Okay, What’s Up With Hermosa Lodge On Riverdale?

Just when you think the Lodge family drama couldn’t get any worse, Riverdale adds a new, tense sibling dynamic into the mix. The Nov. 6 episode revealed that Veronica has an older sister, Hermosa Lodge, who takes the term “daddy’s girl” to a whole new level. Not only did she use her private eye skills to secure Hiram’s release from prison, but she also appears to be sticking around now that he has announced that he’s running for mayor. She’s every bit the doting daughter wishes Veronica would be, but who exactly is Hermosa Lodge on Riverdale and why are we only hearing about her now? Veronica seemed to be unaware of her existence and based on their initial, chilly introduction it’s safe to say these ladies won’t be getting along anytime soon.

Hermosa is played by Mishel Prada, who is best known for her role as Emma Hernandez in the Starz series, Vida. But while finding intel on the actress is easy, the same can’t be said about her Riverdale character — that’s mostly because Hermosa Lodge doesn’t appear to exist in the Archie comics world. Veronica is the only child listed for Hiram Lodge. And since his secret daughter doesn’t come from the original source material, anything can happen. That freedom for the Riverdale writers could ultimately make her very dangerous, particularly for Veronica, who has already been bested by her once.

Riverdale series creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa spoke about the character during New York Comic-Con 2019 back in October, hinting that Hermosa “is as scheming as her father," and “just like daddy, but a woman so more dangerous" (via Seventeen). Aguirre-Sacasa also added that despite Veronica and Hermosa’s dislike for each other, the two of them actually have quite a bit in common. "She's the other apple of Hiram's eye,” he told reporters at the NYCC panel, adding that she has something in common with Veronica, since she's been running "nightclubs and stuff" in Miami. Mark Consuelos also confirmed, at the time, that Hermosa is from a previous relationship, adding “she's fiercely loyal to Hiram, almost the opposite of Veronica. They have a good relationship."

Given how much Hiram loves to use mind games on his family, odds are he’ll do whatever he can to pit his two daughters against each other as often as possible, so if you were tuning in to see them sharing a few laughs over an order of fries and milkshakes at Pop’s, you're probably going to be disappointed.

Then again, Riverdale loves a twist. And since there's no road map from the comics for Hermosa, she's a wild card. She may be the thorn in Veronica's side that Consuelos and Aguirre-Sacasa painted her out to be, or this could all be misdirection, and she'll be lording her power over Hiram by season's end.