Warning: Riverdale spoilers ahead.
If last night's Riverdale premiere is indicative of the whole season, then, "Who shot Fred Andrews?" is the new "Who killed Jason Blossom?" Unmasking the person behind the shooting at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, which nearly killed Fred, seems to be the main mission for Archie and the gang. That means it's only a matter of time before the fan theories start rolling in. A few already exist on the Internet—with the most fingers pointed at Hermione and Hiram Lodge, who have more than enough motive. (They're salty about Fred not willing to sell his construction company.) However, if Jason's killer from last season proves anything, it's that everyone's a suspect—and the person behind the shooting is most likely someone unexpected. Someone like Archie's mom, Mary.
That's what this new theory from Twitter user @joannafaye21 suggests. They posit Mary as the mastermind behind the entire shooting, and her motivation is eerie: envy.
It makes sense, when you think about it. Mary has been a pretty benign character since being introduced in the latter half of Riverdale's debut season. Her purpose was vague. She blended in—that is, until she asked Archie to live with her in Chicago, and he refused. What if this upset her? What if she's been jealous of Fred and Archie's tight connection this entire time, and she went to Riverdale to take Archie away? And when that didn't work, what if she took desperate measures to get Archie back? Like plan a hit on Fred?
It also makes sense that Mary would want Ms. Grundy dead. (Remember, we ended last night's episode with Fred's shooter attacking Grundy.) After all, Grundy did take advantage of her underage son; that's more than enough reason to take her out.
Also, think about Fred's dream sequence that depicted Veronica and Archie tying the knot. Mary was seated next to the Blossoms—the most lethal family in Riverdale—and then she winked at Fred. It's plausible this gesture was Mary taunting Fred for getting away with killing him.
Read @joannafaye21's full theory yourself, below:
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This evidence is convincing, but there's just one flaw: Mary hasn't indicated at all that she's jealous of Fred and Archie's relationship. This emotion, if real, would be coming totally out of left field, and it'd be just lazy character development. To go from benign mother to mafia leader in one fell swoop is a little out there—but wilder things have happened on Riverdale. I mean, Cheryl Blossom set her house on fire.
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