What Happened To Jughead On Riverdale? All The Theories So Far

Another fall means another season of drama in the town with pep. Over the past three seasons, Riverdale has dealt with serial killers, killer boardgames, cousinly incest, and Archie (KJ Apa) attempting to make his bones. At the end of season 3, however, all was relatively well in the lives of Riverdale’s core four. Archie was out of prison, and his on-again, off-again girlfriend Veronica (Camila Mendes) was free of her dad’s influence. Betty (Lili Reinhart) said goodbye to the Black Hood forever, while Jughead (Cole Sprouse) solved the mystery of Gryphons & Gargoyles.

Moments after the squad toasts over milkshakes to carefree vibes for their senior year, the show flashes forward to spring break and shows Archie, Betty, and Veronica burning their bloody clothes in a fire pit. Jughead is nowhere to be found, and his friends vow to go their separate ways after dealing with some mysterious situation. 

The season 4 opener doesn’t touch this flash-forward, instead dedicating the episode to the late Luke Perry’s character, Fred Andrews. Moving forward, it’s clear that whatever happened to Jughead will be a big plot point in season 4. Here are the best theories to what the hell went down that fateful bonfire night — we’ll update them as we get more clues.