Riverdale season 5 finale spoilers: Is Hiram Lodge gone for good?

Hiram Lodge has been Riverdale‘s Big Bad for seasons. The kingpin has been a thorn in the side of the town’s residents since he moved to sunny, improbably crime-ridden and murder plagued Riverdale. Though none have borne the brunt of his misdeads quite like his own daughter, Veronica, has.

Riverdale season 5 was no different for the dysfunctional pair as they sniped, manipulated, and plotted against one another the whole way through. However, the seven year time jump did provide V with enough life experience to eventually stand on her own two feet without a backslide into her father’s shadow.

The season finale, “Chapter Ninety-Five: RIVERDALE RIP (?),” brought things to a place no one could have expected as Hiram and Veronica have been doing this tiring dance for years. However, given her father’s fate in the episode, it looks like that dance is finally coming to a close.

Here’s what we know about Hiram Lodge’s departure on Riverdale.

Has Hiram Lodge left Riverdale for good?

While Hiram didn’t go out in a blaze of glory like one would expect from a kingpin, he was led out of Riverdale by gun point. In fact, it was a lot of guns courtesy of Archie and the gang.

Originally, it seemed like Veronica and Archie were planning to kill Hiram after he paid a Ghoulie to torch Pop’s and it was revealed he’d been paying the Ghoulies to set fires all over town. But, they put away their vaguely murderous scheming when Reggie rolled up with irrefutable proof that Hiram is a murderer.

The footage Reggie provided was of Hiram killing the mobster who murdered his father, and Veronica used it as leverage to push her dad out of Riverdale. Of course, you can never really keep a baddie too far down and before his departure, Hiram left a little surprise under Archie’s bed as a farewell.

It was a bomb that we won’t see Betty and Archie somehow deal with until season 6. However, that doesn’t mean we’ll also be seeing Hiram show up again in the aftermath, at least not as a series regular.

When the season finale concluded, Deadline announced Mark Consuelos’ departure from the show as Hiram Lodge. They released the following statement from showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa:

"So tonight’s episode is Mark’s swan song playing our hunky villain Hiram Lodge on Riverdale after four insane, glorious years. From the moment Mark joined us, he was up for literally anything, a hundred percent committed to making Archie’s life a living hell. And what’s funny is, Mark couldn’t be more different from Hiram. A classy pro and the sweetest guy, always looking out for everyone. We wish Mark the best and hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Hiram Lodge."

As well as Consuelo’s own statement:

"First and foremost, I would like to thank Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa for this incredible opportunity. Never before has playing a character that was so bad, felt so good. Huge thanks to the Riverdale fandom, to the brilliant crew and amazing cast, whom I consider dear friends and family."

So Hiram’s parting gift may not be the last we see of the kingpin, but he won’t be causing any more trouble in Riverdale…at least not for awhile.

New episodes of Riverdale season 5 are available to stream next day on The CW app.