Kanika Kumar
‘Riverdale’ season 6 introduces to us a host of new characters who all have one thing in common — a connection to the magical, paranormal, and witchy side of the world. With its 5-episode ‘Rivervale’ event, the teen series ushers our favorite characters into a darkly supernatural world where ghosts are summoned freely and pagan rituals gain significance again.
In the third episode of the season, we come across the Devil, going by the name Lou Cypher, who meets his match only when Raphael arrives. Hamza Fouad, recognizable from ‘Helstrom‘ and ‘Arrow,’ essays the role of the mysterious Raphael. If you’re curious about who Raphael is and why he’s in Rivervale, you’ve come to the right place!
Who is Raphael in Riverdale?
‘Riverdale’ season 6 episode 3 introduces us to the character of Lou Cypher, who is the Devil in disguise. Lou comes to Rivervale to collect lost souls and sow the seeds of destruction. Immediately upon arrival, he targets Pop Tate, Jughead, Reggie, Veronica, Betty, and Kevin. Eventually, Kevin and Jughead end up selling their soul for artistic success and fame whilst Veronica and Reggie get stuck in a loop of backstabbing and double-crossing. Although Betty resists the Devil’s influence, she ultimately gives in to her dark side as well.
However, throughout the episode, Pop and Tabitha try their best to combat Lou’s evil plans and search for a way out of the mess. After Pop has a heart attack upon seeing Lou, Tabitha takes care of him in the hospital. Lou arrives there, introduces himself, and informs Tabitha that Pop’s father sold his soul to the Devil in order to make sure that his diner would prosper for generations to come.
Thus, the Devil now demands either Pop’s soul or his diner. Pop is unwilling to give up the diner because it is the soul of Rivervale and offers free food and a place of comfort to those in need. On the other hand, Tabitha understandably does not want her kind-hearted grandfather to submit his soul to the evilest entity in the world.
As Tabitha and Pop Tate struggle with their harrowing predicament, help arrives in the form of divine intervention. A well-dressed man at Pop’s watches Tabitha give a poor man a bowl of free soup. He lets her know that he is an admirer of her grandfather and his kindness. As the air around him shimmers, he introduces himself as Raphael and asks Tabitha to get ready for the upcoming battle between good and evil. He then hands her a vial full of a mysterious white substance.
Tabitha and Pop decide to do the deal with Lou in order to make use of the vial’s contents. Lou, unaware of their plan, buys the diner and informs them that the bulldozers will raze the place down the next morning. Tabitha offers all of them one last round of milkshakes, and Lou agrees. However, after he takes a sip of his shake, Lou immediately starts bleeding from the mouth. Tabitha reveals that she spiked his shake with the tears that the Virgin Mary shed at the Crucifixion. Since Tabitha and Pop drink the tears as well, they are protected from the Devil’s dark powers. They kick Lou out of the diner and ask him to leave Rivervale.
Thus, Raphael, an archangel from the Old Testament’s Book of Tobit, decides to help the kindest of all the residents in Rivervale when the Devil himself begins to spread chaos and destruction. In his human form, Raphael reaches out to Tabitha and offers her a foolproof means of guaranteeing her grandfather’s soul’s safety. His divine presence indicates that a battle between good and evil is impending but also that those who are good have a chance of winning.
Read More: What Happens Between Veronica and Reggie? Whose Soul Does the Devil Finally Take?
