Jughead Jones

Forsythe Pendleton "Jughead" Jones III is a main character on The CW's Riverdale. He is portrayed by Cole Sprouse.

Jughead is a senior at Riverdale High School and the leader of the Southside Serpents with his girlfriend Betty Cooper. He is the son of FP and Gladys Jones, as well as the older brother of Jellybean Jones. Jughead is also the younger half-brother of Charles Smith.

He is the omniscient narrator of the series and the writer of an ongoing novel about Jason Blossom's mysterious death and the riveting events occurring in Riverdale, a town that while innocent on its surface, has many dark and hidden secrets.

Jughead is close friends with Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper, the latter with whom he’s currently in a relationship with. While Jughead was a sophomore at Riverdale High School, his father FP Jones, the leader of the Serpents was arrested, resulting in Jughead being placed into foster care and transferred to Southside High. While attending the gang and drug-infested high school, he re-opened the school newspaper, the Red and Black, where he was an editor, alongside fellow Serpent, Toni Topaz, the newspaper's photographer, with Robert Phillips, their adviser until his arrest. However, with the closing of Southside High, Jughead has since returned to Riverdale High.

After Jughead transferred to Southside High, even though he wasn't officially a Southside Serpent yet, they still considered Jughead as family, due to his relation to the leader. As Toni pointed out to him, he was a "Serpent by blood", stating that it was his birthright. Even though he refused at first to be a part of the gang, the Serpents still respected him and would protect him by having his back whenever they're needed.

It wasn't long after joining the Serpents that Jughead came back in contact with Penny Peabody, otherwise known as the Snake Charmer, who trapped him into becoming her personal drug-runner, thus fulfilling the debt that his father failed to pay. Due to the surveillance video that Penny acquired of Jughead Archie making a drug drop off, he was forced into regularly trafficking her drugs from the Southside of Riverdale to a warehouse in Greendale. However, his father took his place as Penny's drug runner upon his release. With Jughead refusing to accept this as their only option, he rallied the younger Serpents and they took care of Penny by driving her out to Greendale, and removing her Serpents tattoo, thus banishing her from ever returning to the Southside.

Toward the end of the second season, FP announced his retirement for the second time, making it official that he was actually retiring from the Serpents this time around. With the recent events that had occurred between the Southside Serpents and Jughead almost dying for them, FP thought that it would be fitting if Jughead were to take the mantle from him and become the new Serpent King. As Jughead graciously accepted, he states to the Serpents that he will not let them down on his watch.

Character Description
''A heartthrob with a philosophical bent and former best friend of Archie Andrews. He is still smarting from the rift that took place between the two.''

Early Life
Jughead was born and raised in Riverdale alongside Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper. He is the son of Gladys and FP Jones, the leader of the Southside Serpents, and the elder brother of Jellybean Jones.

A few years before the series, Fred Andrews fired FP from his business and soon afterward, FP began drinking heavily interspersed with empty promises to quit drinking. His downward spiral along with their lack of income led Jughead's mother to take off with his ten-year-old sister, Jellybean, while Jughead took up residence in the projection booth at his workplace, the Twilight Drive-In. His mother and Jellybean currently live with Jughead and Jellybean's grandparents in Toledo.

Six years prior to the series, Jughead was playing with matches outside Riverdale Elementary School and was sent to the Riverdale Juvenile Delinquent Center for "arson" as listed on his permanent record. He was also routinely bullied throughout high school, predominantly by the football team, which included Jason Blossom and Reggie Mantle.

Jughead hates his birthday, because throughout his childhood, despite the constant chaos at home with his alcoholic father, there was an arbitrary day where he was supposed to pretend that everything was okay, which just made him feel really lonely. From that point forward he decided to barely acknowledge his birthday. Instead, he would attend a double-feature at the Bijou theater with Archie (aside from his 16th birthday, when he went with Betty instead).

Prior to the summer of 2017, Jughead and Archie were best friends. They had planned a road trip set to occur over Fourth of July weekend, however, Archie canceled at the last minute for unknown reasons. It was later revealed that Archie instead spent the weekend with his music teacher, Geraldine Grundy, with whom he was having an affair. As a result of Archie canceling their trip, he and Jughead had a serious falling out and broke off their friendship. However, their friendship has since been mended "over many hamburgers and milkshakes".

