Riverdale season 4: Madelaine Petsch on what’s next for Cheryl Blossom

Madelaine Petsch shared some information about what to expect from Cheryl Blossom in Riverdale season 4! The new season premieres on Oct. 9.

Heading into Riverdale season 4, Cheryl Blossom and her story is one of thing fans are looking forward to seeing in the new season. How is Cheryl handling the events of the season 3 finale? How is Cheryl and Toni’s relationship? What’s with all the horror teasers?

We have a ton of questions about what’s next for Cheryl. Luckily, we got some answers!

At San Diego Comic-Con, Madelaine Petsch, who stars as Cheryl in the series, was asked about what getting back to the basics of high school meant for Cheryl, and Petsch shared a ton of new information.

“Is there really ever a basic for Cheryl? Probably not,” Petsch said. “But I think it (the season) is more about the relationships in the town. So all the friendships between Jughead, and well she’s not really friends with Jughead, but with Betty and Veronica and all those people, and Archie. She loves Archie so much.”

It’s not all going to be Pop’s milkshakes and red roses for Cheryl in season 4, though.

“I mean, there will still obviously be a thriller element, which I’m not to say yet but is something to do with the end of last season,” Petsch added.

We don’t know, specifically, what Petsch is referring to at this point, but we can make a decent guess. Remember, at the end of the last season, Cheryl decided to take Jason’s body from the farm and is now keeping it in the basement. Alex Zalben of Decider wrote an excellent piece detailing what could be going on with Cheryl in the new season.

Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has been teasing something creepy for Cheryl in the new season. Aguirre-Sacasa shared a tweet with a reference to the horror movie Hereditary, and that might freak some Cheryl fans out heading into the next season.

https://twitter.com/WriterRAS/status/1171467630986715136

There’s definitely some thriller or horror aspect of Cheryl’s story in season 4. How much, we don’t know yet.

At SDCC, Petsch also shared that mental health will be a focus of Cheryl’s storyline in season 4.

“I think mental health is going to be a large part of our story this year, especially because she’s got her mother’s dead body in her basement,” Petsch said. “And that’s obviously, I think, very heartbreaking that’s what she felt like she needed to do to cope with the loss of him and finding out of her mother is a serial killer.”

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To me, Cheryl is the most fascinating character in Riverdale, and her journey has been incredibly important to this series. She seems to be the strongest character. Everyone in Riverdale is going through a lot, but Cheryl has always been able to take everything in stride, or so it seemed.

When asked about something new fans can expect to see from Cheryl in season 4, Petsch hinted that her past and how she dealt with trauma might be catching up with her.

“I think that all of these things are still kind of bubbling underneath the surface for her,” Petsch continued. “I think focusing on her relationship (with Toni) and honesty is very important for Cheryl because she has difficulty with that with Toni. And, maybe making some friends. But be nice. I would like to see that.”

Riverdale season 4 premieres on The CW on Wednesday, Oct. 9. Netflix subscribers outside the US can watch the new episodes on Netflix the day after they air on The CW.