Valerie Brown

“	I met Josie and Melody when we were all working at Power Records. We used to practice in the stock room. I'll never forget the day Josie came to rehearsal with a bag of cheap cat ears from the Halloween store. I found my voice with them.	”
	— Valerie to Archie^[src]

Valerie Brown is a recurring character on Riverdale. She is portrayed by Hayley Law.

Valerie is a student at Riverdale High School and a member of the band, Josie and the Pussycats. She was also the girlfriend of Archie Andrews, that is until she broke up with him due to his involvement with the Blossom Family and ignoring her. She also mentored Archie by helping him out with writing music when he first began writing and new to music.

Early Life

Valerie grew up in Riverdale, alongside her brother, Trev. Some time prior to the start of the series, Val, Josie and Melody worked at Power Records, they would spend their time practicing in the stock room. One day, Josie came to rehearsal with a bag of cheap cat ears that she had gotten from the Halloween store, thus the birth of Josie and the Pussycats. In the years following, they'd go on to win Rockland County's Battle of the Bands.

Throughout the Series

Season 1

Women of Color

Valerie, Melody, and Josie are interrupted by Archie Andrews as they rehearsed one of their original songs. He explained that he would like to write for them, but Josie declined his offer without any hesitation. That night, at the back-to-school Semi-formal, at the request of Cheryl Blossom, they performed "All Through the Night", the song that Cheryl's parents conceived her and Jason to. ^[1]

Josie and the Pussycats performed their song "Candy Girl (Sugar Sugar)" at the school's pep-rally as a favor to Cheryl, who wanted to spice up the event. ^[2]

Season 1 Episode 3 Body Double Melody Val — Valerie and Melody at rehearsal

Cheryl called in another favor to the Pussycats; they agreed to allow Archie to quietly observe them while they rehearsed for the Taste of Riverdale. Valerie explained that Melody is their technique queen and she is their writer. Archie claimed that he just wanted them to play his songs, and make them better. Things got a little tense as Josie explained the difference between him as a musician and a person of color as a musician, Valerie attempted to de-escalate the situation but Archie stopped her, saying that he agreed with everything Josie had just said to him. Then Archie assisted the Pussycats in writing their song while Valerie struggled with her lyrics.

The Taste of Riverdale has finally arrived, the Pussycats perfectly performed their song, "All For Me" in front of all in attendance. ^[3]

Befriending Archie

Valerie assisted Archie in getting his life back on track, starting with his music, so she directed him to an amazing songwriter and mentor from New York, Oscar Castillo. He's currently visiting Carson College, and Val told him about Archie.

Season 1 Episode 5 Heart of Darkness Archie and Valerie — Archie and Valerie practicing

That night, she visited Archie at his home, she sat on his bed and coached him through the writing process. At that moment, Fred Andrews, Archie's father entered the room, Val hopped off the bed, and the two became acquainted, he remembered Valerie from her performance with Josie and the Pussycats at the Taste of Riverdale. That same week, she'd go on to attend Jason Blossom's Memorial with Archie, Betty, Jughead, Kevin, and Veronica.

Following the memorial, Valerie and Archie discussed his talent or the possible lack thereof at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe. He began to question his skills, even in spite of all the good Ms. Grundy told him, those few words from Oscar left him doubtful. Valerie explained to Archie that she doesn't have the time to wallow with him, it's just as difficult for her as it is for him.. she wondered if maybe Archie was the one holding himself back. ^[4]

Season 1 Episode 6 Faster, Pussycats! Kill! Kill! Val Archie 1 — Valerie and Archie in the hallway

Val checked on Archie after an embarrassing attempt at auditions for the 75th annual Variety Show. He choked on stage after the stage fright took over, she explained to him that singing makes him vulnerable in a way that football doesn't, which is why he'd never experienced it before. Archie believed that this was due to lack of a team, or at least a partner, he asked Valerie if she could sing with him, but that could never happen as she's a Pussycat, Josie would never allow it.

Quitting the Pussycats

The Pussycats rehearsal for the Variety Show got a little heated. Josie threw a diva tantrum, which subsequently led to Valerie quitting and joining Archie.

The next day at school, Veronica walked in on her and Archie rehearsing his song, "I Got You", this came as a surprise to her as Val wasn't apart of the plan, in retaliation, Veronica took Valerie's place on the Pussycats. They continued their rehearsal in Archie's garage, where Val was noticeably in a foul mood; this was due to the huge risk she had taken by stepping out on the Pussycats. She met Josie and Melody when they were all working at Power Records, they use to practice in the stock room, she found her voice with the Pussycats.

