Cole Sprouse: Jughead Will Regret Not Being There For Betty During Black Hood Drama
Things look bleak for Bughead -- the fan-favorite pairing of Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper on [...]
Things look bleak for Bughead -- the fan-favorite pairing of Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper on Riverdale -- but that doesn't mean they don't care about each other.
Cole Sprouse, who plays Jughead on the CW hit, explained to a grouping of reporters that he has allowed the overwhelming personal stakes at Southside High to pull focus away from what is going on with Betty -- which includes, by the way, being stalked by a serial killer -- and that he will be dealing with the repercussions of that for some time to come.
"Not to spoil too much, but we do play with a bit of that [the episode that is currently filming], but Jughead's narrative arc is really -- much like the last season -- a slow burn," Sprouse told reporters on the set of Riverdale last week. "The first half of this season for Jughead is like establishing the world that is the Southside, with the inevitable kind of civil war between the North and the South, in which Jughead's narrative becomes a lot more prevalent, in the same way from the first season, he was kind of on the outskirts and slowly but surely we learned more about him. So there's not really much Jughead can do. He's kind of stretched as thin as possible right now, not only trying to fight for the freedom of his father, trying to contain the Serpents' inclination for violence and also dealing with his own personal demons."
Those distractions have a cost, and so far, Jughead has not been particularly attentive to his currently-estranged girlfriend, Betty Cooper. Sprouse explained that while he will certainly regret his absentee-boyfriend status during some of the scariest experiences of Betty's life, he also trusts her to take care of herself and does not believe she needs him to get through it.
"I think he'll end up regretting quite a bit that he wasn't around for Betty, but I also don't think Jughead thinks Betty can't take care of herself, which I think is important," Sprouse said. "I don't think any of the four characters that are going through these troubles at any point have been like, 'Well, is this kid in over his head!' I think they'll find the agency and they'll work it out and they'll move on."
Riverdale airs on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
