CW’s Riverdale has spent the last few episodes teasing a new storyline revolving around a nightmarish Mothman character.
This folklore legend was introduced when Tabitha Tate, the new owner of Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe, told Jughead Jones that she had a story idea for his upcoming book. She advised him to speak with Old Man Dreyfus.
The mythical Mothman beast comes with stories of alien abductions and disappearing bodies. It has definitely made its way to the top of the list of strange storylines seen throughout the series.
When Jughead met with Dreyfus, the elderly man told him, “Aliens, angels, mothmen, call them whatever you like. They live in the woods off the caves off The Lonely Highway.”
Dreyfus tells Jughead that all of his old mining pals have died from cancer. But, before they passed, all of the men reported having a run-in with a Mothman, and they claimed they were abducted into a spacecraft. Jughead begins to suspect that there’s a connection there, and he tells Tabitha that radiation exposure might have played a contributing factor in their deaths.
In the latest episode of Riverdale (Season 5, Episode 8) titled “Lock & Key,” more information about the Mothman is revealed.
What are the latest Mothman updates?
In hopes that it’ll answer their questions and concerns, Jughead and Tabitha decide to meet with a specialist to gather more information about the Mothman. The duo finds themselves being recommended to a support group for “Mothman victims.”
In light of this, Jughead begins to be haunted by visions of the Mothman— although Tabitha suggests that something deeper is troubling him. She suspects that he is mishandling his trauma which has resulted in him manifesting these dark dream sequences.
What do fans have to say about Riverdale’s Mothman?
While fans seem to be nowhere closer to uncovering the Mothman mystery, they are gathering online to poke fun at how farcical the storyline seems to be.
The Comicbook hosted podcast, Riverdale After Dark, tweeted a screen capture of the creature and wrote, “Someone needs to tell the Mothman that skinny jeans are out.”
One fan picked fun at the creature’s appearance and tweeted, “Riverdale’s Mothman looks like Pumpkinhead banged the dancing alien from Spaceballs.”
Another fan tweeted, “Jughead’s mystery man looks like an alien instead of [a] Mothman.” As indicated by the creature’s name, in other lore, the creature appears as a part-moth, part-human hybrid.
However, one general consensus seems to ring true: Fans are finding themselves shipping Jabitha or Tughead — the couple name hasn’t been decided yet.
Riverdale fans have been tweeting, “Jabitha is endgame” and pointing out how “sweet” it was for Tabitha to be concerned for Jughead’s health. Tune in to Riverdale next week where the Mothman chronicle is expected to continue.
“They are so cute,” said one Jabitha fan.
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Riverdale currently premieres on Wednesdays on CW.