Riverdale: SPOILER Dies in "Hereditary"

This season of Riverdale has certainly pushed the envelope in some unexpected ways, both in the show's main narrative and in the impending doom of Jughead Jones' (Cole Sprouse) post-Spring-Break fate. Those two storylines have yet to officially intersect in an obvious way this season, but a major reveal - and the tragic fate of one character - in this week's episode will certainly raise suspicion. Spoilers for this week's episode of Riverdale, "Chapter Sixty-Three: Hereditary", below! Only look if you want to know!

The episode partially followed Jughead's investigation about his grandfather, a writer who had gone to the prestigious Stonewall Prep school before dropping out under mysterious circumstances. Jughead's strongest pieces of evidence around his grandfather were his copies of the Baxter Brothers series of novels, which the older man had sent him throughout his life. Jughead began to suspect that his grandfather had really been the ghostwriter for the first Baxter Brothers novel, but had been ostracized and erased from the record by the real "first" ghostwriter, Francis J. DuPont.

Jughead brought that information to DuPont, who quickly grew offended and threatened to expel him. He then brought his evidence to Mr. Chipping (Sam Witwer), his professor and the current Baxter Brothers ghostwriter. Chipping offered to help Jughead get justice for his grandfather -- but quickly changed his tune the next day. During class, Chipping appeared to be visually ill, and then apologized to Jughead that he wouldn't be able to help him. He then dove through a nearby window, seemingly killing himself with the ensuing fall.

Jughead was clearly traumatized by Chipping's apparent suicide, but his other classmates grew relatively nonplussed. This was especially the case during the next class, when it was revealed that DuPont would be serving as their new instructor.

While Witwer's character only factored into the world of Riverdale for a handful of episodes, the notion that he was so quickly driven to suicide certainly raises some questions. Almost since Jughead first enrolled in Stonewall Prep, fans have speculated that the school would have something to do with Jughead's apparent "death" around Spring Break. The kids and faculty of Stonewall certainly haven't alleviated this suspicion, especially after Jughead was locked in a coffin overnight for the sake of a "prank". When combined with DuPont's shady demeanor - and how offended he grew about Jughead's evidence that he wasn't the original Baxter Brothers ghostwriter - there certainly is a good chance that he could go to even more sinister lengths to keep Jughead quiet.

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