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A ‘Riverdale’ dossier: Let’s figure out Jason Blossom’s killer
There’s a killer on the loose in “Riverdale” — and with each new episode of the CW series, the mystery deepens and more suspects come into focus. The death of Jason Blossom (Trevor Stines) has seriously rocked this little town, taking away a lot of that signature pep their welcome sign promises.
Who could have possibly pulled it off, though? The theories are flying fast and furious across the internet, claims ranging from the idea that someone killed Jason by accident, thinking he was Archie, to the possibility that Jughead’s mysteriously absent sister Jellybean pulled the trigger. While there are many possibilities as to who could be the killer, there are some very important things to keep in mind when it comes to this brutal crime that some people seem to forget.
Most importantly, Jason wasn’t merely shot and killed: He was tortured for a week before he was killed, and then frozen. If he was mistaken for Archie, certainly at some point during that process it would have been clear who the assailant was really hurting. And Jellybean is 10, so calm down.
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With that in mind, eventually someone’s theory is going to be right. The killer will ultimately be revealed by Season 1’s end, and things on “Riverdale” will never be the same. But who could be the guilty party be?
After nine episodes of “Riverdale,” we’ve narrowed it down to the likeliest suspects and compiled this dossier with all the evidence we think makes them guilty. And just to make things easier on you, we’ve ranked them from most to least suspicious. Take a look and let us know who you think the killer is then bookmark this page. As each new episode unfolds, this dossier will be updated.
Cheryl Blossom
Motive: Nobody loved Jason as much as Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch). That’s a fact she’s been very open about that and the reason is clear: He was her protector. However, he was also planning to leave her to spend life with Polly. While you can’t blame Jason for wanting to keep his unborn child away from that toxic environment, the situation it would have left Cheryl in is unimaginable. Could she have been that angry that he was abandoning her and for Polly Cooper, no less?
Evidence: The day Jason disappeared, Cheryl was the only other person present. That means there’s no story other than the one she tells — and she’s changed it more than once. She is also the heir apparent where the Blossom family fortune and maple business is concerned. As revealed in “La Grande Illusion,” Cheryl stands to inherit her family’s company now that Jason is gone. After playing a rather sympathetic figure in recent episodes, she also showed just how vicious she can be when she thinks she’s being taken advantage of.
Penelope & Clifford Blossom
Motive: While they are Jason’s parents, and it seems impossible that they’d torture and kill their own son, there is something strange afoot in the Blossom house. Cheryl paints their life as full of secret, emotional torture and while she makes it seem like Jason was treated well, there’s no telling what went on behind closed doors. Once they found out about his relationship with Polly, they definitely could have crossed the line.
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Evidence: There’s little physical evidence of the Blossom parents killing their own child, but they are monstrous parents if Cheryl is any indication. You can’t help but get the feeling that it’s an abusive household and if Jason truly did protect Cheryl from the world, it’s entirely possible he also protected her from their own parents.
Hiram Lodge
Motive: Hiram has dealings with the Southside Serpents, Mayor McCoy (Robin Givens) and more, he’s behind the new development coming to Riverdale, and there’s some very bad blood between the Lodge family and and the Blossoms: Penelope asking Hermione if she was at Jason’s funeral to gloat was a bizarre aside. What is the story there?
Evidence: We know Hiram had his hands in many illegal dealings and so much of the bad happening in Riverdale – even though he’s yet to actually be seen. As revealed in “La Grande Illusion” though, the Blossom’s say it’s because of them that Hiram is in jail. If he found this out — or suspected the Blossoms of doing him wrong — could he have put out a hit on their song and the heir to their fortune as payback?
FP Jones
Motive: Jason was into some pretty dark things, more than anyone expected him to be. In fact, it seems as though he was selling drugs to fund his escape with Polly. Who else would the local drug trade go through besides the town’s resident biker scum, the Southside Serpents? If Jason was planning on skipping town with a car full of drugs, we’re willing to bet the Serpents wouldn’t be pleased about it. That’s where FP (Skeet Ulrich) comes in, as a member of the gang.
