'Riverdale' Season 5: Who is Chad Gekko? Veronica Lodge's 'neurotic' husband 'works on Wall Street'
Spoilers for 'Riverdale' Season 5
Fans of the murder capital of the world have been waiting on 'Riverdale' Season 5 a while and while we are anticipating its return early next year, all we can do is wonder where the gang's heading on this maddening narrative. Relationships, although quite dramatic, are a huge part of the series' narrative with the main four of the gang right at the center of it.
While the last season saw Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart) and Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) cheat on their significant others with their steamy kiss, they haven't told Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) or Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) yet. We also know that Season 4 was cut short due to the delay in production because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and so, it has been reported that Season 5 will begin with the episodes that were meant to be at the end of Season 4.
This further means that we are expecting a huge fallout from the #Barchie kiss. That aside, though, it has also been confirmed that the upcoming season will feature a seven-year time jump, meaning the gang is no more in high school and definitely done with college. Interestingly enough, a casting call for a character named Chad Gekko was made by the series.
The call reads, "Male, 20s. White. Chad is Veronica’s controlling and neurotic husband who works on Wall Street. Though charming, his failed Ponzi scheme and shady deals with Hiram reveal his moral duplicity, putting Chad’s life in danger. RECURRING GUEST STAR." So, well there is it, Veronica doesn't end up with Archie, but who exactly is this neurotic husband — his name is familiar in Archieverse.
By that we mean, if you've watched 'Katy Keene', the 'Riverdale' spinoff, you might remember Gekko.
Chad Gekko appeared in two episodes of 'Katy Keene' as Pepper Smith's (Julia Chan) client, and also someone who had invested in Smith's Pepper Plant. He appeared in 'Chapter Two: You Can't Hurry Love' and 'Chapter Eight: It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)'. Gekko was played by actor Reid Prebenda in 'Katy Keene', but since there's a casting call for the character in 'Riverdale,' we're sure another actor will deliver the role.
Reading the casting call, it doesn't look like Veronica and Chad have a happy relationship, but this doesn't come as a surprise to us considering the character's traits in 'Katy Keene.' While we don't know exactly how Gekko will be portrayed in 'Riverdale,' based on his portrayal in 'Katy Keene', we'd say neurotic would be the right word to describe him.
When Pepper first meets Chad, we see him offer her coke, which she promptly denies as they discuss the idea of the Pepper Plant. Asking him to provide her with 8 million, she leaves Chad who tells her she first needs to find a spot where the business can start. Later, Pepper met Chad after he was released from a Baltimore prison, explaining that he's better now.
After an interesting party, it turned out that Chad was all in when it came to investing in the Pepper's future dream of the Pepper Plant. So, that's where we know Gekko from, and from fans of Archieverse, who we're sure didn't miss this detail, it's exciting to see minor characters become slight major ones. Although, #Varchie fans may be disappointed, we have to say that it would be interesting to see Veronica as an adult and in a marriage.
She didn't have many idols when it came to happy marriages — we all know that Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) and Hermonie Lodge (Marisol Nichols) kept their marriage afloat, through threats and transactions. Unfortunately, for Heiress Veronica it seems, she too has to suffer a bit when it comes to her married life, but we're waiting to see how Chad's dealings with Hiram play out.
Catch 'Riverdale' Season 5 on January 20, 2021, on The CW.