Entertainment

These 'Riverdale' Season 3 Spoilers Have Fans Worried About Every Character's Fate

by Claire Spellberg
The CW

Riverdale, why have you decided to tear my heart out? With just one episode left in Season 2, the CW hit is setting fans up for some serious heartbreak. I'm still hoping that everything will come out OK for our core four (looking at you, Jughead), but now that I've seen some Riverdale Season 3 spoilers, I'm not too confident. Ugh, remember when Riverdale residents' biggest concerns were what milkshake to get at Pop's? That was such a simpler time.

The penultimate episode in Season 2, "Judgement Night," was so dramatic that it could have easily been the Season 2 finale. After finally unmasking the Black Hood (I know. I know), Riverdale did something that no one saw coming: It potentially killed off Jughead. In order to save the Serpents from an all-out gang war with the Ghoulies (who are now led by a very pissed-off Penny Peabody), Jughead sacrifices himself to the enemy and allows himself to be badly beaten — potentially to death. At the end of the episode, FP realizes what Jughead has done and runs to the site of the fight, but he's too late. The next thing we know, FP is carrying his son's lifeless body past his very concerned friends, all of whom are shocked that Juggy would do something so drastic.

Is Jughead alive or dead? Cole Sprouse dropped a few hints about Jughead's future (and I'm not talking about that ambiguous tweet), and now, I'm worried about everyone's fate in Season 3. During a recent press conference for the clothing line Bench, Sprouse teased that things aren't looking good for Jughead at the end of Season 2:

The end of season two, without spoiling too much, leaves Jughead in a super precarious spot. He’s put himself on a very public platform in the latter half of this season which has put a big target on his back. And he’s probably, more than any other character in the town, made the most enemies. Just enemy after enemy.

This definitely doesn't sound good. From where I'm sitting, it seems like even if Jughead makes it out of his fight with the Ghoulies alive, he has other enemies waiting to take him down. Hiram Lodge was the one organizing the Ghoulies (and I have to imagine that he's one of those "enemies") so it's possible that if Jughead survives, Hiram will try to take him out again. For everyone's sake, I'm hoping that this is not the case.

But that's just Season 2. Sprouse then said that in Season 3, the same demons will loom over Riverdale:

So he’s in a very dangerous spot in the end of this season that’ll pick up in the beginning of the next season.

Wait, wait, wait. Did Sprouse just confirm that Jughead will be in Season 3? From his comments, it definitely seems like Jughead will survive and his problems will follow him into the next season. I'm sure that Sprouse meant this in a bad way, but right now, all I can think about is a Bughead reunion. I'm going to need a minute.

OK, all good now. Jughead's enemies following him into Season 3 spells disaster for everyone, not just Juggy. Do you really think that Archie and Betty would let him go down without help — especially after watching their friend almost die at the end of Season 2? Clearly, the violence that fans saw throughout this season will carry on into Season 3, and next time around, no one is safe.

According to TV Guide, FP will take his son's near-death experience — and all the enemies he's made — particularly hard. FP has been sober for quite some time, but the drama surrounding Jughead's experience will reportedly push him "back to the bottle." Of course, a backslide into addiction can't be immediately resolved: FP is on probation, so if he's caught drinking again, he'll be arrested. If this happens, it will definitely be a major Season 3 story line, especially now that FP seems to be rekindling his romance with Alice Cooper and has gotten himself tied up in some of the most dramatic moments of Season 2. Um, remember that dead body? Yeah, no chance that's going away.

It's going to be a long summer waiting around for Riverdale Season 3, so can we keep the spoilers coming, please?