Given that Jason was tortured before he was killed, we wouldn’t be surprised if that was his punishment from FP and the gang before the deed was done. Could FP actually be so heartless, though? We’re not sure but it’s clear he’s wrapped up in something bigger than he can control — and the Serpents are calling the shots.
Evidence: It was revealed at the end of “In a Lonely Place” that FP is in possession of Jason Blossom’s varsity jacket, which viewers last saw in the car full of drugs that Betty (Lili Reinhart) and Jughead (Cole Sprouse) found. Given that the car was burgled and burned, it certainly looks like FP is trying to cover somebody’s tracks. Plus, in “The Outsiders,” he makes it clear to a fellow Serpent that they’re more involved in whatever is happening than anyone realizes and that one of the younger members is being used to convince Kevin Keller (Casey Cott), the sheriff’s son, that the gang has gone legit when that’s definitely not the case.
Alice & Hal Cooper
Motive: Since the moment of their introduction, Hal (Lochlyn Munro) and Alice Cooper (Madchen Amick) have not only been terrible parents, but also quite suspicious. Not only did they know Polly was pregnant with Jason’s child when they sent her away, it’s revealed that Hal went behind Alice’s back to convince Polly to abort the baby.Complicating matters, Polly and Betty’s mom admitted that he got her to do the same thing when they were young. What else would he do to keep Jason away from their family — especially given the sordid history between the Blossoms and the Coopers?
Evidence: The history between the two families, and the fact that Hal and Alice both repeatedly lied to Betty about why Polly was sent away and the extent of Jason’s involvement in it, we can’t help but question them. The smoking gun: Hal stealing the evidence collected by Sheriff Keller (Martin Cummins). His also going behind Alice’s back to try to get Polly an abortion makes him look like the more guilty of the two but her threat that he knows what she’s capable of sent a chill down out spine. The Coopers continue to look more and more guilty with every episode.
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Miss Grundy
Motive: If we’ve learned anything from Miss Grundy’s (Sarah Habel) time in Riverdale it’s that she has a lot to hide, and she’s very good at concealing it. It’s a little too coincidental that she happened to be at Sweetwater River with Archie (KJ Apa) the day of Jason’s disappearing act. Plus, you can’t forget that she did have a connection to Jason she was very uncomfortable talking about. Before Archie, could he have been her favorite student to get intimate with? It would make sense that she’d move on to the other ginger hunk in town.
Evidence: It was revealed that, as she did with Archie, Miss Grundy tutored Jason. She wouldn’t divulge any further details but she was quick to leave town once her secret relationship with Archie was nearly exposed. Was she simply trying to keep Archie under wraps? Or was she afraid of someone digging a bit deeper, and finding a Jason connection?
Jughead Jones
Motive: Honestly, who knows what Jughead’s motivation is, in anything he does. We don’t know a lot about his personal life, other than things aren’t good at all. He’s living under the stairs at school, his dad struggles with alcoholism, the rest of his family has left. Jughead has Betty and his friends now, but who’s to say what his frame of mind might’ve been during the summer?
Evidence: The biggest thing weighing against Jughead is nobody knows what he was doing on the Fourth of July or the week followed, which is when Jason was tortured and killed. He couldn’t offer anything by way of an alibi when questioned by the authorities. Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) offered up a fake explanation … But it still leaves the question of what exactly Jughead was up to this summer.
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CLEARED: Polly Cooper
Polly (Tiera Skovbye) was always the least likely suspect. However, given what was revealed in “La Grande Illusion” — that she’s living with the Blossoms to figure out how they were involved in Jason’s death — she’s essentially cleared of any and all suspicion in our mind. Polly is trying just as hard as anybody else on “Riverdale” to figure out who killed the father of her babies and why.