Is FP Jones the Gargoyle King on Riverdale?

29 November 2018, 21:24 | Updated: 30 November 2018, 11:49

By Katie Louise Smith

Thanks to a VERY GOOD Scream reference, fans are now starting to suspect Jughead's dad as the man behind the Gargoyle King.

Even though we're only seven episodes into Riverdale season 3, it looks like we're edging closer and closer to finally unmasking the person behind the mysterious Gargoyle King that has been terrorising the town.

After the parent flashback episode, we were left with tons of new leads and suspects, although one of them has now been sadly debunked. Over the past two episodes, fans have come to suspect former Gryphons and Gargoyles players Hermione Lodge, Hiram Lodge, Tom Keller and even Sierra McCoy as potential candidates for the big reveal.

And now, following the developments in episode 6 ('Manhunter') fans are sweating over the fact that our beloved Hot Dad of Riverdale™ FP Jones could actually be the Gargoyle King. And thanks to one very very very very good Scream reference that featured in the episode, the writers have now given us no choice but to speculate about his involvement.

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3, EPISODE 6 AHEAD! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

After the Scream reference in Riverdale, fans think FP Jones might be the Gargoyle King
After the Scream reference in Riverdale, fans think FP Jones might be the Gargoyle King. Picture: The CW

Toward the end of the episode, Betty questions Alice - who is making popcorn on the stove (a call back to the opening scene of Scream) - about the mysterious death and subsequent cover up of Dilton Doiley's dad Daryl (I swear to god, the alliteration in this show? FAR too much.) Just before Betty can press any further, the electric cuts out and the house is plunged into darkness.

There's a knock on the door but when Alice opens it, no one is there. They then turn around to see the god damn Gargoyle King in the middle of their dining room. They leg it upstairs and lock themselves in Betty's bedroom where they find Doiley's headstone with their names scrawled onto it, a skull and one of Betty's outfits laid out on the bed. (How the fuck someone managed to drag a huge headstone through the window is beyond me but go off, I guess.)

Someone then starts climbing up a ladder outside Betty's room. It's FP (thank God!) who says he tried to get in but someone slammed the door in his face.

The whole scene is almost a shot for shot (and even dialogue for dialogue) homage to the iconic scene in 1996's Scream, where Billy Loomis, played by Skeet Ulrich, climbs through Sidney Prescott's window to "save" her from the killer. Just like Billy, FP immediately grabs Alice and pulls her into a hug (*cries in soft Falice*) when she screams that the Gargoyle King is in her house (instead of actually going downstairs and getting rid of the thing but whatever, I'll gladly accept any and all physical contact between these two that I can get.)

It's a pretty cool and iconic call back to Ulrich's most famous role - even right down to Skeet's suspicious eye-ography - but now, because of that very infamous and very obvious reference, the show has just given everyone a reason to suspect that FP might be the one behind the twiggy bitch currently chilling downstairs in the Cooper house.

And honestly, I hope to god that they're all wrong.

Of course, fans have pointed flaws in the theory that prove that FP could not have been the *actual* figure in the Cooper's dining room because he was the one who tried to open the door before Alice slammed it shut again.

However, as the well versed Scream stans and Billy Loomis enthusiasts will know, the fact that FP was physically there the same time as the Gargoyle King means nothing because, if we are to take this reference literally (we're not but just go with it for the sake of the theory), there were two killers in the movie - Billy and Stu. Ha ha ha those writers knew damn well what they were doing!

Some fans have also pointed out a few more suspicions about FP: He's absolutely torn up about Jughead being involved in the game (well yeah, he doesn't want his son to die!), he lied about having seen the Gargoyle King back in high school (was off his nut on Fizzle Rocks anyway) and he was conveniently in the right place at the right time and just so happened to find a ladder (which was probably already there, tbh) leading to the exact room that Alice and Betty were locked in.

Points were made (!) but I am begging you from my soul... please don't.

via GIPHY

Speaking to Bustle, Ulrich even spilled the tea on whether or not he thinks FP is the Gargoyle King. His answer? He doesn't know either. "I mean, the great thing about doing our show is I don't really know what to expect sometimes. There are times I'd get the script and I'm like, 'God, I wonder if I live through this one.' There's a lot of plot twists that go along with the show and so you never really know what to expect."

"I certainly don't feel safe, necessarily," he adds. "And I'm always up for good drama. So if they want to do more of that and point in that direction and see how we dig our way out, it's always fun."

Of course, if last season's mystery is anything to go by, we'll have to wait a while to find out who's behind it because the writers may or may not have actually decided who it's going to be yet. Season two was full of red herrings until Hal Cooper was finally revealed and even Lochlyn Munro didn't even know he was the Black Hood until episode 21.

So, while FP's actions are very sus and will no doubt keep us all awake with worry for the next six months, it could be one big ol' misdirect (it better be or I'm calling my lawyer) that was just thrown in to keep us on our toes, like Sheriff Keller and Hiram Lodge last season. Realistically, there's still so much FP's character can bring to the show, so setting him up for this fall is *probably* not gonna happen, right?!

Seriously, for the sake Alice's sanity, wellbeing and, most importantly, love life... please don't do this Riverdale. Please. Now speak it into existence with me: FP is not the Gargoyle King. FP is not the Gargoyle King. FP IS NOT THE GARGOYLE KING.

ᴮᵘᵗ ᵒʰ ᵐʸ ᵍᵒᵈ ʷʰᵃᵗ ᶦᶠ ʰᵉ *ᶦˢ* ᵗʰᵉ ᴳᵃʳᵍᵒʸˡᵉ ᴷᶦⁿᵍˀᵎ