Riverdale Season 2 Introduces a New Mystery—but Is It as Compelling as the First?

This post contains spoilers for Riverdale Season 2, Episode 1, “A Kiss Before Dying.”

It’s about time. After months of waiting, Riverdale fans finally get to see what happened after Archie’s dad, Fred Andrews, got shot at Pop’s—and whether Betty and Jughead can actually navigate Jughead’s invitation to join the Southside Serpents. Oh, and what might be on the horizon now that Veronica’s dad, Hiram Lodge, is coming to town.

That said, Wednesday’s Season 2 premiere was somewhat unorthodox. Rather than kicking things off forcefully with a lot of big twists and turns, the episode has a slower, more deliberate pace, spending most of its time flitting in and out of Fred’s dreamy subconscious as he lurks between life and death at the hospital. Still, it sets up what appears to be this season’s new mystery—the ongoing saga that Jughead will narrate like a knock-off Truman Capote, as is his wont: who is the masked serial killer who has already tried to claim at least two lives in Riverdale?

We say “tried” because luckily, it appears that Fred Andrews is going to pull through—but his ordeal has had a profound effect on Archie, who is bent on protecting his father. He’s apparently decided to set up a nightly vigil, sitting at the base of the staircase with a bat each evening until the would-be murderer is apprehended. You see, although the Riverdale police are apparently clueless, the teens quickly deduce that Fred was not shot accidentally during an attempted robbery: he was specifically targeted. But why?

The most obvious answer would be a business reason: throughout Season 1, Fred refused to sign over his business to Veronica’s mother, Hermione Lodge. That seemed to . . . displease her. And now Veronica’s fearsome father, Hiram Lodge, has come to town as well, complicating matters.

Veronica suspects it was her mother, not her father, who called in the hit—and for what it’s worth, we believe her. Concluding at this early stage that Hermione is behind Fred’s attempted murder seems wrong, though. After all, how many possible Jason Blossom killers did Riverdale pose last season before finally revealing who actually did it?

Still, if that tense kiss on the cheek from Veronica is any indication, Hiram will almost certainly prove to be just as bad as Hermione by the end of the season—and we’re guessing his arrival will do nothing good for Archie and Veronica’s relationship.

Speaking of relationships: Betty and Jughead also seem to be undergoing a rough time in Wednesday’s premiere. As Bughead fans well remember, last season ended on a tenuous moment in their romance: they said their “I love yous” just in time for the Southside Serpents to show up and pledge their support to Jughead. Betty wasn’t wild about this proclamation. They appear to make amends in the new episode, though it’s still unclear how strong Bughead is, really. Actors Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse still have incredible chemistry, which might be why they’re rumored to be dating in real life. But even as Betty vows to support Jughead on his upcoming journey of self-discovery, we’re not so sure she can handle what might be on the horizon. With a killer on the loose and Jughead seeming to embrace the possibility of having an extended family beyond his father, who’s currently stuck in jail, that’s a lot for a girl to process! Can Jughead really stay out of trouble as long as he’s associated with this crew?

But by far the biggest thread this season will likely be the new killer in town. Last season centered on who killed Jason Blossom; in this chapter, it looks like we’re along for the ride as Archie, Jughead, and the gang hunt down the guy who shot Fred and also, sadly, appears to have killed Ms. Grundy. Which leads us to our final burning question from the premiere: why target Ms. Grundy? Does this mysterious killer simply have it out for anyone Archie has ever loved? And cliched as their romance was, did she really deserve to die over it?