Kelly Ripa's 'Riverdale' Character Is Connected To Hiram IRL *And* In The Show

The Riverdale mysteries surrounding the Gargoyle King, the seizures, and the farm are getting difficult to keep track of. But thankfully Mrs. Mulwray, Kelly Ripa's character on Riverdale, is here to provide some answers. The IRL wife of Mark Consuelos, who plays Hiram Lodge, is guest-starring on the series, and her character is just as campy as you'd expect — both from Riverdale and from the soap opera star.

Of course, she's not just there for fun — her arrival also signals more danger. In the sneak peek clip below, Mrs. Mulwray almost immediately threatens to shoot Jughead. However, given how little we know about the character, it's difficult to tell why.

Ripa announced her appearance on Riverdale in an Instagram post back in November, saying "A family affair. Hiram’s mistress. 23 years of auditioning for a role i was born to play." According to Entertainment Weekly, the CW described Mulwray as "confident and tough." As Hiram’s supposed mistress, the outlet continues, "Mrs. Mulwray is a beautiful, icy femme fatale who finds herself embroiled in a conspiracy much bigger than she initially thought.

EW also notes that the character's name is a reference to Evelyn Mulwray in Chinatown, a 1974 film that is, appropriately, a neo-noir mystery.

"No one's innocent in Crime Town" drawls Jughead at the beginning of the scene which introduces Ripa's character. Check out the clip below, but there are spoilers ahead!

While investigating Hiram's "supposed mistress" and "water inspector" for reasons unknown, Jughead finds a "Glamergé" egg just like the beloved Lodge heirloom. He alleges that Mrs. Mulwray was gifted the egg by Hiram as payment. "It costs more than you'll make in a lifetime," she spats back, "so put it down before you break it."

Whoa, whoa, whoa! This has the potential to be way more scandalous than a secret tryst — why is Hiram paying off water inspectors? What's going on with the water in Riverdale? Is there something... in the Glamergé egg? The fact that Veronica was willing to go to war for it now seems telling. Additionally, could this all be connected to the seizures, and Hiram's master plan to quarantine the town and take over?

“Roberto [Aquirre-Sacasa]’s awesome, man," Consuelos said of the show's creator in an interview with US Weekly about his wife's casting. "No one knows this world better than him. He just made it happen. I definitely did not ask for him to do that. I think he thought it would be so much fun.”

Ripa and Consuelo's son also played young Hiram in the "Midnight Club" episode. It really is a family affair! "I'm just thrilled," Consuelo continued to US Weekly. "That was like a bucket list moment for me – and now to have my wife on the show? We started working together, so that was also fun to do, because we haven’t done that in such a long time."

Hopefully this isn't Ripa's only scene, because there are a lot of questions about Mrs. Mulwray and what she's doing in town. The mystery (er, mysteries) are finally unraveling on Riverdale, but not nearly fast enough.