Listen, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, I have a very simple proposal for you. I’m aware that in the entire history of The CW network, you’ve barely nominated their shows for Emmy Awards, and the only times CW shows have won are for technical awards like editing or choreography. But if you don’t give Lili Reinhart an Emmy for her portrayal of Betty Cooper on Season 3 of Riverdale, I’m going to steal your kidneys.

I’m just kidding, of course (or am I? No, I am. OR AM I?), there’s no way I could sneak into the houses of every member of the Academy, perform illicit surgery and then sell their kidneys on the black market, a la evil cult The Farm on this season of Riverdale. But therein lies the problem: Riverdale is just not the sort of show that gets nominated for Emmys, what with all the kidney stealing and stick monsters and bear attacks; yet Reinhart’s performance this season has been one, 22-episode long Emmy submission reel.

Given the source material and frequent twitter memes you would think Riverdale was all about KJ Apa’s Archie Andrews. It’s not. The star of the show is Reinhart, and though other characters get stand-out moments — this week alone, Madelaine Petsch’s Cheryl Blossom had one of the most devastating, romantic scenes in the show’s short history — Betty has slowly moved to the forefront as the anchor of the show’s central mysteries.

That was apparent in Season 2, when she was tackling a serial killer named the Black Hood, who turned out to be Betty’s father. Season 3 has pushed Betty, and Reinhart, even further. Unlike the comparatively straightforward dark grooming that went on last year, this season has found Betty grappling with The Farm slowly consuming all of her friends and family: starting with her sister Polly (Tiera Skovbye); then her mother Alice (Mädchen Amick). All of this was for some, unknown purpose that seemed (and still seems, as the season finale airs next week) to be targeting specifically Betty. There’s the aforementioned organ stealing reveal that happened on this week’s “Chapter Fifty-Six: The Dark Secret of Harvest House,” but up until then what’s come through in both the writing and Reinhart’s performance is that she knows The Farm is evil; she just can’t explain, or prove why.

That’s what has made Reinhart’s performance so special and nuanced, as she’s slowly moved over the course of 22 episodes from the composed Betty holding in her anger and fright as her boyfriend Jughead (Cole Sprouse) wrestled with a bout of madness caused by an evil role playing game, to a wide-eyed, hypnotized mess confronting her own dark self this week.

Again, I want to stress, this is a huge hill for any sort of awards-granting body to get over. Describing the plot of Riverdale is often like recounting a fever dream you had after downing a whole bottle of NyQuil. Though the Emmys have expanded their horizons in recent years to include more fantasy fare, that usually means an insanely popular mainstream hit like Game of Thrones, or “important” science-fiction like Hulu’s Handmaid’s Tale. That doesn’t, however, include teen murder shows on fifth ranked broadcast networks.

But take, for example, a scene in “Chapter Fifty-Three: Jawbreaker” where Betty finally confronts her mother about The Farm. After kidnapping her and locking her in a bunker underground, Betty pleads with Alice to come back to her, to be her mom again. Alice is so dragged out, though, she begs her daughter to just let her go back to the safety and simplicity of the cult. I don’t think anyone would doubt the acting chops of Amick, who has been throwing it down with the best of them since her Twin Peaks days. But Reinhart more than holds her own. The relationship between not just Betty and Alice, but also between Reinhart and Amick that has built up over three seasons led to a searing scene with two women on the verge of a breakdown that — forgetting the bonkers circumstances that brought them there — stands toe to toe with similar scenes on any of your typical award winning dramas.

Earlier in the season, on “Chapter Forty-Eight: Requiem for a Welterweight,” a scene between Alice and Betty turned the focus squarely on Reinhart. After saving her mother’s life from a drowning ceremony, she watched her mother huddled on their family’s couch as the distant woman explained she was joining The Farm for good. Instead of cutting back and forth, the camera focused entirely on the silent Reinhart, slowly pushing in on the tears forming in her eyes as her world started to crumble away. It was a bold choice from the editing stand-point, but again, it works because you feel every bit of what Betty’s feeling, through the emotion pouring from Reinhart’s point of view.

Another scene, in “Chapter Fifty-Five: Prom Night” takes a similar tack, as Betty learns that the serial killer father who has been mentoring her from prison is conclusively dead (later it turns out he isn’t, but whatever). Upon learning the info, she goes through about thirty different emotions, from grief to relief to composure and back again, all in the span of a few seconds. And as one of the episode’s writers, Britta Lundin, revealed, that was all Reinhart:

Look, nobody is going to argue that Riverdale isn’t a ridiculous show, a heady stew of pop culture and Americana mixed together with every cult classic movie out there and a healthy dollop of sexy teens having sex (played by adults). But what makes it work beyond all of that is the often grounded performances. If everyone was constantly winking or working against the material, it would burn out in no time. Instead, Reinhart (and company) devotes herself to the scene, playing the reality of it inside the unreality of the show. Everyone on Riverdale knows how ridiculous it is that they’re battling candy drug peddling gargoyle monsters, but when Reinhart clenches her nails into her palms, takes a breath and powers through anyway — the show works.

And that’s what the writers behind Riverdale discovered early on, that Reinhart is far more versatile than the lovesick good girl with the heart of gold Betty is in the comics. Season 2 tested the waters, but Season 3 has been one long showcase for Reinhart, and she has soared episode in and out, never delivering a bad performance. This season has, from a textual level, been extremely rough for Betty: she’s been tested, torn apart, lost everything including control over her own mind… She’s been through as much as any handmaid, or the women in Westeros, and come through stronger because of it. This is due to the writing and whole production team, of course; but thanks to Reinhart’s versatile execution, the material is elevated to stratospheric levels.

So: not that awards are the be-all, end-all… But when it comes time to hand out those golden statues, won’t you consider Lili Reinhart for her work as Betty Cooper on Riverdale? Meanwhile, I’ll be over here stocking my bathtub with ice cubes. You know. Just in case.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW

Where to stream Riverdale