The Riverdale Season 2 premiere is less than a week away, and the biggest thought on every loyal viewer's mind is: Is Fred Andrews alive? In addition to our burning questions about Cheryl Blossom's emotional wellbeing, the fate of Bughead, or how the heck Hiram Lodge is gonna fit in to everything, one major cliffhanger left us, well... hanging. Is Archie's dad dead on Riverdale? We need answers. STAT.
The always-reliable showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa assured Entertainment Weekly, "The only thing I can say is you will definitely see Fred in the season premiere of Season 2. That’s really all I can say." OK, that's just not enough info for our liking... One episode does not an alive person make. One episode could mean anything. He could say his last words, or show up in a dream, or avenge his death as a badass spooky ghost. Hey, this is Riverdale we're talking about. If Luke Perry's, AKA the man formally known as Dylan McKay, IMDB page is any indication, he'll be on way more than a few episodes, but who knows what to believe? According to a few clues over the past few months since that shocking finale aired, there's even more evidence pointing to the fact that Fred Andrews will survive another day in Riverdale.
"There's a special bond between father and son. See Luke Perry in #Riverdale, returning October 11 on The CW," the CW's official Riverdale account tweeted with a clip about Archie and Fred only a few short weeks ago. Hold up, are they just messing with us? That sounds like Luke is not only returning to the series, but makes it feel like he's the reason to watch. Either this is a total red herring of a social media post, or they're trying to tell us something. See Luke Perry in Riverdale, not see Luke Perry in one episode of Riverdale. Here's hoping this is the beginning of more on-screen life for the Andrews Construction-owning dad.
When asked if there's a threat of Archie moving out of Riverdale if something were to happen to Fred in an interview with Fangirlish.com at San Diego Comic-Con, KJ Apa (Archie), had an intriguing response. "Archie is always going to always 100 percent stick by Fred, especially when he needs Archie. Fred's got no one else to look after him at home and stuff so... That also is a big part of season two is Archie pretty much aiding Fred, you know, whether he's... It's a tough situation..." Aiding Fred... you don't say?
This brings up a good point. Truth be told, with what we know about Archie's family life, what would conceivably happen to him if his father were to die? It doesn't seem plausible for his mom to not move him out of Riverdale to Chicago if he was at all in the line of danger in his hometown. We do know Mary Andrews (Molly Ringwald) will return for Season 2, but we don't know if she'll now step into the role of her son's primary caretaker.
Marisol Nichols, who plays Veronica's mom, Hermione Lodge, posted this photo back in June with the hashtag #setlife. Spotted: Luke Perry himself. Is that a #TBT or are you just happy to troll us, Marisol? Speaking of trolling... Madchen Amick (Alice Cooper) shared this Season 2 table read and Luke was mysteriously absent. This has got to be intentional, right?
"People will look back at this as the exact moment that last bit of Riverdale's innocence finally died," Jughead narrates in the telling Season 2 trailer released at Comic-Con. Maybe that's the death we should be exploring. The question isn't really is he dead, but why would someone want to hurt him? And what does this mean for the people around him? According to Pop in the trailer: "This man, his goal was something else, darker." If the goal goes beyond killing, maybe Fred will live, but the possible "hit" out on him is really just a means to set up Archie's future and open up the doors to the "civil war" that might be follow, or at least more sinister storylines to come. "This is such a huge moment for Archie. It really is his origin story in the same way that Bruce Wayne's parents getting shot before his eyes in Crime Alley is what made Bruce Wayne become the man he was going to be," Robert Aguirre-Sacasa revealed to MTV.
Bah! Archie the superhero? We totally see it. And we can't wait for Oct. 11 so we can finally know the truth.
