| “ | Didn't you hear? I came to town to help Fangs escape, stuck around, got hauled in during riot night. | ” |
Joaquin DeSantos was a recurring character on The CW's Riverdale. He was portrayed by Rob Raco.
Joaquin was a member of the Southside Serpents who found himself tied between a romantic relationship with the Sheriff's son and the mystery of Jason Blossom's murder. During this time, he briefly dated Kevin until leaving town before law enforcement could catch up to him for his involvement in Jason's murder. He later returned to Riverdale after getting a call from FP that Fangs, a fellow Serpent, had gotten himself wrapped up in the murder investigation of Midge Klump, which ultimately resulted in Joaquin being imprisoned at Leopold and Loeb Juvenile Detention Center, from where he would later escape, only to be murdered by Tall Boy.
Early Life[]
Joaquin resided on the Southside of town with his younger brother, Ricky. At some point, he presumably completed the Serpents Initiation, later joining the Southside Serpents.
Throughout Riverdale[]
Physical Appearance[]
Joaquin had a slim build, with tan skin, medium-length black hair, and very light blue eyes. At first glance, he came off as grungy and dangerous, and the fact that he was affiliated with the Southside Serpents didn't help. He wore clothing similar to many of the Serpents and had a snake tattoo on his right wrist.
Personality[]
While he could be intimidating at times, he did not appear to be as ruthless and savage as his fellow gang members, as he had a conscience, evident when he revealed to FP that he felt bad for stringing Kevin along into thinking they had a genuine relationship. Joaquin eventually began to developed true feelings for Kevin, as he professed he was going to miss Kevin just before he boarded a bus to San Junipero before things got messy in Riverdale. Joaquin was also fairly calm and relaxed, even under the most dangerous of situations, like leading Kevin, Archie and Moose into a Serpent inhabited bar.
Relationships[]
Kevin Keller[]
- Main article: Kevin and Joaquin
Despite the fact that both Joaquin and Kevin lived in Riverdale, the two of them had never crossed paths before the night of the final showing at the Twilight Drive-In, where they hooked up and exchanged numbers in a back alley. From there, their relationship evolved from being casual hook-ups to having genuine feelings for one another. However, unbeknownst to Kevin, Joaquin's initial reasoning for initiating the relationship was to gather information on the Jason Blossom murder case. As the two of them continued to see each other, Joaquin began to show remorse for his deceitful ways. Following the revelation that Joaquin had a hand in the disposal of Jason's body, he opted to leave town before the heat came down on him, as it did FP Jones, thus bringing an end to his relationship with Kevin.
FP Jones[]
Joaquin and FP are connected via the Southside Serpents. On July 11th, Joaquin received a call in the middle of the night from FP, who needed his assistance with a cleanup job at the Whyte Wyrm. It was in the basement that he saw Jason Blossom's body laying on the ground with a bullet hole in his head. He then helped FP dispose of the body and clean up the mess. He and FP kept quiet about their involvement in the murder, while also keeping a close eye on the case via Kevin Keller, who Joaquin forged a relationship with. In case things ever got bad, the two of them created a contingency plan, which consisted of a USB hidden in Jason Blossom's Varsity jacket. However, when FP was arrested, Joaquin got a call from FP, telling him to forget the plan as it was too dangerous.
Appearances[]
Season 1[] |
Season 2[]
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Season 3[]
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Season 6[]
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Trivia[]
- Joaquin is not a character from the Archie Comics. He's an original character, created specifically for the series.
- Joaquin's last name was hinted to start with a "D" by the actor, Rob Raco, on Twitter and was finally confirmed to be "DeSantos" in Chapter Twelve by Archie's mother.
- The bus Joaquin took in Chapter Twelve is to San Junipero, which is a reference to the namesake episode of the British anthology series Black Mirror.
Gallery[]
- See also: Category:Images of Joaquin DeSantos
