Betty in "The Lost Weekend." She refuses to accept the fact that her boyfriend doesn't want a birthday party—despite being informed multiple times by Archie, FP, and Jughead himself that Jughead hates his birthday and hates parties. She keeps insisting on it, and when she gets her way, she can't believe that Jughead isn't happy. When Cheryl and Chuck crash the party and invite the whole school, Betty is further shocked that Jughead—the loner who has a history of being bullied by a lot of kids in their school—gets more annoyed. Throughout the whole episode, Betty makes Jughead's birthday all about her looking like a good girlfriend, which Jughead calls her out on. Speaking of Chuck, Betty is also without any remorse for torturing Chuck and instead only feels sorry for herself about her "darkness."
Although Betty can't solely be blamed for this: Veronica also pushes for the party because it's what she does best, and even though Archie knows better than anyone that Jughead hates his birthday and parties, Archie eventually pushes for it to try and get over his breakup with Valerie. The whole party fiasco is more out of every character trying to bury their doubts and insecurities in the concept of the party and completely ignoring Jughead's feelings in the process.
Veronica gets this in another scene in the same episode. She goes out of her way to start drama with Cheryl and ends up humiliating her, simply because Cheryl's dad might have turned Hiram into the police. This is one episode after Veronica spends the whole episode worried that Ethel would blame Veronica for Hiram's actions. Not helped by the fact that Veronica also suspects that Hiram had Jason murdered, and that Veronica knows Cheryl's parents are abusive.
Alice in "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" when she breaks down and says how her daughters think of her as a monster when she mentally abuses them regularly and receives no comeuppance for it.
Alice's self-pitying and lack of self-awareness continues throughout season 3. She's painted as Hal's victim because she lived with a serial killer for years without knowing. The only problem is that, as shown in "The Midnight Club," Alice chose to deceive Hal into believing he was Charles's father and willingly married and had children with him. Never once does she hold herself accountable. Instead, she spends much of her screen time lamenting that both Hal and Betty, the most frequent victim of her cruelty, are responsible for all the pain and suffering she's experienced in her life.
After the reveal in the season three finale that Alice had been undercover all along, many fans feel Alice has crossed the Moral Event Horizon by allowing Betty to believe she'd been brainwashed for several months and giving away her college savings.
Betty in "Nighthawks." While trying to help her boyfriend's dad get less jail time is understandable, she loses sympathy when she expresses zero empathy for the Blossoms as to why they would want the man who helped kidnap Jason, cleaned up the mess of his murder, hid his body before dumping it in the river like trash, and destroyed evidence in his murder case not to mention allowed them unknowingly to sleep under the same roof as Jason's killer, potentially putting them at risk to be put in prison. It became especially hard to sympathize when Betty blackmails Cheryl—who in-universe had tried to commit suicide a few months ago because of all of these traumas—into committing perjury and getting FP off scott free by threatening to publicly release the video of Jason's murder with the explicit reasoning that Cheryl would never be able to heal from that trauma. It says a lot that many fans—even those who dislike Cheryl—still hold this episode against Betty. It's actually exacerbated when later episodes imply that this is something Betty is proud of.
This is made even worse in "Jawbreaker" when it is revealed that Betty did not keep her promise to delete the footage in exchange for Cheryl's testimony. She brings it out for Toni use to convince Cheryl that she is not talking to Jason at the Farm. Nobody comments on or even mentions this betrayal.
Jughead gets hit with this a few times:
"The Lost Weekend": His rant to Betty implies that he is willfully making himself an outcast, and keeping others at arm's length. Whilst Betty failed to take his feelings into consideration in organizing the party, Jughead crosses the line by accusing her of only biding her time with him until Archie changes his mind.
"Nighthawks": Jughead not wanting to be torn apart from his dad? Understandable. Being on board with a scheme that involves blackmail (see above), including to give a false testimony while under oath in court, a serious legal offense, and with a recent trauma victim as the target? Not so much.
"Tales from the Darkside": Jughead listens to Penny Peabody when she tells him FP has been roughed up. It's understandable that Jughead would freak out when hearing this, but he doesn't take into account that it's coming from someone his father specifically warned him not to trust. As such, it's hard to sympathize with him when he goes through with her requests.
