Riverdale season 6 spoilers: Is [SPOILER] really dead?

Riverdale season 6 returned to The CW with a shocking midseason premiere that saw an unexpected death… or did it?

Riverdale is finally back on The CW. The veteran series returned to the network for the first time since December to officially kick off its sixth season, and it certainly left fans in shock – for multiple reasons.

The show, which aired its five-episode-event known as “Rivervale” last year, took things back to the main timeline, picking up where the previous season left off, as Betty, Archie, Jughead and the rest of Riverdale had to deal with the fallout of Hiram Lodge’s attempt to kill longtime nemesis Archie with a bomb.

*** Contains spoilers from Riverdale season 6, episode 6 ***

While Hiram’s daughter Veronica promised to help Betty and the FBI track her father down, she decided to put a hit out on him instead, vowing to end his reign of terror once and for all. However, after realizing that she didn’t want to be like Hiram, she decided to retract the hit – only to realize that it was too late.

Is Hiram Lodge really dead on Riverdale season 6?

While

Riverdale

definitely wants you to believe that Hiram Lodge is dead, we should definitely take it with a pinch of salt. Yes, Veronica seemingly saw the evidence and Hermosa called her to vow revenge, but looks can be very deceiving on

Riverdale

.

The thing that makes Hiram’s death very possible is the fact that Mark Consuelos is no longer part of the show in Riverdale season 6. His time as a series regular came to an end in the season 5 finale when Hiram sped off into the sunset after being run out of town – but not before leaving behind that bomb under Archie’s bed.

That said, it’s hard to believe that the show would kill off its long-running Big Bad off-screen when they had the opportunity to do it on-screen in the season 5 finale.

With that in mind, it’s best to keep an open mind. Whether or not Riverdale season 6 decides to fill you in on the truth remains to be seen, but we could always see Hermosa take over Hiram’s business and continue paying the Ghoulies just to make it look like her father is really dead. After all, Hiram doesn’t go down without a fight.

For now, it looks like Hiram is “dead”, but don’t rule out a return in the future.

Riverdale season 6 airs on The CW on Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Do you think Hiram Lodge is really dead on Riverdale? What did you think of season 6, episode 6? Let us know in the comments below!