Inspired by the Archie Comics, CW's hit drama series, Riverdale, has a wide array of characters that range from all ages and Riverdale's geographical backgrounds. Riverdale does it's best to develop each character no matter what side of the tracks they reside on; however, some characters have undergone more development than others.
Has Grown: FP Jones
FP Jones (Skeet Ulrich) has undergone some serious character development throughout the course of the show. At the start of the series, FP Jones was an absent, alcoholic father and leader of the Southside Serpents. Despite the challenges he's faced, the character continues to grow into an upstanding father and leader. While he consistently doesn't follow the law, because he's commonly a hired gun and gang leader, he usually does what he believes is right and keeps his son, Jughead, in mind.
Fiercely loyal to his son and Serpents, it could be argued that FP has grown to be one of the most reliable characters of the show. Though, audiences wouldn't have thought that way when they were first introduced to the character.
Hasn't Grown: Polly Cooper
Audiences were first introduced to Polly Cooper (Tiera Skovbye) when she was isolated at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, a group-home that cut off its patients' communication from the outside world. At first, audiences felt sorry for Polly and sympathize with the victimized love-struck character; however, she continues to make hasty and problematic decisions in the show, even putting her sister Betty in grave danger when making the decision to raise her babies at The Farm and devote herself to this cult. It seems Polly Cooper has a tendency to make snap decisions based on minimal information and this has been a reoccurring theme in every plot arc her character is involved in.
Has Grown: Archie Andrews
Archie Andrews (K.J. Apa), Riverdale's boy-next-door character, has grown leaps and bounds in the show's run. From dealing with the loss of his father, the threat to the Black Hood, trouble in paradise with Veronica Lodge, possible romantic feelings for Betty Cooper, and navigating whether to prioritize music or sports, Archie has had his fair share of character growth.
The character has come a long way from the boy that simply wanted to learn to play the guitar.
Hasn't Grown: Hiram Lodge
Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos), the ultimate infamous patriarch of the Lodge family, has grown very little (if at all) during his time in Riverdale. After being released from prison, Hiram Lodge follows his family to Riverdale where, after seemingly not learning his lesson, conspires with mobsters to build a for-profit prison in Riverdale and monopolize over it. He even takes part in an underground prison fight club where he forces Archie Andrews to fight for his life. While he claims his daughter, Veronica, is his ultimate motivation, that is a thinly-veiled lie as he cuts her off from family finances once she stands up to his mobster tyranny.
This character consistently goes back on his word and works only for himself; there's no sign of growth yet.
Has Grown: Veronica Lodge
Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendez), the highly-privileged daughter of the Lodge mobster family, has totally shifted in of character morals and motivations. She even toppled her father's financial monopoly over Riverdale and broke away from her family's ties and purse strings by opening a pseudo-speakeasy (Le Bonne Nuit) in the basement of Pop's Chocklit Shoppe. Surely, Veronica is still growing in her character arc, but she's come a long way since her days in New York.
Hasn't Grown: Pop Tate
Pop Tate (Alvin Sanders) has not grown as a character, but that's okay. Audiences favor Pop Tate due to his consistency. He's always available to give his advice if he thinks it's warranted and works to brighten the characters' days, whether it be given them their favorite milkshake or a slice of perspective. As more of a secondary character, it is not in Pop Tate's foreseeable trajectory to grow abundantly as a character.
Has Grown: Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (Mädchen Amick), is one of the few Riverdale adult characters that has grown throughout the course of the series. Initially, she condemned any Southside Serpent for "tainting" the Riverdale community; however, once she was exposed as a former serpent herself, Alice's tune began to change. Realizing (for the most part) that she is not above the rest of the community, Alice Cooper has attempted to grow as a woman and mother.
Related: Riverdale: 5 Worst Things Betty Did To Alice (& 5 Alice Did To Betty)
After leaving her husband, Hal Cooper, Alice seemed to have flourished. She even goes so far to be a caring and (relatively) open mother to both of her children. That said, there's still quite a lot of improvement that still needs to be made.
Hasn't Grown: Hermoine Lodge
Hermione Lodge has always been a lawful evil character. This is in part due to her role as a mob wife and also Riverdale mayor. Because she has a thin line to walk in of her public and private personas, she is a cunning character that is usually 3 steps ahead of the other characters, and 1 step behind Hiram Lodge when it comes to scheming. Once this revelation was exposed, audiences were shocked, but Hermoine Lodge has yet to grow beyond her cunning trickster ways.
Has Grown: Betty Cooper
Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), Nancy Drew type of character that is always trying to solve Riverdale's latest corruption eruption. The show follows this character rather closely and has detailed her growth extensively.
Hasn't Grown: Hal Cooper
Hal Cooper (Lochlyn Munro), also known as the Black Hood, is a villainous character hellbent on projecting his serial killer habits onto his daughter, Betty. Throughout the show, Hal is a background character that just acts as a disapproving father up until it is revealed that he's the latest town killer. The character doesn't grow into a better person or even a well-developed character. Instead, he blames his actions on his childhood experiences and conspires during his imprisonment like Hannibal Lecter.