As his daughter Veronica points out in Riverdale's "The Homecoming," Hiram Lodge is nothing if not consistent. Despite seemingly retiring from his mobster ways seven years earlier, Hiram's presence as the ultimate villain of Riverdale is now stronger than ever. His plan? Ruin Riverdale so that he can build up his new, fancy community of SoDale. And since every villain needs a henchman, Hiram has found one — in Riverdale's very own Reggie Mantle.

Despite graduating from Riverdale High in good spirits, the former Bulldogs player seems to have soured on the town he called home seven years later — at least enough to be complicit in its destruction. Reggie now wears a suit that looks like a cheap knockoff of the one that Hiram wears as he accompanies him in his many shady errands. (He also has a mullet.)

In "The Homecoming," Reggie proves that he's firmly on Hiram's side: When Archie (the future mayor of Riverdale, probably) calls Reggie to remove the Ghoulies, who are dealing drugs out of his house, it's obvious that Reggie already tipped them off that he was coming by to inspect the property. Reggie claims his hands are tied, but in reality, he's just doing Hiram's bidding to help devalue the town as swiftly as possible. Drug dealers with terrible eyeliner destroying the local homes? Check.

Riverdale hinted that this may be a path for Reggie a long time ago. Back in Season 3, Reggie was attracted to Veronica not just because she was, well, Veronica, but because he kind of liked her pseudo criminal side. He was her lackey (if not exactly her boyfriend) during her early days at La Bonne Nuit, which operated illegally, and was constantly under attack by Hiram's goons. Hell, Reggie even broke into his dad's car dealership to steal cash for Veronica's family.

It's not necessarily that Reggie is attracted to the darkness, though he does have a tendency towards anger. Veronica gave Reggie a purpose, and that seems what Hiram is doing for Reggie now. Riverdale has showed Reggie didn't really have any sense of direction, and the person partially to blame for that was Reggie's dad, who was critical and abusive. Perhaps that's why Reggie turned to Hiram after all his friends left town: He didn't have anyone to rely on anymore, and without someone around to set him on a straight path, he turned to the person who wanted to offer him at least something.

Will Reggie turn things around? It's very possible that he'll find his way back to the core Riverdale gang, especially considering his loyalty to them in the past. However, with Hiram's deep pockets, Reggie may be lost forever to this very consistent criminal.

Images: The CW