Polly Cooper/Season 1 (2024)

Polly's Absence[]

When Betty helps Veronica take revenge on Chuck, they find the playbook that he and his friends would rate their 'conquests' in. In the book, Polly is listed next to Jason's name, her worth being a total of nine points. Only further proving how little Polly meant to Jason, in Betty's perspective.^[1]

While investigating Jason's murder, Betty learns of Jason's involvement in dealing drugs from Trev, a former teammate of his. She then goes to her father and asks about Polly. Hal explains that Polly and Jason had a fight. He is unsure what the fight was about, but Polly was left devastated as a result. Hal alleges that Polly subsequently attempted to commit suicide, and that was the real reason she was sent away, to prevent it from happening again.^[2]

Escaping the Sisters of Quiet Mercy[]

After months of being separated, Polly receives an unexpected visit from Betty at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy group-home. She hugs Betty, who almost instantly notices that she is pregnant with Jason's child. Polly explains to Betty she and Jason only broke up because his parents forced them to, but after he learned of Polly's pregnancy, he was overjoyed. The two of them had planned to run away together on the 4th of July, but their parents found out, and she was sent away because of it. When Polly asks if Betty has talked to Jason, Betty is faced with the unenviable task of telling her sister that her lover is dead. As expected, Polly does not react well. To make matters worse, Betty is called away by one of the nuns.

Not long after her reunion with Betty, Polly runs into her mother in the halls of Quiet Mercy. Alice has come to take Betty home. Polly confronts her mother on the lies she told regarding Jason. As tension grows between the two and Polly's behavior becomes more irretrievable, two orderlies pull her away, though Betty rushes over to Polly, grabbing her hand and promising that's she'll get her out. As promised, Betty returns with Jughead, but by then, Polly has already escaped through the broken window in her room, leaving only blood behind, smudged on the glass window.^[3]

Polly appeared in a dream sequence of Jughead's, which would best be described as some kind of idealized, make-believe version of the American dream. She and Jason sat across the table, from Jughead and Betty as they held hands, her mother and father were there as well, they appeared to be one big happy family.

Seeking Refuge[]

Following her escape from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy group home, Polly hides in the attic of her house until it is safe. After a hunch led on by a discussion she previously had with Jughead, Betty finds her. As Betty wraps Polly's wounded leg, she asks how she got into the attic without anyone seeing her. Polly replies that she knows every entrance and exit of the house, plus their father has yet to fix the cellar door. Polly explains that she couldn't just stay at the group home, waiting for Jason, who would never come for her. Polly reveals that she and Jason had a plan to move to a farm upstate and raise the baby. Polly still wishes to fulfill that wish, despite the fact that their parents are pressuring her to give the baby up for adoption. Unfortunately, Polly has no resources or money. That said, she also refuses to have her baby raised in a home where it isn't wanted. Their parents then return home. Betty begs Polly to give her a few days to find her someplace safe to stay in Riverdale

Following a meeting that Betty had with the Blossoms, in which they promised to take care of Polly and her child, she agrees to meet them at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe. However, only Cheryl shows up. She came to warn them that her family has no intentions of protecting Polly, in fact, they want her out the picture. With no place to go, Veronica and Hermione insists that she stay with them.^[4]

Baby Shower[]

According to Polly, who tells her story to Betty, Veronica, Hermione, and Sheriff Keller, what started out as a casual conversation between her and Jason flourished into an epic-forbidden romance. But for reasons that are still unclear, their family's tried to tear them apart, however, the break-up was short-lived, as Polly soon discovered she was pregnant with Jason's child. They became secretly engaged with Nana Rose's blessing and her heirloom ring. She and Jason had made plans to run away in an effort to start a new life together. The last time she saw him was at Pop's, where he told her about his plan to fake his own death and meet up on the other side of Sweetwater River. Unfortunately, before that could happen, Polly was taken away to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. That said, before they could even consider leaving town together, they needed money, which resulted in a one-time drug deal between Jason and the Southside Serpents. He received an upstate address where he would deliver the drugs in exchange for cash but neither Jason nor the drugs made it that far as he was murdered, and the drugs went up in flames in his car on Route 40, along with everything Polly had with him, including the heirloom ring.

