The Newest Mystery In 'Riverdale' Is Much Darker Than We Thought
So we're already a full episode into Season 2 of Riverdale and the question remains: Who in heaven's name tried to kill Fred Andrews? We know it's not someone who hangs out in the dark corners of the Southside, where the Serpents might be able to turn him up. And we know it's not one of the usual suspects that the sheriff rounds up in times like these. So who is The Man In The Black Hood?
We know that Veronica thinks it's an assassin hired by either her father or her mother to do Fred in. And from the looks the two of them exchanged when she told them that Fred had woken up, was alive and well, and heading home, we're pretty sure that Hiram and Hermione Lodge suspect each other as well.
Jughead is the one who hit upon the vendetta theory that fans have been parsing all summer, but his suspects are more on the lower working class end of the spectrum — the little guys who get hurt and lose their livelihoods when men like Fred Andrews and Hiram Lodge clash their businesses.
Meanwhile, Pops has a much more, well, Riverdalian theory. (Is that a word? I need that to be a word.) He's "The Angel of Death."
Who is the "Angel of Death?" Well, if we go back into our history, there's Azrael, which translates as "Help from God." He is described as having four faces and 4,000 wings. His body supposedly consists of all the eyes and tongues of those who inhabit the earth. (And here he only cut a pair of eyeholes in his mask.)
More seriously, someone who believes themselves to be the "Angel of Death" or someone who has the sort of self righteous aura that those who look upon him believe that, is someone who is seriously insane.
If this person really does believe they are going around being God's Right-Hand Man, and killing those who deserve to die in Riverdale... well, that's the sort of serial killer that the Sheriff is going to have to bring in a bit of backup to help him out with. (I heard some of the best serial killer hunters just got canceled over on Broadchurch. Maybe they're willing to work for CW-level salaries?)
But we do have evidence, at least at this stage, that whoever walked into that diner and shot Fred in the gut before stealing his wallet is not someone acting on the sort of "small picture" personal vendettas that we assumed it would be. The Angel of Death's second victim this week was someone completely out of the circle of the Core Four and their parents' social circle.
Heck, it wasn't even someone in Riverdale. Instead, it was Miss Grundy, who since leaving town had become a nice piano tutor in Greendale, the next town over, and she was still apparently sexually abusing her teenage male students.
How many victims did she have anyway? We didn't get a chance to find out, because as soon as the kid was smooched and left the premises, the Angel of Death swooped down upon her and, with a little help from God, took out this sexual predator by breaking her neck.
That certainly ups the mystery by quite a lot. If Fred was shot by a serial killer, one who is working under the belief that he is killing off the scum of the earth in a righteous anger, that changes the game completely.
Especially if this Angel is someone who plans on killing anyone who is a high-level sinner. After all, Hiram Lodge just got back in town, and Fred Andrews survived. Can the Angel's return to Riverdale be far behind? We'll find out next week.