Throughout Riverdale

 * Season 1
 * Season 2
 * Season 3
 * Season 4

Physical Appearance
Jughead is a pale young man, about 6 feet tall with short black hair and blue-green eyes. His clothing style tends toward dark colors; flannel tops layered over T-shirts, often with an "S" on the front, jeans with hanging suspenders, denim jackets, a messenger bag, and his trademark grey knitted crown beanie. He sometimes wears a light-colored denim sherpa jacket.

After going through the right of passage and passing all of the tests given to him in order to become a Southside Serpent, Jughead later got a tattoo of the gang's symbol of a double-headed serpent, tattooed on his shoulder, shown on the right-hand side of his arm.

Personality
Jughead is a darkly humorous, apathetic, cynical "conscientious objector" with a quick temper and a lot of secrets. He's crafty, intelligent, and well known for his writing skill and sardonic humor. His so-called "outsider" status allows him to write about Riverdale--more specifically, Jason's murder--from an objective point of view. His detachment from others in Riverdale lends itself to conflict with those who dislike him. Jughead displays a quick and impatient temper underneath his apathetic effect in punching Chuck in the face, snapping at Betty, and attempting to sever ties with Betty after the birthday party fiasco. He is very loyal, nice and caring. He is willing to take a bullet for a little guy. He is also very loyal to Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper. He is usually considered as an outsider and nerdy.

He's passionate about few things (including films, family, and writing), but will protect them with everything he has. One of these passions reveals his soft spot for Betty Cooper, as he agrees to join the school newspaper, The Blue and Gold, with her despite not receiving complete creative freedom, and accompanies her on her quest to find Polly and learn more about Jason's death.

After Jughead joined the Serpent gang, he made the choice to be better than they were and to stay true to himself. This is evident as he wishes to not do any harm to anyone. Ever since he joined, he hasn't considered them as gang members, but his family.

Jughead can also be a very forgiving person. Ever since his father, FP, took the fall for Clifford Blossom's crime to protect his son, Jughead has looked at FP as a someone deserving a second chance for trying to make an effort to change, as Jughead explained to Veronica.

Jughead is determined and not easily deterred, willing and able to overcome any obstacle in front of him. After learning that his father was the peacekeeper within the Southside Serpents, Jughead sought to pick up from where FP left off, deciding then and there, that upon joining the gang, that he would make changes for the better, while also preventing war from erupting between the Northside and the Southside. He is also tough and is able to take a hit, both literally and figuratively, as he was willing to endure the final trial of being jumped into the Serpents by several members.

Relationships

 * Jughead and Archie
 * Jughead and Betty
 * Jughead and FP
 * Jughead and Toni

Gladys Jones
Gladys is Jughead's estranged mother, who left him and his father behind when she moved to Toledo with his sister due to FP losing his job and drinking heavily. Gladys was an absentee mother to Jughead during a time of need for their family. With his mother gone, Jughead was forced to take on the responsibilities that followed with his father. When Jughead hit rock bottom and tried to visit his mother and sister in Toledo, she shut him down, leaving Jughead feeling unwanted and unloved by his own mother. However, both Gladys and Jellybean have returned to Riverdale and intend to stay. Jughead later learns the truth behind his mother's sudden return to Riverdale. She intends to pick up where Hiram left off as the new drug lord and continue distribution of Fizzle Rocks. Because Jughead fears what the news might do to his father, having to go through their family falling apart all over again, Jughead has silently been combating his mother's efforts.

Jellybean Jones
"By the way, Jellybean wants to go with JB now. She thinks it sounds cooler. She's 10 years old and listens to Pink Floyd on vinyl, I don't think she could get any cooler." — Jughead about JellybeanThe brother-sister relationship between Jughead and Jellybean Jones appears to remain strong with despite the long period they remained separate as Jughead stayed in Riverdale while Jellybean moved to Toledo with their mother to stay with their grandparents. The two of them finally reunited in Toledo after Jughead ran away with Archie, who was in fear of Hiram Lodge. Proceeding Jellybean's actual appearance, Jughead mentioned her on several occasions, such as when he told Sierra McCoy about their family's trips to the Twilight Drive-In.

Reggie Mantle
"Isn't it always some spooky, scrawny, pathetic Internet troll, too busy writing his manifestos to get laid? Some smug, moody, serial-killer-fanboy freak. Like Jughead." — Reggie about JugheadThe relationship between Jughead Jones and Reggie Mantle can easily be defined as a rivalry, as they have both shown a great amount of disdain for one another. This rivalry likely stems from Reggie's typical jock nature, to pick on outsiders and misfits, such as Jughead, who was subject to a lot of Reggie's bullying. Jughead and Reggie had been adversaries long before the start of the series as their dislike of one another seems well ingrained.