In general, most of the time Jughead goes on a moral crusade, since he's generally overreacting to minor slights nobody else considers important or using other people's traumas so he can play hero. Particularly since the people he's defending rarely want his help or even have a problem with what's going on (such as him getting the teen Serpents to side with him against shutting down Southside High, even though it's an underfunded dump barely two steps above being a prison that everyone else hated attending), to the point he often has to convince them that it's for their benefit, not his, that they go on this crusade. As a result, it often looks less like he cares that these are injustices that need fixing, and more that he's using the injustices as an excuse for him to shame others and feel good about himself.
The Southside Serpents. Despite being an apparent outlaw gang, Season 2 seems determined to show them as victims of circumstance. While some of their complaints are legitimate, it is a bit hard to sympathize when most of the things the Northsiders say about them (drug dealing, violence, and sexism) have been shown to be absolutely correct since the first season. The distinct lack of character development for most of them, the members showing no real negative (or confusingly contradictory in Toni's case) reactions to this morally questionable behavior, the gang's so-called loyalty to each other coming off more like an enforced arrangement rather than real friendship or caring, and the complete lack of focus on the Southside residents who aren't part of the gang really doesn't help.
Cheryl. Does she have sympathetic moments that indicate that she could be a better person if she wanted to? Yes. However, her constant bullying, verbal abuse towards others, the fact that she never really seems sorry for these actions (she has only ever apologized twice, and once was actually for something her brother did), and the fact that she isn't often called out on her behaviour makes her difficult to sympathize with for some fans. And yes, she has an abusive home life, but she's far from the only character with that problem.
Some people feel Veronica was this in "The Wrestler": She and Josie get into a brawl which leads to Veronica going to Melody and Valerie, who are also annoyed with Josie. They rebrand their band, 'Josie and the Pussycats' as 'Veronica and the Pussycats', and perform publicly in a way that really rubs it in Josie's face.
Archie in "There Will Be Blood." We get it that he's facing conflicting loyalties, but choosing to stay on board with Hiram, a man he knows to be a criminal, over his own father?
Betty. Apparently, the best way to deal with Chic is to threaten him with fire, brag about getting three men killed, and taunt him about possibly dying because of her.
We get that Veronica wants to be seen as better than her parents, and she is being forced to pay for their actions, but she ends up bringing a lot of the heat she gets onto herself by running for student body president, something that is clearly a bad idea. She also punches Reggie in the face and gets away with it.
Jughead becomes less sympathetic when a) Archie points out that he was only at Southside High for a short period of time, and b) Jughead states that the Southside is only the place where he apparently has fond memories of his family, one that broke up due his dad's drinking, and doesn't appear to have the same good feeling for his mom, who refused to take him in at the end of last season. Basically, Jughead is only reacting this way to hold onto his happy memories that other members of his family don't seem to share.
Also Josie, and more indirectly, Josie's mother. While Josie being mad at Veronica for "stealing" the Pussycats is understandable,note Though it's important to remember that Josie herself dumped the Pussycats and also broke off her friendship with Veronica in a very harsh way, all based on the word of her mother without giving Veronica a chance to explain things or apologize her being furious at Veronica for Veronica's parents screwing over McCoy is pretty extreme. Not only is Mayor McCoy JUST as bad as the Lodges, willingly taking their bribes and oppressing the Southside children amongst other equally immoral and illegal actions, but Veronica also went out of her way to warn Mayor McCoy that her parents were planning on exposing her affair, putting herself at risk in the process. Worse still, even fans who otherwise sympathized with or cheered Josie on felt that she crossed a line by accusing Veronica of being "best friends" with sexual assaulter Nick St. Clair, who not only tried to rape Veronica herself, but Josie also witnessed Veronica beating the crap out of him for trying it with Cheryl.
Ethel really loses a lot of her prior Woobie points by how she harasses Veronica over her parents' actions. While what her dad suffered because of Hiram is horrible, Ethel publicly humiliates Veronica in a manner that, as Betty points out, clearly involved a lot of pre-planning to do. Worse still, Veronica makes it clear she doesn't blame Ethel and sympathises with her, then goes out of her way to try and make amends, only for Ethel to, at first claim to accept it, only to then publicly humiliate her again by handing out flyers exposing some of Veronica's dirtier secrets and attacking her character, while dismissing Veronica's attempts at making amends as being a 'cheap bribe', despite the fact Veronica herself was earnest in this and had, previously, been nothing but nice to Ethel.
