Warning: Riverdale spoilers ahead.



You thought the Black Hood was scary? Ha, think again. Nothing is scarier than a wealthy man with connections looking to cause some major damage. He may be the Gargoyle King or he may not be (still unsure on that one), but either way, the "Man in Black" is taking over Riverdale little by little and he will stop at nothing until he owns the entire town kingdom , his drug business is booming, and his daughter sufficiently hates him since he has basically destroyed every relationship she has. Oh wait, he pretty much already succeeded with all of that...

Can't keep up with all of Hiram's schemes? Here's a comprehensive look at every way in which Hiram has gained power in Riverdale...and beyond.

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Athens

The CW

No, not Athens, Georgia. Athens, that weird town Archie and Jughead stumble upon when they're fleeing Riverdale. In Jughead's snooping he learns the town has been destroyed by drugs, namely Jingle Jangle and Fizzle Rocks (you'll recognize the latter from the Midnight Club episode).

The town is deserted, since most of the men in Athens have gone off to build a prison/drug lab (hm, wonder where that could be?). But Hiram also has the townspeople calling him "the man in black," which is a way cooler nickname than he deserves. It seems as though Hiram basically owns this town, and many of the townspeople owe some sort of debt to him. One can assume that Hiram's goal is to turn Riverdale into the next Athens — deserted and at his whim.

Sisters of Quiet Mercy

The CW

While Betty is kept at the SOQM against her will, she discovers a very strange visitor: Hiram Lodge (who is referred to as the man in black by the residents of SOQM, too — WTF). According to a poor patient at SOQM, Hiram is "an angel donor" who "helps the sisters with anything they may need." In reality, he totally has Sister Woodhouse in his pocket and he's paying the sisters to test his drugs on the patients.

The Gargoyle Gang

The CW

The Gargoyle gang isn't just a cool name for a group of people who like to get together and cosplay Griffins & Gargoyles, they're also a gang. Led by the Gargoyle King, the gang distributes Fizzle Rocks for the man in black.



The Southside Prison

We haven't heard too much about the prison since its big reveal last season. We do, however, know that it's currently being built on the Southside (by workers from Athens), and it's the location of Hiram's Fizzle Rocks drug lab and Penelope Blossom's brothel.

The Governor

Yup, Hiram even has the Governor under his belt, which is how he is able to get him to quarantine the entire town of Riverdale.

Penelope and Claudius Blossom

The CW

When Cheryl goes to visit her ex-parents in order to announce her official emancipation, the Bombshell spots her mother and uncle/father meeting with Hiram. Later, at what can only be described as the meeting of the evil Riverdale contingent at the White Wyrm, both Blossoms are in attendance, and they both get assigned jobs in Hiram's grand scheme. Claudius delivers Fizzle Rocks to Sisters of Quiet Mercy, while Penelope becomes Madame of the Southside brothel.

Archie's Arrest

The CW

Despite the fact that Hiram is the one who ordered Andre to kill Cassidy Bullock when he robbed the Lodge's lake house last season, Hiram is also the one who paid off the rest of Cassidy's friends to say it was Archie, in order to get him arrested and out of the way. Hiram later kills all of Cassidy's friends because...why not?

Leopold & Loeb Juvenile Detention Center

The CW

It wasn't enough for Hiram to just send Archie to jail, he had to make sure Archie was tortured while in custody, too. This task was easy for Hiram, however, since he of course had an in with Warden Norton (RIP). Not only did Hiram get Veronica banned from the center's visitors list, but he was also a regular attendee of the strange teen boxing ring going on at the prison.

The Mayor

The CW

When Sierra McCoy was in office, she helped the Lodges buy up all of the Southside, taking donations for her efforts. And, once Sierra was no longer in the Lodge's back pocket, they simply got rid of her. Hiram and Hermione discuss exposing Sierra's affair with Sheriff Keller, but Veronica gets to the mayor first, convincing her to come clean about the relationship and step down as mayor, leaving a nice empty seat open for yet another Lodge puppet. Of course, they gain even more control when Hermione, Hiram's ultimate pawn, steps in as mayor. Now, she has the ability to do whatever is in Hiram's best interest, including calling a quarantine on the entire town.

Sunnyside Trailer Park

With Hiram's take over of the Southside comes Sunnyside Trailer Park, a home to many of the Serpents. When he bought it, and paid off all of the back rent, many of the residents celebrated, because the trailer park was very close the being shut down entirely. Jughead, however, was not as happy as the rest of the residents, knowing that something shady was going on. Of course, Jughead was right. Hiram wasn't looking out for the trailer park's residents, he needed somewhere to house the workers for his upcoming prison.

Southside High

The Lodge's bought it and shut it down, if you forgot. That's where the prison will be held eventually, as well as where Fizzle Rocks is currently being produced in excess.

The Riverdale Register

What better way to control the news cycle than by purchasing the only outlet for news in town? Hiram's purchase of the Riverdale Register raised some red flags, especially among the Coopers.

Shankshaw Prison

The CW

Though he wasn't jailed there during his stint in prison, Hiram made some mysterious visits to the Shankshaw, and received mail from the warden. We learn of this information from the Lodge's ex-butler, Smithers, though it doesn't seem to be too relevant to Hiram's current master schemes.

Pop Tate's...and later The White Wyrm



The CW

Hiram bought the diner in season two after the Retro Night fundraiser. Of course, Daddy later makes a deal with his daughter and trades Pop's for the White Wyrm.

The Sheriff

When Keller is kicked out of his job thanks to Cheryl Blossom's op-ed, Hiram gets his good friend Michael Minetta to take the role. This comfortably places the Riverdale police into Hiram's back pocket, allowing him to frame Archie for murder.

The Dark Circle

The CW

Archie's vigilante group turned mafia squad goes a little crazy when Hiram starts paying them to wreak havoc on Riverdale, including slashing tires and setting fires on the Southside. His goal in this? Prove that Fred Andrews can't control his son (and by extension, his son's now rogue gang of pals), and therefore, isn't fit to be mayor. It proves that Hiram can manipulate any situation to play out the way he desires.

Carolyn Twersky is the Editorial Fellow at Seventeen.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram!

Carolyn Twersky Assistant Editor Carolyn Twersky is an assistant editor for Seventeen covering celebrities, entertainment, politics, fashion, beauty, and health.

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