Who is Mad Dog in Riverdale and who plays him?

18 October 2018, 11:14 | Updated: 28 March 2019, 19:20

Katie Louise Smith

By Katie Louise Smith

Mad Dog, played by Canadian actor Eli Goree, was introduced in episode two as Archie's cell mate, but who is he? What's his backstory? And who is he played by?

This is a public service announcement: can Riverdale PLEASE take their foot off our necks for a minute? The already iconic Season 3 returned for a second shocking episode last night (Oct 17) and opened up a whole bunch of new mysteries, terrifying storylines and one really horrific death right in the final moments that I'm actually still trying to process.

When Is The Next Episode Of Riverdale Season 3 On?

While parts of the episode followed Betty and Jughead as they explored the death of [SPOILER] Dilton Doiley at the hands of the weird and sinister 'Griffins and Gargoyles' game (what's good, Gargoyle King?), the majority of the episode explored Archie's new life in prison, gave us one of the finest Rivervixens performances ever and introduced us to some brand new characters - including everyone's new crush, Mad Dog.

But who is Mad Dog? Why was he in prison anyway? Who plays him? And WHY DID THEY HAVE TO KILL HIM OFF SO SOON?!

Mad Dog Eli Goree Riverdale
Eli Goree as Mad Dog in Riverdale season 3, episode 2, 'Fortune And Men's Eyes'. Picture: The CW

Who is Mad Dog?

Mad Dog is Archie's cell mate in Leopold and Loeb detention centre. He's neither a Ghoulie, nor is he a Serpent and somehow manages to stay safe and out of trouble. While it's not ever said why he's in jail, it's clear that Mad Dog gets special privileges and treatment from the warden (sounds a liiiiiitle bit sus, doesn't it?) Two years ago, all visitation rights for Mad Dog's family and girlfriend were revoked, but it's never explained why.

Who plays Mad Dog on Riverdale?

Mad Dog is played by the talented (and ridiculously ripped) Eli Goree. He's a Canadian actor who you'll probably have spotted in a few of your favourite TV shows before his appearance as Mad Dog on Riverdale. Eli played Wells Jaha in The 100, and also made appearances on Supernatural, Legends of Tomorrow and more recently, Netflix's GLOW as Tammé's son, Ernest.

How did Mad Dog die?

According to one of the guards, Mad Dog died during the riot. The last time we saw him was when he left the cell after being summoned by the warden but given the fact that Mad Dog was never actually part of the riot (and the fact that we haven't seen a dead body), people are wondering if he's actually even dead at all.

At the end of the episode, the warden tells Archie that he is the new 'Mad Dog'. But, my friends, telling Archie that Mad Dog was dead could have been a scare tactic, given that our new boyfriend MD already told Archie that he was about to be transferred to a larger prison. Whatever happened to him, doesn't bode well for ol' Archiekins, who is now apparently the warden's bitch.

Either way, fans almost instantly loved Mad Dog and now everyone is pressed that we only go to spend a tragic 10 minutes (if that!) with our new prison bae.


Will we ever find out what happened to our new beloved Mad Dog? Will we ever see those astonishing abs again? Or that smile? Who knows... but seeing as this is Riverdale after all, he'll probably pop up in 15 episodes time, out of the blue, for no reason, only to be killed off in some far flung petty scheme set up by Hiram Lodge to get back at Archie. CAN'T WAIT!