Riverdale's Veronica Lodge deserves storylines that don't revolve around the men in her life
29 November 2018, 16:10 | Updated: 29 November 2018, 16:22
We'd max out our American Excess cards to see Veronica do something other than talk about Archie and argue with Hiram.
Fresh off the heels of season two's Black Hood whodunnit(s), Riverdale has dived head-long into a deadly Gryphons & Gargoyles mystery that, once again, places Betty Cooper front and centre.
Betty's character arc has taken her from girl-next-door with a crush on the hot jock, to a bonafide detective in just two short seasons. BC's journey is certainly one thing that the show has done well, however, it also serves as a reminder of how underwritten some of the show's other female characters are.
Josie McCoy and Toni Topaz have been, and continue to be, in desperate need of storylines. However, Veronica Lodge, a member of the show's "core four" is also showing signs of a character in need of repositioning.
The dark-haired "mystery" girl arrived to town in the show's pilot episode, armed to the teeth with endless film and literary references and snappy one-liners. In season 3, however, her raison d'etre appears to be to either fight with or prop up the men in her life in a way that is inconsistent with the character Riverdale introduced in episode 1.
Season 3 episode 6 saw Camila Mendes give one of her best performances on the show to date. Her tearful telephone goodbye to Archie was evocative and impressive, highlighting her obvious skill as an actress. To be clear, Camila Mendes has always done a great job on the show but her character's development has stalled in a big way.
Season 3 episode 6 also happened to feature Veronica and Archie engaging in some good ol' fashion post-sex expository pillow talk. But wait, didn't she and Archie have post-sex exposition in season 3 episode 5? And season 3 episode 1? How is it that this character is constantly discussing important plot points after coming down from a bout of lovemaking with Archiekins?
While Betty is solving mysteries and meeting with Riverdale's top law enforcement, Veronica is organising the cheer squad to perform for Archie in jail and recruiting her friends to help get Archie out of jail. The fascinating alter ego 'Monica Posh' was created so V could visit Archie in jail. And it wouldn't be a season 3 episode without Veronica and Hiram butting heads over, you guessed it, Archie's jail sentence.
Veronica's storyline revolves almost entirely around the two men in her life, despite the fact that she recently (and quite cleverly) procured a speakeasy venue from under Hiram's nose.
How is the speakeasy business? Is she balancing the books? Has she filed her income tax for the year? She's a whole high school businesswoman and yet everything she does appears to be for the benefit of Archie Andrews or as a foil for Hiram Lodge.
And here we are arrive at Riverdale's main challenge: multi-tasking. We need the show to be able to unravel these intense mysteries while simultaneously developing the characters alongside the show's bigger storylines. Teen shows like Degrassi and even the CW's own Vampire Diaries have shown that it is possible to have a large main cast and big storylines at the same time.
How To Get Away With Murder is a great example of a show that weaves character development into complex and multi-layered mysteries.
The appetite from fans is there and it's clear that a character like Veronica is perfectly positioned to be a force to be reckoned with outside of Archie and her father.
We know Camila Mendes is a supremely talented actress. We also know that Veronica is endlessly resourceful and a natural problem solver. Wouldn't it be nice if Veronica's growth as a character reflected all these traits we know she possesses?
