The mysteries of Betty’s half-brother have long been a source of twist, turns, and stunning reveals on Riverdale. From the initial introduction of Alice Cooper’s mysterious firstborn son as a very concept, there has always been something a little off. First, it was the introduction of Chic, a shady young man who ultimately turned out to be an imposter who aligned himself with the Black Hood. Then, at the end of last season, it was the introduction of the real Charles Cooper, a young FBI agent who had been working with Alice to take down The Farm. Tonight, however, the mystery of Charles Cooper took what might be the biggest twist yet and it’s one that thickens the plot even more than before.
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Spoilers for tonight’s episode of Riverdale, “Hereditary”, below.
Since Charles’ arrival in Riverdale, Betty has been a bit suspicious of her half-brother. Considering her previous experiences with the imposter, Chic, that makes sense, so she took it upon herself to track Charles’ movements. While nothing was particularly out of the ordinary, something clicked with Betty and led her to speak with the now-imprisoned Chic and ask him about Charles. As fans will recall, Chic told Betty that Charles was dead but from jail he now tells a different story. Yes, there was a death in their hostel room, but it was some random young man and it was Charles who had killed him, the pair of them high on Jingle Jangle at the time. It’s a disturbing story, but it’s one that feeds well into Betty’s concerns about the so-called serial killer gene.
But this is Chic and Betty’s not so sure, so she confronts Charles about it and makes him take a polygraph. Charles tells a slightly different story. Yes, he and Chic had a relationship, but he came home and found the dead man — pinning the blame for the death on Chic. He disposed of the body for Chic but says that his relationship ended that night and that he went on to get his life together. He also admitted to being a recovering addict. That seems to somewhat be the end of the story until later when Charles tells Alice, FP, and Betty that Chic, after Betty’s visit, reported that Alice had murdered a man and hidden the body. Charles volunteers — along with FP’s help — to deal with the situation, something that wins Alice over as well as seems to calm Betty as well. She appears to accept him and be genuinely remorseful for pushing these buttons in the first place.
This is Riverdale, though, and it’s never that easy. Near the end of the episode, Charles pays Chic a visit in jail and it turns out that the whole situation about Chic calling in the murder of the Shady Man was something he and Charles came up with together. The pair is revealed to still be in a relationship and while it’s not exactly clear what their endgame is, now that fans know the pair are still entangled, it certainly can’t be good.
Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
What do you think of this latest, insane Cooper family twist? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
