Lili Reinhart On Riverdale's Cooper Family Drama
Spoilers for tonight's episode of Riverdale!Much of tonight's episode of Riverdale focused on [...]
Spoilers for tonight's episode of Riverdale!
Much of tonight's episode of Riverdale focused on drama with the members of the Pussycats - as well as its newest member, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes). But the episode also provided some developments on Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) and her tumultuous relationship with her family.
Not only was Betty's mysterious sister, Polly (Tiera Skovbye), finally shown for the first time in the series, but Polly was able to provide her side of the story regarding her relationship with Jason Blossom. According to Polly, she was sent to a group home by her parents the day of Jason's disappearance, and it was mainly because she was pregnant with Jason's baby.
While Betty's parents assured that Polly was lying, there is much about Hal and Alice that remains suspicious. Although the pair told Betty they weren't suspects in Jason's murder, Betty appears to be taking their words with a grain of salt. And according to Reinhart, that distrust will run into the show's future episodes.
"She doesn't really trust them that much, but now that they're wrapped up in the murder investigation, she distances herself." Reinhart explained to ComicBook.com. "She also is amazingly unbiased. If her parents do have anything to do with the murder, she is willing to find that out, and she's not willing to sacrifice her own personal feelings for the sake of solving this murder. She would rather know the truth and know her parents really do have something to do with it."
Reinhart says that this rocky relationship with her and her parents has been a core part of Betty's character throughout the entire series. It explains, in a roundabout way, Betty's crusade to discover the truth about Jason's murder.
"I think you see Betty's determination and search for the truth is constantly being amped up throughout season one with each episode. She has more and more motivation to get to the bottom of this and find out why her parents are lying to her, and she's willing to sacrifice her own personal relationships with her family in order to find out the truth. If her parents do have something to do with the murder, then she's willing to expose that truth for the sake of solving the mystery."
And with Polly - and her side of the story - now officially being brought into the fold in tonight's episode, Reinhart says that the dynamic will change even more dramatically.
"I think once Polly is introduced, you get to know who she is as a character rather than just this person that everyone talks about that no one really sees. You see Betty and Polly together, and you instantly can see why Betty was fighting so hard to find out the truth about what happened to Polly, because they're just incredibly close."
Reinhart reveals that the relationship between the two sisters is particularly complicated after the events that led Polly to be put in a group home. "I hate to say Betty is stronger than Polly, but I think Betty is the younger sister who takes the role of the older sister between the two of them. She doesn't let her parents manipulate her the way Polly kind of did."
But nevertheless, Reinhart says that their dynamic is a positive one, despite the rest of their familial situation. "You get to know Polly and you get to see their beautiful sister relationship, how Polly cares just as much about Betty as Betty cares about Polly."
More Riverdale: Ashleigh Murray on performing in the classic Josie costume | Riverdale teases Afterlife With Archie | Camila Mendes: Veronica wants to trust her parents, but can't | Lili Reinhart shoots down a popular fan theory
Riverdale airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.