The Truth About Charles Came Out On 'Riverdale' Season 5 & It's... So Bizarre

Ever since Betty and Jughead's half-brother Charles showed up in Riverdale's Season 3 finale, he's been a big question mark. After the existence of Alice Cooper and F.P. Jones' secret son was revealed at the end of Season 1, he's been shrouded in mystery, first having his identity stolen by an impersonator and then popping up as an FBI agent investigating The Farm. At long last, the truth about Charles came out on Riverdale Season 5, and honestly, everyone should've seen it coming.

Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers for Riverdale Season 5, Episode 2, "The Preppy Murders." Among the Riverdale fandom, Charles has been the prime suspect in the videotapes mystery for a very long time. Any new character who pops up in the show is always suspicious, and Charles confirmed his shadiness right away in a scene when he stared lovingly at Chic during a prison visit. I mean... if you're in love with the freaking Gargoyle King, chances are you're probably not a good guy.

Charles' villainous side came to light at long last at the start of Season 5, when Jughead and Betty finally put together that their random half-sibling who has a penchant for bugging people's phones and an obsession with serial killers might actually be kind of creepy. For all their detective work, Bughead sure took their time piecing that one together. When they confronted Charles, he freely admitted to killing Bret, Joan, and David, but said he was not behind the videotapes. The true auteur, as Jughead realized soon after that, was his kid sister Jellybean, who wanted to create a mystery that would keep Jughead around instead of going off to Stonewall Prep and, later, college.

For how much Betty likes to talk about "serial killer genes" and the "darkness" she inherited from her dad, this episode made a case for the Coopers being unable to keep up with the Joneses. Casual reminder: Charles is not at all related to Hal Cooper, the parent Betty believes passed down his serial killer genes to her. Could Alice turn out to be a secret serial killer, too, and the true source of the killer genes? It's Riverdale, so nothing's out of the question.

Strangely, the episode didn't really explicitly show viewers what happened to Charles after Bughead found out he was a literal murderer. Betty said she was going to force him to confess to his crimes, so she presumably followed through on that and he's locked up with his boyfriend now. But there's also the chance he's still out there. I guess fans will find out what happened with Charles next week.

Riverdale continues on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.