A New 'Riverdale' Gargoyle King Fan Theory Has Fans Convinced This Mother Is Responsible

In Season 1 it was who killed Jason Blossom, in Season 2 it was who is the Black Hood, and now Riverdale fans are completely submerged in another totally perplexing mystery for Season 3: Who is the Gargoyle King? The creepy bone- and branch-covered figure appears to be behind multiple murders in Riverdale's history, but it is still difficult to figure out who could be behind that mask. Every fan has their own theory, but a new theory might convince you to take a closer look at Hermione Lodge. So, is Hermione Lodge the Gargoyle King on Riverdale? A lot of her actions may actually make a case for her being behind all this chaos.

Hermione Lodge has not really gotten much of a meaty storyline since her affair with Fred Andrews in Season 1, but there have been some pivotal moments that lead fans to believe she is up to much more than we are seeing. Once her husband Hiram Lodge came to Riverdale in Season 2, the focus immediately shifted to him as the clear villain, since he makes no effort whatsoever to hide the fact that he is a mafia boss intent on controlling the town. Although Hermione may have seemed to be a less powerful second-in-command to her husband, there is a moment in Season 2 when we learn a surprising detail about her. Archie thought he was working with an FBI agent to take down the Lodges, but Agent Adams later revealed that he actually works for Hermione... interestingly, not Hiram.

Since then, fans have wondered what else Hermione could be hiding. A fan theory on Reddit lists a lot of Hermione's shady actions and links them to the possibility that she may indeed be the Gargoyle King. For one, Hermione was the person who actually found the Gryphons and Gargoyles game back in the '90s in the flashback episode. She is also responsible for making the game popular among the Riverdale High students again, since banning it as the mayor only made kids more interested in playing. Plus, she was also the one to call all the parents together when the game reemerged and urged them to remain true to their pact of secrecy regarding the game.

The most recent episode, "The Great Escape," makes the case for Hermione even stronger. At the end of the episode, we find out that Warden Norton was told to kill Archie by the Gargoyle King. When he fails his task, the warden's assistant informs him that Hermione Lodge is on her way to see him, but the warden immediately kills himself before she arrives. Could he have been avoiding the Gargoyle King's wrath after finding out she was about to visit him?

There is still not too much to go on with this theory, but it will certainly convince fans to keep a closer eye on Hermione Lodge as this season continues. The major question that it raises, though, is why Hermione would do all this. Maybe we will get some more clues in next week's new episode of Riverdale, which airs on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. ET on the CW.