These 'Riverdale' Theories About Donna Could Explain Her True Identity

The latest Riverdale cliffhanger has every fan asking the same question: Who is Donna Sweett really? For most of Season 4, it seemed like Bret Weston Wallis was the Stonewall Prep student who the Core Four had to worry about, but recent episodes have revealed Donna to be much more threatening than she originally let on. Following the final moments of the most recent episode, fans are concocting tons of theories about Donna Sweett's true identity on Riverdale, and some of them though wild, actually make a lot of sense.

Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from Riverdale Season 4, Episode 15, 'To Die For." The show's March 4 episode finally gave viewers the big reveal everyone had been waiting for: Jughead is still alive. Apparently, the rock the Stonewall Prep students tried to kill him with didn't finish the job because Jughead's beanie cushioned the blow (OK...), but rather than reveal he survived, Jughead enlisted his friends and his father to help hide him and make it seem like he really had died. The bad news is, Donna is onto the scheme, although she has not found a way to prove he's alive yet.

But now, the bigger mystery is all about Donna. In the final moments of the episode, Veronica's half-sister Hermosa uncovered Donna's true identity, and the revelation both surprised ("Oh my God," Betty said) and also made complete sense ("Of course," Jughead said) to the Core Four. Jughead claimed this new information about Donna was the "smoking gun" and "final piece of the puzzle" he had been searching for, but viewers are still in the dark about what, exactly, Hermosa dug up about her. The main idea, though, is that Donna Sweett is someone else entirely. So, who could Donna really be? Well, there are a bunch of theories popping up around the fandom.

1. Edgar Evernever's daughter

Donna seems to have a close relationship with Evelyn Evernever... so much so, some fans have guessed she may be an Evernever herself. Despite apparently not having met before, Donna and Evelyn worked together to trick Betty into believing she killed Jughead under hypnosis. Maybe the two have been in this together all along, and Donna is actually a member of The Farm out to get revenge on Betty. She may be Edgar's secret daughter looking to avenge her father, or maybe, like Evelyn, she's secretly much older and was also married to him.

2. Jughead's half-sister

Season 4 of Riverdale has gone all-in on introducing half-siblings (see: Charles Smith and Hermosa Lodge), so it would totally fit into the season's vibe to reveal Donna is yet another secret half-sibling. One theory is that Donna may be F.P.'s daughter, and she is trying to kill Jughead in order to secure the Baxter Brothers legacy for herself (since the book series was started by F.P. Jones I). Of course, the issue with the theory is that F.P. has never once mentioned anything about having another child... but then again, he also kept quiet about Charles for so long. If this theory pans out, there's also the question of who Donna's mother might have been, which leads into another theory...

3. Penny Peabody's daughter

When you think of who wants Jughead dead more than anyone else, the first name to come to every Riverdale fan's mind should be the same: Penny Peabody. Not only was Jughead responsible for ostracizing her from the Southside Serpents, but he also straight-up mutilated her by slicing off her tattoo. Penny has sought revenge on Jughead several times before, and she definitely would not have just stopped all of a sudden. Maybe Donna is so intent on killing Jughead because she's working with her mother, Penny. Also, given F.P.'s history with Penny, there's also the wild chance Donna could be a secret lovechild Penny has kept hidden from F.P.

4. Mr. Chipping's daughter

Riverdale fans are still trying to understand what, exactly, is going on at Stonewall Prep, and hopefully Donna's true identity could clarify the big question of Mr. Chipping's death. There's a possibility Donna and Mr. Chipping could have been secretly working together from the start, with the goal of claiming the Baxter Brothers legacy for themselves. If Donna is related to Chipping, then maybe she helped fake her father's death in an attempt to scare Jughead off, and when that didn't work, she opted to kill him herself.

5. Mr. DuPont's daughter or granddaughter

There's also the chance Donna is related to Mr. DuPont rather than Mr. Chipping. All signs point to DuPont being the mastermind pulling all the strings at Stonewall, after all, so it would add up that fellow mastermind, Donna, could be related to him.

6. Chic's sister

So, remember that big reveal that Charles Smith and Chic are still in contact and probably have a scheme going? Yeah, that happened almost ten episodes ago and there has been no follow-up since... unless, Donna has been secretly part of their grand plan all along. If Donna is somehow connected to Charles and/or Chic, she is likely working with them to take Betty and Jughead down. Hopefully the revelation of Donna's identity will help explain what Charles and Chic have been up to this whole time.

7. Joseph Svenson's daughter

Probably the most convincing theory about Donna is that she is Joseph Svenson's daughter, seeking revenge on the Core Four after the death of her father. The primary reason this theory has gained traction among fans is that it connects to Archie, Veronica, Betty, and Jughead, rather than just Betty and Jughead like most of the rest do. In Season 2, the Core Four's pursuit of the Black Hood led to Sheriff Keller shooting and killing Svenson, despite him not being the true Black Hood. If Donna is Svenson's daughter, it would make sense she'd want vengeance on all of the Core Four, especially Betty, whose father turned out to be the real Black Hood.

Since Riverdale is not afraid to pull the trigger on reveals so shocking they often border on ridiculous, any one of these theories could be totally possible. Let's just hope the reveal of Donna's true identity helps make sense of everything that has been going on this season, because fans are still totally confused about so, so much.

Riverdale Season 4 airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.