Bughead

Bughead is the het ship between Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper on the CW's mystery drama Riverdale.

Canon
Riverdale

Like Archie, Jughead has known Betty since they were little, though they don't exactly know each other well or seem to socialise a lot. This changes after the murder of Jason Blossom, when Betty revives the Blue & Gold school newspaper and asks Jughead to work with her in uncovering what really happened and who's responsible. This quest inevitable includes Betty getting closer to the truth of what really happened with her sister, Polly, and as she uncovers the extent of her parents' betrayal, Jughead is there for support and comfort. Betty confides in Jughead that she's worried Polly really is crazy, and that maybe she is too, and Jughead assures her it's her parents that are in the wrong, not Betty. He then kisses her, after which they start being together, although their shared quiet natures have them take things as they come, and stay focused on uncovering the mysteries of Riverdale.

Their romance is soon noticed by everyone and Veronica is the first to actually call Jughead Betty's boyfriend, though neither object. Jughead helps Betty out with the baby shower for Polly and when Archie busts in, outing FP as a serpent in front of Betty and Veronica, Jughead seems concerned with how Betty will react. She assuages his worries when she tells him it doesn't matter to her, but that she wants him to share these things with her, as she wants to know who he is. Together, they pay a visit to FP and Betty meets him for the first time. Jug asks her if she believes FP didn't kill Jason and Betty says she believes in Jughead, something she reaffirms to Veronica and Alice, later when Alice starts investigating FP. Betty's heartbroken that Polly seemingly chose the Blossoms over her own family, while her mother has thrown out her father and she fears her family is coming apart at the seams. Jughead assures her that she is incredibly strong and shouldn't give up and his support keeps Betty's hope alive.

Chuck's return to Riverdale High leads Betty to take her mother's ill advice and not tell Jughead about the episode with the jacuzzi, or her self-harm, and instead throw him a birthday party, which Archie tries to dissuade her from doing. This and Jughead's discomfort with his own social awkwardness leads to their first fight, and Jughead punching Chuck when the latter reveals Betty's problems to the whole school. An unlikely source of help, FP, tells Jughead not to run away from his relationships and to support Betty. They go to Pop's and Betty opens up about her self-harm. Jughead also starts spending more time around Alice Cooper, as he's helping Betty with her family troubles, but her and FP's history comes between Betty and Jughead when Alice accuses FP of murdering Jason and FP bites back. Jughead considers leaving Riverdale to live with his mother and Jellybean in Ohio, and is devastated when he finds out Archie and Betty knew about Alice's inquisition and lied to him, telling Betty he was considering staying in Riverdale because of her.

Quotes
"Hey there, Juliet"

- Jughead

Fandom
AO3

FANFICTION
 * bughead
 * Bugheads
 * Blue&Gold

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * For the closing night of the Twilight Drive-In, Jughead picks the film Betty suggested to screen: Rebel Without A Cause
 * Series creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has said, regarding Jughead's sexuality:
 * I think all of the kids are discovering themselves, and a big part of that is discovering their sexuality, their sexual selves. Rather than have everything fully formed — for instance, we're not going to start with Archie's band or Jughead's asexuality or any of the things that have become canon — those are all stops on the way to the journey


 * Cole Sprouse (Jughead Jones), who has previously advocated for an asexual portrayal of Jughead, on the romance:
 * “While I think that representation is needed, this Jughead is not that Jughead. This Jughead is not Zdarsky’s (the asexual) Jughead and this Jughead is not the aromantic Jughead,” he said. “This Jughead is a person who is looking for a kind of deeper companionship with a person like Betty and Betty ends up being this super nurturing, caring, care-taking person that with Jughead’s screwed-up past they end up diving into each other and it ends up being a beautiful thing”

Photos

 * Bughead/Gallery