Morality seems to be truly relative in a town as ravaged by evil and dominated by chaos as Riverdale. But there is still a clear line between the good guys and the bad guys (even if the good guys have a rather high body count.)
The best way to sort out the good from the rather evil characters in a show with so many twists and turns is to rely on the handy-dandy moral alignment chart from the classic game Gryphons & Gargoyles- no, Dungeons & Dragons.
Hermione- Lawful Evil
The evil nature of Hermione Lodge is truly unique as it was unexpected when it was first revealed. Constantly being underestimated as nothing more than the mobsters wife gave Hermione the leeway she needed to do whatever it took to get ahead. She has limits to her evil, a set of rules she dare not break and lines she won’t cross, but she strives to be on top- and relishes in the opportunity to get there without a hint of mercy.
Hermione plays by the rules, after all, those rules keep her safe and prevent her schemes from coming back at her… for the most part.
Hiram- Chaotic Evil
Hiram is truly one of the nastiest characters on the show. Legends of his crimes bleed through the show before he even made his first appearance. By the time he made his way to Riverdale, viewers knew that he was the sort of man that would do whatever it took to get what he wanted. Even if that meant putting his own family in danger.
Hiram likes the chaos. He likes knowing that he is on top. He likes being in control and loves the casualties that a good scheme creates. He thrives on hurting people, manipulating them, controlling them, and doing whatever it takes to beat them.
FP- Chaotic Neutral
Though he was a rather unsavory character at the start of the series, FP was quickly revealed to be a truly upstanding figure that just wants to do right by his family. However, he is willing to do whatever he needs to in order to protect said family. He is not governed by what society things is good and evil, but rather his own idea of what he thinks to be the right and wrong thing to do.
And sometimes he finds himself okay with doing the wrong thing if it brings him closer to what he thinks would be the right thing to do.
Alice- Lawful Neutral
Though we do love Alice, we have to admit that her character is truly confusing at times. It seems like the writers of the show can’t decide which sort of mother Betty should have- so they gave her all of them. She has been the “hippie-dippie” mother, the “pressure to succeed at any cost” mother, the “I’ll do anything to protect my daughter” mother, and the “I am willing to hurt my children for what I believe is their own good” mother.
Surprisingly enough, through all of those changes, Alice has still been operating under a moral code of her own creation. It often involves breaking the law and sometimes it involves hurting those around her, but it is all in the name of justice.
Jughead- Chaotic Good
Jughead is considered a rather morally upstanding character within the series, but he is not your typical good guy. His methods may be a tad unorthodox and chaotic, but he strongly believes in his own ability to keep those who matter most to him safe. And he is going to do everything he can to protect them.
But he also seems to believe that some laws (both legal and societal laws) get in the way of doing what is right. He might break a law, take down an opposing drug dealer, threaten someone’s life, or teach someone a lesson. But it is all in the name of restoring the proper order of things.
Archie- Lawful Good
Archie sees himself as the protector of his town and everyone in it. He blames himself when things go wrong and does everything he can to fix his mistakes- and the mistakes of everyone around him. It can be stressful watching him continually put himself in harms way in order to protect each and every single person in Riverdale, but we admire him for doing so. He is truly relentless in his pursuit of stopping opposing forces.
At the start of the series, Archie believed that laws, for the most part, are what keeps a society running and the people in it safe. He only ever broke these laws when he thought that he had no other option. He did everything that he could to do right by those around him. Though he has had rough patches over the course of the show and made some truly awful decision, his goal is still focused primarily around doing what is generally considered right.
Veronica- True Neutral
Veronica is a rather interesting character in the sense that she is neither good nor bad. Her personal morals change as the situation demands it and she holds herself neither to moral nor legal laws. She does whatever the situation at hand calls for and puts herself first.
She is neither evil nor good. She is neither lawful nor chaotic. She simply is. Veronica is truly unpredictable as her actions are entirely dependent on the situation in which she has found herself.
Betty- Lawful Neutral
Betty is often seen as the moral guide of the show which is surprising as she is no stranger to breaking the law in order to maintain order and reach her goals. But she is not chaotic nor without structure. Betty is governed entirely by her own set of morals, ethics, and laws.
These laws do not always align with the legal, nor moral, laws that govern the rest of society. But Betty’s heart is (more often than not) in the right place as her main goal is to help those around her.
Cheryl- Chaotic Neutral
Cheryl is the type of girl that is going to do what she wants to do and does not truly care about what anyone else has to say about it. The fascinating thing about this character is the truly chaotic nature of her actions. She is driven entirely by her emotions and rarely gives things a second thought. This causes her to be a rather neutral character as her actions cannot be truly defined as entirely good or bad.
She will lash out when threatened and explode when hurt but can also be counted on when one truly needs her. Her sanity has been questioned and her family is a thing of true horror, but Cheryl herself is the definition of free-spirited.
Next: Riverdale: 10 Reasons Why Betty & Veronica Aren’t Real Friends
