Noo, These Clues Jughead Dies On 'Riverdale' Are Actually Pretty Convincing
Season 4 of Riverdale has officially reached its halfway point, but the biggest mystery of the season is still completely unsolved. At the very end of Season 3, a flash-forward seemed to hint Jughead was doomed to die during spring break of the gang's senior year, and the several flash-forwards seen since then seem to confirm this. But would Riverdale really kill off one of its lead characters? Unfortunately, these clues Jughead dies on Rivedale Season 4 make a case for the unthinkable.
Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers up to and through Riverdale Season 4, Episode 11, "Quiz Show." Despite all the scenes seemingly showing Jughead's death, fans are still having trouble buying the supposed murder. After all, Riverdale is known for its twists, and it just seems unimaginable that the show would actually kill off Jug. So, what is really going on? Season 4 has actually dropped a lot of hints about what could really be at the core of this Jughead mystery, and sadly, some of them seem to confirm that his death isn't just a fake-out. Yep — Jughead really might end up dead by the end of Season 4, and here are all the clues that seem to confirm this grim twist:
1. The Baxter Brothers assignment
At the center of Jughead's mysterious Stonewall Prep are the Baxter Brothers novels. The mystery book series was begun by Jughead's grandpa, Forsythe Jones I, who sold the rights to Mr. DuPont. The authorship has since been handed down among Stonewall students as a top honor among each class, and now Jughead has won his place as the next wrier. But the test to choose the author had an eyebrow-raising requirement: to write the perfect murder.
It's clear Jughead's classmates — particularly Bret Weston Wallis and Donna Sweett — are not fans of him, and, gulp, they too were tasked with creating the perfect murder. So, it sure seems like the murder of Jughead could be perfect in the eyes of Bret and Donna, given their hatred for him. The fact that the flash-forwards show the blame for Jug's death falls squarely on Betty, Archie, and Veronica only make it more plausible the two Stonewall students will their foe and blame it on his friends.
2. Mr. DuPont's control at Stonewall
Bret and Donna aren't the only shady characters at Stonewall Prep. Mr. DuPont clearly has an ax to grind with the entire Jones family. Most suspiciously of all, Mr. Chipping jumped out a window to his death rather than help Jughead expose the truth about DuPont, and none of his classmates seemed at all shocked by it. If Mr. DuPont can cause Mr. Chipping to jump out a window, he can definitely have Jughead killed.
3. Betty's hypnotism
The most damning flash-forward scene of all actually did not include anyone from Stonewall Prep, but it did include Betty. A recent episode showed Betty standing over Jughead's body in the woods holding a rock, clearly indicating she could be the one who killed him. But why would she murder her beloved boyfriend? It all goes back to The Farm. Betty discovered Edgar and Evelyn Evernever used hypnosis on their Farmies to continue controlling them, and although Betty thought she was unaffected by the trigger word "tangerine," it seems to be the best explanation for why she might do something so out of character.
4. Betty's acceptance into Yale
Another very suspicious moment showed Betty and Bret having a quick chat after Jughead's death. Bret congratulated Betty on getting into Yale like she had wanted, and said she did not have to pretend to feel sad over Jughead. This all goes back to Jughead getting into Betty's dream school while Betty got rejected. Could Betty really have killed Jughead to take his spot at Yale? That definitely seems way too extreme, but it sure sounded like Betty and Bret had worked together on something.
5. The return of Barchie
Most recently, a flash-forward showed Archie comforting Betty over Jughead's disappearance, and although it was not explicitly shown, several fans got the impression the two former flames had gotten back together, or would in the near flash-forward future. It feels weird that they would reunite so quickly after Jughead's death, though, right? Unless they began their affair a while back, and Jughead's death was the result of an out-of-control fight that broke out when he discovered the truth.
6. Charles and Chic's relationship
The most recent several episodes have not heavily featured Charles at all, which is pretty surprising considering considering his last major scene revealed he was in a secret relationship with the imprisoned Gargoyle King, Chic. Charles is still a super-shady character who fans know barely anything about, and his closeness with Chic only makes him more of a suspect. Charles is Jughead's half-brother, and although it's not clear why he may want him dead, that blood connection can definitely come with a motive.
Despite all the weirdness at Stonewall and the implications about Betty, Charles seems like the prime suspect to be behind the murder. Hopefully fans will find out more about the mysterious half-brother in coming weeks, and finally get more answers about what happened to Jughead.
Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
