Riverdale season 4, episode 13 spoilers: Hiram Lodge lying about illness?

Hiram Lodge revealed some devastating news to his daughter Veronica in Riverdale, but all may not be what it seems in this week’s installment.

Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) found out some heartbreaking news about her father in last week’s episode of Riverdale. Her mother Hermione (Marisol Nichols) revealed that Hiram (Mark Consuelos) traveled to New York for a medical appointment, and discovered that he has a serious degenerative illness.

Fans of Riverdale will know that Veronica and Hiram have been engaged in a poisonous rivalry for over two years, as the popular young woman is sick of her mobster father’s nefarious schemes to overrun Riverdale with crime, his constant interference in her personal life and his never-ending attempts to put her in her place.

This all led to V changing her name to Veronica Luna and distancing herself from the Lodge family name altogether, as she attempted to brew her own unique brand of rum – something Hiram also put a stop to.

More from TV

• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episodes 1 and 2 review: Aftermath
• The 9 best (and 8 worst) Arrowverse characters
• 10 things nobody wants to admit about The Walking Dead
• Harley Quinn renewed for a fifth season on Max (and it’s well-deserved)
• The Walking Dead: Every TWD spinoff show coming in 2024 and beyond

However, the news of Hiram’s sickness caught Veronica off-guard and resulted in her changing her surname back to Lodge – something that made Hiram smile in a surprisingly touching moment. And it seems that it will hit her even harder in the upcoming episode “Chapter Seventy: The Ides of March”.

Check out the trailer for the upcoming episode below:

It’s clear that the news of Hiram’s illness will hit Ronnie hard, as she’ll begin to spiral out of control, partying hard and drinking. However, she’ll find comfort in boyfriend Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), who reminds her that he’ll by her side.

While it does appear that this sadness and concern for Hiram’s health might bring the Lodge family together once more, fans have been left wondering if it’s all a ploy on Hiram’s part to manipulate his daughter back into line.

In any normal circumstances, it would be terrible to jump to such a conclusion, but considering we’re talking about a master of manipulation here, it’s entirely within his character. After all, we never saw his New York appointment take place – so there might just be a reason for that.

Want more? Here’s The CW’s official synopsis for “Chapter Seventy: The Ides of March”:

"“Worried about what the future may hold for him after high school, Archie (KJ Apa) seeks advice from an unlikely source — Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos). Meanwhile, Veronica (Camila Mendes) begins to spiral after learning some devastating news about someone close to her. Finally, accusations made against Jughead (Cole Sprouse) leaves his future at Stonewall Prep hanging in the balance.”"

It’s safe to say that the idea of uncertain futures will play heavily into this week’s episode of Riverdale, but the question is: Just how uncertain is Hiram’s?

Riverdale airs on The CW tonight, Feb. 12, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Do you think Hiram is lying about his sickness? Let us know in the comments below!