In season 4, episode 4 of Riverdale, we were all left SHOOKETH after the coroner revealed Jughead's dead body, and honestly, we have so many questions.
Most important of all: Does this mean Cole Sprouse is exiting Riverdale?
Ever since the season three finale, many Riverdale fans have guessed that Jughead might not survive season four, with loyal watchers suggesting that Jughead's story arc might take him to a much darker place, making him the perpetrator of a crime rather than a victim.
For those who don't remember, in the season three finale flash-forward scene we all saw Betty, Veronica and Archie ominously burning their clothes in a fire pit.
"Archie, are you listening to me?" Betty says. "We have to burn all of our clothes, including Jughead’s beanie. We’ll wash off the blood in the swimming hole. After tonight, we never speak of this, ever. Not to each other, not to our parents. No one."
Was this a graver hint at Jughead's demise than we all first thought?
Even though we all could have guessed Jug's storyline wouldn't be a bed of roses, it seems almost unbelievable that they would kill off Cole Sprouse in such a way - so what is actually going on here?
Although people are going WILD trying to figure out if Cole will return, we decided to do a little bit of research to figure it out ourselves.
Firstly - it seems incredibly unlikely that any production would kill off one of their stars (and most beloved characters) in such a way that wasn't a big grand statement. While it's certainly been done before (looking at you Game of Thrones), to make Cole's departure from the show a mid-season cliff hanger would be an odd move.
Secondly - Cole's IMDB states that he has zero projects coming up. So while (again) it is possible he's leaving, we know it's not for a movie role.
While the body VERY much looked like Jughead, one Reddit user had a pretty wild theory that could explain why Jughead looks dead, but actually isn't dead.
According to AnnaK22 Dylan Sprouse (Cole's twin) could be joining the show, hence the lookalike.
Another theory on Reddit is that Jughead got drugged (again) and is unconscious, or he's merely pulling a prank on other Stonewall student, to you know, get back at them for burying him alive that one time.
Unfortunately, we're all going to have to wait a little while to find out.