A couple days later, Polly is approached by Betty and Veronica with the idea that they'd throw her a baby shower. Initially hesitant, Polly agrees, adding that she wants her mother there, as well as the Blossoms. The shower would be the perfect opportunity to prove to them that she isn't an unfit mother, despite their claims that she was.

While her mother had been invited to the shower, it is clear that the chances of her actually attending the event are slim, which leaves Polly disappointed, even as Betty attempts to cheer her up. Polly then announces that she wants Betty to be her child's godmother. If anything ever happened to her, Betty is the only one she trusts to raise her child.

That night, as the baby shower commences, Polly reunites with several friends that she hadn't seen in months, such as Val and Melody. Much to her surprise, Alice decides to attend the shower. They hug after Alice expresses how happy she is that Polly and the baby are safe. Just then, the Blossoms arrive. They gift Polly with an expensive stroller, and in return, Cheryl wants to be named the child's godmother, unaware that Polly had earlier named Betty the godmother. Halfway through the shower, Nana Blossom performs some kind of ritual, in which she hovers a purple stone necklace over Polly's hand, which she claims can read the baby's aura and predict its gender, and according to her, Polly is having twins, one of each.

The gift opening portion of the night has come, and Polly opens her mother's gift to find the old night light that she used as a child. Alice saved it; she knew how much Polly loved it and how much it made her feel safe, so she wants Polly's child to have it. Following the night light, Penelope insists that Polly open her gift next, which happens to be a miniature rocking horse that belonged to great-grandfather Blossom. Polly then received an invitation from Penelope and Cheryl to live with them at Thornhill. Disgusted by their attempt to suck Polly in, Alice insults the Blossoms' gift and assert that Polly will never set foot in their home. Penelope then accuses Alice of being ashamed of Polly and the baby. They argue before Polly interrupts, declaring that she and Jason were supposed to be together and that the pointless feud between the two families is what had gotten him killed.

After the shower, Alice apologizes for her outburst, but that isn't enough for Polly, as she is still frustrated with her mother for sending away, because had she not done that, Polly would have met up with Jason, and he could still be alive. Alice retorts that Polly might have gotten hurt or worse. Polly felt alone there. Alice apologizes, as she never meant for Polly to feel unwanted and unloved. She promises she will never make her feel that way again and begs her to return home. Polly is surprised that her mother wants her to come home. However, there is the question of her father, who will never accept Polly's child. Polly then reveals that unbeknownst to her mother, before she was sent away, her father had made an appointment for her to get an abortion to get rid of her "mistake."

After learning the next morning that her mother had no involvement in the appointment and that she had kicked their father out the house, Betty insists that Polly return home with them. Despite being free and able to come back home to be with her family, Polly opts to live with the Blossoms at Thornhill. She explains that she is doing it for her child.^[5]

Infiltration of Thornhill[]

After moving in with the Blossoms, Polly begins to ignore Betty's calls and emails, cutting off all ties to her sister. However, she is in attendance at the Blossom family's ceremonial Maple Tree tapping, where Archie confronts Polly about her failure to communicate with her family. She tells him that Betty has nothing to worry about.

Later that week, during a banquet at the Belmont Lodge with the entire Blossom family and board of trustees, Polly interrupts Clifford's conversation with Archie to ask him to dance. During their dance, Polly reveals that she only chose to live with the Blossoms because she suspects that they are involved in Jason's death and needs evidence to prove it. She ignored Betty in order to make the charade more convincing, and that's why she needs Betty to stop trying to contact her.

Before heading off to bed that night, Polly stops by Cheryl's room to say goodnight, unaware that Cheryl then proceeds to scratch her face out of a photo that was taken at the Maple Tree tapping.^[6]

Still fully content in her mission to out the Blossoms in having some form of involvement in Jason's death, Polly makes her way to the east wing of Thornhill, where Clifford and Penelope reside. Inside one of the rooms, a shelf housing a variety of red toupées catches Polly's eye. She is then spotted by Clifford, who in actuality has gray hair. Angry over her snooping, he slams the door in Polly's face.

