Season four has finally wrapped up its most talked about mystery so far, but Riverdale still has more surprises to come. Some viewers have rallied behind a convincing theory that suggests big changes for The CW’s fifth season.
The apparent murder of Jughead Jones (played by Cole Sprouse) was finally resolved in the most recent episodes of Riverdale.
Unfortunately, the town is still being plagued by creepy video tapes being sent to the families of the small town.
The global coronavirus pandemic has sadly stalled production of the fourth season so, although fans are expecting another chapter for season four to be released in two weeks, there could be a substantial wait before the current instalment finally resolves.
Throughout the show’s ongoing hiatus, fans have been poring over theories and predictions for the upcoming fifth season.
READ MORE: Cole Sprouse net worth: How much is Jughead Jones star worth?
One of the most popular theories suggests the series’ fifth season will begin with a time jump in order to justify the aging characters and departing cast members.
In February of this year, The CW announced seasoned actors for the series Marisol Nichols and Skeet Ulrich would be departing Riverdale after the conclusion of season four.
Skeet portrays Jughead’s father F. P. Jones for the series, while Marisol portray’s Hermione Lodge, Veronica’s (Camila Mendes) mother and wife to the devious Hiram (Mark Consuelos).
With the Lodge’s strained relationship challenged by corporate backstabbing and sabotage, some viewers have been calling for their split since the early days of Riverdale.
Some viewers have taken to Reddit to discuss the upcoming fifth season, and decided that Marisol’s departure and speculated time jump all but confirms the Lodges’ separation.
Redditor imareddituserfightme questioned: “So, obviously Marisol and Skeet are leaving the show. My only question is how?
“They could easily kill both of them off, but I feel like that’s too tragic for Veronica and Jughead. So how will they tie it up?”
Normally, a death might be expected on the wildly unpredictable teen drama, but this fan rightly points out there has already been an unnatural level of tragedy during this season.
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Season four already began with a tribute to the death of Archie’s (KJ Apa) father, when actor Luke Perry tragically passed away last year, so more deaths in the family so soon could be considered in bad taste.
Another fan suggested: “Assuming there is a time jump; Hermione finally leaves Hiram and moves to Europe.”
During the events of the current season, it has been heavily implied Hiram has actually been faking his fatal disease in order to gain more political power and level even more revenge on his family and corporate enemies.
If Hermione eventually uncovers the truth, the discovery of this particularly nasty scheme could be the last straw to finall force Hermione to leave her husband.
One more viewer added: “I think Hermione finds out Hiram is faking his disease and finally leaves him. F. P I think he gets into trouble involving either the Serpents or Jughead and is forced to leave town or go back to prison.”
This season has followed the redemption of F. P. as he abandons the Southside Serpents to become the town’s moralistic Sheriff.
However, with both cast members set to leave, the Jones’ Southside past could catch up to them in the highly anticipated finale and ignite another war on the streets of Riverdale.
Riverdale airs on The CW in the US on Wednesdays and Thursdays on Netflix UK.
