Riverdale fans are concerned that Penelope’s way out of line with her treatment of Cheryl (Picture: CW)

She’s one of the most polarizing figures in the small and (not so) sleepy town of Riverdale.

And while Cheryl Blossom, played by Madelaine Petsch, is without a doubt one of the more fiery, narcissistic, and sassy individuals to grace the hallways of Riverdale High, she’s a lot more fragile than many in the town would believe.

As the show continues to dig deeper into the collective psyche of the town, and indeed its central players, much has been made of Betty Cooper’s struggle with mental health – Lili Reinhart herself has even spoken up about her own struggles with depression and anxiety.



However, Cheryl’s mental state has never been more than a vehicle to get her character from one plot twist to another, and some fans are slightly perturbed by this.


It’s fair to say that most of the time the character makes it really hard to empathize with her, but on the flip side there are heart-wrenching snippets and grimace-inducing scenes that make your heart go out to the youngest Blossom.

Cheryl Blossom is without a doubt one of the more fiery, narcissistic, and sassy individuals to grace the hallways of Riverdale High, but she’s a lot more fragile than many would believe (Picture: CW)

One focus of Cheryl’s backstory and growth as a character has been her relationship with her dead twin brother Jason and her parents.

In series one we saw glimpses into how the Blossom family acted, there was Cliff and Penelope blaming Cheryl for Jason’s death, Cliff’s manipulation of his daughter to try and further his drug-running business, and Penelope’s own special brand of emotional battery and torture.

It’s no wonder she burnt the damn house down!

Cheryl’s mental state has never been more than a vehicle to get her character from one plot twist to another, and some fans are slightly perturbed by this (Picture: CW)

However, series two has been, perhaps, even more unkind to Cheryl. Her mother’s turned to prostitution, she’s clearly still suffering from a desperate need for kindness and love no matter what the cost of the relationship, and she nearly got date raped by the odious, Nick St. Claire – yeah, Hiram actually did something right in breaking that kid’s legs.

But one thing that’s for sure, Cheryl’s mental health is not all that healthy at the moment.

In fact, Madelaine even admitted that the abuse her character suffers from her parents affects her deeply; hence her intense relationship with Jason.

Recently she spoke to YouTuber ShaneDawson about the raft of conspiracies surrounding Riverdale, and as she dispelled the twin-cest theory about the Blossom kids once more she also delved a little deeper into her character’s mental state.

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‘Well we kind of got into that a little more in the second series, it’s more so that Cheryl is abused by her parents,’ she explained.

‘So he’s kind of like her saving grace and he’s the only one who’s ever shown her love. It’s more about the fact she’s never been love by her parents.’

This is something that is becoming so clear in series two, and fans of Netflix and The CW’s hit teen drama have been keen to point out that the character is in real distress.

In a Reddit post about the show’s writers’ attitude towards Betty’s mental health, some viewers were quick to add that the repercussions of Cheryl’s trauma should be dealt with.

Speaking of her character’s motivations and deeper self, Madelaine Petsch recently said: ‘Cheryl is abused by her parents.’

‘I’d also dare them [the writers] to address Cheryl’s mental state,’ wrote one fan. ‘She survived a suicide attempt and a sexual assault and no one batted an eye for more than half an episode.’



A different user said: ‘Hell, even before that she had an abusive childhood, is fundamentally lonely and has to live with the fact her own father killed her brother. She’s also clearly got some illness of her own (I’ve heard speculation she suffers from Borderline Personality disorder). Addressing that would be good to.’

While another added on: ‘Not to mention her only living family (that we know of) is her negligent mother that is clearly unstable and basking in her new prostitute- lifestyle.’

One really summed up the mood, writing: ‘Yes Cheryl’s mental state is much more troubling to me. She literally burned down her house because she thought it was the only way for her and her mother to cleanse themselves. That is some next level s***.’

The last episode once-again focused on Betty’s own issues – the whole webcam model thing will surely rear its head soon – while Cheryl’s own issues with her mother were pushed to the middle-ground once more (there, but not really in the limelight).

However, if her casting as Carrie in the Riverdale High musical of Stephen King’s horror novel is anything to go by, then there’s due to be some SERIOUS drama.

Let’s hope that Cheryl comes out of it all unscathed. After all, what would we all do without the sassiest anti-hero ever to grace a teen drama?

Riverdale drops Thursday mornings on Netflix UK, and Wednesday night on The CW in the US.

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