Riverdale season one was dark. Like really, really dark. Like a teen Twin Peaks with a lot more neon, the show quickly became a firm fan favorite for its talented young cast and dark aesthetic. When the show returned with its sophomore season, it brought a brand new moral vacuum to Riverdale in the form of the town’s own serial killer, the Black Hood. Ever since the first episode, fan theories about who’s behind the titular menacing mask have been rife. Even we have put together a list of potential suspects. This week we visited Riverdale’s Vancouver set and asked the cast their thoughts on the big bad and their favorite fan theories.
Season two heavily revolves around Betty’s burgeoning relationship with Riverdale’s terrifying new foe, so we asked Lili Reinhart to tell us just what she thinks about the killer’s motivations, motives, and machinations. “The Black Hood was inspired by her speech. The way that Roberto and I talked about it, the Black Hood and Betty are kind of like the Phantom of the Opera and Christine. He wants to puppeteer her in order to get the town to where he wants it to be, in a very sick and manipulative way. He’s just this horrible figure who wants to expel Riverdale of its sins and is using Betty to try and do that,” Reinhart explained. As for whether or not the Black Hood is aware of Dark Betty, Reinhart thinks that the serial killer might not know what he’s in for. “I think he knows that there’s a darkness inside of her, but he doesn’t know the extent,” Reinhart smiled knowingly.
When it comes to the identity of the Black Hood, Lili has heard rumors but is definitely keeping her cards close to the chest. “I haven’t heard too many. Mostly that it’s Betty’s dad, or that it’s Betty’s brother. But at this point in the show he hasn’t been introduced, so I understand how people could conspire and think that. But I don’t have an opinion,” Reinhart laughed as she motioned zipping her lips.
Betty’s onscreen BFF, Kevin Keller, has traveled a rocky road this season, and the specter of the Black Hood has been looming large. For Casey Cott, who plays Kevin on the show, it’s been a wild ride. “It’s changed a lot. We literally don’t know. I mean, we know a lot more than you guys right now,” Cott laughed. “But we don’t know what’s going to happen. So it creates this intense thinking of who it is, and why could it be that, and why is it not that? So we’re constantly talking about it and figuring out this web of confusion,” he enthused.
It’s not just the kids who are obsessed with the identity of the Black Hood. Marisol Nichols, who plays Veronica’s mother Hermione Lodge, also has her theories, some of which are pretty close to home. “I wouldn’t put anything past the Lodges, and in my mind there’s two dangers in Riverdale. There’s the Black Hood and there’s whatever the Lodges are up to. Whether those two will cross remains to be seen,” Nichols teased.
Riverdale’s most famous resident, Archie Andrews, has become dangerously obsessed with the identity of the town’s newest criminal. K.J. Apa, who brings the red-haired teen to life, has heard quite a few random theories. “I saw a good one that Vegas was actually the Black Hood, and that was pretty funny. I saw that on Twitter somewhere. I did see some pretty crazy theories, but none of them have been right so far that I’ve seen,” Apa told us.
Now that you’ve heard what the cast thinks, who do you reckon has been raining moral vengeance on Riverdale? Do you have a fave theory? Just happy they killed Grundy? Let us know in the comments!
Images: The CW
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