Cheryl Blossom is one of the most popular girls in Riverdale, both in the show and the comic books. She’s wealthy, she’s a cheerleader, and she slays in her wardrobe choices. Now, thanks to the Archie Horror imprint, Cheryl Blossom has the opportunity to literally slay as a potential Antichrist -- and making it even sweeter is that it’s in competition with her twin, Jason Blossom.
Blossoms 666, written by Cullen Bunn with art by Laura Braga, explores the Blossom family in a much darker way than we’ve seen so far in the Archie Universe. In the new series, the Blossoms practice the occult, with one of the twins destined to be the Antichrist. As you would expect, both Jason and Cheryl want the title, and as such, have to make some moves. It seems as though they need to sacrifice someone to the “Dark One,” or at the very least, kill someone.
Cheryl’s mark is an easy one for her: The soft and stammering Dilton Doiley who’s constantly picked on by Reggie Mantle. Cheryl uses her charm and beauty to get into Dilton’s ear about how he should stand up for himself against bullies like Reggie. After all, girls love confidence, so if Dilton ever wants a shot at a gorgeous girl like Cheryl, or in fact any girl, he needs to show that he values himself enough to defend himself.
Jason’s target is initially Jughead, who has made a bit of a mess of his life when it comes to his schoolwork. Jason vouches for Jughead to Miss Grundy, but he doesn’t expect Jughead to then stay home to finish his work instead of going to the Blossom's pool party -- a party that’s actually a ruse for the twins to do what’s necessary to become the Antichrist.
The Cherry Bombshell Antichrist
Cheryl is not one to get blood on her hands directly, which is why she urges Dilton to take action against Reggie. At the pool party, she leads Dilton to a tree where Reggie is conveniently tied up and hands Dilton a knife. While this is a pretty unexpected sight at a high school pool party, and Dilton is clearly shocked, we know how persuasive and determined Cheryl can be. Once she has a target, she hits the bullseye. (And we're not even talking about her archery skills.)
In comparison, we don’t actually know what Jason’s plan was. Putting a target on Jughead was a bold move, since he’s so beloved by the fandom, but on a practical level, it's a bit problematic. Was Jason just going to cozy up to Jughead at the party, maybe feed him a few burgers, and then kill him? It doesn’t appear to be a well-thought-out plan, which is why Jason takes notice of Ethel at the party.
Even though Ethel’s had some annoying moments on Riverdale this season, she’s still a character fans would want to protect, so the twist of her becoming a satanic sacrifice is a good one. On the other hand, Reggie, Cheryl’s choice, has always been a polarizing character in the Archie Universe. And love him or hate him, fans sure do like it when bullies are punished.
IT would seem clear then, who the victor of America’s Next Antichrist is going to be. Cheryl is simply running her game at a higher level than Jason. Whereas Jason seems to be going with a direct route, Cheryl is more cunning and manipulative -- words which are practically the main part of the Antichrist job description.