Is Chic Cooper the Gargoyle King on Riverdale? Here is all the evidence
2 May 2019, 19:58
The Gargoyle King returned to Riverdale in season 3 episode 20 and confronted Betty on Prom Night and thanks to some new evidence, it looks like Chic Cooper could have something to do with it.
It's the age old question: Who is the Gargoyle King on Riverdale and when will this nightmare end? After throwing us in the deep end with the Gryphons and Gargoyles drama at the start of season 3, we were provided with a tiny bit of respite mid-season when the Gargoyle King was finally unmasked. Unfortunately, the Gargoyle King made an unwanted return in episode 19 and it looks like he's here to stay until the season 3 finale.
In episode 20, he personally summoned the Gryphon Queen (aka Betty Cooper) during prom night and confronted her in the exact same school corridor that Alice had encountered him years before. During that confrontation, the Black Hood also returned. (Honestly, don't ask. I'm exhausted.)
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There are several theories and suggestions floating around about who the Gargoyle King might be - you can read the entire list of suspects right here. But after episode 20, it seems like we might have narrowed our search down to a handful of people - including the currently missing and presumed dead Chic "Cooper".
Yes, friends. There's now quite a bit of evidence that points to the possibility that Chic could be the Gargoyle King and honestly? It's far too convincing.
Ok, so... wait, how exactly does Chic, someone who has been MIA for the entire season, have anything to do with this? And how could he possibly be the Gargoyle King? Well, consider the facts:
Exhibit A) Chic is not dead. The rules of Riverdale are simple: unless there is a dead body, they are not dead. Haven't seen Chic's dead body, therefore Chic! is! not! dead!
Exhibit B) The last known person in contact with Chic was Hal Cooper/the Black Hood after Betty handed him over at the end of season 2. As far as we know, he didn't kill him. Could Hal have cut him a deal so he could continue his torment on the town from behind prison glass? Yes. Yes he could. Hal would've one huuundred percent done this. If they're working together, it could also explain why Hal bodychecked Betty before she had a chance to shoot the Gargoyle King in episode 20.
Exhibit C) Similarly, Chic (who is now homeless and on the run) could have also joined forces with the Gargoyle Gang or even Hiram Lodge. We know that the previous Gargoyle King and game of Gryphons and Gargoyles was set up by Hiram Lodge. He hired Tall Boy to play the King, he was using the Gargoyle gang to distribute his Fizzle Rocks and he sent out the "Kill the Red Paladin" quest cards.
After Tall Boy was unmasked, Hiram was shot and lost his drug trade to Gladys, who appeared to have taken over the gang. The Gargoyle King disappeared for a while, until he popped back up around the same time Hiram got back to scheming. Could Hiram be back in the game and using Chic as his new Gargoyle King? MAYBE, BITCH! MAYBE!
Exhibit D) Whoever the current Gargoyle King is knows about what happened on ascension night. In the prom episode, Betty finds the girls bathroom in the exact same state that Alice found it back in the day. Hal knows about ascension night via Penelope, Edgar knows about it via Alice's testimony and Hiram knows about it because... he was there. If Chic is the new Gargoyle King, it's possible that he was told about the whole thing via his "game master", whoever that may be.
Exhibit E) The person who got those sacrifice tattoos had "sandy hair and blue eyes". Chic has sandy hair... and well, he has green eyes but Riverdale's history with eye colour is not to be trusted anyway. Hal Cooper doesn't even have the green eyes he's supposed to have smh.
(Side note: Seeing as Hal was in prison and Edgar doesn't have those back tattoos, it could also be Charles Smith, the real son of Alice and FP. Note that the tattoo artists didn't actually say "blond" hair, he said "sandy". There's a lot of debate online as to what colour hair Charles has in that photo Betty found at the Sisters. It's not quite red, but it's not blond either. It's... well, sandy. But I digress, that's another discussion for another day.)
Finally - AND MOST IMPORTANTLY - Exhibit F) Hart Denton's appearance in season 3 has been confirmed... ish. Back in May 2018, Mädchen Amick let slip at an event that Hart would be returning at some point in season 3. Hart was also questioned about his return by ET Online at the Teen Vogue party in February and he was pretty coy about what he could and could not say. He almost let slip about working with Chad Michael Murray and teased Chic "beefing up". He all but explicitly confirmed that Chic would return.
Anyway, with only two episodes left and no appearance so far, there's still a huge possibility that he's part of this G&G mess.
One of Riverdale's favourite past times always seems to involve a character who is either presumed dead or hasn't been seen in a while coming back for a big ol' plot twist reveal. They did it with Tall Boy and they did it with Sheriff Minetta this season... third time's a charm, right?
