The mystery at the center of Riverdale still remains the murder of Jason Blossom. With the ongoings of the town getting increasingly complicated week by week, it’s easy to assume that anyone is suspicious in his killing.
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With us narrowing down the most likely suspects each week, one character that hasn’t raised a major red flag has been Jughead Jones. The show’s narrator and comic relief may have more up his sleeve than viewers already know, but at this point in the season, it is likely that he wasn’t involved in Jason’s murder.
However, Cole Sprouse, who plays Jughead on the show, seems to disagree.
“[Jughead is] the only one that speaks to the audience and break fourth wall.” Sprouse told ComicBook.com. “Which gives him the ability to inform the audience that he’s the killer without having to inform any of the cast living in Riverdale. Which ends up being a kind of dubious position to take.”
According to Sprouse, this suspicion he has held towards his character existed as soon as he signed on to the show, and was rooted in some of the series’ recent comics. “From the very beginning, I have thought Jughead was the killer. That was informed by a bunch of different things, and the narrative still rings true. Roberto [Aguirre-Sacasa, executive producer of Riverdale] wrote Afterlife With Archie, in which Jughead was the antagonist. And in this dark version of the universe, as well, Jughead had a shifty, outsider perspective.”
Afterlife with Archie, for the uninitiated, is a comic miniseries that depicts an alternate universe of Riverdale that is plagued by a zombie apocalypse. The outbreak is triggered by Jughead being bitten by his reincarnated dog Hot Dog, making him patient zero for the virus. Jughead’s soul, now separated from his zombified body, becomes the narrator of the series, chronicling the changes that have occurred in the town in the event of the outbreak.
Considering the fact that Jughead is often the surrogate for the audience of Riverdale, especially when it comes to uncovering mysteries, his role as an outsider is still very prevalent on the show. Even with Jughead helping run the school paper, The Blue and Gold, with Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), as well as starting to socialize again with his estranged friend Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), he still often functions outside of the major events of the show.
This fact could help the case for Jughead being involved with Jason’s murder – or at least having more juicy secrets that will later be revealed.
“I’m not going to spoil too much,” Sprouse explained “But that’s where I had planted myself from the very beginning, was the notion that Jughead was some sort of creepy kid.”
Fans will have to wait and watch Riverdale‘s next few episodes, including Thursday’s ‘The Last Picture Show’, to see what exactly Jughead is capable of.
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!
