Cheryl Blossom

"If you think for one second that those babies guarantee your safety, you're in for a rude awakening."

- Cheryl to Polly

Cheryl Blossom is a main character on Riverdale. She is portrayed by Madelaine Petsch.

Cheryl is a student, head cheerleader and the self-proclaimed Queen Bee at Riverdale High School, as well as the twin sister of Jason Blossom, who mysteriously died at Sweetwater River on July 11th.

Character description
''Rich, entitled and never accountable. Cheryl Blossom is a manipulative mean girl who kills with kindness, she recently lost her twin brother in a mysterious accident.''

Early life
Cheryl Blossom was born and raised in Riverdale alongside her twin brother Jason to Cliff and Penelope Blossom. The Blossom family have an ongoing feud with the Cooper family, and Jason's involvement with the Cooper's oldest daughter Polly didn't help. Cheryl is the most popular student at Riverdale High School as well as captain of the River Vixens. She is close friends with Josie McCoy, but she was closer to no one than she was Jason. He always protected her. When they were younger Cheryl always insisted on having a separate birthday despite the fact that she and Jason were twins, until one year he randomly recommended that they combine their birthdays. It wasn't until years later that Cheryl discovered the reason for this, which was that no one would come to her birthday. He protected her, and not just from that one incident, but their entire lives.

Season 1
Just after dawn, on the 4th of July, Cheryl, and her twin brother Jason, drove out to Sweetwater River for an early morning boat ride. However, the trip did not go as planned. Cheryl somehow ended up on the river's edge, soaking wet. Luckily, she was found by Dilton Doiley, the leader of the Riverdale Boy Scouts. According to Cheryl, she dropped a glove in the water, and when Jason reached down to retrieve it, he tipped the boat, panicked, and drowned. In the following week, as school began, Cheryl announced that they would not be cancelling the back-to-school semi-formal, despite Jason's death; instead, it would be used as a method of healing, and celebrating Jason's life. However, not even the death of her own brother could keep Cheryl from resorting to her conniving ways.

In the mood for chaos, Cheryl invited Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge to her after-party. She forced Archie and Veronica into playing Seven Minutes in Heaven, knowing it would upset Betty. Later that evening, Jason's body was discovered, revealing he had been shot.

After sending out a school-wide message that she would not rest until Jason's death was avenged, Cheryl was confronted in the class by Tina Patel and Ginger Lopez on the details she gave of the mysterious drowning. She told them what she told the police; that they both fell into the water, she made it to the shore, he didn't, and that was all she knew. At the Cooper house, Cheryl apologized to Betty for treating her so poorly; she was angry after the break up of Polly and Jason, so she took out her frustration on Betty. The conversation quickly took a turn for the worse as Cheryl steered towards Polly-specific questions, such as if she knew Jason was dead. Betty wondered why Cheryl was suddenly so concerned, to which Cheryl replied, someone shot her brother, and she believed Polly could be the culprit.

Betty exploded, telling Cheryl to leave or else she'd kill her. The night of the Pep Rally, Cheryl raced off the stage crying after seeing Archie in Jason's jersey, which triggered a memory of him. As Veronica attempted to comfort her, Cheryl said Jason was supposed to come back. The next day at school, the results of Jason's autopsy came back and directed the police to Cheryl. It was revealed that Jason did not die on July 4th, as previously thought, but a week later. Cheryl was then arrested by Sheriff Keller, admitting she was "guilty" of something.

When questioned by police, Cheryl clarified that she wasn't guilty of Jason's murder, but she was guilty of lying about what happened on July 4th. She revealed that Jason wanted to leave Riverdale for good, and so they faked his death to ensure nobody would come after him. He was supposed to contact her when he made it to a safe place, but he never did. The last time Cheryl saw him alive was when she said goodbye to him on the shore of Greendale. She had no idea what had happened to him after that, or how he ended up dead. She did, however, hear a mysterious gunshot on July 4th, which was later backed up by Archie. She was then pulled away from the police by her furious parents.

