The secret is out regarding the true identity of Riverdale's Black Hood, and surprisingly, some actors are more shocked by the reveal than fans. The show's reveal that it was Betty's dad Hal Cooper behind the mask (for most of the incidents anyway) wasn't a complete surprise to fans, but it was a surprise to the actor who played him, Lochlyn Munro. Munro shared that he had no idea he was the town murderer until much later than many fans:
Well, you're going to be shocked when you find out. Episode 21 is when I found out I was the Hood. I had my theories on who it was. I was starting to sweat when we started reading 19 and 20, but I thought, 'It can't be me, it's just too on the nose.' And then episode 21 [happened], so that was a big shock to everyone...I never ever ever thought it was me until all of a sudden episode 19 had Betty being very suspicious of Hal, and I was like, 'Hold on a second, why's she so suspicious of me?' Because I totally thought I had it nailed as far as who I thought it was and then boom! It became a whole different thing. At first, I thought maybe I'm the red herring, something's going on, but yeah, I never ever thought it was Hal.
Lochlyn Munro revealed he was in the dark until the penultimate episode of Riverdale Season 2, which is kind of surprising. It's also somewhat understandable, as Munro also revealed he never once actually portrayed the Black Hood leading up to the reveal. Yep, it turns out the man behind the mask that Riverdale fans so obviously thought was Hal from the start was actually a stunt actor! Munro swore it wasn't until Hal's big reveal to Alice and Betty that he finally saw the writing on the wall, which was probably written in that secret Nancy Drew code language the killer was so fond of.
The Hal actor told EW he thought the reveal that he was the Black Hood was too on the nose, and that he personally had another popular suspect as his top pick. Lochlyn Munro said that he thought Betty's dad was just a red herring, and that it was none other than Sheriff Keller who had been terrorizing the town and punishing its sinners:
Well, I gotta say, I kind of suspected it was Keller all along, especially when he shot Svenson at the bridge. I thought that's just too convenient that he shot Svenson.
Now that the truth is out, Lochlyn Munro said he's really hoping he can portray the Black Hood yet again. The promo for the Season 2 finale of Riverdale seemed to show that he will, as Hal will somehow find his way out of that jail cell in the episode. Should he escape, there will definitely be other opportunities for Munro to return and fulfill his dream of going full psychopath. Will Riverdale let its most dangerous villain to date slip away from justice?
Riverdale fans will find out during the show's Season 2 finale, which is set to air on The CW on Wednesday, May 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Those looking for a new show or two to check out after the show goes on break should check out CinemaBlend's summer premiere guide for a lineup of what's to come in 2018. For more on the Riverdale, be sure to check out what other major moment from the penultimate episode was actually inspired by Batman.
