‘Riverdale’: Fans Learn Hiram Lodge’s Origin Story and Endgame
For years, Hiram Lodge has terrorized Riverdale residents without any boundaries. Not even teenagers are off limits. He’s murdered, maimed, and destroyed in the name of greed, and only took a small break when he fell ill (though the validity of his illness is debatable).
Fans watched him and Veronica go toe-to-toe with their odd, Oedipus-like dynamic, and he has no qualms about going after Archie Andrews multiple times. But after five seasons of his nonsense, viewers finally learned his endgame.
[Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for Riverdale Season 5 Episode 12]
‘Riverdale’ villain Hiram Lodge changed his original name
Once upon a time, Hiram Lodge was named Jaime Luna, and he had a father who was similar to Fred Andrews. His dad, Javier Luna, was a hardworking shoe shiner who tried to steer his son away from trouble. That trouble? A local gangster named Vito Alto.
But Jaime resented his father and looked down on him for his job and lack of wealth. “Being your son is embarrassing,” he says. What prompted him to behave this way? Hermione crushed his spirit when she told him her mother wouldn’t let her date the son of a lowly shoeshine man. Jaime wanted riches and a way to woo this girl, so he sought work with Vito.
He also changed his name to Hiram, with young Hermione talking him out of switching his last name to Lot. She suggested Lodge, and the rest is history. However, viewers also saw Hiram hit Reggie’s dad for disrespecting him, and he forced him to call him by his new name. In that same encounter, it showed a glimpse of his temper.
But things escalated after Javier warned Vito to stay away from his son and threatened to tell the cops of his dirty dealings. Vito had Javier murdered, and Hiram avenged his father by killing three of Vito’s henchmen when he wasn’t around. Supposedly, Vito skipped town and Hiram crowned himself as the Riverdale region’s new gangster in charge.
And young Hermione justifies the gangster life to young Penelope. The two teenagers make it through high school, marry, and welcome Veronica into the world. It’s unclear when Hiram had his other daughter, Hermosa.
Hiram Lodge wants to realize his father’s palladium dreams
When one of Javier’s customers failed to pay him cash, he offered up a piece of palladium as payment instead. He then told him a story about Riverdale’s vast stores of it and its value. It piqued Javier’s interest. Now, the whole palladium mining scheme makes sense.
Hiram tells Reggie he’s going to fulfill his father’s dream, but there wasn’t a lot of palladium under the prison. It’s in Thorn Hill! His plan is to gain control of the Blossom family’s grounds to dig for the mineral like it’s the California Gold Rush. Hiram explained that it’s the only reason he’s been tearing through Riverdale all these years is to complete his mission.
Hiram wants his family back too
Though palladium is priority number one, Hiram also wants to win back Hermione. As he sat back with his ice cream and watched her on TV, he thought he found an opening when she asked Ronnie about him. And he wants Veronica back in the fold too.
But will they be game to accept him after all the murder and bullying he’s done? Fans will learn more about Hiram’s future in Riverdale Season 5, and possibly in season 6. Tune in each Wednesday at 8 p.m.
