Riverdale, which enters its sixth season this November, has spectacularly failed when it comes to friendships between the women on the show, particularly with Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes). It’s such a waste, too, because there’s so much potential for the character to grow if she were able to let some other people into her life. But she’s trapped, left only to play with the boys.
In the first season of Riverdale, Veronica and her mother, Hermione Lodge (Marisol Nichols), retreated to her mother’s home town of Riverdale to get a fresh start after her father, Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos), was imprisoned for one of his many, many crimes. Veronica arrived as your classic girlboss, ready to take the town and take down the patriarchy. She quickly bonded with Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), and the two developed a wonderful friendship.
At first, there was a little bit of tension between them due to Betty’s unrequited love for Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), but that quickly dissipated as Betty’s interest in Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) grew stronger. That left Veronica to get closer with Archie, but Betty and Veronica’s stories consistently intertwined and showed just the type of character they wanted Veronica to be: empowering, fierce, and focused on building other women up.
This type of behavior and focus was there with Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch), as Veronica tried to understand Cheryl’s mindset with all that was going on with her twin brother, Jason. It was there when she joined Josie McCoy’s band, Josie and the Pussycats, and when she and Betty worked together to stop serial misogynist Chuck Clayton after he spread rumors about doing things with Veronica.
And that summed up Veronica Lodge’s character, for a while… at least until that shortened first season ended. Veronica’s story since Riverdale Season 2 began has revolved primarily around two men: her on-again, off-again boyfriend Archie, and her father Hiram.
Every major thing Veronica has done, like opening her speakeasy La Bonne Nuit underneath Pop’s, has been to get back or get ahead of her father in some way. They’ve been in an almost constant war, yet he always manages to take advantage of Veronica and get back in control. Veronica consistently lets her father get away with the awful things he’s done, like framing Archie and having him thrown in juvenile detention in Riverdale Season 3.
If it’s not about Hiram, then it’s about Archie (or both of them, like the time Archie got locked up and Veronica searched for a way to free him and take down her father at the same time). Their relationship has survived every season since, somehow. Despite a short break in Season 3 when Veronica and Reggie Mantle (Charles Melton) were hooking up and Archie took an interest in Josie, they were together throughout their final years of high school.
While Veronica has been constantly fixated on these men, her relationships with the women have practically faded away. Occasionally we’ll get some interactions with Veronica and Cheryl, but whatever friendship she had with Betty is basically gone. The beginning of Riverdale Season 5 proved this.
When Betty and Archie started a brief affair behind Veronica and Jughead’s backs, Veronica found out first and had basically no reaction other than a cryfest on the very first night. She had no complex feelings to explore; in fact, she slept with Archie again two episodes later. She instantly forgave Betty when Betty came to her to apologize. The show seems to present this as some brilliant, bold move to show how mature Veronica is, but it really just tainted these relationships, especially with Betty.
Betty and Veronica haven’t been allowed a deep conversation since the beginning of the show, yet we’re constantly told that B & V are best friends even though they never actually hang out on or off screen. They orbit around each other’s lives in Riverdale, but that’s pretty much it. It’s disappointing, and is a major disservice to the characters, but particularly Veronica because at least the other Riverdale girls all talk to one another.
If Veronica’s story is somehow not directly tied to Archie or Hiram, then she’s interacting with Reggie and dealing with business things that relate to Hiram and his plans for the town, like on the Season 5 episode “Reservoir Dogs.” Or, she’s with her soon-to-be ex-husband Chad Gekko (Chris Mason), stoking the tension between them over Veronica’s lingering feelings for Archie or because he’s exactly like her father.
Betty and Veronica’s relationship truly has infinite potential. These two staples of Archie comics have a chance to be a powerful twosome on Riverdale, if only they were allowed to interact. There are real conversations to be had about the status of their relationship, the history between them, and dealing with the Archie of it all, which they’ve never done.
Betty’s story always focuses on whatever mystery is engulfing the town, but Veronica is always left out. This doesn’t have to be the case. We’re seeing Tabitha Tate (Erinn Westbrook) help Betty uncover the truth, which is the first time in a long time that it hasn’t been Jughead by her side. So why can’t her companion during other mysteries be Veronica?
Over the seasons, Veronica has proven herself a very intelligent, clever, and capable woman. She’s dug deep to find out the truth about her father and his actions in an attempt to get ahead of him. She always comes up short with him, but she clearly has the investigative skills to team up with Betty and help save Riverdale once in a while. We’re currently almost done with Riverdale Season 5, and Veronica has not spoken a word to Betty one-on-one since the time jump after their high school graduation. The two main women of the show should and could easily have a stronger friendship that we see on-screen if the writers tried.
Another woman that Veronica rarely interacts with is Cheryl Blossom, which is odd considering the two have such similar personalities. On the rare occasion we’ve seen them in a story together, like their brief business venture during Season 4, it’s been quite fun. The two have very intense family troubles, too. While Veronica’s father is a mob boss that she can’t shake, Cheryl’s father literally murdered her twin brother to protect himself and his business. These two women could have bonded over family trauma and helped each other find their chosen family if given the chance.
Veronica is being wasted as a main character. She’s had almost the exact same story for the last four seasons. Veronica is never allowed to interact in a substantial way with anyone except the men of Riverdale. It’s tiresome, and very disappointing considering what a refreshing character she was when the series premiered. Her friendship with Betty was a highlight. It was unexpected given their history, but it felt so right. Mendes and Reinhart play so well off of each other when they’re allowed to. It wouldn’t be hard to bring them together considering they both remain in this small town and enough time has passed to put some perspective on the negative aspects of their history.
Above all, no one should have to be begging for better relationships between women in TV and film in 2021.
Riverdale is currently airing Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW. The previous four seasons are streaming on Netflix.