Riverdale May Have Killed Fangs Fogarty

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Riverdale.

The grim reaper might've struck again on Riverdale, but not in the way audiences were expecting. Although the Black Hood has resumed his reign of terror on the town, the killer had nothing to do with the last spat of violence. Instead, the latest death, which isn't yet confirmed, had everything to do with the re-ignition of the Northside vs. Southside conflict.

In fact, the most shocking part of the latest attack isn't who will (potentially) die but rather who could be revealed as their killer. With the latest shocking twist, Riverdale might've crossed a huge line with one of its main character. Archie Andrews just might be an accidental murder.

As usual for a Riverdale episode, "Chapter Thirty-Three: Shadow of a Doubt" had a lot going on. Most of the episode dealt with the fallout of the Black Hood's murder of Midge Klump. It appeared that the Black Hood had killed Klump during Riverdale's staging of Carrie the Musical!. However, a lot of mystery was thrown onto that seemingly confirmed fact during "Shadow of a Doubt. " Riverdale revealed that Midge was fooling around with a Southside Serpent, something that severely upset her boyfriend, Moose Mason, and half of the Northside. Almost everyone became convinced that this Serpent killed Midge.

The object of Midge's secret affection was Fangs Fogarty. (A confusing choice for several reasons.) Yet, the connection to Midge (and being one of the last people to see her before she died) caused Fangs to be arrested for Midge's murder. Most of the town immediately convicted Fangs, including the Serpent hating Reggie Mantle. Eventually, it was discovered that Fangs was innocent of Midge's murder and he was released from prison. Upon release, though, Reggie approached Fangs with a gun, directly outside the prison. Archie, ever the reckless hero, tackled Reggie trying to take the gun away. In Archie and Reggie's struggle, the gun went off and hit Fangs directly in the stomach.

"Shadow of a Doubt" left Fangs' fate hanging in the balance. Although the gun shot didn't look good, as gun shots to the gut always are, Fangs could survive. However, if Fangs does die it could have huge repercussions on Riverdale for a variety of reasons. For starters the identity of Fangs' murderer (or "manslaughter-er") would be up in the air between Reggie and Archie. While neither character would likely be prosecuted, given the intense hatred of the Southside in Riverdale, Archie or Reggie accidentally killing their fellow student would have a huge impact on each of their mental states.

It was recently announced that Charles Melton, who plays Reggie, would be promoted to a series regular for Riverdale season 3. Reggie, a huge character in the Archie comics, has always felt a little adrift on Riverdale. Reggie's boyhood rivalry with Archie hasn't always fit with the series' darker and soapier tone. The supposedly care-free and shallow Reggie having to deal with the consequences of his action, in such a devastating way, would definitely give the character and actor something to work with for season 3. It would be a very dark move for Riverdale to kill off Fangs, too, especially in such a casual way. Yet, that might be the only way Riverdale can manage to have the shot have any impact.

Fangs' only purpose has been to make bedroom eyes at Kevin Keller, which made the reveal of his affair with Midge come completely out of left field. Furthermore, Fangs giving Archie and Reggie some angst and further spurning on the burgeoning gang war on the show, would give his character some purpose... even if it is posthumously.