Who shot Hiram Lodge on Riverdale? Here's all the main suspects

30 January 2019, 19:32

By Katie Louise Smith

Riverdale's premiere mob boss Hiram Lodge was shot in season 3 episode 10 by an unknown shooter but who shot him? From Hermione Lodge to Fred Andrews and even the presumed dead Sheriff Minetta, here's all the possible suspects.

Now that the Gargoyle King mystery has been seemingly wrapped up on Riverdale season 3 (for now), the show has left us with another looming mystery for Betty, Jughead and the rest of the characters to start investigating: Who shot Hiram Lodge?

Yep, just like the iconic mystery shootings of pop culture moments past, the previously untouchable Hiram Lodge has fallen victim to an unknown shooter in his own home. Hiram was shot in his office on the morning after Claudius Blossom's citizens arrest, he was taken to hospital and is currently recovering from surgery.

Kelly Ripa arrives as Hiram's mistress in the trailer for Riverdale season 3, episode 11

Several characters already have alibis, which counts them out as suspects (all the kids who were at school doing their SATs, Alice and the Farmies who were at the Cooper house drinking raw milk and and weird organic cookies, Claudius in jail) but there are several other people whose whereabouts aren't known and whose motives are far too suspicious to ignore.

So, who shot mob daddy Hiram Lodge? Here are all our main suspects:

Did Hermione Lodge shoot Hiram Lodge?

It's no secret that Hermione has wanted OUT of her marriage to Hiram for years. Sick and tired of being manipulated, emotionally abused and used as a pawn in his weird little cosplaying game, Hermione has quuuuuite the motive.

In the episode, Hiram threatens Hermione if she doesn't appoint Claudius as the new Sheriff. She flat out refuses to do it, but as we all know, you can't ~refuse~ to do anything Hiram asks of you. Hermione needed to get Hiram out of the picture and buy some time in order for her to set her own plan in motion and hire her own Sheriff... but could she have gone as far as to shoot her own husband? It's not like she hasn't dabbled with gunfire before either - she shot and killed Small Fry in season two so the good sis knows her way around a revolver.

Did Fred Andrews shoot Hiram Lodge?

Well, seeing as Fred literally squared up to Hiram and told him he wanted him dead in this episode, he's a pretty big suspect.

Fred's whereabouts at the time of the shooting aren't known, so that's a bit sus. But he seemed pretty chill the following morning about everything and to be honest, Fred doesn't strike me as someone who could go about his household chores after shooting a mob boss square in the torso. He'd be sweating over it. While Fred seems far too pure to even think about pulling a trigger on another human, how great would it be if my mans Freddie finally got his own back and did to Hiram exactly what Hiram did to him. (Well, what Hiram got someone else to do to him. The second time. #JusticeForFred)

Did Archie Andrews shoot Hiram Lodge?

Archie has been suffering from a lot of PTSD following his return to Riverdale. He keeps having visions of himself in Hiram's office with a knife and clearly, the idea of killing Hiram is still playing on his mind but did he actually go through with it? And if he did, did he do it with a clear mind or did he do it without even realising he did it?

Archie walked out of the SATs on the morning that Hiram was shot but could he have gone straight to the Pembrooke and acted out of frustration and rage? Veronica certainly thinks he was the one that pulled the trigger and if the show is hinting at it being Archie, then you know it's definitely not Archie.

Did Penelope Blossom shoot Hiram Lodge?

Look, Penelope is PISSED. After many repeated knock backs in the creation of her dream brothel, she has clearly had it up to HERE with Hiram's false promises. When Hiram told Claudius that he was going to be the next Sheriff, both he and Penelope were shook AF. Did they have a plan to cross Hiram further down the line? Where they always planning to scam him? Did Claudius' arrest mean she had to take matters into her own hands?

Hiram was shot the morning after Claudius' arrest so it could have been Penelope acting in retaliation over that? Then again, would Penelope Blossom really go to all that effort? She seems too much like a lady of leisure to do that level of dirty work on her own. Suspicions are valid, but we'll see about this one...

