Ever since the Black Hood set foot in "Riverdale," I knew I was excited to see where this dastardly murderer would take the storyline. At the end of season 2, we saw his first appearance, shooting Fred Andrews in Pop's Diner. Leaving us with that cliffhanger, we expected the whole of season three to be about figuring out who the green-eyed killer was. Shortly after the season began, the run of the killer quickly ended in episode 9. Many people believe that the Black Hood has not truly come and gone, however.
Mr. Svenson is the true Black Hood
In season two, Betty and the gang investigate the past of their twisted town, where many people are related underneath the Blossom bloodline umbrella.
Another area of interest is the Sisters of Quiet Mercy Group Home where many characters are sent to confuse plot lines even further, including Polly being sent to quiet a pregnancy and Cheryl being sent for gay conversion therapy. Another member of the cast who was living at the group home for a while was Mr. Joseph Svenson. He was the only survivor of a past "Riverdale" killer -- The Riverdale Reaper -- so he wanted revenge on the town for what happened to his family. In episode 9 however, he was shot by Archie Andrews as a means of self-defense. One theory is that the true Black Hood died with him and any threats of the Black Hood in current seasons are from a copy-cat killer. One flaw in this theory is that Mr.
Svenson's eyes are not the bright green that Archie Andrews remembers.
Sheriff Keller could be the killer
Maybe the reason the Black Hood hasn't been caught by the authorities is because their leader is the killer himself. Many people believe that there are some facial similarities between the two, including eye shape and a very similar color green even though the Black Hood might be wearing contacts to make them brighter, or the editing team behind the show changed the color to help keep the secret.
Also, at the end of episode 18 in season 2, Sheriff Keller can be seen backstage, where Midge, the most recent death on the show, was found knifed to the set on the stage of their musical. A running theory including all the suspects is that there are multiple people playing the role of Black Hood, causing the confusion.
'Chic Cooper' wears the mask
The character who took on the persona of Chic is not actually Betty's brother, as we learned in the most recent episode. He was the real brother’s roommate. While it is suspicious that he came to town once the first Black Hood was killed, Betty was the one who brought him to town. This could be easily overlooked as it could have been his plan overall -- having Mr. Svenson take the fall for him and becoming close with his fake family. His actions over the past season have been very suspicious -- faking his identity and killing the man in their house -- so I would say this theory could have some truth to it, or he could just be a slimy character to create more tension in the town.
Hal Cooper
From the beginning, people have been assuming that the Black Hood was Hal Cooper. In the most recent episode, the writers made it pretty clear that he called Betty and had her deliver Chic to him because he has caused trouble for their family. Throughout most of the show he has been pretty absent except for coming in to complicate things with Alice Cooper. He hasn't lived in the house with them and has been aloof in terms of his personality. Many people forgot that he was the only relevant character with green eyes when he went off camera, so the focus of the obvious choice was lost.
Hiram Lodge and his money
My favorite theory overall is that Hiram has been behind the scenes the whole time.
We've seen his malicious plans with Hermione and Veronica to take over "Riverdale," so there is definitely a way he could be behind the distraction that is the Black Hood. Even when he was in prison, he could have hired a hit man to shoot at Fred, because of the drama with the construction site and the almost affair between Hermione and Fred. To connect back to Hal, I think he hired Hal to take the fall for him, because Hiram never gets his hands dirty. I also believe that when Mr. Svenson saw what had been started with the first incident in Pop’s, he found the perfect way to come back and take his revenge on the town.
In a way, all of the elements come together to create the idea of the Black Hood.
Every person has their own motive to be the Black Hood and together it is a group effort. Hopefully at the end of season 3 we will learn the truth, but the writers might just keep this going with copy-cat killers and an incompetent police force. Who do you think the true Black Hood is?
