It’s no secret that Jughead Jones is one of the fans’ favorite characters on Riverdale. For four years, fans have watched as the writer has dedicated himself to discovering the truth about the town’s deepest and darkest secrets. However, while Jughead has been a beacon of hope for many, his Serpent lifestyle has also nearly dragged him down.
When Jughead is with the Serpents, the high school student is not at his best. He leads a life of crime that has sometimes involved drug-trafficking and illegal street racing. These aren’t even the worst things he has done. Want some examples? Keep reading to discover the 10 most shameless things Jughead has ever done.
Berating Betty And Their Relationship
One of the most shameless things Jughead did was mock his and Betty’s relationship. In “Chapter Ten: The Lost Weekend,” Betty hosts a surprise birthday party at the Andrews’ house. However, Jughead doesn’t react very well.
Instead of thanking Betty for the gesture, Jughead begins to act ungrateful and spiteful. First, Jughead accuses Betty of treating him like a personal project. He also goes on to say that she is just biding her time until Archie’s feelings for her changed. Despite Betty being upset, Jughead doesn’t even apologize for demeaning their relationship.
Not Involved In Archie’s Prison Break
Another shameless thing Jughead did was abandon Archie in his time of need. Since Archie is meant to be one of his best friends, you would think that he would be the first person to jump on the save Archie bandwagon. However, instead of aiding with his buddy’s escape, Jughead decided to play Gargoyles & Griffins with Cheryl, Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs.
Since Jughead is no stranger to breaking the law, it was surprising to fans that he chose to sit this one out to play a game. Even Betty was astonished when he choose to watch from the sidelines, despite knowing about the corruption of the juvenile center. Considering one of his virtues is being honorable, you would have never believed he would put an investigation ahead of his friendships.
Kissing Veronica
Jughead committed another shameless act when he kissed Veronica Lodge. Fans will remember that the core four went to the lake house for a couples’ retreat. However, it didn’t get off to the best of starts when Cheryl let slip that Archie and Betty had kissed. As a result, Veronica suggests that she and Jughead kiss to level out the playing field.
Instead of taking the moral high ground, Jughead jumps on the proposal and says that it would save his relationship. He also tries to provoke Archie by saying he had nothing to worry about because it is only a meaningless kiss. It didn’t even ease the tension between them, as the kiss had now caused friction between Archie and Veronica. Still, this didn’t matter to Jughead - as long as he got his revenge, everything was fine.
Burning Down The Trailer
Jughead commits another shameless act when breaks the law by committing arson. In “Chapter Fifty-One: Big Fun,” Jughead goes to war with Gladys when he finds out that she is involved in a drug trafficking scheme. When FP announces the family trailer has gone missing, Jughead suspects his mother is using it as a drug lab.
His theories are proven to be correct as he and Betty find his childhood home looking like the beginnings of a lab. Instead of telling his father the truth, Jughead decides to burn down the trailer because he wants to send a message to Gladys. Still, he is betraying FP and Jellybean’s confidence by keeping this from them, and he doesn’t seem to care.
The Drag Race
The Riverdale Drag Race was another shameless act Jughead participated in. During “Chapter Nineteen,” Jughead goes head to head with the Ghoulies leader, Malachai, after challenging him to a race. He proposes that if he wins, the Ghoulies would have to stop dealing in the Southside. If Malachai wins, they get control of it.
However, the race was stopped when Archie revealed to Jughead that he had called the police. Instead of thanking his friend, Jughead got angry at Archie for not honoring the deal. Despite Archie’s actions preventing him from getting injured or arrested, Jughead then decided to freeze out the footballer and left him at the scene. A Serpent should never leave a person behind, but Jughead had no qualms in doing so.
The Drug Smuggling
Jughead commits another felony when Penny Peabody makes a reappearance to cash in on the favor he owed her. In “Chapter Twenty: Tales from the Darkside,” Jughead recruits Archie to help him traffic a crate of drugs to Greendale after Penny tells him that FP’s debts were now his.
Instead of just asking Archie if he could borrow his father’s truck, Jughead guilt trips the footballer into coming along, using Archie’s actions in the Riverdale Drag Race as leverage. He then tries to rope Betty into the trip after he and Archie find themselves with a flat tire. Considering he is always talking about protecting his friends, Jughead doesn’t seem to care that Archie and Betty could go to jail if they were caught.
Using Betty’s Past For His Book
Jughead crosses a moral boundary in “Chapter Sixty-Eight: Quiz Show,” when he decides to use the Black Hood’s crimes as inspiration for his Baxter Brothers novel. This all comes about after Bret lets slip to Betty that Jughead planned on using her father’s history, which she knew nothing about.
Although he tells Betty that he wouldn’t have done it without her permission, the fact that he proposed it so he didn’t lose his contract begs to differ. Let’s not forget that he acquired the contract because of his book about Jason Blossom’s murder. Did he get permission to do that from Cheryl? As long as it benefits him, he doesn’t even care about anyone else’s feelings. Again, he doesn’t apologize to Betty for even contemplating it.
Using Toni’s Grandfather To Fuel His Vendetta
Jughead crossed another ethical line when he wrote an article about Toni’s grandfather to fuel his vendetta against the Northside. In “Chapter Twenty-Four: The Wrestler,” Toni and Jughead’s friendship hit a bump in the road when the photographer read an article about the Uktena tribe massacre that included her grandfather’s story.
Toni scolds Jughead for painting her grandfather as a “broken-down victim” and using the story as a prop to fuel his vendetta against the Northside. Jughead even says he knew that it was wrong but still went ahead with it because he believed the article would provoke an uprising in town. Although he had good intentions, it’s pretty ruthless to be using your friends like this.
Accessory To Murder
In “Chapter Twenty-Six: The Tell-Tale Heart,” Jughead became an accessory to murder after Betty confessed to him how she and Alice covered up Dwayne’s killing.
While Jughead said that she should have gone to the police, he gets roped into the situation when Shady Man’s car was found outside the Cooper house. Not only does he become an accessory when he dumps the car in the lake but he also told FP about the crime so he could help them dispose of the body. However, despite early reservations, he doesn’t appear to be losing sleep over the fact that a man had lost his life.
Cutting Off Penny’s Tattoo
One of the most shameless, and downright nastiest, things Jughead did was to cut off Penny’s tattoo. In “Chapter Twenty-Two,” Jughead made an enemy for life in Penny when he kicked her out of the Serpents for her drug trafficking.
Not only did he chase her out of Riverdale, but cut off her Serpents tattoo because she didn’t honor their ways. Jughead doesn’t even take her to the hospital afterward, instead choosing to leave her bleeding on the side of the road. He doesn’t even have one ounce of remorse for his actions as he tells FP he is proud of what de did.
