Hiram's Past Is The Center Of Riverdale's Season 5, Episode 12 Promo

After fans were left hanging for more than four months (rude, BTW), Riverdale is officially back, and with its return comes new mysteries, new love triangles, and new backstories. Exhibit A: Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos). Veronica’s dad has been the end-all-be-all bad guy throughout the entire series, but the show has never really addressed why he’s so... Hiram-y. Luckily, it looks like fans are finally going to understand why the Lodge leader is such a menace. The Riverdale Season 5, Episode 12 promo centers around Hiram’s past, and just like the adult character, his younger self seems shady AF.

Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from Riverdale Season 5, Episode 11, “Strange Bedfellows.” The Season 5 mid-season premiere of Riverdale on Aug. 11 set the stage for a truly epic villainous backstory episode. A string of Jughead’s lovers — including Betty, Jessica, and Tabitha — are all looking for him since he disappeared after taking some “magical mushrooms.” Bad news: It looks like he could be heading toward death again, since he was seen catching a ride with the mysterious truck that’s been abducting people in Riverdale. Not great.

But it’s not just Juggie who’s in hot water in the next episode. After Hiram got held hostage in exchange for his palladium supply — which Veronica and Archie had to steal in order to rescue him — it’s pretty freaking obvious Hiram isn’t all talk but is, in fact, a very much real villain.

And since every good villain needs an origin story, viewers are finally going to learn why Hiram is actually the worst. The Episode 12 promo flashes back to Hiram’s younger days, which shows how he went from a normal guy to a major kingpin. The best part is, Hiram’s dad is played by Mark Consuelos (who normally plays adult Hiram), and Consuelos’ IRL son, Michael Consuelos, plays young Hiram. Love to see family working together!

It turns out, Hiram’s name isn’t! even! Hiram! Back when he was a student at Riverdale High, his name was Jaime Luna before he changed it in his teenage years. While it’s not clear what, exactly, caused the identity shift, young Hiram (or Jaime, if you will) hints his dad is involved. In the promo, Hiram says, “I will finish what my father began,” which means the Lodge family shadiness might actually date back to Veronica’s grandfather. Money, jewels, and secret deals must be a part of the Lodge — or Luna — DNA.

See if the Lodges are truly evil as episodes of Riverdale air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.