FP Jones

"Here's the thing about snakes— you don't step on 'em, they got no reason to bite."

- FP to Hermione Lodge

Forsythe Pendleton "FP" Jones II is a recurring character on Riverdale. He is portrayed by Skeet Ulrich.

FP is the leader of the Southside Serpents and the father of Jughead and Jellybean Jones.

Character description
While his character will have a history with all of Riverdale's main residents, he holds a grudge against Fred Andrews and has a special, mysterious connection to Jughead Jones.

Early life
FP grew up in Riverdale, attending Riverdale High School along side Hermione Lodge, and presumably others, such as Fred Andrews, Penelope Blossom and Alice Cooper. FP was also best friends with Fred Andrews. Later in life, they founded a construction company together, but barely made enough to stay in business. By that time FP had two kids, Jughead and Jellybean. When the kids were younger, the family used to make frequent trips to the Twilight Drive-In, however they often couldn't afford tickets for everyone, so the kids would hide in the trunk until they parked. While Fred had his wife and Archie to provide for, FP had his two kids, his wife and many hospital bills. Due to this, FP also participated in a string of criminal activities which would often get him arrested and have Fred bail him out all the time.

Eventually, due to his string of criminal activities, he became a liability for the company and was forced to resign. After losing his job, his family seems to have fallen apart. Jughead started living in the projection booth of the drive-in, and his daughter, Jellybean, and her mother went to live with her grandparents in Toledo. At an unknown point he became the leader of the Southside Serpents, a dangerous biker gang of thugs and criminal mercenaries.

Season 1
FP and Hermione Lodge had a heated exchange of words behind a dumpster at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe. Unbeknownst to either of them, their interaction was captured by Cheryl Blossom on her phone. It wasn't long before the two arranged another meeting, this time behind the Twilight Drive-In, on the south side of town. Hermione handed him a brown paper bag, inside were several stacks of cash, however, FP wasn't satisfied with the amount, yet with Hiram Lodge in prison, he was left with no choice but to deal through Hermione. The next morning, he approached Jughead as he tagged his name and his signature crown on the projection booth with spray paint, he told his son that the booth would be torn down too, and taken to the junkyard, and them with it. He asked where Jughead would now be staying as the booth is no longer an option, to which Jughead replied, he'd figure it out, he always did.

FP received an unexpected call from Fred Andrews, who offered him his job back, however, he turned it down. FP would later come to find out that Jughead and Archie were at the center of it all. That evening, Jughead returned home to Sunnyside Trailer Park, only to find that FP was a mess, and the trailer was littered with empty liquor bottles. FP refused to go back hat in hand after being fired, but his son insisted that he take the job at Andrews Construction, and work on rebuilding their family, to which FP seemingly agreed. He decided to take Fred up on his offer, after being rehired, FP encountered Hermione in the office, and warned her not to reveal to Fred that he was a member of the Southside Serpents. To celebrate FP returning to work, Jughead, Archie, Fred and FP went out to Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe for dinner, where the two fathers shared stories about their younger years, such as their band "The Fred Heads", and a DW bus that they called "The Shaggin' Wagon".

When it came time to pay, Fred and FP got into a slight dispute over the check, but as FP reminded Fred, it was his treat. Later that night, FP. Jughead, and Archie practiced playing music in the garage, where he complimented Archie on his guitar playing skills, saying that he was even better than his father. FP then revealed the truth behind why he was forced to resign from Andrews Construction, he took up some odd jobs in order to provide for his family, which eventually landed him in jail, Fred was kind enough to bail him out, but at that point, Fred wanted to part ways. This left FP very upset and bitter, so he began drinking, he was then taken home by Jughead, and laid on the couch, where Jughead mentioned that he had spoke with Jellybean over the phone, and from her, he learned that his mother was working at a call center, and was taking online classes in the hopes of finally getting her GED. However, FP had fallen asleep long before Jughead had even finished telling him everything.

