Riverdale Needs To Let Betty Cooper Be A Detective

Betty Cooper’s role in season seven mainly concerns the sexual oppression of young women in the 1950s. Her sexual desires are front and center as her curiosity and thoughts of sex are continually on her mind. Discovering her passions has also been essential to her growing understanding of who she is and what she wants.

But, this storyline’s singular focus has strayed from what Betty had become heavily known for in previous seasons. Although the love triangle and romantic storylines have always followed her character, detective work was consistently a central focus.

So far, only one true mystery is occurring in Riverdale: the Milk Man murders. “Halloween II” is the first time Betty has seen the suggested murderer through a window. While Jughead has been taking the lead on this one, he has bounced through detective partners.

His short-lived romance with Veronica may have ended their partnership, and Tabitha not remaining a steady presence in town has left Jughead’s search for the truth to be an isolated storyline from the rest of the series.

Betty has always been involved in solving Riverdale’s biggest mysteries, which could be an intriguing way of subconsciously getting her back in touch with the adult version of herself. Having her get involved in the mystery would allow two of the show’s central characters to try to solve the unknown rather than feeling so separate from everything else.

Jughead has retained his writing obsession and pretentious personality. Veronica’s storyline of having her at odds with her parents and running a business could have come from almost any other season. Archie has returned to his hopeful optimism.

While Betty had said toward the end of season six that searching for and taking down serial killers may not be the most healthy job, she still planned to be a detective in Riverdale to help keep the town safe and solve mysteries. However, an interest in solving puzzles has been the main trait missing from her season seven reboot.

Being a detective had been such a large part of her character, and she was good at it. Getting to the truth had always been one of her biggest strengths. Allowing Betty to indulge in her detective mindset could help solve the mystery sooner, but it would also bring another form of familiarity back to the 1950s portrayal of the character.