Tonight’s Riverdale saw a surprising character make their return — and possibly open a whole new can of worms in the process.
Spoilers for tonight’s episode of Riverdale, “There Will Be Blood”, below!
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The episode saw Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) continuing his investigation of Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos), and of what exactly he’s trying to do to the town. Partway through the episode, Jughead got a call from a mysterious male voice, who asked him to meet at the bus depot to get information on Hiram.
Jughead went to the bus depot, where he found a familiar face operating as a bus driver — Smithers (Tom McBeath), the Lodge family butler.
After answering a few of Jughead’s questions, Smithers provided a small bit of information, that some of Hiram’s dealings had gone through the Shankshaw prison.
For those paying attention to Riverdale, Smithers’ return is somewhat surprising. After appearing in almost all of the show’s first season, Smithers essentially disappeared in the episode “Nighthawks”, with Hiram claiming that the butler had left to care to his sick mother. This raised suspicion to some, especially with Smithers conveniently matching the physical description of the Black Hood.
Some had wondered if Smithers was the one donning the mask, and essentially helping the Lodges clean up the town in some macabre fashion. But as the season went on, that theory somewhat dwindled down, namely due to how little Smithers was appearing in the show.
But having Smithers return – even as an ally of Jughead – in such a Hiram-centric episode feels like something of note. Hell, we wondered if this episode had some sort of secret tie to the Black Hood coming back, when showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa teased an “unlikely return”. Granted, that seems to have hinted towards Claudius Blossom (Barclay Hope), Clifford’s long-lost twin brother…but it could mean Smithers as well.
Especially if Smithers is somehow tied to the role of the “real” Black Hood – either independently or working alongside Hiram – his reappearance could signify something major. Or even if he isn’t, there’s still a very good chance that he’s somehow involved in the Lodge family shadiness.
What do you think of Smithers’ return to Riverdale? Sound off in the comments below.
Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
