The best Veronica Lodge moments in the hit show Riverdale are so plentiful, it’s a struggle to narrow them down to just a few key moments. For those of you who have been hiding under a rock, Veronica Lodge is the fierce American-Latina character who practically runs the town of Riverdale in the popular CW show. Although Veronica’s character was written as white in the original 1941-era Archie comics, the CW decided to make her Latina when they brought the series to life. Which, as we know, is a smart move.

Veronica Lodge is played by the beautiful, talented, and hilarious Camila Mendes, an American actress of Brazilian descent who has been vocal about her love of how Riverdale portrays the Lodge family’s relationship to their Latinx roots. As she so eloquently stated to People: “It’s rare that you see Latin families being portrayed as intelligent, sophisticated, and powerful entities”. We couldn’t agree more. In celebration of Veronica Lodge and her unapologetic Latina-ness, here is a rundown of the best Veronica Lodge moments in the soapy teen series.

1. This Viral “Karma’s a bitch” Moment

The meme to end all Riverdale memes, this line took the internet by storm after Veronica said it in response to hearing that the scummy Nick St. Clair had been hit by a car and was seriously injured. Obviously, the accident happened under mysterious circumstances. And as any Riverdale fan out there knows, “mysterious circumstances” is always code for: Hiram Lodge handled it. Because of Veronica’s signature sassy delivery, this scene quickly went viral on the Chinese social network Weibo. It then spread like wildfire to other websites. This is no doubt that it’s the best Veronica Lodge moment we’ve seen so far because it encompasses everything we love so much about her: power, confidence, and a thirst for justice.

2. Secretly Betraying Her (Evil) Dad

Like any great antagonist, Veronica’s father Hiram Lodge is multi-faceted–he obviously loves his daughter, but those feelings are often challenged by his lust for money and power. Unfortunately for him, he’s met his match in Veronica. In the finale of season 2, Veronica out-maneuvers her father by buying the Whyte Wyrm bar (which he was planning on using as a front for illegal dealings) out from under him. She then uses the Whyte Wyrm as a pawn to buy back Pop’s Chock’lit Shop from Hiram. If that doesn’t have you standing from your seat screaming in approval, then we don’t know what will.

3. When She SLAPS Nick St. Clair

One of the things we love so much about Riverdale is how bravely it handles sensitive issues like sexual assault and slut-shaming. Nick St. Clair is a spoiled, privileged prep-school boy that Veronica used to be friends with back in her bad-girl days. Needless to say, she no longer lets his misogynistic and abusive tactics fly in her new hometown of Riverdale. After Veronica brushed off Nick’s advances, he turned to threats, claiming he had the power sink the the deal her father was trying to make with his family. In response to this pathetic attempt at sexual manipulation, Veronica slaps the smug smile off his face, prompting cheers from viewers everywhere.

4. When She Saved Cheryl From Being Assaulted

It’s no coincidence that two of the best Veronica Lodge moments involve her standing up to Nick St. Clair. This is never more apparent as when Veronica, along with Josie and the Pussycats, storm into Nick St. Clair’s room to rescue Cheryl from being drugged and assaulted by him. Veronica’s classic bravery is on full-display here, and we can’t help but get goosebumps when we see a group of strong women band together to keep a friend safe.

5. When Veronica Storms the Boy’s Locker Room

One thing we love so much about Veronica is that she is never afraid to push boundaries. After scummy jock Chuck Clayton spreads false sexual rumors about a date he and Veronica went on, she decides to confront him–boundaries be damned. What results is a shocking, funny moment where she storms the boys’ locker room, a mortified Betty in tow, to face-down her tormentor. We can’t say the confrontation is productive (Chuck is one arrogant S.O.B.), but it establishes Ronnie in our hearts and minds as a girl that’s not afraid to break the rules.

