‘Riverdale’: Is Jughead dead? Here’s why we say yes

Riverdale is posing to us a very large and game-changing question: Is Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) dead? Like for real? Well, that’s the thing about the potential death of Jughead Jones . . . we don’t know if he’s for realsies dead or not. While we have shared why we think Jughead is not dead, we also have some doubts. 

If Jughead really wasn’t dead, then we think that Riverdale would have probably revealed it in “Chapter Seventy-One: How to Get Away with Murder”. Plus, it seems like the Stonewall kids really had that murder well-thought out. So, who knows, Jughead may very well be dead.

Here’s why we think this is the end of Jughead Jones.

Stonewall is slippery

All season long the Stonewall students have stayed one step ahead of Jughead and Betty (Lili Reinhart) with their various plots. From the potential involvement to the suicide of Mr. Chipping (Sam Witwer) to framing Betty for cheating at the quiz bowl, these rich kids have been one step ahead of the formidable Bughead duo all season long.

We’re just wondering how Jughead could fake his death in a situation surrounded by unfriendlies such as the fellow Stonewall students. Clearly, they wanted to commit the perfect more. More importantly, they have the smarts to pull it off in a big way by getting away with it. So unless there’s something behind the scenes that audiences aren’t privy to, then this is one last great screw job by Stonewall Prep.

Everyone is acting like Jughead’s really gone

If there was some sort of big plan in place, then we’re just assuming Jughead would have given his friends some sort general idea of the plan. At the very least, we know that Betty would have known something about Jughead’s potential endgame. Yet, in “Chapter Seventy-One: How to Get Away with Murder”, Betty appears to be just as on edge, if not more so, then everyone else.

Now either Betty is just that great of an actress, possible, or she truly knows that Jughead is gone and she will end up framed for the crime. It’s hard to suss out which will be the truth or not here. Part of this is because Riverdale fans know how bonkers the show can be and a return for Jughead is possible. At the same time, we can’t help but wonder if he is really and truly gone.

Jughead wouldn’t put his family through this

Betty and Jughead may have done some fairly questionable things in the past, but we don’t think that Jughead would fake his death without letting F.P. (Skeet Ulrich) knows about his plans. While F.P. and Jughead had a less than great relationship in the past, father and son have grown closer over the years. The genuine grief on F.P.’s face just honestly tells us all we need to know.

That’s the issue here. The grief from the characters feels so true and real that it throws us off. There are always big emotions in Riverdale, folks. Yet the grief feels overarching for Jughead’s passing.

Maybe it was time for one of the main characters to die?

Riverdale has had its fair share of tragedies over the years. While the death of Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) looms in the minds of those in and out of the series alike, it was probably time for a permanent consequence to strike the Core Four of Jughead, Betty, Archie (KJ Apa), and Veronica (Camila Mendes). All of the near misses that these four have gotten out of may have led us to think that they had some kind of main character immunity or something like that.

Instead, however, Jughead’s death raises the stakes and gives a feeling of permanence to the proceedings. This is one of the four main characters in the series. If they aren’t safe, then who is?

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