‘Riverdale’ Cast & EP on Falice, Veronica’s Sister, Alice’s Redemption & More
The adults’ relationships are heating up in Riverdale Season 4.
As the trailer released at New York Comic Con revealed, Falice is rising, a fact both Skeet Ulrich and Mädchen Amick reiterated to reporters. But that’s not the only relationship to look forward to seeing start up again.
There’s also a new family member coming to the show, as well as new villains (of course). Read on for more Season 4 scoop.
Falice Is Rising
Well, first we need to find out where Alice is and see how she gets away from The Farm. But once that happens, expect to see much more from that relationship. “There’s some things that happen that take it way beyond romance and that fire they have for each other and get deeper,” Ulrich previewed.
And with Falice comes a “more content, grounded Alice,” Amick added.
As for FP learning about their son, Charles, being alive, Ulrich teased that his reaction will be “unique” and “not what you would expect.”
The Complicated Lodge Family Dynamics
Another couple that’s reuniting this season is Hermione (Marisol Nichols) and Hiram (Mark Consuelos), and Consuelos pointed to the “fine line” between love and hate to explain why they’re back together. Previously, their relationship “was very transactional, and although that remains, you see a little bit more heat,” he added.
(Katie Yu/The CW)
But Nichols wouldn’t call their relationship “romantic.” “I think it’s more that toxic addiction sexual intellectually stimulating thing that they have with each other,” she explained. “Why would they still be with each other? They tried to kill each other. They hate each other. Oh, maybe the sex is good. I’m glad we touched on that and addressed that in a really great scene.”
Furthermore, “part of the reason she does this thing with Hiram is because she’s out of choices,” she continued. She realized she made the wrong choice in high school (between him and Fred), and “Fred represented everything her life could’ve been and she should’ve fought for and she should’ve taken,” she said. “She held out hope” for her and Fred once she got rid of Hiram, but with his passing, that’s gone.
Also coming up for the Lodges is the big trial episode (the fifth of the season). “For Hermione, she really does think this may be it” after everything she’s done, Nichols revealed. “She really is scared.”
That episode will also introduce Veronica’s older sister, Hermosa (Mishel Prada). Hiram’s daughter from a previous relationship has been running nightclubs in Miami. “She’s fiercely loyal to Hiram, almost the opposite of Veronica,” Consuelos shared. “They have a good relationship.”
“She’s the apple of Hiram’s eye,” executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa said. “One thing we haven’t seen with Veronica because she’s been an only child is sibling rivalry.” Hermione won’t be too pleased with her arrival, either. “It’s all under the surface,” Nichols said, “but this girl represents his love child with someone else. She doesn’t need a constant reminder of that.”
(Colin Bentley/The CW)
The Consequences of The Farm’s Influence
The Farm may have left — for the most part — but they’re still very much out there. Furthermore, Kevin (Casey Cott) was the one left behind, and we’ll see how that affects him. In the second episode, “the big story is between Betty and Kevin, if they’re going to be friends after all the stuff Kevin did at the farm, like drag Betty by her ankles,” Aguirre-Sacasa previewed. “There are definitely consequences to that.”
But fans will also get to see “a really big redemption against The Farm” for Alice with regards to the cult in Episode 3, Amick revealed. “After that, she has to fold back into the town. She may or may not move back into the old Cooper house with the Joneses.” Also expect to see her get back into reporting.
And for those wondering how much of her actions with The Farm was an act and how much of it was her really being brainwashed, the actress said it was both. “She was lured in because she needed to heal. She was definitely susceptible to that cult mindset,” she explained. However, she realized something wasn’t right, and when Charles reached out, she became a mole.
Betty’s relationship with her mother will also be strained as a result of The Farm, but fans will see a great confrontation between the two as they work through things in Episode 8, when a counselor talks to the kids and the parents are brought into the fold.
Family Dynamics, Crossovers, and Villains
There are going to be some changing family dynamics moving forward in Season 4. Jughead (Cole Sprouse) will be starting at his new school, and his relationship with FP “changes instantly,” Ulrich said. “It’s akin to a child going away to college in a way. … There is a little bit of empty nest. You find what you really want when it’s taken away, and that’s what FP’s dealing with, a little bit of that bittersweetness.”
(Robert Falconer/The CW)
And with Mary (Molly Ringwald) sticking around, things are going to change between her and Archie. “Eventually there will be conflict,” Ringwald revealed. “Right now, they’re grieving together and they’re both bonded by the love they have for Fred.” And it sounds like she may have to stop trying to get him to leave Riverdale. “That’s a continuing battle,” she acknowledged. “I don’t think it’s [one] she’ll ever win because he really wants to be there and make the town a better place.”
And for anyone hoping for a Katy Keene or Chilling Adventures of Sabrina crossover, stay tuned for the Halloween episode for “a pretty strong mention of Katy Keene.” However, Aguirre-Sacasa also said that we’re more likely to see Riverdale characters visiting the upcoming spinoff on The CW.
And with a new season comes new villains. “You’ll meet them in Episode 2,” the EP revealed.
Riverdale, Wednesdays, 8/7c, The CW
