Bughead

"Hey there, Juliette"

- Jughead

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

Canon
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.

The two end up sharing a kiss and 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.

Fanon

 * Jughead has, since the beginning of the comics, been portrayed as uninterested in girls and relationships, which led readers to define him as asexual. Although it has never been stated, it is the general perception of the character and the highly probable conclusion. In a recent Zdarsky issue of Archie comics, Jughead was identified as ace (asexual), which has yet to be seen on Riverdale and has been criticised for LGBTQIA-erasure and irresponsible portrayals. Some hope that Jughead's discovery of his sexuality can feature as the series progresses, or that the character could also be portrayed as aromantic, which leaves room for a sexual relationship, albeit not a romantic one.
 * I think it’s also worth highlighting the differences between “asexual” and “aromantic” as identities. Although I’m neither myself, I do know that it’s something that’s important to differentiate, and it’s not something that we yet know about Jughead–since no writer has specified whether he is aromantic in addition to being asexual – THE MARY SUE

Fandom
AO3

FANFICTION
 * bughead
 * Bugheads
 * Blue&Gold

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * 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