With this recent revelation in mind, Polly calls Betty to inform her that she is only running as co-Homecoming Queen with Cheryl in an effort to keep her distracted. While Polly hadn't found anything, she remarks that the family is certainly hiding something. Unfortunately, her earlier deal with Betty leaves her on a strict schedule, as they agreed that if Polly failed to find any evidence by Homecoming, she'd leave. The only place left to look is Clifford and Penelope's bedroom, however, they protect it obsessively, she tells Betty. Polly then has to cut her call with Betty short as Penelope enters the room with Polly's milkshake and a request that she bring an end to her explorations of the east wing.

The next day, as Cheryl does her makeup, Polly finds herself in the perfect opportunity to further explore the mansion by convincing Cheryl to borrow Penelope's jewelry. Cheryl then stumbles across her nana's wedding ring, which is the same ring Jason proposed to Polly with. Polly questions Cheryl how did Penelope end up with the ring, but not even Cheryl is sure. The only way Penelope could've gotten that ring back was if she or Clifford took it away from him, later adding that Jason wouldn't have given it up to them. Polly attempts to take the ring back, but Cheryl grabs her wrist and warns her that just because she's carrying precious cargo doesn't guarantee her safety.

Later that night, Penelope comes into her room, offering an explanation as to why they are in possession of the supposedly missing ring. According to Penelope, the last time Clifford saw Jason was the day he disowned the Blossom family, wanting nothing more to do with the name or lineage, including the ring, which he threw in Cliff's face as a final rebuke. Clifford then gave the ring to Penelope for safekeeping. Polly thought the ring had been lost, which Penelope replies that nothing is lost forever, everything comes back. She then hands Polly another Strawberry milkshake and insists that she finish it, which unbeknownst to Polly is drugged with a relaxer, knocking her out for the night.^[7]

Returning Home[]

Having missed Homecoming, Polly wakes up the next morning to surprising news, a published article in The Register, which states that FP Jones had been arrested for Jason's murder. Clifford gently touches her hand, telling Polly that he went to the station himself and looked Jason's killer in his eyes. Finally, they will have peace, as will Jason, or so his parents claim.

During the late hours of the night, loud knocking can be heard all throughout Thornhill. Polly's mother, father, and sister are responsible for the late night racket, as they've come to take her home after a startling revelation that she and Jason are relatives, third cousins to be exact. According to Alice, Hal's grandfather wasn't just the murder victim of Clifford's grandfather, they were brothers, thus making Polly a Blossom. Penelope states that nothing could be more purely Blossom than Polly's babies, a comment that laves Polly sickened to her stomach. Disgusted with this latest turn of events, Polly decides to leave with her family.

The next day, she and Betty lay in bed together, discussing their current predicament. Betty is thrilled that she has finally returned home, that she is safe, and that the babies are healthy, but everything else is like a nightmare. ^[8]

In the wake of Clifford Blossom's death and the recent revelation that he was responsible for Jason's death, the Cooper family resort back to their routine life. Polly and Hal had returned home, but much to Betty's dismay, they are all smiling and simply avoiding all the damage the town has suffered, their family included, as they aren't the perfectly normal family they pretend to be.

Later that day, Polly walks in on Betty and Veronica gossiping, an activity that she misses dearly, as well as being a River Vixen. Polly even misses going to school, and their mother isn't too fond of the idea of her returning so soon, but what she doesn't know, won't hurt her, Betty says.

As planned, Polly accompanies Betty to school the following day. Unfortunately, their fun outing quickly goes wrong when someone writes "Go To Hell Serpent slu*t" in pig's blood on Betty's locker, in retaliation to the article she published in FP's defense. Sadly, their terrible day only seems to worsen when Polly is interrogated by her mother on the events that had taken place earlier at school, to which she apologizes to Betty for.

The following night, Polly attends the 75th Anniversary Jubilee with her parents as Betty gives a speech to the entire audience in direct relation to the town's current dilemma, in which they are facing a crossroads. They need to face the reality of what they are because lying and keeping secrets will only damn the town, and what happened to Jason wouldn't be the last if they continued their ways. Riverdale must do better, Betty says. Polly, Alice, Hal, and the rest of the audience give Betty a standing ovation. ^[9]

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