This Black Hood Theory About Betty's Dad Makes Perfect Sense For 'Riverdale'

One of the best parts of being a huge Riverdale fan is getting deeply invested in the show's various mysteries. And even though the series supposedly resolved the mystery of the Black Hood, the show's fanbase has long suspected that there was more to the masked killer than childhood trauma victim turned local janitor Mr. Svenson. And as the season comes closer to its end, the theory that Hal Cooper's twin is the Black Hood has actually been picking up some steam.

The fandom has predicted many of the series' previous twists and turns before, like the revelation that Chic was FP's son. But the idea isn't just that Betty's father has the same body type as the Black Hood, but that has an identical twin. Said twin could be carrying out an intensely personal relationship with his daughter while also attempting to murder and successfully murdering people around town who are "sinners" — from kids who have tried drugs once to Fred Andrews trying to stop a robbery to actual criminal Ms. Grundy, who wasn't even from Riverdale.

Here's what's missing if the twin theory, posited by Reddit users like Lala_lyss and RomanosReddit, turns out to be true: motive. Why would Hal's twin brother want to carry out these intensely personal vendettas? If he is originally from Riverdale, he moved far enough away to not come up as a suspect the first time the Black Hood was in town, and if he wasn't raised by the Coopers, perhaps left at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, the town's one-stop-shop for keeping illicit secrets secret, then he probably wouldn't know all of the personal information used to blackmail Betty into doing the Hood's bidding, like her love of Nancy Drew.

But the Hal Cooper evil twin theory — while ridiculous — could actually be the kind of absurdity the show desperately needs right now. Not one, but two dads in the town of Riverdale have secret twin brothers? And, here's what actually makes sense about this theory: The Cooper family is tied to the Blossom family. In fact, the two are even closely related, only splitting from the Blossom family name because of a disagreement between great-grandfathers. And, as Riverdale revealed a few episodes ago, Clifford Blossom had an identical twin brother. Twins seem to run in the Blossom family, because both Jason and Cheryl and Polly's infant babies with Jason are twins as well. So Hal having a secret twin would be yet another reminder of the Coopers' past, and of their close connection to the Blossoms.

If Season 1 was all about dismantling the fiction that the Blossoms were the perfect family, then Season 2 has done the same for the Coopers. Polly may have joined a cult, Hal moved out, Alice asked FP to help her bury a body — which is basically flirting in the Riverdale universe — and Chic turned out to be a random grifter who was able to infiltrate this family because of how broken they are.

Recently, showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa offered up a possible clue for this theory, citing film Shadow of A Doubt as an inspiration for Season 2, wherein a serial killer terrorizes an idyllic town — and the killer turns out to be the protagonist's uncle.

Even the comics might have a slight clue to Hal's mysterious identity. Originally, Betty's father was named J.B. Cooper, but his name was later changed to Hal, along with a few other updates. Maybe the Riverdale writers decided to do something a little fun with that detail and make Hal a different person. As RomanosReddit theorized, "I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a twin, and that twin murdered the real Hal during his time being kicked out of the Cooper house. This could very well mean that the 'imposter Hal' is the BLACK HOOD," which would be just like "Chic" really killed Betty's brother and took his place. That would be some incredible foreshadowing, laying the groundwork of both secret twins, the Blossom/Cooper ties, and Chic's secret in order to make for one amazing reveal at the end of the season.

Now, there are of course other possibilities. Hal could be working alone, he could have a partner in crime, or he could be completely innocent (of being the Black Hood, at least). But there's something about the theory that Hal Cooper has an identical twin who's been terrorizing his hometown as the Black Hood that feels kind of perfect for Riverdale Season 2.