Riverdale is setting up Betty for some dark days ahead. Could they be laying the groundwork to reveal her as the Black Hood? Hear us out.
Riverdale season 2 is bananas, folks. It’s upped its game from season 1, and we’re here for it all. Introducing a serial killer, turning Jughead into a serpent and making Archie a vigilante are bold moves, and the surprises keep on coming. This week’s Betty-centric episode might have given us a major clue as to who is behind the Black Hood’s mask.
In fact, as much as Riverdale borrows from previous films, it’s giving me some real Fight Club vibes with this whole Betty/Black Hood thing. Could the Black Hood be a personality created by Betty? Based on how connected the Black Hood feels to Betty and his insistence that they are the same person, I’m beginning to wonder if they are, in fact, same.
I know it’s a hard sell. It might seem like a stretch to believe that Betty Cooper is a cold-blooded murderer, but take a closer look. The only person to really wind up dead is Ms. Grundy, and let’s face it. She totally deserved it. Betty isn’t really killing anybody, just wounding them. And it’s not really anybody that’s super important to her. It’s also very telling that the Black Hood only wants her to “cut out” Veronica and Jughead. This gives her a convenient out to stone-cold murder. Betty doesn’t really want to murder anybody, even if her alter-ego is maniacal villain.
Also, Riverdale is playing a shell game with the Black Hood’s whereabouts. He promises to be at the town meeting, but conveniently doesn’t appear when Betty arrives. He’s already conceded to knowing things only Betty could know. He was “inspired” by her speech, knows about her confiding in Archie, and is totally clued into Alice’s seedy past. It’s almost like they know the same things, yet are never in the same place at the same time.
The Black Hood even mimics Betty’s inner monologue, suggesting that Jughead isn’t good enough for her, or that they both want to “cleanse” Riverdale. This is some of the same negative self-talk that Betty repeats to herself (and hears from her mother). By cutting out the folks closest to her, she’s reinforcing her ideas about herself that she doesn’t deserve them or isn’t good enough.
The most incriminating moments of “Chapter Eighteen: When a Stranger Calls,” is that last scene with Betty and the abandoned house. Over and over, the Black Hood tells Betty they want the same things. However, Betty actually assumes the role of the Black Hood when she pulls the hood over her head. Her personalities merge just for a second, and audiences realize that Betty is the Black Hood.
If this theory tracks, there are some aspects that are harder to explain, I’ll admit. The phone calls are particularly problematic. Archie hears them too, so it makes it harder to prove that Betty is the Black Hood, or that it’s some kind of split-personality situation. Perhaps Betty has an app that will record and change her voice. It could happen. Also, I find it strange and remarkable that this episode is the first we hear that ringtone. Its effect is creepy for sure, but its a departure from past experiences, indicating something super hinky about these calls.
And let’s not forget that the handwriting on the notes have come back as different. This could mean that Betty has assumed the identity of the Black Hood, after the fact. Or it could be her different personalities taking on different characteristics.
Related Story: Riverdale is both way too much and exactly just enough
Series showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa teased some big Betty stuff in Entertainment Weekly’s recent cover story. He says:
"I would say by episode 4 and 5, it’s like ‘Oh my God! Betty is absolutely in the heart of darkness.’ We’re putting her through the fires like never before. I can’t say too much because there’s a couple of big twists but Betty is absolutely at the heart of the darkest story we’re telling this season — for sure."
Lili Reinhart herself has this to say about Betty in this episode, also from EW:
"Episode 5 is the most broken down we’ve seen of Betty thus far. Dark Betty is a playful term we used in season 1 but now it’s more kind of a tortured, broken Betty. You’re seeing her at her core, shaken and tormented a little bit, which is kind of excited for fans to see and for me to play. It’s showing a completely different side for me."
This sounds like confirmation to me. We’ve got you covered, for all sorts of theories and conspiracies. Stay with us for all things Riverdale.
Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.