This 'Scream' Reference In 'Riverdale' May Be A Hidden Clue About The Gargoyle King
Fans of classic horror movies got a real treat during this week's new episode of Riverdale. The dark teen drama is known for paying homage to '90s thrillers like Twin Peaks, and this week the show paid tribute to its star Skeet Ulrich's breakout hit, Scream. A pivotal scene in Wednesday night's new episode of Riverdale was ripped straight from the '90s slasher film, complete with the movie's star showing up. But fans think that Scream easter egg in Riverdale could actually be a big clue about the mysterious Gargoyle King.
Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers for Riverdale Season 3 Episode 6, "Manhunter." Wednesday night's new episode of Riverdale brought the terror to an all-time high when the Gargoyle King made a shocking appearance in the Coopers' living room. After Betty gathered all of the parents (A.K.A. the Midnight Club) together for questioning about Gryphons and Gargoyles, she learns that Daryl Doiley was behind the poisoned chalices on Ascension Night all those years ago, although Penelope Blossom said that he only offered one to her out of his love for her and she turned it down. When Daryl again confessed his love to Penelope years later, she again turned him down and he wound up dead shortly after, apparently in a suicide.
But Betty's investigation revealed that Daryl Doiley was actually murdered, having been killed by a poisonous herb called oleander. The means of murder clearly point towards Penelope Blossom, even though she denied it, but the real strangeness actually revolved around how the murder was covered up. Tom Keller, the sheriff at the time, ruled Doiley's death a suicide in the public records, and Alice Cooper reported that Doiley died of suicide in the paper as well. Just as Betty was confronting her mother over her role in the cover-up, the lights in the Cooper house went out and the Gargoyle King appeared. And just as the Gargoyle King popped up in the living room, someone tried to get in the front door, but Alice was able to push it shut and lock it. The two women ran up to Betty's room where they saw a gravestone with their names scrawled on it.
Just then, F.P. Jones climbed through the window, revealing that he was the person trying to get in the front door moments earlier. With F.P.'s arrival it seems that the horror stops and the Gargoyle King is gone as quickly as he appeared.
The scene is a total deja vu for fans of Skeet Ulrich's 1996 slasher Scream, and that may actually be very enlightening. In Scream, Ulrich's character of Billy Loomis also appeared to help out his girlfriend during the height of Ghostface's killing spree, only to reveal that he was actually Ghostface all along shortly afterwards. A fan on Reddit pointed out that Billy Loomis climbed through the window at the end of Scream just like how F.P. Jones climbed through Betty's window on the new episode. So, is this scene trying to tell us that once again, Skeet Ulrich is secretly masked murderer — is F.P. Jones the Gargoyle King?
While F.P. may have started the series as a potential villain, it would be kind of difficult to imagine him being a mass murdering psychopath now, after we have seen him be so caring to Jughead, the Serpents, and Alice Cooper for the past couple of seasons. Still, you can't rule anyone out as a suspect on Riverdale, so we will have to see if this theory plays out.