Season 1 Episode 6 Faster, Pussycats! Kill! Kill! Valerie 4 — Valerie on stage at the 75th annual Variety show

The day of the Variety Show, Archie told Valerie to play with the Pussycats, in her heart, she'll always be a Pussycat, and he doesn't want to be the guy that broke up The Beatles. Backstage at the show, she asked Josie why she didn't just say her dad was in town, Valerie would have understood the pressure she was under, she then told Josie that she wouldn't be singing with Archie, and that the Pussycats need her because no one's voice could blend with Josie's, the way her's does. The two ladies made up after first renegotiating singing terms, then the Pussycats took the stage, and amazed the audience. She gave Archie a few words of encouragement before he went up on stage, then shared a passionate kiss afterward, as he had an incredible performance. ^[5]

Valerie joined in on the search party for Polly Cooper, starting at Eversgreen Forest, and heading East. Which is the direction Polly would have gone if she was attempting to leave Riverdale unnoticed. They parted off into small groups, Val ended up with Archie, Betty, Jughead, Josie and Melody ^[6]

After a failed attempt to calm Archie down as he paced back and forth in his room, following the ambush on Moose, Valerie and Melody attended Polly Cooper's Baby Shower at the Pembrooke, where they were greeted by Veronica and Hermione Lodge. Valerie entered their home and hugged Polly, who she hadn't seen in months. ^[7]

Dumping Archie

Season 1 Episode 9 La Grande Illusion Archie Val (3) — Valerie breaking up with Archie

Following a brief chat with Cheryl, Valerie thought it best to inform Archie that Cheryl believed she was going to steal him away after how close the two of them had gotten recently. Considering all the gifts Archie had received from the Blossom family, Valerie didn't blame Cheryl as she didn't think of it to be that much of a leap. Archie didn't seem too concerned with being bought by the Blossoms, so long as it helped his father's company and gave him access to that prestigious music program he was promised. Valerie wondered why Archie would not rather earn his spot in the program with his music. Which led him to ask what she would do in his place, to which she responded with by saying that if he had to ask, then he didn't know her at all. Tired of being blown off and ignored, Valerie dumped Archie, leaving him with little to no chance of forgiveness. ^[8]

During lunch, in the wake of her break up, tension-filled looks were exchanged between Valerie, Melody and Archie from across the cafeteria. However, neither side put forth the effort to solve the problem. The following night at Jughead's 16th Birthday Party, she had a brief run-in with Archie, where he insisted that they talk about the break up, which he claimed was a mistake. Unfortunately, Valerie was not looking to mend the relationship. The break up was a result of Archie's life being in a state of disarray, which she was clearly right about seeing as he was a drunken mess at the party. She then spilled her drink all over him, claiming that it was too late for him to fix what was broken since he shut her out. ^[9]

Season 1 Episode 11 To Riverdale and Back Again Valerie, Josie and Melody singing — The Pussycats on the morning announcements

During the morning announcements that day at school, the Pussycats sang a song dedicated to Riverdale High. Unbeknownst to any of them that they were being considered as suspects in the murder of Jason Blossom by Alice Cooper, who was an adviser for The Blue and Gold.^[10]

The Pussycats were personally selected by Mayor McCoy to perform at the 75th Anniversary Jubilee. They decided to perform "Astronaut", a song that Mayor McCoy had already approved, and one that she would not easily deviate from, not even at Archie's request, who would also be joining the Pussycats on stage.

Season 1 Episode 13 The Sweet Hereafter Valerie Jubilee — Valerie performing at the Jubilee

However, they learned from Veronica that Archie saved Cheryl's life down at Sweetwater River as she attempted to end it, so in an effort to show their gratitude, they decided to play a song he had recently written about his friends titled "These Are the Moments I Remember". Initially displeased, Mayor McCoy warmed up to the song, as did the crowd as everyone applauded following their performance.^[11]

Season 2

Nine Lives

After Valerie learned that Archie's father was shot at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe by an unknown man wearing a black hood , she, Melody, and Josie stopped by Riverdale General Hospital to show their support for Archie and wish Fred a fast recovery. The Pussycats are sending their prayers and as many of their nine lives that Fred needs.^[12]

Physical Appearance

Valerie is an attractive young lady with caramel colored skin, green eyes, and fluffy-curly, light brown hair. She has a naturally slim figure, with a big and beautiful smile. As for her wardrobe, disregarding the obvious Pussycat ears and spandex, Valerie often wears casual but feminine clothing, such as a leather jacket, denim jeans or a skirt with a tight-fitting shirt or crop top.

Personality

Having been tasked with the responsibility of songwriting, Valerie is essentially the brains behind Josie and the Pussycats. She is a valuable member of the band and often seen as irreplaceable, due to her great skill in writting. According to Myles McCoy, Josie's father, Valerie is the real deal. She offered the Pussycats some much-needed integrity. Apart from music, she is strong-willed, grounded, and level-headed, especially when those around her aren't. During a confusing time in his life, she advised Archie against falling into the Blossom's manipulative grasps as they were buying him with fancy suits, new guitars, and access to a prestigious music program, which she would much rather have gained access to through her own talent. Valerie is also loyal, having bonded with her band mates, Josie and Melody, after such an extensive period of time together, she was incapable of quitting the Pussycats permanently, joining them when they needed her the most; during the 75th Anniversary Jubilee.