Cheryl encountered Betty and Veronica plotting to take revenge on certain members of the football team for slutshaming them. When told they had a book listing their conquests, she was disbelieving, certain that Jason would have told her about it if it was true. When they stole the book, though, she discovered that Jason had not only known about it but had participated, as Polly Cooper's name was listed in the book. This forced her to reevaluate her opinion of her brother, and she apologized to Betty for his actions as they burned the book together.

In a booth at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, Cheryl disapproved of Hermione Lodge's job at the diner, she claimed it was off-brand, and sent a false message about acceptance. Had she known about this beforehand, Veronica never would have landed a spot on the River Vixens. However, Ginger and Tina did not share that same sentiment, after her TMZ style take down of Chuck Clayton, the rest of the girls on the squad had warmed up to Veronica. As Hermione reached for the bill, Cheryl slammed her hand down, and told Hermione that all the money was to go in the register, Cheryl was quick to remind Hermione that she was a Lodge, and that they were known for having sticky fingers. Hermione took the money, but not before reminding Cheryl that she went to school with her mother, and she didn't know the difference between having money and having class either.

Just minutes after her dispute with Hermione Lodge, Cheryl caught her in the middle of a heated argument with a Southside Serpents behind the dumpster at Pop's. Cheryl took a picture of the encounter as evidence, which she would later go on to show Veronica, the next day at school, with the intent to remind Veronica of her place within the town's social hierarchy. Later that night, Cheryl joined Veronica and Kevin at the Twilight Drive-In for it's closing night.

In the days leading up to her brother's memorial, Cheryl took it upon herself to write Jason's eulogy, however, she fell asleep on his bed while doing so. In her dream, like a Gothic heroine, Cheryl slowly made her way down the steps of her family mansion into the room where Jason's memorial would be held. Upon opening the coffin, Cheryl discovered that Jason was no longer inside, but the roofing of his coffin was riddled with bloody scratch marks, she turned around to see a ghostly-looking Jason inching towards her, but she soon woke up. Immediately after waking up, her mother, who stood in the doorway, banned Cheryl from sleeping in Jason's room, and writing the eulogy, Penelope surmised that Cheryl would only embarrass the family. At school, Cheryl formally invited Archie, Betty, Jughead, Veronica, and Kevin to Thornhill for Jason's memorial that upcoming weekend, to her surprise, the Lodges were invited.

Shortly after giving out the invitations, she was approached by Veronica, who wanted to end their petty rivalry, so in a gesture of good faith, Cheryl invited Veronica to her sleepover. In the following days, Veronica would come to stay at Cheryl's, as they agreed, but they first had to go through a very uncomfortable diner with her family. Afterwards, Veronica asked Cheryl why she didn't invite her best friends, Tina and Ginger, Cheryl explained that they weren't the ones who helped her after the panic attack she had at the pep-rally. She then went on to talk about Jason, she said everything about his death had been extremely public, some saying he got what he deserved, others saying he didn't, Cheryl just wanted to let everyone know that she's sorry, and that Jason deserved a better family than what he got. Veronica encouraged Cheryl to do the eulogy against her parents wishes, even though they'd kill her if she did.

The day of the memorial had finally arrived, Cheryl changed into the all white outfit she wore the day she and Jason went over Sweetwater River. She began the memorial with a few words for Jason, she claimed that when she put the dress on, it made her feel connected to him, she then told the guest about her and Jason's life together. Cheryl wished that she had protected him that day at the river, she held onto his coffin, as she apologized for failing to do so, Veronica then came up to the podium, and hugged Cheryl. She was then escorted to her room by her mother, Penelope is furious with Cheryl's disobedience, in return she would take Cheryl off the River Vixens, the former River Vixen captain was left on her bed, in tears. She later watched from afar as Jason was laid to rest in the cemetery on Thornhill's grounds.

Cheryl learned from Ginger that Polly Cooper had escaped the Sisters of Quiet Mercy group home, she offered this information to her mother in exchange for her position back on the River Vixens. With Polly escaping the group home on the same night that Jason's car was set on fire, Cheryl surmised that Polly lit the flame in order to cover her tracks, as she was Jason's killer. However, before arriving at the Sheriff Station, Cheryl first tweeted this information out to her followers; #PollyCooperKilledMyBrother, #NoWhereToHide, and #SharpenYourPitchforks. In effort to find Polly, the Blossom family organized a witch hunt throughout Eversgreen Forest, where they ran into the Coopers, whom Cheryl confronted with her theory of Polly being the murderer. That evening, the Coopers held a press conference, much to Cheryl's surprise, they revealed to the entire town that Polly was pregnant with Jason's child.

