Mary Andrews

"You have been playing the same game since junior high and it was tiring even back then."

- Mary to Alice

Mary Andrews is a recurring character on Riverdale. She is portrayed by Molly Ringwald.

Mary is the mother of Archie Andrews and wife of Fred Andrews, though they are currently separated, with a divorce pending. While Mary currently lives in Chicago, Fred and their son reside in Riverdale, where she often visits.

Character Description
''Having left Riverdale two years ago to follow her dreams, Mary returns to town in her family's hour of need. She not only reconnects with Archie and her husband, Fred, but also her former high school gal-pals Hermione and Alice, just in time for a homecoming dance. ''

Early Life
Mary was raised in Riverdale and attended the local high school where she was friends with Hermione Lodge and Alice Cooper. She later went on to marry Fred Andrews and they welcomed their first and only child, Archie Andrews. Two years prior to the start of the series, she and Fred separated and began divorce proceedings. Mary moved to Chicago in that time, and while she wanted her son to go with her, he chose to stay in Riverdale with his father.

Returning to Riverdale
After two years of separation, Fred thought it best to finalize their divorce, which required him to drive out to Chicago, where the two of them originally planned to have dinner together. However, they decided to wait until the following morning, when the lawyers would be present as, apparently, the relationship between Mary and Fred had gotten to the point of needing a mediator when in each other's company. The next morning, she and Fred returned to Riverdale, much to the surprise of Archie.

The next morning during breakfast, Mary explained the reason she returned to Riverdale was due to Archie and the divorce with his father. She always assumed Riverdale would be safer for Archie, and he assured her it was, he had a good life there despite the recent death of Jason Blossom. From Fred, Mary learned that Archie had been singing and song writing, she had hoped Archie would play her something before she left town, to which he informed her he would be playing at the annual Homecoming dance, the perfect opportunity for her to see him play live. Hoping to surprise Fred with lunch, Mary made an unexpected stop by Andrews Construction, where she ran into Hermione Lodge, an old friend from high school. The two of them briefly talked about Fred, Hermione's recent troubles and her mean girl status back in high school.

Later that night, she and Fred had trouble figuring out what they were going to eat for dinner, up until Archie returned home and stated that they always had pizza, so the only other option left was Chinese food. Though two years is a long time to be separated from her family, Mary correctly remembered their usual Chinese food and pizza orders. While it was nice having everyone together, Archie commented that it was strange to see it again after so long. Just then, Jughead entered the kitchen, leading Mary to ask who else would be attending the Homecoming dance other than her, Fred and Hermione, whom Mary earlier invited. The following night at the dance, as Mary, Fred and Hermione entered as a threesome, she began having major of her high school years.

In the woman's restroom, she was confronted by Alice Cooper, who couldn't help but notice that Mary attended the dance with Fred and Hermione, even after their secret affair. Even though Mary had left, nothing much had changed, she saw straight through Alice's juvenile tactics, the same ones she had been using since Junior High. After watching an amazing performance on stage from Archie and Hermione's daughter, Veronica, Mary and Fred started to slow dance. She inquired about Archie and Veronica's current relationship status having noticed the flirtatious manner in which they performed together. They hadn't exactly had the talk yet, but Fred presumed that they were together, leading Mary to playfully caress Fred's face and state that the Andrews men were players.

They returned home following the announcement that FP Jones was arrested for the murder of Jason Blossom. Knowing FP from back in the day, Mary stated that he always had demons, but Archie was under the impression that he was truly trying to change for the better. It's very hard for people to change, Mary said. After hearing Archie play, and before everything else happened, she was going to ask him to move to Chicago with her, he could study music there, and she just wanted him with her. Riverdale was not safe anymore, she felt as if the town was about the slide off a mountain's side, and she didn't want him anywhere around when that occurred. Mary at least wanted Archie to think about it, and she said all this while unaware that Fred was listening from the stairs.

