‘Riverdale’: Is Chic Cooper Really SPOILER?

The number of unanswered questions surrounding Riverdale‘s second season only seem to be growing. But we can’t help but wonder — could two of the show’s newest mysteries actually be connected?

In the show’s midseason premiere, viewers were finally introduced to Chic Cooper (Hart Denton), the long-lost brother of Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart). And while Chic certainly fits into the often-dysfunctional dynamic of the Cooper family, especially with the sort of darkness he shares with Betty, there’s something about his presence that has given some fans pause.

While it’s still too early to tell, is there a chance that there’s more to Chic’s story than we know? Could the Chic that we’ve met so far actually be some sort of impostor? And could the “real” Chic Cooper be someone that viewers have actually already met?

The Impostor

Again, it’s totally plausible that Chic is actually a real, bonafide member of the Cooper family. But considering just how many secrets exist within the world of Riverdale, and how little we still know about Chic himself, it certainly is possible that he could be hiding something — perhaps that he really has a different identity.

Maybe the Chic that we’ve already met grew up in the foster care system alongside the real Coopers’ son, and discovered bits and pieces about his birth family. If the real Coopers’ son was adopted to another family and given a whole other life, Chic could’ve very well taken it upon himself to impersonate the son, seeking a sort of “white picket fence” life that he never was given.

In a way, you can read between the lines with this, especially when Betty and Alice first go to meet Chic. When the pair introduce themselves, Chic reveals that he visited their house once before, and remarks that it seemed like “a nice place to grow up.” When Alice asks why Chic didn’t meet them before, he remarks that he had the feeling that they “probably didn’t want somebody like [him] around.”

While the basic interpretation of this could be just Chic being embarrassed by his current situation, it could have a double meaning if he’s actually an impostor.

Sure, there are some holes in this theory, namely that the Sisters of Quiet Mercy supposedly gave Chic information about the Coopers. Plus, Betty appeared to get initial information about Chic from Jughead’s social worker. But with so many characters (Hiram Lodge, Penny Peabody, the real Black Hood) always managing to be one step ahead of the rest of Riverdale, the forging of a few documents or the work of some shady nuns certainly seems plausible.

Canon vs. Riverdale

So, if Chic might not actually be the Coopers’ real long-lost son, who is? Oddly enough, a pretty strong candidate was introduced in the same exact episode as Chic was.

In another plotline of the show’s midseason premiere, Archie was approached by Special Agent Arthur Adams (John Behlmann), who enlisted Archie’s help in investigating Hiram Lodge.

This raised the eyebrows of some fans, especially those who are familiar with Chic Cooper’s brief comic history. In the comics, Chic is basically a sort of footnote, with both he and Polly appearing pretty sporadically throughout the issues. The reasoning behind their frequent absence is explained in a slightly ridiculous way, with Polly being a reporter and Chic being a secret agent for the government.

You see what I’m getting at here? Maybe Adams is somehow the Cooper family’s real long-lost son.

Throughout both of the episodes he’s appeared in, Adams has been a sort of enigma, with quite a few fans wondering if he’s not actually a member of the FBI. Putting that aside, there’s still a lot unknown about Adams himself, other than that he was “born and raised” in Riverdale (something that he technically would’ve been, if Alice gave birth to him and he was adopted shortly after).

In addition, Adams is around the right age and has enough of the physical characteristics to somehow be a descendant of the Cooper family (or of Alice and FP Jones, a fan theory that has circulated quite a bit). Adams also conveniently hasn’t mentioned the Cooper family in any of his conversations with Archie – something that could change in future episodes, or could be an intentional omission.

So could Agent Adams be the Cooper family’s real son? Could Chic have way more up his sleeves than we know? Riverdale fans will just have to wait and see if the two are connected.

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