The next day, Cheryl came to Betty, ready to help with the baby in whatever way she could, unfortunately, Betty didn't want her help, as Cheryl had painted Polly as crazy, which Cheryl did not deny, saying that Polly was crazier than a serial killer on bath salts. Betty eventually gave in, informing Cheryl that Polly needed money for a home and medical supplies, Cheryl explained that Jason's child was a game changer, and that her parents would be more than willing to help as well. That night, Cheryl arranged a meeting between her parents and Betty at Pop's shoppe, where they backed up Cheryl's earlier comments of the Blossoms wanting to help Polly. Back at Thornhill, Cheryl was asked by her mother if she had ever seen Polly actually take drugs, which was a question in reference to Cheryl's previous statement of Polly being a party girl. Cheryl wondered why her mother was asking, and Penelope informed her that she didn't want an unfit mother to raise her grandchildren. Following the unsettling conversation with her mother, Cheryl met up with Polly and Betty at Pop's to warn them of her parents ill intentions, telling them to leave as neither Polly nor the baby would be safe with her parents.

Through a flashback sequence of Jason and Polly's break up, it was shown that Cheryl, Ginger and Tina were at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe that day to witness it unfold. In present time, Cheryl joined Betty, Veronica, Archie, Jughead, Kevin, and Valerie, in the student lounge, where they discussed Polly's uneasy predicament between the Coopers and the Blossoms. Kevin referred to Cheryl's family as the "child snatching Blossom monsters", which Cheryl took no offense to. She then commented that she wholeheartedly supported Veronica's notion to throw Polly a baby shower.

The night of baby shower had arrived, as Cheryl came bursting through the front door of Hermione's apartment with a brand new, expensive stroller for Polly and Jason's child. All Cheryl asked for in return was that she be named the baby's godmother, unaware that Polly had earlier named Betty the godmother. Cheryl then strolled Nana Rose off to find a good spot, were Rose went on to perform some kind of ritual on Polly to identify the baby's gender by using a purple stone pendulum, which led Cheryl to state that Rose had dementia, as well as "gypsy blood". According to Nana Rose, Polly was pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl. A little later in the night, as Polly opened the gifts, Cheryl expressed her desire for Polly to stay with them at Thornhill, which Cheryl's mother assured Polly was a genuine offer.

Thicker than blood, more precious than oil, Riverdale's largest business had been maple syrup since the town's founding, and her family had been in control of the lucrative trade since the start. Via flashback, Cheryl, Jason, Cliff and Penelope sipped delicious maple syrup from glasses, almost as if it was fine wine. With the heir to the Blossoms family empire dead, many wondered who would inherit the Blossom family business, though one thing they were sure of, it would not be Cheryl. The Blossoms awaited, in the snow for the arrival of the board of trustees, who were all looking to attack at the first sign of weakness. Cheryl approached Archie in the music room with an invitation to her family's maple tree tapping, as that week was the official start of maple season.

The tree tapping ceremony was a yearly event, a ritual that honored the Blossom bloodline, it was extremely exclusive. The maple tapping was something special that she and Jason had done together ever since they could walk, but she was not sure she could face it alone this year, if Archie came along as her escort, maybe she could get through it. Unfortunately, while Archie would have loved to help her, he had a girlfriend. Cheryl did not want anyone else to escort her, as Archie was like no other, he defended her even when her parents would not. After some persuading by her mother, Archie decided to escort Cheryl to the tapping, where she informed him that all he had to do was hold the bucket steady.

