Everything We Know About The ‘Riverdale’ Parents’ Big Secret

Spoilers ahead for Riverdale Season 3, Episode 2. Between Ethel's sudden seizure, the Vixens' bonkers "Jailhouse Rock" performance, Ben leaping out of a hospital window, and the supposed death of Archie's juvie roommate (RIP Mad Dog), there was a lot to process in this week's Riverdale episode. But while secrets are usually reserved for the show's young teens (well, most of them anyway), perhaps the most suspicious cliffhanger is what the parents did on Riverdale. It's not yet clear what they're hiding, but whatever it is, their children are definitely in danger.

It all started with Dilton, who is indeed dead, and what Bughead discovers on his body. The couple visits the coroner, where they learn that Dilton's lips are incredibly blue. This may sound like the least weird thing about his unsettling death (not to mention those freaky markings on his back), but the coroner explains that this is due to a sugary, blueberry-flavored drink called Fresh Aid. At first, it just sounds like another wacky Riverdale nickname, à la Jingle Jangle, but it later becomes apparent that it could signal something much darker. No one knows exactly what happened to Dilton in his final hours, but the coroner says it's worse than what happened to Jason Blossom or any of the Black Hood's victims. "Here is the true face of evil," he says. And that's before Jughead and Betty encounter the Gargoyle King in the woods.

There's also something spooky going on in Dilton's secret bunker (because of course he had a secret bunker), which Bughead uncovers after talking to Ethel. They learn that she, Dilton, and Ben had been playing some kind of role-playing game, and that she and Ben were dating, but only in the game. Viewers will recall that in the Season 3 premiere, a panicked Dilton told Jughead that they thought it was just a stupid game, but that it's actually real — and so was the Gargoyle King. So what kind of mess did he get himself into, and what does any of this have to do with Fresh Aid?

While nothing's fully explained, it is clear that Fresh Aid has been around for quite some time — since the kids' parents were in high school, in fact. At the very end of the episode, Fred Andrews, Penelope Blossom, Alice Cooper, FP Jones, Sierra McCoy, Tom Keller, and the Lodges have a clandestine meeting. Hermione is freaking out about Dilton's death, which isn't public knowledge yet, and while the parents are disturbed by the tragedy, it isn't until they learn about his blue lips that they realize his death could be incriminating.

It's then revealed that the parents made some kind of secret pact in high school, and they swore never to speak of it (does anyone else smell a Runaways reference?). So while we don't know where Fresh Aid comes from or what the parents have to do with it, it does clarify why Riverdale is planning a flashback episode, where the actors will portray their onscreen parents. Perhaps we'll learn what kind of agreement they made and what consequences it could hold for Archie, Betty, and the rest of the gang now. But whatever they do, hopefully they avoid drinking the Fresh Aid, because it might do more than turn their lips blue.