Could The Riverdale Reaper Be The Key To Uncovering The Truth About The Black Hood?

Another episode of Riverdale, another reason to suspect a new person of being the elusive Black Hood.

This week, "Tales From The Darkside" revealed a secret piece of Riverdale history that none of the show's teens — not even Truman Capote-in-training Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) — were seemingly aware of. Apparently, long before the Black Hood stalked the town's sinners, there was "The Riverdale Reaper," a killer who murdered an entire family, leaving no survivors.

Now there is reason to believe that the Black Hood is deeply connected to the Riverdale Reaper — though fans may have missed how while watching the new episode.

During Jughead's storyline in "Tales From the Darkside," he gets a ride with a creepy stranger (played by Candyman star Tony Todd; very appropriate given Riverdale's "Sugarman") who tells him all about the Riverdale Reaper.

The stranger says: "There was a family living out near the Fox Forest. A good family. Mother. Father. Two kids. One night, they were all asleep when someone broke in. A Bogeyman who went room to room with a shotgun, and shot them all dead. No survivors."

Why is that important? Well, for one thing, it's very likely that the house at Fox Forest is the very same house where the Black Hood sent Betty (Lili Reinhart) in order to prove to her that she's just like the moralist murderer.

It's not definitive proof of anything — for all we know, the Black Hood just loves creepy houses — but it might also be the connective thread between both mystery men. What if the Black Hood is getting revenge for what happened that night?

Jughead's theory is that the Reaper didn't leave Riverdale, but went on to kill as the Black Hood. That seems slightly off-base. We don't know much about the Riverdale Reaper, but we do know that he's a child murderer. That doesn't seem particularly on brand with the Black Hood. The Black Hood targets "sinners" like drug dealers and those who commit infidelity. Basically, things that children don't do. The masked madman even went so far as to kill Ms. Grundy (Sarah Habel) because she was preying on young men, suggesting he might even have a protective nature over children.

My theory is that the Black Hood is actually one of the Riverdale Reaper's "victims" — perhaps even the lone survivor of the original killings. The stranger made a point to say that there were no survivors, but this is Riverdale: Since when does anyone tell the truth?

If the Black Hood's family was murdered, it could have been for a reason that the Black Hood considers sinful — like, say, to cover up a drug deal. (How very Clifford Blossom.) In a twisted way, the Black Hood might think he's saving Riverdale from a lot of pain by getting rid of people who were involved in such crimes.

Only time will tell how the Reaper really connects to what's happening on Riverdale right now, but there's no way the stranger's words meant nothing. It may just mean that we have to rethink everything we know about the Black Hood.