'Riverdale': Did "Prisoners" Just Confirm that SPOILER is the Black Hood?

Tonight's episode of Riverdale revealed the stunning truth about about Chic Cooper and may just [...]

By Nicole Drum

Tonight's episode of Riverdale revealed the stunning truth about about Chic Cooper and may just have revealed the identity of the real Black Hood in the process.

Spoilers for tonight's episode of Riverdale, "Prisoners", below.

In the wake of Midge Klump's murder, all of Riverdale is on edge and for Betty and Jughead, that means they have more reason than ever to be suspicious of Chic. As Chic was at the school when Midge was murdered, and he grew up at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy -- the same place Mr. Svenson went after the murder of his family -- Jughead and Betty do a little investigating. What they discover is chilling: Chic isn't who he says he is. The real "Charles Smith" is dead. Chic has been impersonating him.

When confronted with this, Chic grabs a knife and attacks Alice, but he is quickly subdued by Betty and then tied up in the basement of the Cooper's house. While Alice tries to deal with the realization that she once turned away her real son, Betty is left figuring out what to do next. That's when the Black Hood calls her. The killer tells her that she's been sloppy, but that she needs to give Chic over to him and let him handle justice. The Black Hood knows all about the killing of the shady man, too, but Betty isn't inclined to hand over Chic. Later, though, Hal Cooper comes home, and Alice tells him everything. She reveals that Chic is an imposter and that she can't go to the police because she helped Chic dispose of the shady man's body.

Betty then makes her decision. She gets the gun she stole from Mrs. Grundy and tells Chic she's letting him go. She walks him out to the cemetery where it's revealed the Black Hood is waiting for him. Betty has decided to turn him over after all, though she gives him a bit of a running start. Satisfied that she's rid of Chic for good as the Black Hood chases after Chic, Betty returns home. Betty talks to her mother a bit, lying and saying that she took Chic to the bus station. She asks Alice where Hal is and Alice drops an ominous bombshell: Hal went out looking for Betty.

Hal Cooper has long been fans' prime suspect for the identity of the Black Hood. Not only does he fit the description of the killer, but he's pretty much the only person in Riverdale who would have the specific information that the Black Hood knows. Previously, the Black Hood demonstrated intimate knowledge about Betty and her life, going so far as to create a cypher that only she would be able to solve. The Black Hood also had Betty expose Alice's Serpent history. Both of those things line up to information that only Hal would know. And, as tonight showed, Hal has long had a history of being nowhere around when the Black Hood is around.

Perhaps even more damning, though, is that there is really only one person other than Betty or Alice who would have a real reason to want to make Chic disappear and suffer for his sins and that's Hal. Chic's presence -- or even just the existence of the real Charles Smith in general -- has long been a threat to his happy family life. Getting rid of Chic solves that problem.

Of course, the episode did leave Chic's true fate a little ambiguous. The last we see of him he's running away from the Black Hood. It's possible there is still more to that story to be told, which is something that series star Lili Reinhart even said during the show's PaleyFest panel earlier this month.

"The mystery of Chic is just being unraveled," Reinhart said. "There's so much that we're about to find out about this person who is just seemingly an intruder in their home. The mystery of Chic is just beginning to unfold, and it carries through the end of the season. So, there's a lot, a lot to unveil."

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.

Are you convinced Hal is the Black Hood? Let us know your theories in the comments!

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