Is [SPOILER] the Father of Toni’s Baby in ‘Riverdale’?

We left Riverdale in "Purgatorio," the title of the most recent episode, in which Archie (KJ Apa) returns to Riverdale after seven years in the army. One surprise, however, is that Toni (Vanessa Morgan), the new Queen of the Serpents, is pregnant, and we don’t know who the father of Toni’s baby is. Even when Archie asks, Toni says that it’s a secret as to who the father is.

Toni Topaz was introduced to Riverdale in Season 2, when she formed a close friendship with Jughead (Cole Sprouse). She stuck with the main cast of characters, and this past summer, Vanessa announced her IRL pregnancy. Because of this, the Riverdale team wrote her pregnancy into Toni’s storyline. Since we know Toni is pregnant, now there’s an added layer of mystery as to who the father of her baby is.

Although we haven’t yet found out who the father of Toni’s baby is, the showrunner has promised that we will. According to The Wrap, Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa guaranteed, “There definitely will be an answer to that question [of who the father of Toni’s baby is], but we’ve got a few more episodes before that happens. But it is a big announcement when it happens, I will tell you that. It is a very big announcement when it happens.”

From what Roberto has said, it’s unlikely we’ll find out who the father of Toni’s baby is in the Feb. 17 episode. However, we will see the return of Cheryl Blossom, Toni’s high school romance. In Riverdale’s next episode, “Homecoming,” according to IMDb, “Cheryl and Polly decide to attend the Homecoming in Jason's honor, until a revelation waylays their plans; Alice turns to Archie and Veronica for help.”

With very little centering around Toni in the new episode of Riverdale, it’s unlikely such a big Toni bomb will be dropped, especially since the showrunner hinted that the answer to who the father of Toni’s baby is remains a few episodes away.

One Tumblr user, Alex Zalben, has a few theories as to who the father of Toni’s baby is. The most popular theory, also proposed by Elite Daily, is that Toni is actually a surrogate mother for Kevin (Casey Cott) and Fangs (Drew Ray Tanner). Kevin and Fangs are the only couple who seem to have stayed together through the seven year time jump in Riverdale. Plus, Toni’s only romantic relationship so far has been with Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch), so this theory makes a lot of sense.

Another popular theory is that Sweet Pea (Jordan Connor) is the father of Toni’s baby. Sweet Pea and Toni are super tight, and he’s the only other character we already know who's stayed in Riverdale.

However, there are some more implausible scenarios that Alex suggests, like that the baby could be Jason Blossom’s (Trevor Stines) frozen sperm or Veronica’s (Camila Mendes) embryo that Chad (Chris Mason) stole from her after her car accident. While these are highly unlikely, they do have the heightened drama factor that makes Riverdale so entertaining. 

It is possible that the father is someone we haven’t yet met, and that Toni hooked up with someone random after possibly getting spurned by Cheryl. However, based on what showrunner Roberto said, it’s unlikely that a random new guy would be a “very big announcement.” So let’s just cross our fingers we find out who the father of Toni’s baby is sooner rather than later!

Riverdale airs Wednesdays on the CW at 8 p.m. ET.