The next morning, Jughead was brought to the Sheriff Station by Sheriff Keller as a suspect in Jason Blossom's murder. FP showed up late to the station just as Jughead was freed, thanks to Fred. FP was furious, and angrily demanded to see Sheriff Keller for making accusations against his son and even lashed out at Fred, who tried in vain to calm him down. In a fit of rage, he shoved Fred, and stated that Jughead was his son, and Fred would do the same for Archie. Jughead convinced him to let it go before he made the situation any worse. Before leaving, FP tearfully promised he would get his act together and that they would have their family back, but it would just take some time. Jughead looked angry and resigned as he told his father he believed him. In the end, Jughead went to live at the Andrews house. That night, it was revealed that FP was in possession of Jason Blossom's varsity jacket, which was last seen in the car on route 40, before it was set on fire.

FP watched from the second floor of the Whyte Wyrm, as Joaquin, Archie, Kevin and Moose entered the bar. Unbeknownst to the teens, FP watched them enter and immediately called Fred. He allowed them to move forward with their plan, while keeping an eye on them from a distance. FP didn't intervene until Archie picked a fight with one of his fellow Serpents, Mustang, which nearly led to Archie taking a beating. After ordering Mustang to let Archie go, FP escorted him along with Moose and Kevin outside the bar, sending all of them home, except for "Red", meaning Archie. FP demanded to know what his business was at the Wyrm, to which Archie explained they were searching for the two thugs that had ambushed Moose and destroyed equipment at Andrews Construction, the night before.

Archie initially assumed that the attack was a result of the Serpents retaliating for getting kicked off their land, but after learning that FP was one of them, he began to think it was a personal attack against his father for firing FP years earlier. FP denied the accusation, joking that Archie had a bigger imagination than Jughead. Just as Fred arrived, FP told Archie that he held no grudges, as life was too short. Fred sent Archie to the truck, as he and FP had a chat about his recent activities. FP once again denied having any involvement in what happened to Moose and the Andrews construction equipment, he'd never do that, especially after Fred took in Jughead. Fred's trouble were greater than ever before, having neither crew nor cash, while FP was sorry for his troubles, he was sure that Fred would bounce back, he even offered to ask around, hoping that his guys would know something about the attack.

That night, he received a visit at the trailer park from Jughead and his girlfriend, Betty Cooper. Jughead revealed that they were aware of the drug deal that the Serpents had going on with Jason Blossom, and that the cops knew too, so if they hadn't been by to pay a visit, they would be soon. FP informed them that Jason needed money to run away, no one would suspect a clean-cut kid like Jason of running, so they had a mutually beneficial relationship. The Serpents gave him drugs, but up until his body was found at Sweetwater River, they had assumed that he took off with their stash. Jughead then asked if he had anything to do with Jason's death, in which FP admitted his fault in being a poor father, but he isn't a killer.

With the cops applying heat, even later that night, he and Joaquin had to come up with a plan as FP stuffed Jason's Varsity jacket into a bag and tossed it to Joaquin, telling him to hide it in a safe place as it was their insurance in case everything went to hell. He then checked in on Joaquin's progress with Kevin, as they were going to need that inside line with Sheriff Keller. Apparently, their relationship was only a means to an end, however, Joaquin began to feel guilty as Kevin had developed genuine feelings. FP chuckled, telling him that they all had a part to play. The next day, he and the Serpents were first on site of the SoDale site to assist Fred with construction; he refused to leave Fred hanging again, and trouble was not an issue. FP walked off with Hermione to inform her of the recent information he had gathered, according to his guy, the thugs that attacked the site were from Montreal, and they both knew that Hiram had business there. Hiram sent his men after discovering Hermione's affair with Fred, but FP wondered who ratted her out.

FP received an unexpected call from Betty, on the eve of Jughead's birthday, wondering if he would like to join them for a movie and dinner. FP came to learn that Jughead was unaware of Betty calling him, if there was one thing that Jughead hated more than surprises, it was his own birthday, he never even had a party, thought that was because he never wanted one. FP thought it best if he kept his distance, that would be the best gift he could give to his son. Much to FP's surprise, this would not be the last he heard of Betty, the second time around she showed up in person to insist that he join them for the small party they were going to have at Archie's house. Betty wanted to do something special for Jughead, and she believed his presence would be special, realizing that she would not let up, FP agreed to attend Jughead's party.

