Veronica Lodge fully came into her new power in Riverdale season 6, episode 14, both for better and for worse.
Riverdale season 6, episode 14 explored the downsides to super powers, of which some seem to have way more than others. While Betty gets headaches and Jughead can be overly intrusive, Archie’s quest to conquer his weakness nearly killed him, and Veronica’s “power” almost took out everyone else!
The show has been sorely lacking some quality Veronica Lodge for a while, so it was nice to spend some time with her and to see her finally level up to a super squad-worthy character. Even though Dr. Curdle Jr. told her that death was imminent (seriously, this is what you get when your town’s coroner is your doctor for literally everything), she learned to control her affliction and is now stronger than ever. Her venomous power is now up there with those that I’m most excited to see in future battles, along with Cheryl’s fire powers and Tabitha’s time travelling!
Veronica had some really strong moments in Riverdale season 6, episode 14, including an iconic performance of “Toxic” by Britney Spears, but my favorite moment was when she actually told Reggie off! Even though Reggie is definitely under Percival’s control, and I’m not going to write him off, it was nice to see Veronica so confident and sharp after doubting herself so much this season. Sure, her anti-venom outfit may have looked “insane,” but it was also so fabulously Veronica Lodge, and I loved every piece of it.
It was also great to see Veronica meet up with Archie and Betty since she’s been criminally cut off from the rest of the gang in Riverdale season 6. While I was really hoping for some quality Beronica time, the addition of Archie was nice.
That being said, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express just how much I hated the Varchie kiss at the end of this episode. It just may have been the cringiest thing I’ve ever seen on Riverdale, and that is really, really saying something.
Veronica has been unable to kiss someone for maybe a few days, and you guys already think you need to throw her a bone by allowing to kiss her invulnerable ex-boyfriend? The whole thing felt so condescending and reductive and gross. And they did it to give her “main character energy” back? Like V’s strength as a character depends on either of these two, or like they can just undo how much they’ve ignored her all season? No. Just no. I understand the point was to show that there’s no tension in this love triangle anymore, but the way they did it felt so wrong to me.
Veronica couldn’t have harnassed her power in Riverdale season 6, episode 14 without the help of Cheryl, who was channeling her inner Poppy Blossom to give everyone the home remedies and magical cures they needed most.
On top of giving Veronica the books and herbs she needed, she performed some impressive fire magic on Archie that made him truly invincible, even when palladium is concerned. This was a really cool scene that made me excited to see what these two can do in the future. Also, Barchie’s last night was sweet and all, but how did nobody go with him to his potential death sentence? Come on, guys!
While Cheryl was helping everyone else, the “sphere of knowledge” and Nana Blossom were no help at all to her. Luckily, Cheryl has never waited for anyone else’s advice, so she reached out to Heather, who’s apparently a librarian in Greendale, all on her own.
I don’t know if it’s my desire to protect Cheryl’s heart or the fact that Percival seems to be effectively turning everyone against the super squad, but I have a bad feeling about Heather. To ignore someone’s email and phone call just to show up seems a little suspicious, although it also definitely feels like a move Cheryl Blossom would respect. If Heather does have something up her sleeve, she’d better reveal it before Cheryl gets too invested, because I just can’t watch that girl get her heart broken again!
Last but not least, Betty and Jughead had some very significant screentime together in Riverdale season 6, episode 14, as Betty implored Jughead to search her subconscious mind for memories she’d been hiding from even herself.
This definitely implies there’s still a deep sense of trust between these two, and it was nice to see them work together on something again. I feel like this only scratched the surface of what their combined powers could do.
Betty did discover that she’d forgotten moments or repressed memories of her father grooming her, as well as her parents talking about the serial killer gene, and Jughead helped to uncover that Alice had actually helped Hal hide a body of a dubious deputy in their living room. Because bodies definitely don’t stink while they’re rotting under floorboards for your entire childhood.
What I loved about this storyline was how it helped to explain why Alice was so hard on Betty at the beginning of Riverdale. It’s honestly hard to watch them in the first seasons of the show because of how controlling and mean Alice is, and to hear that she was trying to maintain control to avoid Betty going to the dark side actually makes some sense.
I’m also intrigued by the fact that Betty seems to be stuck in Jughead’s head after his foray into the depths of her mind. His words said he missed Tabitha, but his thoughts were saying something different. Jughead’s residual feelings for Betty have certainly remained unresolved in Riverdale, so I’m excited to see what comes of this and what’s in store for the rest of the super squad on the next episode!