She informed Archie that everyone else in attendance were her father's board of trustees, they were concerned that Cliff was loosing his grip on the company, and if he was, they would stand together to steal it. Jason's death was a PR debacle, Polly being pregnant and unwed certainly did not help the situation. In Jason's place, Cheryl was called up by her father to stake the tree, noticeably nervous, Archie assured her that she could do it in her sleep, his words must have given her great confidence as Cheryl staked the tree flawlessly. Cheryl overheard as her own aunt and uncle talked down upon her, refusing to allow her to run the company, fortunately, Archie came to Cheryl's aid. He informed aunt Cricket and uncle Bedford that Cheryl loved Jason, she did as much to help the Bulldogs win games as Jason did, and that she had a 4.0 GPA.

If there was anything that he had learned from being in class with Cheryl, it was that she should not be underestimated or betted against. On Cheryl's behalf, Cliff asked Archie to escort her to an upcoming banquet later that week, and while Archie initially denied their invitation, Cheryl convinced him as she needed a dance partner. The next night, Cheryl paid the Andrews a late night visit, she wanted to gift Archie with a brand new guitar to show her appreciation for him agreeing to escort her to the banquet. Before leaving, she commented that her claustrophobia acted up in small houses and she kissed Archie on the cheek. Later that week, just as planned, Cheryl and Archie attended the banquet, following her father's speech, she informed Archie to not be fooled into believing that her parents were being genuine, they wanted her to fail the tree tapping, but Archie was there to help with that.

Following an argument with her father, Cheryl exited the banquet for some fresh air, she was of course followed by Archie. Jason was the golden boy, Cheryl said, people hated her, and while that was fine at school, it was too much to bear from her own family. However, Archie thought she was awesome, which led Cheryl to express how she felt that Archie was the only decent person left in Riverdale, she then kissed him, and told Archie that her lipstick was maple-red, in case he was wondering why it was so sweet. Cheryl managed to catch up to him on the other side of the lodge after he ran off, she thought it was that ran away from the ball, not. Archie wanted to break off their arrangement, but Cheryl first reminded him of everything he would be losing if he did. She then accused him of being just as bad as everyone else in town, despite her initial beliefs, as he wanted something from them as well.

Having already reviewed the new choreography for Homecoming, Cheryl scolded Veronica for showing up late to River Vixens practice. She then announced that Veronica would be in the back during their performance in an effort to prevent her from doing any major damage. Cheryl would be front and center, considering that she had the "maddest skills on the squad", or so she claimed until Veronica challenged her to dance-off, where the winner would lead them during Homecoming. Following both Cheryl and Veronica's dance routine, it was up the Vixens to decide who won, and while most of them voted for Veronica, Ginger and Tina decided not to vote at all. After losing the challenge, Cheryl confronted her so-called besties, insulting them both before firing them as Vixens and her "social hand maidens".

Bitter over her recent loss to Veronica, Cheryl team up with Chuck Clayton in order to cause a little chaos for Veronica and Betty, their arch nemeses. The two of them, along with a few dozen classmates crashed Jughead's 16th Birthday Party at Archie's house. On the dance floor, Cheryl danced and made out with Moose, and afterwards, the two of them as well as Chuck, were seen standing by and laughing as Archie embarrassed himself in front of the entire party. She and Chuck blocked off the front door as Jughead attempted to leave, informing him that they had not played their game yet, which they called "Secrets & Sins", a variation on "Truth or Dare", in which they would reveal their own secrets.

Cheryl started the game off with Veronica, she questioned the basis of which Veronica and her mother moved into town, what was so fresh about defiling Archie in a closet, Cheryl asked, which Veronica insisted was Cheryl's doing. Moving on, Cheryl asked about Veronica's father, and whether or not it was true that he purchased the Twilight Drive-In. Veronica could not speak for her father, but she could think of a dirty little secret of her own, one that involved Cheryl killing Jason. Veronica claimed that Cheryl loved him in a way that a sister should not love a brother, and as Jason got older, he saw it as weird, in the end, choosing Polly over Cheryl. In response, Cheryl shot him in the head with one of her father's hunting rifles, this accusation led Cheryl to cry, that is until Dilton Doiley interrupted and volunteered to go next.

He revealed that Ms. Grundy was at Sweetwater River on the day Jason went missing, as was Archie, which led Cheryl to piece together that Archie was having sex with Grundy, explaining why he became a mediocre musician over night. According to Cheryl, this also explained why Archie could not keep a girlfriend, he had mommy issue, which led her to ask if he was a victim or perpetrator. As the night progressed, the devious game quickly turned violent once Jughead and Chuck began trading blows, resulting in Jughead father ending the party.