The following night, as promised, he came to the party, only to discover that it was a wild house party and that he was the only adult in attendance. Gift in hand, he entered the garage to find Jughead and Archie conversing, before leaving to put the gift in the den, he commented that Betty invited him, and that she knows what she wants. In the kitchen. He found Joaquin and Kevin in the middle of a heated make out session, "you could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife", he said. He then reminisced on the time he kicked Kevin out of the Whyte Wyrm, before making an excuse for Joaquin to guide him to the bathroom in order for the two of them to talk privately. His son's birthday party was the last place he expected to see Joaquin, fortunately, while there, he had gathered some information pertaining to Hiram Lodge, whose daughter was also at the party, and had earlier mentioned the possibility of her father being involved in Jason Blossom's Death.

This was unwelcomed news considering FP and Hiram had business. He wondered how much Sheriff Keller knew of this, to which Joaquin explained that he would find out through Kevin. Unbeknownst to either of them that they were be watched from the next house over by Alice Cooper. Downstairs, FP kept quiet and watched as the teens played a game called "Secrets & Sins", in which they would reveal their own secrets, however, the game quickly escalated as punches were traded between Jughead and another party-goer named Chuck Clayton. FP grabbed Chuck by his shirt, and threw him out the house, along with everyone else, as he declared the party was over. He confronted Jughead as he attempted to leave the house, FP wanted him to man up, and talk to Betty, running away is never the solution.

FP saw that Jughead had a good thing going with Betty and his friends, something he could never give his son. As he proceeded towards his truck, FP was approached by Alice, who demanded to know what he was doing on her side of town, to which FP responded that Alice may not live on the south side anymore, and she may not dress like she's from the south side, but they both knew the truth, snakes don't shed their skin so easily. FP then remarked that Alice was still hot, but sadly, she was a stick-in-the-mud.

It would appear that FP had finally started to get his act together, at the trailer, much to Jughead's surprise, he had not only cleaned up himself, but the trailer as well. FP even read Jughead's story that he'd been working on, surrounding Jason Blossom's Death, and complemented him on his well written manuscript. However, he did have a couple concerns, he questioned why his son wanted to write about a dead kid when there were so many other topics, but as Jughead explained, it was more like Jason picked him to tell the story no one else was going to tell. Jughead and Betty had gotten pretty deep into the case, leading FP to wonder who they thought killed Jason, but for Jughead it was less about who did it, and more about whether Riverdale was a place a place of good, or darkness and evil. FP claimed that most things are both, then suggesting that Jughead should move on at a certain point, he can't allow this story to be the only one he told.

Jughead and FP were invited to a pre-Homecoming dinner by Alice Cooper, in hopes that the two families could become better acquainted, at least that's what she told them. During the dinner, Alice began interrogating FP about his involvement with the Southside Serpents and his spotty work history, which also included his work with Hiram Lodge and the Twilight Drive-In. Betty's father, Hal Cooper soon arrived at the scene, at which point it became wildly uncomfortable, and as Alice started grilling Hal, FP decided to revisit the past, to spill some dark secrets surrounding their homecoming back in the day. He revealed that Alice and Hal were Homecoming King and Queen, he also commented that who remembered hearing the couple have a terrible fight about something that night, he didn't know what it was but it sounded serious. Alice instructed him to shut up, to which he agree to do, but only if desisted in trying to insult him in front of his son.

FP didn't attend the dance that night, but he did drop Betty and Jughead off, but not before having a brief chat with Jughead about their future plans, which involved getting the family back together and moving to Toledo. FP returned home, unbeknownst to him, the trailer had earlier been searched by Archie and Veronica when he was at the dinner. A little later that night, following an anonymous tip, Sheriff Keller was at his doorstep with a search warrant. Sheriff Keller searched the entire trailer until he found the gun that killed Jason Blossom hidden in a lockbox in his closet. FP was then accused of and arrested for the murder of Jason Blossom, however, the weapon did not belong to FP. According to Archie and Veronica, the gun was not there when they searched, meaning someone came in after them to frame FP.