Cheryl in "A Night to Remember" when she "apologizes" for her pastbehaviortowardsJosie. While an apology is a step in the right direction, it's undermined greatly by Cheryl making excuses for herself and pressuring Josie to forgive her. Cheryl also never addresses the fact that she framed Chuck for it.
The reveal that Kevin has known for at least several months that there has been an illegal conversion therapy being run by the Sisters of Quiet Mercy and, despite being the Sheriff's son, has not informed law enforcement of this. It gets into downright despicable territory when one considers the heavy implication that Kevin has kept this a secret so he can "hook up" with the male victims of the camp.
Likewise, Betty also not exposing this cruelty so she can use the information as blackmail fodder against the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. While Cheryl, Veronica, and Toni at least have the excuse of Cheryl being traumatized by her experience and not being ready to talk about it, and respecting Cheryl, respectively, Betty's motive is entirely self-serving for her investigations. It's very hard to not see her getting thrown into Quiet Mercy herself the following season as Laser-Guided Karma.
Archie in "Labor Day." After his case ends in a mistrial, Archie chooses to confess to a murder he definitely did not commit because does not want to "put his family and friends through another trial." The show presents this as Archie being selfless and sparing them any more stress as though his parents and friends knowing he will be sent to jail for who-knows-how-long under false pretenses will be better for them. It doesn't help that the deadlock implies that Archie may have a chance of acquittal in a new trial.
Cheryl and Toni's stint as cat burglars. It gets them kicked out of the Serpents, which Cheryl calls Jughead out for keeping Fangs when he was dealing drugs. Except Fangs was getting money for his sick mother, while it's explicitly stated Toni and Cheryl were stealing from the rich to give to... themselves. That's not even getting into brazenly stealing from Hiram, who they know to be powerful and dangerous.
On the flip side, Jughead as well in this storyline. As Cheryl points out, while his motivations were to help his friend, he was still the de-facto leader of the Southside Serpents and abandoned them for weeks in the midst of chaos- part of which he is directly responsible for, having dragged the gang into playing the Griffins and Gargoyles game. His sudden demand that all Southside Serpent members cease any criminal activity was meant to come off as righteous, but given that the Serpents are, well, a gang, it instead comes off as foolish and naive. In contrast to how he kicked Cheryl and Toni our of the gang, publicly and without a chance to give their case, after he finds out about Fangs selling drugs, Jughead speaks to him in private and allows him to explain and remain in the Gang. This is despite the fact that Toni had gone out of her way to both warn Jughead about the consequences of joining the Serpents and to help him join the Serpent, and herself in jeopardy in order to help him deal with Penny, as well as despite the fact that while his motives may have been more sympathetic, Fang’s actions are more dangerous than Toni and Cheryl’s, what with him selling drugs that cause hallucinations and seizures. In addition, the fact that Toni is the only Serpent left who is a descendant from the original tribe, makes her being kicked out of the gang started by her family by a white boy she bent over backwards to include has some.... Unfortunate Implications, to say the least. After Cheryl calls out the double standard with him keeping Fangs in the Serpents, Jughead seemingly acquiesces and kicks Fangs out as well, only to later prove Cheryl right and secretly allow him back into the Serpents. In the very next episode, Fangs and Sweet Pea kill somebody, and Jughead helps them cover it up and keeps them in the gang despite the supposed “no more crimes” rule. Later in the season, Jughead asks Toni to rejoin the Serpents not out of regret for how she was treated or after realizing how much she means to the gang, but only after the gang Toni started with Cheryl starts to be a threat in numbers to the Serpents— and with the double standards for Cheryl and Toni as well as the sexist “jokes” Sweet Pea and Fangs make at the girls’ expense, it’s not hard to understand why the female members of the Serpents are switching sides— and unlike when he kicked Cheryl and Toni out of the Serpents, when he’s doing the groveling Jughead keeps the conversation between the two of them at Pop’s. Jughead also makes an uncalled for comment about Toni’s relationship with Cheryl, insulting both of them and Toni’s value as a person by accusing her of being merely Cheryl’s “vanity project,” apropos of nothing. Unlike Cheryl, whose flaws— such as her selfishness and impulsiveness are rightly called out in the episodes, Jughead is portrayed as being wholly in the right in this plotline.
