Justice for Barb? Hmm, how about "nah," teased Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.
Season 2 of Riverdale started off with a serious bang when Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) was shot in Pop's Chock-Lit Shoppe by a mysterious figure in a black hood. One near-death was enough to shake the citizens of Riverdale to their core, but sadly, the very same man also seemingly claimed the lives of iconic Archie Comics characters Moose (Cody Kearsley) and Midge (Emilija Baranac).
(Oh, and he also killed Ms. Grundy with a cello bow, but no one was particularly heartbroken about that.)
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Now, Aguirre-Sacasa is teasing the return of Shannon Purser's character Ethel Muggs, but it's not entirely a happy situation. That's because the Stranger Things star — whose character Barb famously died by Demogorgon in season 1 — might be the Black Hood's next victim.
"Tomorrow on #Riverdale on the #cw, it's the return of Ethel Muggs!," wrote the showrunner on Tuesday. "But how long will she last with the Black Hood on the loose? Watch live!"
Tomorrow on #Riverdale on the #cw, it's the return of Ethel Muggs! But how long will she last with the Black Hood on the loose? Watch live! pic.twitter.com/d4Axg6gKIj
— RobertoAguirreSacasa (@WriterRAS) October 24, 2017
Now, I don't know about you, but I'm taking the threats against Ethel very, very seriously. Personally, I'll be pretty bummed if Purser's character is offed not even midway through the second season — certainly, this time the Emmy-nominated actress deserves to see a season finale.
There's also another reason to keep Ethel around: Her family could be involved in this whole Black Hood business. One Riverdale theorist on Reddit, rwhyman1, thinks that it's Ethel's own dad, who was swindled by businessman baddie Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos), that has taken up the mantle of the Black Hood as vengeance.
"Ethel Muggs’ father did not mentally recover from his suicide attempt in season 1 and is on a killing spree throughout Riverdale," suggested the Redditor.
Whatever connection Ethel has to all of the drama going down on Riverdale, it's only just to keep this character around.