6. When She Stands Up to Cheryl Blossom

One of the most iconic scenes in Riverdale’s young life (and in the first-ever episode!) Veronica stands up to bully Cheryl Blossom after she rejected Betty from the cheerleading squad. Obviously, Veronica is having none of that. Like Hiram Lodge, Cheryl Blossom has met her match and doesn’t even realize it yet. When Cheryl explains that she wants girls with “fire” on her squad, Veronica informs Cheryl that unfortunately, her “specialty is ice”. This scene quickly puts Veronica on top of the Riverdale High food chain. If there’s one thing we know, our girl Ronnie doesn’t take kindly to bullies.

7. When She Kisses Jughead

Like we said before: Veronica isn’t a huge fan of boundaries. Trying to alleviate some of the awkwardness the gang feels over Archie and Betty kissing in a moment of passion, Veronica proposes that her and Jughead kiss–to even the scales, so to speak. Needless to say, Archie and Betty weren’t thrilled over it. However, Riverdale fans were. It’s the kind of hilariously awkward moment that further proves that Veronica marches to the beat of her own drum. Plus, the looks on Betty’s and Archie’s respective faces are priceless.

8. Her Epic Dance-off With Cheryl

Veronica Lodge and Cheryl Blossom’s relationship is complicated, to say the least.These two feisty frenemies tend to bring out the best and the worst in each other. When Cheryl places her in the back of the squad, Veronica proposes a dance-off to establish who is the best dancer on the River Vixens team. Petty? Yes. Entertaining? Hell yes. What follows is a thoroughly “Yasss girl!” battle of moves that Veronica eventually wins. And why wouldn’t she? There’s only one real HBIC in Riverdale, and that’s Veronica Lodge.

9. When She Flirts With Sheriff Keller in His OWN HOME

One of the most bizarrely enjoyable moments of Riverdale (and there’s been a lot of them), who could forget the time when Veronica sleeps over at Kevin’s house to secretly snoop-around for Black Hood evidence? Veronica makes her way to the Kellers’ basement, convinced that that’s where the secrets are. Instead, she finds Sheriff Keller lifting weights in his basement. He is ripped. And Veronica is here for it. As she says to the Sheriff: “Archie Andrews, watch your back”. This girl has some serious cojones!

10. When She Breaks Into Miss Grundy’s Car With Betty

Say what you want about Veronica Lodge, but she is not afraid to get to the bottom of a good mystery. Along with Betty, finding out the truth behind Riverdale’s shady residents is one of Veronica’s favorite pastimes. Case in point: Miss Grundy. After Veronica had suspicions about Archie’s relationship with his music teacher, her and Betty decided to break into Grundy’s car to see if there were any clues as to her mysterious past. Let’s repeat: they break into Grundy’s car. We don’t know about you, but if we did that as teenagers, we would’ve seen an early grave.

11. When She Took Over the Pussycats

There’s no one who serves up such a steaming plate of revenge quite like Veronica Lodge does. Annoyed at Josie for bailing on their planned Picken’s Day performance, Veronica decides to move ahead with the performance, rebranding the band to–you guessed it–Veronica and the Pussycats. She proceeds to do a spot-on cover of a Duran Duran song, much to the absolute horror of Josie. This is just another instance of Veronica proving that she doesn’t need anyone’s permission to move forward with her plans. This girl is unstoppable.

12. When she scores some Jingle Jangle from a drug dealer to do some investigating

Another example of Veronica attempting to take the law into her own hands, who could forget the episode where Veronica is determined to uncover the identity of the infamous “Sugarman” Drug Kingpin. We downright shook when she visited a South Side drug dealer to get her hands on some Jingle Jangle and grill him about his supplier. We were also fully entertained by her cover story in which “her girl” has gone “full spiral” due to a “messy breakup” with her “beau”. Oh, Ronnie–always there for a quality quip.

