There's no question that Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) is Riverdale's biggest enigma. One minute, she's straight-up stalking Josie (Ashleigh Murray), and the next she's attempting to sweetly befriend Betty (Lili Reinhart) following her bathroom breakdown. If we can't quite put a finger on the real Cheryl, it could be for very intriguing reason: actress Petsch believes that Riverdale's Cheryl could be a witch, and it would honestly make so much sense.
Think about it: Cheryl being forced to hide her witchy powers would definitely make her act out, hence some of the bizarre mood swings and personality shifts over the course of the last two seasons. Then there's the fact that she basically lives in an ultra spooky, probably-haunted house already — very on brand if she was actually a witch.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
But it's more than just Cheryl's odd behavior and living conditions that has Petsch convinced that the River Vixen has supernatural tendencies. In a video for ELLE in which Petsch reads a slew of Riverdale fan theories, the actress reveals that there was one moment that had her convinced of Cheryl's gifts.
Kase Wickman on TV Guide first published this witchy theory back in October of 2017, and Petsch, apparently, wants it to be canon. In the season 2 premiere "A Kiss Before Dying," Cheryl sees Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) laying in the hospital bed following a gunshot wound. She tells Archie (K.J. Apa) that she is going to give Fred "the kiss of life." Not long after she does, Fred wakes up.
Petsch brings up that point when a fan asked if Cheryl really was a witch.
"If you guys recall, in [the first episode of season 2], I kissed Fred on the forehead, and all of a sudden his eyes opened like two scenes later," the actress said in the ELLE video. "That's always made me question Cheryl's abilities."
This isn't the only character on Riverdale to be suspected of witchcraft. Some fans on the internet also thought that Alice Cooper (Machen Amick) was a witch at one point.
"[Alice is] constantly using terms like 'brew' and 'banish' and 'witching hour," Tumblr user betty-and-jughead wrote. "And i’m wondering if perhaps she’s the black sheep of the family that doesn’t want to accept her witchcraft lineage and instead decided to shun her family, move away from South Side, marry Hal and build a fresh new life for herself."
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
With the new Sabrina, the Teenage Witch series heading to Netflix, it's worth wondering — could Cheryl pop in for an incantation or two?
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT