If you were amongst the many fans dissatisfied with Riverdale's apparent conclusion of the uber-creepy Black Hood storyline, these new season 2 spoilers from TVLine should thrill you. According to TVLine's interview with K.J. Apa, the Black Hood lives — or, at least, some iteration of him does.
First, some background. In Riverdale's season 2 Christmas episode "Silent Night, Deadly Night," it was revealed that Svenson (Cameron McDonald) was doing more than just sweeping up the halls of Riverdale High School — he was also the one stalking, and in few cases even killing, the citizens of the sleepy small town. According to the theory that the Riverdale gang settled on, Svenson pointed to the wrong man as the one who murdered his family (the "Riverdale Reaper"), thus leading to that man's murder by town vigilantes. Svenson took up the Black Hood mantle as a way to do penance for taking an innocent man's life.
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It made about as little sense as it sounds — and there were plenty of clues that suggested maybe Svenson wasn't actually the Black Hood. For one thing, we never heard Svenson admit it: He was killed by Sheriff Keller (Martin Cummins), a Black Hood suspect himself, before he had the chance. Betty (Lili Reinhart), the Black Hood's favorite, choosing not to throw away the mask he gave her also suggested the villain might not be dead. Then there was Archie, the person who came face-to-face with the Black Hood, but never once suspected Svenson. In fact, Archie admitted after Svenson's death that he thought the Black Hood was still alive and kicking.
Now, Apa has basically confirmed that Archie's theory was correct. Before joining the cast on stage at PaleyFest in Los Angeles on Sunday, the actor told TVLine fans were right to keep a look out for the real Black Hood.
"I think the janitor being the Black Hood was something that [Archie] wasn’t going to buy," Apa told the outlet. "With more instances showing up that could hint towards the Black Hood still maybe being out there, it drives him to find justice."
If Svenson wasn't the real Black Hood, maybe a new Riverdale face is. The trickiest part about the Black Hood mystery is that plenty of people could be ruled out simply by the fact that the man who attempted to kill Fred (Luke Perry) in Pop's Diner is a middle-aged white man. However, Riverdale did just introduce us to a new, very sinister adult: Claudius Blossom (Barclay Hope), twin brother of deceased murderer Clifford Blossom. Oh, and Claudius just so happens to have the green eyes that Archie was so fixated on.
Of course, things can't be that simple... can they? This is Riverdale, after all — once we think we know the answer, we just get more questions. All I know is, I'm thrilled that Riverdale's first answer to the Black Hood mystery was the misdirect we all hoped it would be.