13. When she makes Red Circle shirts for all of Riverdale High

As we’ve seen exemplified in her relationship with Betty, Veronica is fiercely protective of the people she loves. That protective instinct is on full display with her boyfriend, Archie Andrews. Yes, Archie is the straight-man to the rest of the quirkier Riverdale cast of characters, but we still can’t help but support him and Veronica’s relationship. That’s why it tugged at our heart strings when she showed her support for her man by printing and passing out t-shirts with his vigilante group’s “Red Circle” logo on it. There’s nothing we admire more about Veronica than her loyalty.

14. When she shuts down a loud group of Southside Serpents

Veronica Lodge is unafraid of any thug that feels it’s necessary to assert his dominance through scare-tactics. Maybe it’s because she grew up under the overbearing influence of her gangster-ish father, but she doesn’t suffer fools. This is never on better display as when she gives a group of rowdy Southside Serpents a piece of her mind at a drive-in movie. Can you blame her? Loud movie goers is a definite a pet peeve of ours, too. It’s one-liners like this that make us lover her.

15. When She Flew Her Feminist Flag

This may be the first time that many TV watchers heard the term “toxic masculinity” used as a pop culture reference. And as soon as we heard the phrase come out of Veronica’s mouth, it gave us life! As opposed to reveling in macho theatrics like so many female characters do on television shows, Veronica makes it clear she doesn’t value the pointless machismo. Like many other moments throughout the show, Veronica shows to us how a true Latina feminist acts.

16. WHENEVER She Wears These Glasses

In Riverdale, Veronica Lodge’s glasses are as iconic as Betty’s ponytail, Jughead’s weird hat, or Archie’s red hair. Although they only make the occasional appearance when she’s at home reading (or scheming), they always make a lasting impact. Twitter practically ignited with thirst when Veronica first wore them, and they never fail to drive home her status as a fashion icon. In addition to being brave, independent, and loyal you can go ahead and add “style maven” to her list of qualities as well.

17. When She Kisses Betty to Get on the Cheer Squad

Ahh, the moment that launched a thousand “Beronica” fan fictions. In the first ever episode of Riverdale, Veronica gave us a sneak peek of her chutzpah when she planted a big smooch on Betty as a last-ditch effort to secure their spots on the River Vixens. It was a ballsy move for the series premiere of a teen soap, and it immediately had viewers hooked. If Veronica was capable of surprising us in the first episode, it only meant that even crazier stuff was in store.

18. When She Goes Full Latina For Her Confirmation

We love how Riverdale incorporated Confirmation, a landmark Catholic rite of passage, into their resident Latina’s story line. As many Catholic Latinas know, Confirmation is the tradition of being “confirmed” to the Catholic Church. It’s also a time in your life when you reflect upon your spirituality and your future. It was heartwarming as viewers that we finally met Veronica Lodge’s Latinx family. Of course, we were most excited about finally meeting Abuelita. In addition, this was the first time Veronica debuted her Spanish skills outside of the daily Spanglish she speaks with her parents. We felt so validated that Riverdale decided to incorporate such an important event of many Latinas’ lives into Veronica’s narrative.

19. This Epic Line:

“I don’t follow the rules, I make them. And when necessary, I break them.” This line could arguably be titled the “Veronica Lodge Manifesto”. Another line stated during her rage against the Chuck-machine in Chapter Three, this further proves that Veronica is at her fiercest when confronted with a bully. We love seeing a proud Latina character unafraid of standing up to those who think they can steamroll the little guy. New flash: they haven’t met Veronica Lodge.

20. Veronica’s Apology to Betty

Although many of the best Veronica Lodge moments are full of her being fierce and badass and courageous, arguably the greatest thing about Veronica is that she knows to admit when she’s wrong. A prime example of this is at the very beginning of her and Betty’s friendship. Veronica kissed Archie knowing that Betty had feelings for him. Instead of becoming defensive in response to Betty’s anger and disappointment, Veronica apologized to Betty, proving that she values sisterhood above all else. That’s the kind of Latina representation we can get behind.

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