Evelyn Evernever Might Be ‘Riverdale’s First Witch

Keely Flaherty
TV Riverdale
TV Riverdale The CW

Last night’s episode of Riverdale was, well, fantastically bonkers. Archie united his fellow prisoners with a rousing speech about football, Veronica enlisted Cheryl and the Vixens to cheer the inmates on with a stirring rendition of “Jailhouse Rock,” Betty and Jughead teamed up to investigate the mysterious Gargoyle King, and we met a new character: Evelyn Evernever.

Betty’s new neighbor and the daughter of Edgar Evernever, the mysterious leader behind Polly and Alice’s beloved Farm, Evelyn waltzed into the season’s second episode and only one thing is certain: We. Do. Not. Trust. Her. We know very little for sure about Evelyn. But here’s everything we do know — and why she might just be Riverdale’s first witch.

Evelyn Evernever Riverdale

Evelyn Might Be Trying to Body Swap With Betty

The casting call for Evelyn’s character described her as a major recurring star who’s “eager to befriend Betty, and is surprisingly insightful for her age.” OK, we all want to be Betty’s friend, not too weird. We all love an insightful teen with an old soul, sounds fine. But the casting call also specified that a possible direction for the role — which ended up going to actress Zoé de Grand’Maison — required “a girl who is physically reminiscent of Betty.”

Evelyn Evernever Betty Cooper Riverdale

 

Listen, we all want to look like Lili Reinhart, but this could have some serious narrative implications — namely, that Evelyn is going to try and Freaky Friday body switch with Betty. And if she has magical powers — more on that later — she might be able to do it.

In the Comics, Evelyn Has a Romantic Past With Archie

Yep, Betty’s not the only one with skin in this game — look out, Veronica. Evelyn is a minor character in the comics series Little Archie and Betty & Veronica Spectacular, and in that timeline, she was Archie’s first childhood kiss. She also kidnapped him at one point.

Evelyn Evernever Betty Cooper Riverdale

 

Of course, there’s little-to-no chance Evelyn could get her claws in Archie while he’s locked up in juvie, but we all know that if anyone can spring her man from the clink before the mid-season finale, it’s Veronica Lodge. Unfortunately, even when Archie escapes, he might be in for some trouble with Riverdale’s new girl in town.

Evelyn Might Seriously Be an Evil Witch

This week’s episode confirmed that Riverdale‘s third season is going much darker (Ben smiling as he fell out the hospital window was absolutely creepifying), and possibly much more supernatural. Betty and Jughead got their first real-life glimpse of the Gargoyle King, and he looked… extremely not human. The monster could, as Betty and Jughead theorized, be someone wearing a suit. But this could also be a very deliberate step toward bringing otherworldly forces to Riverdale. Remember last week when Polly’s babies floated over a fire? Something is going on, and it might be dark magic (or a zombie apocalypse, time will tell).

Evelyn Evernever Riverdale

With Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premiering on Netflix later this month, Riverdale might be setting us up for a crossover with its sister show — and Sabrina is chock-full of dark magic and supernatural monsters (you’re seriously going to love it). Evelyn just might be a witch.

The casting call also described Evelyn as “otherworldly, seemingly omnipresent, and a bit odd” — sounds witchy — and she “may be hiding dark secrets about herself” — perhaps that she’s, oh, a witch? When Ethel has her horrifying seizure, guess who was standing in the back of the room looking relaxed but focused, her eyes locked on Ethel in what appeared to be the silent casting of a magical spell? Yep, Miss Evelyn Evernever. We might not know much about Evelyn, but judging by this first taste alone, it’s safe to assume that she’s not to be trusted.