Riverdale: 5 Characters Who Could Be The Man In The Black Hood

Note this post contains spoilers

Riverdale season 2 has long been teased as much darker than the show?s freshman season, which is saying something considering that season 1 dealt with Clifford Blossom murdering his own son. Season 2 was set up during the season 1 finale, when Fred Andrews was shot during a supposed robbery at the diner.

Though Fred lived, Miss Grundy wasn?t so lucky. Now residing over in Greendale, she was strangled by the same person who shot Fred, and it?s now clear that whoever the man in the black hood is, they?re deliberately targeting people close to Archie. At the end of season 2, episode 2, Moose and Midge Klump were busy getting high off jingle-jangle when the masked killer shot them both. Fortunately they survived, and in this week?s episode of Riverdale the shooter was kind enough to drop off a big clue, in the form of a letter sent to Alice Cooper:

This is the Black Hood. I am the man who shot the adulterer at Pop?s. I killed the child predator at Greendale. I shot the drug and sex addicted teenagers at Lover?s Lane. Riverdale is not innocent. It?s a town of hypocrites, degenerates, and criminals. My wrath is the price of your lies, your secrets, your sins. I will not stop. I cannot be stopped. I am the wolf. You are the flock. This is the bloodletting. You will hear from me again.

Very dramatic ? but not necessarily the truth. If the man in the black hood has a different motive for his actions, the ?sinner-targeting serial killer? story could just be a cover-up to disguise the real reason that the victims were selected. Perhaps Fred, Moose and Midge survived because the man in the black hood only really wanted Miss Grundy dead, but wanted to make her murder look like part of an attempted killing spree.

With little about the killer yet confirmed, let?s break down a few characters in the show who could be the man (or woman) behind it all.

HIRAM LODGE

Before we get started, let?s point out that to only suspect characters who have green eyes is silly, because (aside from the fact that colored contact lenses exist), it could well be a hitman acting on someone?s behalf? and we already know Hiram Lodge has no qualms about hiring other people to do his dirty work. His motive for having Fred shot is clear; he wouldn?t have liked the fact that Fred and Hermione had a fling while he was in prison. But why would he go after Miss Grundy? That?s a little more tricky, except that we do already know that Hiram won?t warm to Archie through season 2. Could he be going to extreme lengths to make sure the entire Andrews family stay away from his wife and daughter? Although the character has only appeared in 2 episodes so far, it?s very clear that he?s not someone to cross, and he has few qualms about lying, cheating and deceiving others to get his own way.

HAL COOPER

If we?re going to base a guess on the look of the killer, then Hal Cooper fits the bill, even if the motive is unclear. There?s been something shifty about him throughout season 1; this is the man who sent his young daughter off to a convent to have her baby given up for adoption, all because he was trying to hide a deep family secret. But why would Hal go after Fred Andrews? It would make more sense for him to seek revenge on the Blossom family in some way. We?re also drawing a blank on why he?d go after Miss Grundy. Given his connection to the Blossom family, there?s a possibility he?s involved in the supply of jingle-jangle that?s going around Riverdale but even so, would he really shoot two teens who are getting high?

MARY ANDREWS

Bear with us here. A fan theory that first surfaced on the internet (naturally) had Molly Ringwald’s character as the big baddie of season 2, and it’s steadily gaining momentum. It’s also not as implausible as it might sound. While the theory didn’t state in what capacity Mary Andrew’s villainy would occur, it’s pretty easy to draw logical connections from the killings that could point to her being the one who’s hired a hitman. At the end of season 1, Mary wanted Archie to move back to Chicago and he refused. Did she have Fred shot as an act of revenge? Did she also find out about Miss Grundy’s affair with her teenage son and decide to take matters into her own hands? Both of those are plausible enough, but why would she be looking to take out Moose and Midge…unless it was to throw us all off the scent.

HERMIONE LODGE

Again, the killer does appear to be male owing to the size and build, so we’re going with a hitman in this guess. Hermione has been massively on edge about her husband returning to town, and was definitely anxious about him catching up to Fred. If you watch back the first episode of season 2, she’s shady as anything when she arrives at the hospital with Veronica to offer comfort. Is that because she ordered the shooting? She’s also pretty unhappy about Veronica’s attachment to Archie; anything that seemingly influences her daughter too positively (such as her friendship with Betty, or her love for Archie), she immediately wants Veronica to leave behind. In the Lodge family, it’s all about toeing the family line, and Veronica won’t do that while Archie is still on the scene. So, is Hermione aiming to avoid conflict with Hiram by removing Fred from the scene, and also trying to bring enough turmoil and upset to Archie’s life that he’ll eventually break it off with Veronica?

REGGIE MANTLE

During season 1, Reggie was unfailingly decent to Archie – something that irritated longtime Archie Comics fans, as they’re renowned for their rivalry. While he didn’t feature in the first episode of season 2, he was featured in episode 2 when he supplied Archie with jingle-jangle to keep him up at night. Again, it seemed as though he was doing this only to help a friend out, but is there an underlying motive? Does Reggie have a long-held grudge against Archie that has now come to fruition? That would give motive to the shooting of Fred, the killing of Miss Grundy (did she spurn him, perhaps?), and the shooting of Moose and Midge… especially if he is worried about being caught dealing jingle-jangle which could, in turn lead to the police detecting his other crimes.

BONUS: KEVIN KELLER

This was going to be a list of five guesses… but it’s also occurred to us while writing that Casey Cott, who plays Sheriff Keller’s son, has been promoted to series regular this time around. Thus far, he’s not been given a lot to do and it’s about time he got a decent storyline. He also has green eyes. Whoever is carrying out these killing attempts has made a crude hood with cut out eyes – it doesn’t look very slick. A homemade attempt from an inexperienced individual? Watch this space…

Source: Screen Rant