Nothing is what it seems!
Hello, Riverdale Nation, and welcome to a segment we’re calling “Who The Hell Is The Black Hood?!”
Because, honestly, WHO IS IT??
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1. The real Black Hood was never actually killed because Svenson was used as a fall guy, so the Black Hood is still at large.
2. Or the “real” Black Hood was killed, but he was working with someone else and now they’re doing the killings by themselves.
3. Or the Black Hood was killed, and now there’s a copy cat doing his bidding.
4. The person who is the “mastermind” behind Black Hood isn’t necessarily the person behind the mask.
5. Or, honestly literally anything else because this is Riverdale and anything is possible if you just dream it.
Hal Cooper
Ladies and gents, we have a prime suspect! It goes without saying that this week’s episode really seemed to point strongly to Hal as the current Black Hood. By the end of the episode, Betty realized that Hal was conveniently missing when the Black Hood came to collect Chic — and we can’t forget when she said she was “on the phone with her dad” when the Black Hood called. (Lol, Riverdale — well played!) Of course, all of the physical BH requirements do check out, and the connection to Betty is a given. Hal had a motive to humiliate Alice (remember that article at the beginning of the season) and he also knew where Polly was hiding. He was in the theater for Carrie and at the Town Hall meeting earlier this season. On top of all of that, he found out about that whole thing where Alice and Betty helped Chic hide a body. The only question at this point is…is it TOO obvious? It seems a little early for the whole mystery to be unraveling! There’s got to be more to this, right? Right?!?!?!
Chances of Hal being the Black Hood: 6 out of 5
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Clifford Blossom (who is posing as “Claudius”):
OK, hear me out. The one thing Riverdale has yet to shock us with is a wild twin twist — and for a show that has so many sets of twins, it almost seems inevitable. What if the “Clifford” who died at the end of Season 1 was actually Claudius (posing as Clifford) and this Claudius who came back is the REAL Clifford, getting his sweet, sweet revenge on the sinners of Riverdale. Claudius’ return has seemed a little bit too random up until now. Could this be the reason he suddenly appeared? On the other hand, it would be awfully boring if both Season 1 AND Season 2 ended with Clifford Blossom being the answer.
Chances of Clifford Blossom being the Black Hood: 3 out of 5
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Claudius Blossom
We honestly don’t know all that much about Claudius, except that he wanted to fuck with Cheryl and Nana Rose (how DARE you!) and he doesn’t love red wigs like his brother did. Why introduce a character whose physical build fits the Black Hood’s perfectly, unless he’s somehow involved in the mystery??
Chances of Claudius Blossom being the Black Hood: 2 out of 5
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Charles Smith
According to Chic (and that nice lady who lived in that creepy motel) Betty’s REAL brother Charles Smith died. He didn’t OD on Jingle Jangle, but he was probably killed by Chic. Unless, he’s SOMEHOW not all that dead and is actually hella pissed at the whole Cooper family and sinners everywhere. HMM….
Chances of Charles Smith being the Black Hood: 2 out of 5
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Chic Cooper (but…not Cooper!)
While Chic has been a prime suspect for a long time, after the events of this week’s episode (i.e. Chic literally fleeing the Black Hood) it would have to be one HELL of a plot twist to pull off Chic as the Black Hood. And yet, wilder things have happened on Riverdale.
Chances of Chic being the Black Hood: 1 out of 5
Chances of Chic surviving: 5 out of 5, since we never saw a body and that’s the #1 rule of television…
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Ethel’s dad
Ready for a I-Didn’t-See-This-One-Coming theory? Well, Reddit user diarrheaglacier thinks that Ethel’s dad might just be the Black Hood, which, honestly, makes a lot of sense. As the theory goes, he’s been burned by the town (so he might be bitter), we haven’t seen him before (so he might have green eyes), Ethel’s been getting more screen time (so that might be the writers preparing us for him), and his daughter lost out on the role of Carrie, which Midge got (so that would explain why Midge was killed).
Chances of Ethel’s dad being the Black Hood: Honestly, 4.5 out of 5
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Sheriff Keller
So, we already “ruled out” Sheriff Keller earlier this season after Betty suspected him, but I did find it a little suspicious to see him lurking around backstage at the Carrie musical — the very same backstage where Midge was murdered. He has failed time and time again at catching the Black Hood (which Cheryl brutally pointed out this week) but is it because he IS the Black Hood? Or is he just a shitty Sheriff who actually WOULD like to see the BH get caught? Given my love for Kevin Keller, I’m PRAYING for the latter.
Chances of Sheriff Keller being the Black Hood: 2 out of 5
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Hiram Lodge
Is Hiram the actual Black Hood who is going around killing people? No. But is he working with the Black Hood? Probably. Hiram is one sketchy dude who will do anything it takes to get Riverdale and the surrounding land in his clutches. As Reddit user qu3st10n5 theorizes, it would make sense that Hiram is involved in this whole mess because he can both use the Black Hood as a distraction and use him as a reason why Riverdale needs a private prison (because of all the crime). And his promise to help Archie take down the Black Hood? Well, let’s just say you can’t really trust a word that comes out of the man’s mouth.
Chances of Hiram being the Black Hood: 0 out of 5
Chances of Hiram working with the Black Hood: 5 out of 5
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Ethel
OK, so you might be thinking that it’s too much of a red herring for Ethel to be the Black Hood given that she just broke down and admitted she wrote those ransom notes. But, what if it’s a double red herring and the Riverdale writers are just playing us? IDK, crazier things have happened on this show.
Chances of Ethel being the Black Hood: 1.5 out of 5
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Polly Cooper
I’ve been hoping Polly would be a villain since Season 1, so this is just my selfish plea to make it happen. I’m not saying Polly is *literally* behind the Black Hood mask, but she could be the mastermind behind the whole thing. For starters, the Black Hood at the beginning of the season knew an awful lot about Betty and knew exactly how to manipulate her. Plus, the Black Hood made Betty publicly humiliate Alice, which Polly has plenty of motive for after being sent to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy for all that time. Speaking of the Sisters, we can’t forget the fact the there’s a Svenson connection there. In my opinion, Polly being involved would be the ULTIMATE shocking moment, so that’s why I’m all for it.
Chances of Polly Cooper being the Black Hood: 3 out of 5
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Chuck Clayton
All I’m saying is it’s weird that this dude just came back last week and all of a sudden the gang has decided to disregard his creepy sex book. While I’m not sure if he quite has a motive to murder a bunch of people, he would have a motive to fuck with Betty Cooper after that whole dark-Betty-wig thing.
Chances of Chuck Clayton being the Black Hood: 1 out of 5
Chances of Chuck Clayton being up to no good: 5 out of 5
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Fangs
After the events of Carrie, Fangs seemed like a plausible suspect since he was the last person seen with Midge while she was alive. But after the dark events of this week’s episode, it seems like a lot of that high school *drama* was just one big red herring. Still, it could be interesting to have a Southsider behind it all.
Chances of Fangs being the Black Hood: 2 out of 5
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Okay, that’s quite enough theorizing for one day! Tell us your thoughts and theories in the comments below.
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