Did FP Jones shoot Hiram Lodge?

Just like Fred, FP's whereabouts aren't currently known on the morning that Hiram was shot. He was there in the room when Fred threatened to kill Hiram, and he was one of the only people who knew about Hiram sending Claudius in his place to take the fall but would he actually go through with it? Killing Hiram doesn't seem like it makes sense to FP's goal, which is exposing Hiram's big Gryphons and Gargoyles plan. Hermione doesn't ask FP to get the ball rolling on their plan until after Hiram has been shot either...

BUT WHO KNOWS! MAYBE HE SNAPPEDT!

Did Tom Keller shoot Hiram Lodge?

Back in episode one, FP - along with Fred and Tom - says that they'll do "whatever it takes" to take Hiram Lodge down. It's entirely possible that the Hot Dads of Riverdale™ have joined forces with Hermione and have been biding their time until it was the right time to strike. With Hiram wanting Claudius as Sheriff but Hermione already having a plan to appoint FP, could it have been part of the plan to take Hiram out for a few weeks so she could make her play without him stopping her? Conveniently, we don't have a location on Tom when the shooting happens, so it could totally be him who did the favour.

One other detail that might be key into identifying Hiram's shooter is the fact that they managed to take out Hiram's cup too, so the shooter must have good aim, right? Sheriff Keller must be a dab hand at the ol' shooting range... just sayin'. (Knowing Riverdale, that was probably just done for dramatic cinematic effect and bore no correlation to the marksmanship of the shooter anyway. BUT following my many years of training at the school of CSI, these kinda things should be considered when forensically examining a fictional crime scene.)

Did Agent Adams shoot Hiram Lodge?

Remember the undercover FBI agent who revealed himself to be working for the Lodges in season 2? Well, he's still alive. He disappeared after killing Andre, crossing the Lodges and forming an alliance with mob bosses Lenny and Carl. Is it possible that Hermione reached out to him/them for help? Clearly, they all want Hiram ~dealt with~ and seeing as Adams was one of Hermione's capos, could he return to do his old boss a favour?

Just like I mentioned with Tom Keller and the possible precision shooting, it'd take a pretty skilled shot to hit the cup (without hitting his hand) and send the bullet flying into his chest. Adams has the range.

Did Sheriff Minetta shoot Hiram Lodge?

Listen, just because someone says you're dead, doesn't mean you're dead. From here on out, we're only accepting a death if we see a dead body. Considering we only have Hiram's word on the matter... Minetta is probably 100% still alive. As a former Sheriff, Minetta's probably got that precision shooting down to art too, right?

Did Mrs Mulwray shoot Hiram Lodge?

Mulwray is Hiram's alleged mistress who ends up getting caught in a "conspiracy that's much bigger than she initially realised" in episode 11. She's got a gun in the promo, but seeing as she's probably just a one-episode guest star, it's unlikely that she was the one who shot him. Although... I'd like to see it!

Did Gladys Jones shoot Hiram Lodge?

It might seem a little out of left field but honestly, when has Riverdale ever made sense? Gladys doesn't really have any allegiances in Riverdale (that we know of) but following her conversations with Jughead and Archie about Hiram's big plans, and the fact that she made (the now possibly dead) Penny Peabody spill the tea, Gladys could have a motive of her own. Could she have taken him out of the game and off the board so she could make a play of her own? (She was pretty wised up about his tactics, don't forget...)

Gladys arrives back in Riverdale soon, and she can be seen in the season 3b trailer meeting with Veronica for some kind of shady business transaction. Gina Gershon has also posted some behind-the-scenes on set images with Mark Consuelos too, so at some point, it's clear that Gladys and Hiram's paths will cross. But for what reason? There's definitely more to Gladys than she's letting on and Penny could totally have something to do with it.

(Also, side note: What about Jellybean? She's small, she can sneak around and she's got a killer shot... maybe the 10 year old did it?!)

Well, there are the suspects... who do you think shot Hiram?