Legal Aid & Departure
After the dance, Mary, Fred, and Hermione were shocked to learn that Archie and Veronica broke into FP's trailer in search of any evidence that would connect him to the murder of Jason Blossom. They were even more shocked to discover that Alice was in on it. However, Archie, Veronica and Betty claimed that the gun used to kill Jason wasn't in the closet when they checked the trailer, it was planted after they left, meaning someone was framing FP, or so they claimed. Mary explained that Archie entered FP's residence illegally, so whatever he did or did not find would be inadmissible in a court of law. Going to Sheriff Keller with the information they claim to have would simply make matters worse.

A couple days later, after spending the previous night at the Sheriff Station with FP, Mary met up with Archie and Jughead at Pop's shoppe to discuss FP's case. She passed herself off as his attorney in an effort to gain as much information as she could. Unfortunately, between FP's list of priors, the anonymous tip, the possession of the murder weapon, and his confession, it was looking pretty bad for him. She was with FP all night, and he never once changed his story, but he did use his one phone call to contact someone named Joaquin DeSantos, who Mary would later come to find out was a Southside Serpent and Kevin's boyfriend. She then advised Jughead to go see his father, tell him everything he wanted to say because once he was arraigned, the process would become much faster, and there wouldn't be anything left to do, so that would be his final chance.

Despite her best efforts, Archie turned down Mary's offer to move with her to Chicago because his friends need him, but he promised to visit for the summer. She hugged Archie, told him she loved him, and then exited the house.

Nursing the Wounded
Mary appeared alongside Fred during a dream-like hallucination, where the two of them joined Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica in the student lounge in preparation for their graduation. As Fred held up his phone to take a photo of the kids, Mary insisted that he hurry up because the ceremony was ten minutes away. Meanwhile, in reality, Mary received a call from Archie, telling her that Fred had been shot by a black hooded assailant during a robbery at Pop's. With the doctors being uncertain over Fred's survival, Archie urged her to come back to Riverdale in case Fred doesn't make it.

Mary appeared in yet another one of Fred's dreams, where she sat in the crowd at Archie and Veronica's Scottish themed wedding, during which time she winked at Fred. Though it remains unknown why, it should be noted that Mary sat with the Blossom family during the wedding.

Back in reality, by night fall, Mary had arrived in Riverdale to take care of Fred, who had regained consciousness and was recovering from home.

Mayoral Campaign
With Fred in dire need of her professional expertise to get out of his contract with the Lodges, Mary returned to Riverdale to assist. She was greeted by Archie at the front door. The two shared a hug and then they proceeded into the kitchen, where she went on to discuss Fred's contract. She wished that he had called her in sooner, before he gave the Lodges 20% of Andrews Construction. However, Archie was far from concerned. He was sure that Hiram would keep his word though Mary and Fred weren't so sure given their long standing history with the Hiram and Hermione.

Mary and Archie later had lunch at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe. She hated to see him and his father fighting. Given that he was in his first serious relationship with Veronica, Mary wanted to ensure that he wasn't led astray to align himself with her family against his better judgement. Archie insisted that this wasn't the case.

After lunch with Archie, Mary and Fred sat down with Hiram and Hermione at the Pembrooke to discuss Fred's contract. Mary claimed the contract was exploitative and that Fred should be immediately released and compensated.

The following night, Mary had dinner with Archie and Fred. The topic of discussion — Riverdale and Jughead's crusade to save it. Mary had hoped to see Jughead while she was in town. Archie wrote Jughead's protest off as an act of lunacy. However, Fred defended it. While Archie may not have believed in what he was fighting for, Jughead's reasons were still valid. However, Archie disagreed, arguing that Jughead was mostly fighting against Hiram. As were a lot of people in town who were afraid of what had to be done. Mary was offended by Archie's comments. Not because they were directed at her, but because they were directed at Fred, who according to her, broke rocks in high school to support his family when his own father got sick. He saw what had to be done, and did it. Even making a business out of it. Furthermore, Fred did have a vision. One that didn't end with everyone working in a penal colony. While it was Archie's prerogative to side with Hiram, Mary refused to allow him to disrespect Fred.

