#mini analysis

Oda in the middle connects the three, with him removed the connection falls apart.

Psyculturists on YouTube pointed out Dazai’s eyes are closed. The only one not seeing the full picture.

it sounds as if the flynn rider books depict flynn pulling one over on scoundrels in positions of power (“remember that time you dueled that evil knight blindfolded?”), so it stands to reason that, even in the first episode, varian could have held a tiny bit of contempt for the monarchy.

now, i’m sure books are monitored in a propaganda-riddled kingdom like this one. their messaging would be that these antagonists are just misusing their power, and there would be plenty of good knights and benevolent kings to even out the bad ones.

Imo it’s important that she’s shown to have more masculine interests to prevent her from being characterized as the more “domestic” option. A potential tradwife, in other words. It’s easy to write her that way but that character trope is so intrinsically tied to misogyny that it’s hard to salvage it. There are other factors that distinguish her from Veronica and make her a strong option, aside from the fact that she can cook and is good with kids. This is also why I love the story where Archie is imagining his future with both girls, and he pictures himself being a househusband to Betty. He’s thinking about what she would want, which is to pursue her own goals while still being able to dote on him. It’s kind of crazy to think about how a story like that would probably get more backlash if it came out today as opposed to decades ago

Speaking of which, I also like the depiction of Betty as an environmental and feminist activist!!! It’s more accurate to what women in her economic class are like nowadays. Veronica may not have to worry about politics, but Betty certainly does, so it makes sense that she’s the activist out of the two. It’s also just fun to give her hobbies that are important to her character, in addition to all the arbitrary things (sports, cooking, dollhousing, thrifting, snorkeling, she is a very active gal). Idk I just really like when Betty and Veronica are treated more as individual characters as opposed to Girl 1 and Girl 2. The latter isn’t all that common but it still exists and it’s still annoying. So I like when they’re given hobbies and traits that don’t necessarily appeal to the male gaze (another term I hate but shhh)

But there's also that tragedy behind it, knowing the times they live in, what they've gone through and that slim possibility that something bad could happen to either (or both) of them because of who they are. Both as the twins and as black men.

The hugs and verbal show of affection aren't casual in this movie. They're intentional and purposefully hit hard.

The more common criticism of Betty’s character is her arc about repressed sexuality. Many people feel that Riverdale sexualizes its characters too much, citing Dark Betty as the biggest example. I think it’s entirely fair to critique shows for sexualizing teen characters but like…I’d argue the comics are hornier. Anyone who has read more than a few out of context pages of the comics knows that they’re hornier. There is one story where Veronica dresses up as a maid pretty much for the sole purpose of the writers being able to have Archie invite her over to his house so they can…do nothing more than chaste kissing, I assume

Comic accuracy aside tho, Betty’s arc goes much deeper than simply being horny. I could say the same about Archie with the overload of Varchie sex scenes but this isn’t about him so I’ll hold my tongue. The Madonna-Whore complex comes to mind when I think about this part of Betty’s arc, there is a Freudian theory that women are often categorized as either wives or mistresses. The good girl or the bad girl. The Betty or the Veronica. In many cases, men are unable to feel sexual desire for women they have categorized as “madonnas,” similar to their inability to feel romantic desire for women categorized as “whores.” Betty has essentially been labeled as a madonna her entire life, everyone she knows has such high expectations for her to be perfect (a word she notably hates). The other characters act surprised whenever she breaks this expectation by acting sexual or violent. Those high expectations often lead to repression, which is already common among women in a society that makes female sexuality a taboo. Dark Betty is her escape from the way others see her, a persona which allows her to express those parts of herself that she keeps hidden. Which leads us to my next point 

Riverdale’s depiction of Betty has severe trauma that often goes overlooked by casual viewers. Because of that trauma, she sees herself as intrinsically evil. Even before she learned her father was the Black Hood, she felt that there was something deeply wrong with her. It doesn’t help that both her parents constantly reaffirm this mindset. Later in the series, she learns that her father had been grooming her to become a serial killer. Forcing her to do violent things throughout her childhood so that those actions felt normal and comfortable to her. There are a few ways to interpret this. Some people see it as an allegory for CSA, whereas others take it at a surface level and see it as Hal passing his violence down to his daughter (both seem plausible to me tbh). Either way, this version of Betty has suffered extreme trauma and now thinks of herself as inherently broken because of it. That makes her different than the version of her character we see in the digests because, get this, different experiences make you a different person. This is true of every character on the show (though I’ll admit, there are some interpretations that do feel like OCs) (looks at Jughead) 

Her arc is about first learning to embrace those dark parts of herself, and then learning that those parts do not make her a bad person overall. She is nothing like her father, and only she gets to decide the type of person she becomes. Her relationship with Archie in the later seasons of the show plays a large role in this, seeing as both Archie and Betty had periods of thinking they weren’t good enough for each other. That they were broken because of their trauma and therefore unfit to be with a person they saw as purely good. For Archie this happens in the very first episode, due to the grooming he was actively experiencing from Ms. Grundy. It derailed their relationship for multiple years until they found their way back to each other. Then, as Betty began to unpack her own trauma, it was her turn to have doubts about their relationship. Doubts that she ultimately overcame. It’s a really beautifully written arc for both of them about two victims of abuse (one explicitly being a victim of sexual abuse) realizing that they are deserving of love. And it says a lot about the general audience that the common opinion is that their relationship ruined the show 

Anyways Barchie side-tangent over. From early on in season 1, Betty’s sexual side and her violent side are intertwined. They are the parts of herself she represses the most. The parts of herself she thinks of as wrong and shameful. I don’t think I need to explain why many women find her character comforting or relatable. Remember what I said earlier about female sexuality being taboo? Idk to me it was really cool and meaningful to see a woman have such a negative self-image surrounding her sexuality. I feel like it’s a really common experience, not just relating to sexuality, for teenage girls to view themselves as wrong or evil. Especially when that is absolutely not the case and they’re just, like, regularly flawed people. And so it specifically irks me when people say Betty is poorly written as a female character (huge fucking eye roll that female characters have to be evaluated first on their ability to represent all of womanhood before they get to be evaluated as actual characters) 

I know all of this is portrayed in a very over-the-top way but that’s kind of the entire point. This is Riverdale, it’s meant to be campy and weird. The writers WANT you to say “what the fuck” at least five times per episode. But if you look beyond that there are some terrifically written character arcs and themes. Guys Riverdale is actually good please watch it please please please-