In the days leading up to the annual Homecoming dance, Cheryl announced that she and Polly would be campaigning as co-queens of Homecoming Court because if Jason were alive, he and Polly would have been on that stage being crowned. Before leaving, she reminded everyone to vote, and that she'd see them at her coronation. The morning of the Homecoming dance, Cheryl assisted Polly with her make up in preparation for the dance that night, she acknowledged that it was much more fun to be friends than enemies. Polly then thought it would be a great idea if they raided Cheryl's parents' room for her mother's jewelry, as it would be fitting considering the theme of the dance was a blast from the past. Even though it was forbidden, they made their way into Clifford and Penelope's room anyways.

She then began browsing throughout her mother's jewelry boxes, and conversing with Polly about her father's hair color loss and red toupée collection. Within on of the boxes, Cheryl discovered the heirloom ring given to Jason by Nana Rose, which was supposedly lost after Jason's death. Polly attempted to take it but Cheryl was less than willing to give it up without a fight, even threatening her, "You are carrying precious cargo, but if you think for one second that those babies guarantee your safety, you're in for a rude awakening", Cheryl said. Regardless of their previous fight, Cheryl still intended on Polly going with her to the dance, however, Penelope drugged her with a relaxer, that would leave the babies unharmed, but knock Polly out until the morning. Cheryl questioned if the story about Jason disowning the family and throwing the ring in their father's face was true, to which Cliff replied it was.

He realized that he made a mistake in grooming Jason to take over the empire, he told Cheryl that he should've been nurturing her, as she was a Blossom, through and through. Her mother then asked for the whereabouts of the ring, to which Cheryl explained that she flushed it, that way if Polly ever told anyone, if would simply be her word against their's. While in a noticeably foul mood, Cheryl was approached by Betty, who was looking for Polly, and while she didn't have to, Cheryl covered for her parents, claiming that Polly had a sugar crash and cancelled. As the night progressed, Cheryl's mood only got worse, the end coming as Archie and Veronica performed "Kids in America" on stage. Cheryl stormed out the dance and returned home early, and after checking on Polly, she stood in the hall as her mother cried hysterically after FP Jones, Jughead's father, was arrested for the murder of Jason, all the while grasping the very same ring she claimed that she had flushed.

Physical Appearance
Cheryl is a beautiful young teenager with slim body shape, standing somewhere between 5'5 and 5'6. One of her most notable features is her gorgeous, long, wavy ginger-red hair. She also has dark brown eyes, full lips and rather pale skin. Undeniably, red lipstick is a signature part of her makeup look. Along with that, Cheryl is really fashionable as well. From what we've seen so far, she usually wears modern, colorful dresses and skirts which show off her slender figure. In particular, Cheryl tends to favor red clothes.

Personality
Cheryl embraces the typical mean girl/queen bee persona, she walks around the school as if it belongs to her, and she won't hesitate to contest anyone who believes differently, thriving off the fear and intimidation she traffics in from her fellow classmates. Her more notable personality traits range from shallow, to vain, to conceited. She's unquestionably self-absorbed, Cheryl concerns herself with her appearance, first and foremost, rarely ever thinking about anyone other than herself, Jason may be the one exception to this. She appears to have genuinely loved her brother, more than anything, so she claims. Cheryl isn't as horrid as she would like people to believe, she can be kind, and she does have a softer side, following her relationships with Jason, she's very close with Josie McCoy, the two ladies are seemingly best friends, so when one calls in a favor, the other will back them up.

Relationships

 * Cheryl and Penelope
 * Cheryl and Cliff
 * Cheryl and Archie
 * Cheryl and Jason
 * Cheryl and Betty
 * Cheryl and Veronica
 * Cheryl and Josie
 * Cheryl and Ginger
 * Cheryl and Tina
 * Cheryl and Polly

Trivia

 * Cheryl's Twitter handle is @CherylBombshell. She has recently started tweeting.
 * Cheryl has a 4.0 grade point average.