Season 2 of Riverdale is finally here, but the mystery of who shot Fred Andrews is still just as unsolved as ever. Although it actually looks like Fred is going to survive the gunshot thanks to Archie driving him to the hospital so quickly, we also know the hooded killer isn't done wreaking havoc on Riverdale yet. While everyone is trying to figure out who that shooter was, the premiere gave viewers a bit of a nudge that Veronica's mom Hermione Lodge might be behind Fred's shooting. Could that be possible? Let's break it down.
Hermione Lodge's guilt is called into question pretty blatantly by her own daughter Veronica in the middle of the Season 2 premiere. When Hermione extols her daughter to not blame her newly released father Hiram for the shooting, Veronica responds by admitting she actually thinks it was her mother who hired the gunman... although we don't know how much of that is Veronica's genuine feelings and how much is just general anger at all the terrible stuff her mom has done to her. Although Hermione and Fred Andrews spent the bulk of last season engaged in a romantic affair and also working side by side as business partners, Hiram's release from prison in the Season 2 premiere could have shaken things up enough for Hermione to call out a hit on her former lover.
To help clarify the complicated, possibly lethal relationship between Fred, Hermione, and Hiram, let's go over what went down in the first season. OK, so after Hiram Lodge was arrested on charges of embezzlement, his wife Hermione and daughter Veronica are forced to leave their life of luxury in New York City to move back to Hermione's hometown of Riverdale. Though Veronica actually reinvents herself as a more caring and down-to-earth version of herself and finds friends very easily after the move, Hermione struggles to feel as comfortable in the new environment, now taking on a waitressing job and avoiding former high school rivals like Alice Cooper and Penelope Blossom. But she's also still got some strong ties in the town, including her brief high school fling Fred Andrews, and a rapport with the Southside Serpents that she likes to keep quiet.
Anyway, Hermione and Fred start reigniting their relationship despite the fact that both of them are married to other people, and that affair actually leads to a bookkeeping job for Hermione at Fred's construction company. But it doesn't take long for Hermione to discover that Fred's company is nearly out of money, and she decides to help him in his plan to acquire a new land deal that would keep his company afloat if he got the contract from the city's mayor.
That land Fred is after actually already belongs to Hiram, who has been supporting the mayor's campaign even from behind bars. Knowing this, Hermione plans to sign the land over to Fred, but is forced to forge Veronica's signature to do so. So Fred gets the land (although Veronica resents her mother for the forgery), but he suffers a setback right away when a couple of gang members attack his construction crew on the new site. Hermione later discovers that it was Hiram who hired the men to attack the crew after he learned of Hermione's affair with Fred. So, after a bit of time, Hermione and Fred finally decide to put their romantic feelings aside and just remain business partners.
But now, Hiram is back in Riverdale and it looks like Hermione is a completely changed woman now that she's back with her husband. The season premiere showed just how intensely loyal Hermione actually is to Hiram, and that could have totally translated into hiring a hitman to deal with the man she had an affair with before Hiram showed up in town. Hmmm...
