The Gargoyle King Was Revealed On 'Riverdale,' But We Still Have Questions

The biggest mystery of the season was finally solved on Riverdale's latest episode, as the mask finally came off of the Gargoyle King. The strange, bone and branch-covered killer has been haunting the town of Riverdale since the beginning of Season 3, but now his true identity has finally been revealed. Yep — the Gargoyle King was revealed on Riverdale, but there are still a ton of unanswered questions surrounding the figure.

Spoiler alert: This post contains plot details from Riverdale Season 3 Episode 10, "The Stranger." Although it definitely felt like the Gargoyle King mystery was going to last all season, Riverdale unmasked the mysterious killer on Wednesday night's new episode. Surprisingly, Jughead's plan to plant Fangs as an undercover Gargoyle Gang member and then ambush the Gargoyle King at the initiation ceremony actually worked. Jughead and F.P. tackled the Gargoyle King while the rest of his lackeys scattered, and they removed his mask to reveal... Tall Boy!?

Yeah, Tall Boy — the former Southside Serpent member who was supposedly killed in the Season 2 finale. After he was exposed as a copycat of the Black Hood, the Riverdale police attempted to question him but it resulted in a gunfight, and he was killed. Except, clearly he was actually not killed, because here he is as the Gargoyle King! What's going on?

Well, when you think about it, it actually does add up how Tall Boy could have faked his death. Back in Season 2, Hiram Lodge hired Tall Boy to impersonate the Black Hood and decapitate the statue of General Pickens, shoot up the mayoral debate, and attempt to murder Fred Andrews. It was the newly hired Sheriff Minetta who led the charge against Tall Boy when he was found out, resulting in his supposed death. But of course, Sheriff Minetta was also in Hiram's pocket, so Hiram could have easily ordered Minetta to fake Tall Boy's death in order to use him as a pawn again later. It also becomes clear in this episode that the Gargoyle King is working for Hiram, rather than the other way around, so the reveal makes more sense.

But there are still some major Gargoyle King mysteries that have not been solved. Like, how exactly does Gryphons and Gargoyles tie into this, especially with the implications that the board game can somehow affect reality? And how has Tall Boy as the Gargoyle King managed to inspire such a fanatical cult-like following where people like Ethel, Ben, and Warden Norton are willing to worship and even die for him?

There is also the major question of whether Tall Boy is the original Gargoyle King or not. We know the Gargoyle King first appeared back when the parents were in high school — theoretically, Tall Boy could have been around, but he has never been mentioned by any of the town's parents. Earlier in the episode, Hal Cooper claimed that he was the original Gargoyle King, but Betty later decided that his claim may be a lie since Penelope Blossom had fed him all the details about the Midnight Club. Still, it is not so far-fetched that Hal was the first Gargoyle King and Tall Boy is a copycat — it would actually exactly mirror the Black Hood reveals of Season 2.