Toni comes off a bit this way in "American Dreams". Firstly, she's planning on spending spring break with her gang, rather than her girlfriend. Obviously Toni should be able to have a life outside of her relationship, but it does seem a little unfair to Cheryl, especially since it seems she hasn't even been invited, despite being the one who started the gang in the first place to cheer Toni up after they got kicked out of the Serpents. Then when Cheryl goes to smooth things over, she finds Toni singing a mean-spirited song and cuddling with Veronica. Toni looks super guilty when she realises Cheryl has seen the whole thing. Cheryl might be a difficult person to have as a girlfriend, but she's shown to be nothing but loving and generous with Toni. Toni's behaviour seems a poor way to repay the person who took you in when you were living in a tent, at the very least.
To be fair, Cheryl was pretty much the reason they got kicked out of the Serpents in the first place (Toni would have never jeopordized her place in the gang without Cheryl's influence) and even if you see past that, Cheryl definately was coming close to suffocating Toni with her love. Also, Cheryl offered Toni to live with her - Toni shouldn't have to "repay" the person she loves for giving her a home.
Cheryl gets this again in "Big Fun." Her entire reason for putting on this musical, in spite of Riverdale High's practical reasons to refuse such an event knowing what happened last time, is to vent her frustration with Toni over their Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure, which is over by the end of the episode anyway.
Betty again in "Fear The Reaper." It's at least a bit understandable that she would want to help her dad (even if it is just getting him to a better prison), but striking a deal with Hiram? Even worse in that it seemingly gets Hal killed.
Cheryl in "The Ice Storm." After Toni kills Cheryl's Uncle Bedford in self-defense, Cheryl's Aunt Cricket obviously comes around looking for her missing husband. In order to drive her aunt and cousin away, Cheryl tricks a WIDOW and her son into believing they have consumed the flesh of their deceased loved one. It turns out the meat was simply lamb, but the show acts as though we should join Cheryl in condemning her aunt and cousin for daring to ask about their husband/father's whereabouts, as well as for questioning Cheryl's sanity in the first place (and considering that Cheryl has been keeping the corpse of her long-dead brother in the house chapel, it's a valid concern to raise).
Cheryl in Varsity Blues. It's understandable that she reacts badly when Principal Honey brings in a real cheerleading coach, who undermines Cheryl's authority. But then she goes off on the Vixens for accepting the new coach, saying that they "turned their backs" on her, and that they "owe" her. Firstly, Cheryl's leadership mainly consists of verbal abuse (e.g. calling them bitches and sluts), and forcing them to dance in the background while she (along with any combination of Josie, Veronica and Toni) steals the spotlight to butcher yet another popular song. It's no wonder that the Vixens are interested in the new coach - they want to be cheerleaders, not human props for the Cheryl Show. Yet, it seems like the viewer is supposed to be on Cheryl's side.
Veronica sort of qualifies too in the same episode, with how easily she slips into the role of Cheryl's crony while Cheryl is berating the Vixens (i.e. the snarky way she goes "fact!" when Cheryl is talking about what a good HBIC she's been). It just felt weird and immature, not to mention OOC for Veronica, who's witnessed firsthand how cruel and unreasonable Cheryl can be with the Vixens (B and V's tryout in the pilot episode, anyone?).
Unfortunate Implications, to say the least. After Cheryl calls out the double standard with him keeping Fangs in the Serpents, Jughead seemingly acquiesces and kicks Fangs out as well, only to later prove Cheryl right and secretly allow him back into the Serpents. In the very next episode, Fangs and Sweet Pea kill somebody, and Jughead helps them cover it up and keeps them in the gang despite the supposed “no more crimes” rule. Later in the season, Jughead asks Toni to rejoin the Serpents not out of regret for how she was treated or after realizing how much she means to the gang, but only after the gang Toni started with Cheryl starts to be a threat in numbers to the Serpents— and with the double standards for Cheryl and Toni as well as the sexist “jokes” Sweet Pea and Fangs make at the girls’ expense, it’s not hard to understand why the female members of the Serpents are switching sides— and unlike when he kicked Cheryl and Toni out of the Serpents, when he’s doing the groveling Jughead keeps the conversation between the two of them at Pop’s. Jughead also makes an uncalled for comment about Toni’s relationship with Cheryl, insulting both of them and Toni’s value as a person by accusing her of being merely Cheryl’s “vanity project,” apropos of nothing. Unlike Cheryl, whose flaws— such as her selfishness and impulsiveness are rightly called out in the episodes, Jughead is portrayed as being wholly in the right in this plotline.