Later in the week, Mary and Fred celebrated after getting a call from Hiram that Fred would be released from his contract. In even better news, Mary would be sticking around and Fred would be running for Mayor against the Lodges.

Physical Appearance
Mary is an attractive middle-aged woman with pale skin, dark brown eyes, short red hair, and a beautiful smile. She is of slightly above the height of the average woman, around 5′ 8″ with a slim figure. Mary's wardrobe is very neat, and well put-together. She often wears casual and non-revealing clothing such as turtle necks and long sleeve shirts in varying colors.

Personality
Mary is a kind and loving mother. She cares deeply for Archie, only wanting for him to aspire to be his best self. With the rise in dangerous activity throughout Riverdale, Mary only sought to protect Archie by getting him out of town. However, against her best wishes, he decided to stay. While she was accepting of his decision, she did not agree with it. Mary's compassionate nature has also been shown to extend to Archie's friends as well. Upon FP Jones's arrest, Mary posed as his lawyer in an effort to gather information, which she would then relay to Archie and Jughead. More than just compassion and love, Mary is also quite intelligent, possessing the necessary skills and intellect to become an established lawyer. It was these skills that allowed her to pass as FP's attorney as well as explain the legitimacy of Archie and Veronica's find after illegally entering FP's trailer.

Archie Andrews
"I want you with me. I don't think that this town is safe anymore. I feel like Riverdale is getting ready to slide off of a mountainside and I don't want you anywhere around when that happens."

- Mary to Archie

The relationship between Mary and her son, Archie is close, but not nearly as close as he is with his father, whom he lives with. Mary hadn't seen her son up until she returned to Riverdale after leaving, and moving to Chicago two years prior. She and Archie spent quite a bit of time together while she was in town, and before she left for Chicago again, Archie promised that he would come spend some time with her over the next summer break since he chose to remain in Riverdale with his father after Mary offered him the chance to move to Chicago with her.

Fred Andrews
"You Andrews men are such players!"

- Mary flirts with Fred

Fred and Mary's relationship dates back to their childhood, with both of them growing up in Riverdale and attending school together. They later went on to marry and welcome their first and only child, Archie.

Two years prior to the start of the series, Fred and Mary decided to separate and began divorce proceedings. Mary moved to Chicago at that time, and while she wanted her son to join her, he chose to stay in Riverdale with his father. Fred and Mary's separation was not an amicable one as, according to Archie, they cannot even talk without a mediator present. Despite this, they have been shown to enjoy each other's company, so much so that Archie and Jughead began to speculate if they were going to rekindle their relationship.

Alice Cooper
"You have been playing the same game since junior high, and it was tiring back then."

- Mary to Alice

Not much is known about Mary and Alice's past history, though they did meet before the start of the series. Their relationship dates back at least to their adolescent years. Mary left Riverdale some years later, after she and Fred decided to separate. Two years after Mary departure from Riverdale, she returned, where she had a run in with Alice at the Homecoming dance, which she had attended to see her son perform given his new interest in music. She came face-to-face with Alice in the woman's restroom, where Alice couldn't help but notice that Mary attended the dance with Fred and Hermione, even after their secret affair. Even though Mary had left, nothing much had changed, she saw straight through Alice's juvenile tactics, the same ones she had been using since Junior High. Furthermore, she and Fred were no longer together, so he was free to do as he pleased.

Hermione Lodge
Mary Andrews and Hermione Lodge were friends in high school. The history between the two of them is unknown at the moment, but the fact that Mary invited Hermione to accompany her with Fred at the Homecoming dance shows that she doesn't have a problem with her at all.

Gallery

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Season 1 Screencaps

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