up her past, but when it comes right down to it, when she’s been found out or challenged, she reverts back to a big F U to the entire town.
Does it feel like she’s always wearing the Serpent jacket mentally, even if she doesn’t actually have it on?
AMICK: Always! She’s got her Serpent jacket in the back of the closet, at all times. It can be whipped out, at any point. Maybe she even wears it around the house when Betty’s gone to bed.
ULRICH: It’s her bathrobe.
AMICK: She drinks tea in it, in the morning.
The fans are rooting for your characters to be together, but are you rooting for your characters to be together?
AMICK: Yes, but I think it’s always interesting the way Roberto goes down this road because it’s never smooth sailing. You’re hoping they get together, but there is always something that gets in the way. That’s interesting to play. I wouldn’t necessarily want everything to be rosy. It’s good to always have something to play against and always have turmoil that you’re dealing with.
ULRICH: I think the thing that’s great about FP and Alice’s relationship is that playfulness that comes out so easily. They’re always a reminder to each other of who they really are. You hope for that in a mate. You want someone who can constantly re-ground you. In a lot of ways, I think they’re destined to be together. She chose a different road, but we’re starting to see she really does remember who she was, and who she’s meant to be.
AMICK: They’re both such hotheads, too, so they have to cool each other. That’s what’s fun about the scenes that I play with Skeet. What we do with the scenes that are written is always really fun because he’ll get super hot, and Alice has to step in and calm him down, or vice versa. You really see that those two characters get each other. They know what they are going to do, before they even do it.
ULRICH: Alice just hasn’t had a strong enough man yet. She’s had to wear the pants in the family.
AMICK: That’s right.
Riverdale airs on Wednesday nights on The CW.
