With anxiety building over whether or not Jughead is dead on Riverdale, we’ll take any scrap of hope thrown our way. But unfortunately, one of the many theories that could keep him alive might have just been debunked. Doesn’t the mere existence of Katy Keene mean Riverdale isn’t happening in Jughead’s head? Surely, Jug didn’t create a whole cinematic universe about his friends’ friends’ friends...right?
What this wild theory actually says
The idea that this is all in Jughead’s head, as a part of his book, makes sense. Every new Riverdale begins with “chapter” in the episode title, and Jughead’s narration feels like it could be part of a novel he wrote himself. The show began with him writing his novel, alone, at Pop’s Diner. That could be a framing device setting up some ultimate “Jughead wrote the whole thing” reveal. Plus, there’s definitely some shady stuff going on with Jughead’s Baxter Brothers manuscript on Riverdale this season, and the fact that he’s already freely adapting and embellishing his own story is suspect as hell.
Why it’s total BS, thanks to one Katy Keene
By now, Katy has appeared in scenes with Veronica on Riverdale, and Josie (a lead on both shows) has referenced Veronica on Katy Keene. In episode 2, Josie not only mentions Cheryl and Jason Blossom but also the fact that “one of them died.” Jason’s death kicked off Jughead’s Riverdale narration, aka the show itself. So if that happened in the world of Katy Keene, then everything that happened on Riverdale did too—because I refuse to believe that Jughead is making up both shows.
According to the original theory, Jughead has been documenting (and perhaps changing) events that really happened to him and his friends. As far as we know, Jughead hasn’t met Katy. He hasn’t visited her in New York City and probably wouldn’t be all that interested in their world. Jughead’s all about writing what he knows, and he knows nothing that’s going down on Katy Keene.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina factor
Don’t even get me started on CAOS, which technically takes place in the same universe as Riverdale too, although only one character has (briefly) crossed over and died soon after thanks to the Gargoyle King. If Riverdale is happening in Jughead’s head, I’d definitely be more likely to believe that Jughead heard rumors about the next town over and fantasized that it was inhabited by a satanic coven lead by a teenage witch, but that still feels so far-fetched.
So where does that leave us?
Sorry to this theory, but I just don’t think three shows are going to simultaneously reveal that they’re all from the mind of one beanie-loving teenager. What would be the point of watching Sabrina and Katy Keene if none of it mattered? If you were convinced that Jughead isn’t dead because he’s just making all this up, you’re going to need some new evidence. I don’t make the rules!