While under interrogation from Sheriff Keller down at the station, FP learned that the gun in his trailer was a direct match to the bullet that killed Jason Blossom. FP explained that last summer he was approached by some red hair kid outside the Whyte Wyrm, who was looking to skip town with his pregnant Polly but he first needed money and a ride. FP offered him a deal, in exchange for delivering an unspecified amount of drugs for him, he would pay Jason, and send him on his way with a get away vehicle. However, at some point, FP realized that he was the son of Cliff Blossom, but this led him to wonder why a rick kid like Jason would ever need someone like him, and that's when Jason told FP his plan. On July 4th, Jason's sister would row him out to Sweetwater River, tip the boat, and say that Jason drowned.

Once Jason made it to the other side of the river that fateful morning, FP grabbed him, and tied Jason up in the basement of the Wyrm. From there, FP worked on his plan in which he would get word to Clifford that his son was still alive, and demand ransom money for his safe return. Before he could get word out, FP claimed that Jason got loose, so he killed the kid before he could escape, and stuffed him in the freezer. Once the police were done dragging Sweetwarer for Jason's body, FP decided to dump it there, the one place that had already checked. He also admitted to breaking into the Sheriff's house, stealing the case evidence, and even setting fire to Jason's car out on the highway off route 40.

After confessing, he used his one call to contact Joaquin, and tell him that their contingency plan was off, it was too dangerous. The next morning, as he sat behind a cell, FP received a visit from Jughead, who told him that when he and Archie first came together with their plan to help him get back on his feet, Jughead knew it was a mistake. But when FP had finally begun to clean himself up, it was the happiest Jughead had been in so long, he was even interested in the manuscript, which Jughead then realized was just a ploy to make sure his son wasn't on to him. Jughead also accused him of trying to run away when he suggested they move to Toledo, FP exclaimed that he did what he had to do, what he always does, and he's only sorry that he got caught. He then told Jughead to never come back.

Unbeknownst to FP at the time, Joaquin had informed Sheriff Keller's son of their contingency plan involving Jason's varsity jacket, which he had deemed as being too dangerous. However, it wasn't the jacket itself that was dangerous, it was the USB flashdrive hidden inside the lining that was a dangerous, as it contained surveillance video of the Jason murder. As he sat in that cell, Jughead, Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Kevin would go on to watch the video, as would Alice, Sheriff Keller and Mayor McCoy, all of whom learning the truth behind the death of Jason Blossom, that was he killed by his own father. It would come to be revealed that the reason for FP's false confession was due to a threat he had early received from Cliff, in which he would kill Jughead if FP told the truth about what happened.Although, Fp would be cleared of the murder charges, he was far from free as there were several other charges he had to deal with, everything from tampering with evidence to perjury.

Physical Appearance
FP would best be described as a tall man, around 6'0" in height, with a muscular build. He's a very handsome, older man with short, black hair, and light brown eyes. Being the leader of the Southside Serpents, he often wears a black leather jacket, with the gang's double-headed serpent symbol printed on the back.

Personality
While he is admittedly an alcoholic, dead beat dad, FP deeply cares for his family, but the stress of losing his job at Andrews Construction weighed heavily on him, so he relied heavily on alcohol to cope, which subsequently led to the separation of his family. This isn't to say that he doesn't care for them, it's quite the opposite actually, in order to provide for them, FP became involved in criminal activities.

His son, Jughead, is all he has left at the moment, he'd do almost anything for him, even if it meant jail time for himself, such as threatening or even attacking the local Sheriff. He has also shown a violent side, as when he heard Jughead was being interrogated by the Sheriff, he got furious and wanted to go and lash out at Sheriff Keller, only for his son to ask him to stop and not to make things worse.

Relationships

 * FP and Jughead
 * FP and Fred