It's been FAR too long since Riverdale has been back in our lives but alas, we are so close to this hiatus being over and with new episodes that mean new characters are coming too. That's right, we finally met Betty and Polly Cooper's long lost older brother, Charles Smith aka Chic. AND WE ARE PUMPED.
So here's what we know: Betty's mom Alice was pregnant before she had Polly and Betty and when she told her now-husband Hal, he made it clear he didn't want her to have the baby since he felt at that time they were too young to be parents. She went to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy — yes, the same place she sent Polly away to have her twin babies we're still waiting to be born — where she gave birth and the baby boy was adopted. Or so we thought, since it was revealed that he was never actually adopted like the Cooper's thought. Alice never told her daughters about their oldest brother until now that is and Betty took it upon herself to get in touch with Jughead's social worker to help her locate her brother. She found the sketchy motel he lives in and together, Betty and her mom went to meet Charles, who goes by Chic, much to Hal's disapproval. Alice finally got to meet her son she seemingly never really wanted to lose in the first place.
And well, Chic wasn't happy to see the Cooper girls in his room. He said that when he turned 18 years old and the Sisters kicked him out, they gave him his family's information. The most heartbreaking moment came when he told Betty and Alice he's been to their house before, stood outside but he didn't come in since it didn't look like the family would care to meet him. And Alice calls him Charles and he yells it's Chic but she wouldn't know that since she doesn't know him. BRB, CRYING. Chic ends up at the Cooper house after Betty saves him during a fight, but then he gets all creepy and stars at Betty as she sleeps. Weird. But as Hart explained in an interview with TV Guide, we still have so much to learn about Chic and why he is the way he is essential.
"This is the thing with Chic: It's a character that's coming to Riverdale that's got a lot of layers. It's not black or white. It's not good or bad. It's somebody that has had such a difficult upbringing who has had to learn how to make his way in the world on his own. It's not normal, per se. His actions don't come from a place of understanding from anyone else on the show," Hart said. "I think with Chic having to make his own way in the world he has had to learn to do whatever it takes to survive. He didn't have anyone helping him or giving him money or showing him the way. He kind of had to learn to scrap a bit and that leads to him diving into this world of 'fantasy fulfillment.' You have someone who has a wonderful heart and is a charismatic, sweet person, but then you apply the rough upbringing and that makes for sort of a beautiful disaster. You've got somebody who at their core might not be who they are now."
Well when you put it that way, that actually makes perfect sense as to why Chic might seem a bit off to us right now. He's getting thrown into a whole new world, a family he never had when he grew up alone. As for his relationship with Betty, it seems like they really are trying to become brother and sister and Hart explained it's going to be an interesting and intense journey.
"They embark on an amazing relationship. It's got a lot of different elements to it. Chic has a crazy upbringing and Betty has her battles that she fights with herself. I think she's really going to enjoy seeing that relationship unfold a bit. They both need each other in a very different way. It's very interesting to see how one helps the other," he said.
So while we're getting to know Chic on the show finally, we obvi need to get to know the actor who's playing the character we were all so anxious to meet, Hart Denton. If you follow any of the cast on socail media, then you know he has been on-set quite a bit obviously filming a ton and bonding with his castmates. Just look at this pic of Mama Cooper and all her kids:
They seriously could be related IRL, it’s wild. And what about Hart? He’s a newcomer, like most of his co-stars, having appeared on the series [_Lethal Weapon_](http://tvline.com/2017/10/06/riverdale-season-2-hart-denton-chic-betty-brother/) and in the movie _Fun Mom Dinner_ before landing this role on _Riverdale_. The 24-year-old is also a model and musician, so a many of many talents. His Instagram account has been filled lately with photos he’s taken of his co-stars, so yes, he’s been welcomed with open arms.
And he even seems to be working on music possibly with [KJ Apa](https://www.j-14.com/tags/kj-apa-36460), based on this photo Hart posted and that subtle tagging of his co-star. Or he could be giving the New Zealand cutie a photo cred but hey, a musical collab is something we can all hope for, truly.
Plus, he just joined Twitter, so now Hart can live-tweet like the cast usually does when new episodes are airing. Precious.
well look who it is
— Hart Denton (@hartdenton) January 18, 2018
Oh and if you case you were wondering, this cutie seems to be off the market though, ladies. He has tons of photos of himself and model Sunny Soofiani, but the last they posted of each other was in April when they attended Coachella together and since then, there haven't been any new photos.
So maybe they broke up? Or they just kind of cooled off a bit with sharing pictures? Well, we’re going with the whole they just don’t post as much option here since if you look at Sunny’s IG feed, Hart is always liking her photos and leaving super cute comments on them, hearts and all. We’re going to say they’re still as happy as ever, just being a bit more private. As for how Chic's love life is going to play out on the show, well we'll just have to wait and see since there's still not much info out there about what he's been up to all these years away from the family he never knew about. That's something we'll be uncovering week by week in the second half of Season 2. And tbh, we're not ruling out the fact that he may be the real Black Hood if we're being honest here…
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