Betty and Veronica Lip-lock
In one of The CW show's first OMG moments, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) befriends Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) and encourages her to try out for the River Vixens. The ladies pull out all the stops and even kiss in effort to make the cheer squad.
Veronica Steals Archie
Veronica, the new girl at Riverdale High, catches the eye of Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) during the pilot episode and things get complicated fast. After the school dance, the two make out during a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven to the dismay of Archie's best friend and admirer, Betty, and both parties end up in hot water as a result.
Archie and Miss Grundy's Relationship
Talk about a summer romance! Archie begins a forbidden love affair with Riverdale High's music teacher, Miss Grundy (Sarah Habel) over the summer, but the real scandal starts when school is back in session and his friends, Jughead (Cole Sprouse) and Betty, find out about his secret relationship.
V Storms Into the Locker Room
Nobody messes with Veronica! Early on in the first season, she confronts Chuck Clayton (Jordan Calloway) about posting a "slut shamming" photo of her and claiming that they had sex in the boys' locker room. She then goes on a crusade to stop the school's male athletes from treating her fellow female classmates this way.
Jug and Betty Get Together
Bughead Forever! In season one, Jughead and Betty fell hard for each other and fans have been team Bughead ever since. Two of their best and most surprising moments together were when they shared their first kiss after visiting her pregnant sister, Polly (Tiera Skovbye) and then became official while attending her baby shower.
It's a Dance-Off!
Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) and Veronica are always ready to battle...dance battle that is. During the first season, the girls broke it down on the dance floor to see who would lead the River Vixens at Homecoming. It was hilarious and yet, totally something that would happen in high school.
On the Southside of Town
When Jughead is forced to live with a foster family and transfer to Southside High—following his father, FP Jones (Skeet Ulrich)'s arrest for the death of Jason Blossom (he didn't do it)—his friends pay him a visit and things don't exactly go smoothly.
Archie Gets Icy
Archie to the rescue! During the season one finale of Riverdale, Archie saves Cheryl when she falls through the ice at Sweetwater River. If that wasn't shocking enough, Apa actually broke his hand while performing the stunt.
Betty and Jug Take the Next Step
Jughead and Betty's love story continued throughout the first season, ending with a big step for the couple. After the Jubilee, Bughead went to FP's trailer to be alone and ended up declaring their love for one another and of course, then began to make out.
Jughead Becomes a Serpent
During the finale episode, Betty and Jughead are interrupted during their make out session by the Southside Serpents who want to welcome him into the fold with his own Serpent jacket, which he gladly accepts, shocking his girlfriend and fans.
Archie Tries to be a Hero
Archie will do anything to protect his family, including jump in front of a loaded gun when it's pointed at his dad. His heroic efforts in the season one finale left fans wonder who got shot at Pop's Diner and would they survive?!
Archie Starts The Red Circle
Season two was intense for a lot of different reasons, but the biggest was the battle against The Black Hood. Early on in the season, when the Black Hood was on his killing spree and the cops were no closer to finding him, Archie decided to take matters into his own hands and he formed The Red Circle. His father was shot at the end of season one, at the hands of this masked assailant, so he was not happy.
Archie Goes Off the Rails
Archie was on a bit of a roll in the beginning of season two when it came to violence, which led to him pulling a gun on a few Serpents who then took it as a challenge. They eventually had a big rumble in the rain between The Red Circle and the Southside Serpents that ended with Veronica getting in the middle of it all by shooting off a gun!
Veronica Steals the Pussycats
During the Picken's Day performance, Veronica pulled a total V move by alienating her friends for her parents' mission. She decided to be the front-woman of the Pussycats when Josie (Ashleigh Murray) was told by her mom, Mayor McCoy (Robin Givens), that she couldn't perform in the show because of issues with the Lodge family. Veronica didn't really care, which threw us off because V was making so much progress on being a team player up until this point.
Toni and Jug Smooch
After being relocated to Southside High, Jughead made friends with the Serpents, because he was one of them thanks to his father. This new alliance gave way to a friendship with Toni Topez (Vanessa Morgan), which caused issues in Jughead and Betty's relationship, especially when the two kissed during season two, episode five.
V Joins the Family Business
OK, this wasn't a total shock because Veronica is a total boss, but finally deciding she wanted in on the Lodge business (both the good and the bad) was a big step this past season. Plus, this decision got Archie even more involved, which would result in a lot of shady deals and situations the rest of the season.
Nick St. Clair Attacks Cheryl
Remember when Veronica's old "friend" Nick St. Clair (Graham Phillips) came to Riverdale and became the Jingle Jangle party guy? Ya, he was bad news. He then tried to assault Cheryl at the school dance, but was stopped when Veronica and the Pussycats came to her rescue and kicked his butt. It could've been an even more terrible moment for the red-haired cheerleader, but thanks to Ronnie she was saved.
Jughead Goes Vigilante on the Snake Charmer
Ugh, Penny (Brit Morgan) is the worst! After the Serpent's snake charmer gets the crew into drugs, Jughead decides to fix the problem and send her a message. He is no longer her errand boy and the Serpents won't do her dirty work. He makes his point clear by carving the snake tattoo out of her arm (gruesome) and telling her to leave and never come back.
Betty and Archie Kiss
During season two, episode nine, things got a little twisted between the fab four of Riverdale High. Following Jughead and Betty's breakup—at the hands of the Black Hood—Betty and Archie grew close once again in order to battle the killer and then they kissed! It threw everything out of whack instantly, but after things settled down Betty and Jug worked things out and Veronica and Archie fixed their relationship…sort of.
Betty Buries Archie Alive
There have been a lot of creepy things that have happened throughout the past two seasons of Riverdale, but this one is definitely at the top of our list. After the Black Hood lures Betty and Archie to an empty coffin, Betty is forced to bury her best friend alive as the villain looks on. It was torture—literally and figuratively—and just plain horrible to watch.
Jughead Becomes an Accomplice
OK, we know that the town of Riverdale is messed up, but when Alice Cooper (Mädchen Amick) killed Chic's (Hart Denton) "friend" and then enlisted her daughter Betty to help her clean it up we were in total shock. To make matters worse, Betty involved Jug and he helped her dispose of the body like it was no big deal. Like, what? This is insane.
Veronica Makes Her Bones
In episode 19 of season two, Veronica proved once again that she is a badass when it comes to business and revenge. After her boyfriend Archiekins gets kidnapped by Nick St. Clair, V steps in and fixes the problem. Not only does she ruin Nick by extorting his family for money (a total mob move), but she proves to her family that she is to be taken seriously.
Jughead Takes One for the Team
Jughead forever! During season two, Jug really came into his own as a leader and nothing proved that more then when he made a deal with Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) in order to save the Serpents and their homes. Unfortunately, this was also a death wish, because Penny and the Ghoulies came with weapons and revenge on their mind, beating Jug to a pulp as a result. In the end, it was FP who went and picked Jug's seemingly lifeless body up from the battle and our hearts couldn't handle the fear of him possibly dying. Spoiler alert: he lived!
Archie Shows His Cards
Can we talk about that season two finale? So much happened! One of the biggest power moves that left us speechless was when Archie showed up to Hiram's office and threatened him in a very convincing manner. He ended his rant by stabbing the desk and saying, "I'm just going to come for you. I'm going to make my bones, once and for all!"