Overall, the main focus of Riverdale has been on the events of its teenage cast. But the show’s crop of adult characters have their fair share of intrigue as well, with many of the parents and teachers looking more suspicious as the weeks go on.
One of the most prominent storylines has been the mysterious backstory of the Lodge family. While their daughter, Veronica, is dealing with the various events at Riverdale High, Hiram and Hermione Lodge have proved to have their own drama as well.
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Hiram – who has yet to be seen on the show – is in jail for embezzlement and fraud, leaving Hermione to carry the family on her own. But, as was revealed in the pilot, Hiram left a small fortune of cash for Hermione. And in this week’s episode, we saw her putting it to use, bribing both Mayor McCoy and the South Side Serpents to help Lodge Industries be able to purchase the town drive-in theater.
Camila Mendes, who plays Veronica on the show, mentioned to ComicBook.com that her character will become a little more aware of her parents’ mystery. “I wouldn’t say she gets sucked into it, but she involves herself in it, and is constantly trying to uncover the truth, because her parents are kind of playing her.”
With Hermione now working at Pop’s to ‘make ends meet’ – something out of character for the socialite – Veronica might become a little wary of what her mother tells her.
“Her mom’s always trying to act like nothing is going on, and she keeps trying to play everything off like it’s nothing.” Mendes explains, “And Veronica wants to believe her but doesn’t.”
And, as Mendes revealed, Veronica’s first step for investigating this involved recruiting some of her classmates to help. “I think she teams up with her friends to investigate the truth firsthand and be like, I’m going to see what’s up.”
HOLDING ON — When Jughead (Cole Sprouse) learns that an anonymous buyer has plans to tear down the local drive-in, he fights desperately to keep it open. Betty (Lili Reinhart) finds her friendship with Archie on the line after stumbling upon some startling information she’s uncovered about Miss Grundy’s (guest star Sarah Habel) past.
Elsewhere, Veronica (Camila Mendes) confronts her mother Hermoine (Marisol Nichols) about a suspicious meeting she witnessed between her mother and a shady Southside Serpent. Finally, after uncovering Betty’s diary, Alice (Madchen Amick) finds the perfect opportunity to destroy Archie’s golden boy image.
Riverdale stars KJ Apa as Archie, Cole Sprouse as Jughead, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Camilla Mendes as Veronica Lodge, and Luke Perry as Archie’s father Fred Andrews, among others. The series’ showrunner is Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Archie Entertainment’s Chief Creative Officer and the writer of Afterlife With Archie, the publisher’s wildly popular zombie series.
“Chapter Four: The Last Picture Show” episode of Riverdale was directed by Mark Piznarski, written by Michael Grassi, and will air Thursday, February 16 at 9/8c on The CW!