Cheryl Blossom
"Jughead. I'm sorry. I had no right to pummel you the way I did that day. As recompense, I'd like to give you this. My iconic spider brooch. It'll catch a pretty penny at the local pawn shop, enough to keep you in burgers and "S" t-shirts for years, if not decades." — Cheryl giving Jughead her spider broochThe relationship between Jughead Jones and Cheryl Blossom has ranged from distant, at best, to hostile, at worst, with the latter becoming a reality after Cheryl discovered that Jughead's father, FP, supposedly killed her brother, Jason. However, after it was revealed that FP was merely covering for Cheryl's father, Clifford, who was the actual killer, Cheryl immediately apologized to Jughead for her savage attack on him. In order to make up for the harm she caused, she even gifted him with an expensive spider brooch. However, as previously stated, the dynamics of their relationship has been known to shift, though on many instances, they're at the very least cordial with one another. Towards the end of the second season, they become rather close as Jughead, becoming the Serpent King, has his first duty of giving Cheryl her own red Serpent Jacket, welcoming her into their family. However, when Jughead declares that the Sepents will no longer commit crimes and that those who do not obey will be exiled, Cheryl disputes his leadership. When Cheryl and Toni rob Hiram Lodge, Jughead expels them both from the Serpents. Cheryl later leads the members of her new gang the Pretty Poisons against the Serpents. Despite this, when her mother kidnapped Jughead, Archie, Veronica and Betty, with the intent of killing them, Cheryl led the two gangs to the rescue.

Veronica Lodge
"We're dating each other's best friends, I was going to say, but yes, prison thing too." — Veronica to JugheadThe relationship between Jughead and Veronica is developing. They first became acquainted through mutual friends Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper, and soon they became friends themselves. However, they are rarely seen hanging out alone without the rest of the group. What they have in common is that they both have problems with their relationships, which caused them to break up with their partners at one point. As a result of this, they have kissed.

Alice Cooper
The relationship between Jughead Jones and Alice Cooper is rather complicated due to her hate for the Southside Serpents and the Jones family's ties with them. While Jughead's father, FP, has been a Serpent since his youth, Jughead's recent initiation into the gang only further complicated their relationship. However, she is forced to deal with him regularly due to his relationship with Betty. Alice doesn't trust either of the Jones men, seeing them as nothing more than trouble makers, often fearing that Jughead's ties to the Southside are not only a bad influence on Betty, but that one day she may end up being dragged into something she had no business in because of her relationship with him. Alice claims to like Jughead, but her actions have often proved otherwise.

Appearances
Chapter One: The River's Edge, Chapter Two: A Touch of Evil, Chapter Three: Body Double, Chapter Four: The Last Picture Show, Chapter Five: Heart of Darkness

Trivia

 * He was living at the Twilight Drive-In until its closing, then moved into a forgotten cupboard under a staircase at Riverdale High School. Afterward, he moved in with the Andrews family before ultimately being transferred to foster care after his father's arrest.
 * Six years prior to the series, he lived at 3021 Norlin Crescent, Riverdale, USA 68247, as listed on his juvenile records.
 * In Jughead's dream sequence in "Chapter Seven: In a Lonely Place", Jughead, Archie, Veronica, and the Cooper family appear in their original Archie comics outfits.
 * Jughead practically ignores his birthday and hates celebrating it.
 * Jughead's dog in the Archie Comics was named Hot Dog. In "Chapter Thirteen: The Sweet Hereafter", when the South Side Serpents visit Jughead at FP's trailer, they are accompanied by a dog with the same name.


 * In both the comics and animated series, Archie and Jughead are best friends despite their differing personalities. However, Riverdale explores a more realistic friendship between the two teenagers.
 * Jughead's beanie in the television series is based on his famous "whoopee hat" from the comics.
 * Jughead's sexuality has been a topic of discussion since the creation of the series. In one iteration of the comics, he is asexual; in another, he is aromantic, but is portrayed as neither aromantic nor asexual in Riverdale. Cole Sprouse supported the idea of Jughead being asexual in Riverdale because it would be a positive example of asexual representation, but the writers chose not to explore that angle.
 * The "S" on his clothes has a largely unexplained significance in the comics, having an intimate meaning for him that he is reluctant to share.