Riverdale rewind: What will Hal Cooper be up to in season three?

Hal Cooper was revealed as the primary Black Hood at the end of Riverdale’s second season and put behind bars. But his story isn’t over yet.

Last time we saw Hal Cooper (Lochlyn Munro) on Riverdale, Betty (Lili Reinhart) was visiting him in jail and swore she’d never come back. Betty very well may not, but that doesn’t mean that she or viewers have seen the last of him.

In an interview with TVInsider, Munro confirmed that series developer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has more storylines planned for Hal, which actually surprised Munro at the time.

"“I always wanted Hal to be a guy who was a little misunderstood, but now I’m this guy. And let me tell you, at first I was pretty bummed because I figured for sure it meant my demise. I thought, ‘Oh, man, I guess I’m done on Riverdale.'”"

However, Aguirre-Sacasa was quick to assure Munro that his character was not being written off the show.

"“Roberto came up to me and said, ‘No, no, it’s not over. This is just a whole different arc now.’ I’m hoping that’s true… and if I’m going to be evil, man, I’m going to be the best evil character they have in Riverdale!”"

Well, Hal will definitely have some competition in the “evil” department from Riverdale‘s other resident bad guy Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos), who most recently framed 16-year-old Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) for murder and will seemingly be kingpin of the Southside in season three.

Would Hal ever join forces with Hiram? Here are my theories as to what Hal might be up to in season three.

4. Will Hal go to trial?

As of the end of season two, all we know is that Hal has been arrested and that Archie has identified him as Fred’s (Luke Perry) shooter, the Black Hood. It remains unclear if Hal will plead guilty or if he will go to trial.

However, given that Archie will definitely be going to trial for his own murder charge, it seems a bit much for Riverdale to also spend time on Hal going to trial. Additionally, Hal proudly told Betty and Alice (Mädchen Amick) of his mission to cleanse Riverdale of “sinners”, so he may very well want to take credit for the murders by pleading guilty.

3. Will Hal and Archie interact behind bars?

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Hal and Archie interacting in lock-up seems highly likely, and Archie has quite a score to settle. Hal almost killed his father, strangled his former lover, Miss Grundy (Sarah Habel) and put his best friend through hell.

Of course, it would be in Archie’s best interest to lay low. However, if season two proved anything, it’s that Archie acts very impulsively and rashly, especially in defense of his loved ones.

The most recent season three trailer did confirm that Archie will become a Southside Serpent, though. I’m betting he will do so to protect himself, so he may actually have enough back up to take on Hal.

2. Will Hal ever get out?

I’m betting, yes… eventually. If Hal is going to have a significant presence on Riverdale going forward, it doesn’t make sense for him to remain behind bars for life. That being said, I doubt he will be released immediately, otherwise his getting arrested at all would be rather anticlimactic.

In terms of how he might get out, I’m not expecting him to pull a Shawshank, though you never know. It is Riverdale, after all. However, it’s more likely Hal will be released early via an appeal of his sentence or will be broken out by a man on the inside.

1. Will he team up with Hiram?

In either case, Hiram would be most obvious candidate to come to Hal’s aide. Hiram will own the new private Southside prison, which is where Hal will presumably end up. Additionally, Hiram has law enforcement is his pocket, thanks to his buddy Sheriff Minetta (Henderson Wade). It’s not a stretch to think Hiram can influence to the courts as well.

Furthermore, Hiram’s m.o. is to stir up chaos to distract people from his larger, more sinister plots, and he now has an entire team to help him. Who better to recruit next than a convicted serial killer? Riverdale won’t rehash the “Black Hood” plot, but that doesn’t mean Hal’s particular set of skills couldn’t come in handy for whatever Hiram has planned.