“ | This pathetic attempt to entrap me is beneath you, Betty. And if you did catch me, then what? Would you lay down your sword, move into a house with a white picket fence and a red door with your handsome, all-American boyfriend in this sleepy, quiet town. Do you think that's how this ends? [...] No, Betty. It ends with you and me and a kiss in the dark. | ” |
The Trash Bag Killer was a recurring character on The CW's Riverdale. He was portrayed by Doug Chapman.
Also known as TBK, he is a migrating serial killer who Betty encountered while working as a trainee for the FBI. She infiltrated his lair in an attempt to rescue one of his victims, but she was too late and was held captive for two weeks, during which point, TBK became infatuated with Betty and under the impression that they were soulmates. Determined to expose her true serial killer nature, TBK took a personal interest in Betty and stalked her relentlessly until he was gunned down in the garage of her childhood home.
Quick Answers
Who portrays the Trash Bag Killer in Riverdale?
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Why did the Trash Bag Killer become infatuated with Betty?
Throughout Riverdale[]
Season 5[]
Dreams of TBK[]

TBK attacks Betty in her dreams
After evading capture from the FBI, TBK went off the radar, though Betty, who he previously captured, continued to follow his trail. Betty reveals to Glen that there were a set of multiple murders in Odessa, Texas that simply stopped without explanation. Two months later, in North Dakota, there was a similar string of killings, and just like before, the killings stopped for no reason. Betty suspects that they have a migrating serial killer. However, Glen tells her to stop and reminds Betty that she’s on desk duty and is supposed to be logging cold cases. That night, Betty wakes up from her sleep in search of her cat. She follows the sounds of her cat meowing into the hallway, where she finds bloody limbs wrapped in trash bags scattered along the floor. She then turns around and sees the killer charging towards her with a chainsaw. This scares Betty awake, where she finds herself on the couch, having fell asleep in front of the TV.[1]
The Trash Bag Killer appears in another one of Betty's dreams. This time, he is hovering over her above her headboard.[2]
Re-emerging[]
Betty calls in a favor to Glen in hopes that she’ll be able to freely investigate Swedlow Swamp without interference from Hiram Lodge, but Glen warns Betty to allow the locals to handle it. He then reveals that the Trash Bag Killer has re-emerged in Tulsa. They have two victims so far. Betty tells Glen to focus on TBK and that she’ll handle everything else herself.[3]

TBK sneaks up on Betty
Betty enters her room to find Polly sitting on her bed, bloody and bruised. She warns Betty that the Trash Bag Killer will find her moments before he sneaks up behind Betty and slices her throat. Betty awakens terrified, realizing that it was only a nightmare. Afraid to sleep alone, she calls Archie over for comfort.[4]
While torturing the alleged Highway Killer for answers, Betty has a flashback of her time with the Trash Bag Killer. While trapped in a hole, Betty pleaded with TBK to simply kill her, but he had other plans in mind. He threatened to start carving pieces off of her. He'd cut her feet off and cauterize the wounds. And then he'd cut her legs at the knees and do the same with those wounds, and simply continue upwards.[5]
While being choked by a Starkweather dressed as a "Mothman," Betty briefly sees her assailant as the Trash Bag Killer before Toni rescues her.[6]
Betty gets a call at the FBI field office from the Trash Bag Killer. He tells her not to bother with a trace, referring to her as "Pretty Betty." He called simply to congratulate her on graduation and to tell her that he has no plans to come calling on her and hopes that she extends him the same courtesy, but Betty can't make that promise.[7]
Season 6[]
Attacking Glen[]

Glen is attacked in his car
On his way out of Riverdale, Glen stops at Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe for a bit to eat. Returning to the car with the dinner in hand, Glen discovers that TBK is hiding in the back seat after he adjusts the rearview mirror and sees the mask of the serial killer, who knows what he has done to Betty. Enraged, TBK attacks Glen by placing a garbage bag over his head and suffocating him.[8]
Abducting Archie[]

TBK visits Betty
After attacking Glen at Pop's, TBK begins to slowly chop him up, piece by piece, whilst also infiltrating Betty's life by posing as a man named Dennis on Archie's construction crew to help rebuild his house. After first mailing Betty Glen's foot, TBK decides to make an in-person appearance, sneaking into the field office with Glen's access card and handcuffing Betty to the couch whilst she sleeps, before waking her up as he caresses her face and calls her "Pretty Betty." Glen's still alive, at least for the time being, TBK reveals, while also holding Glen's left hand as a trophy. He came to Riverdale after reading that Betty was nearly killed in an explosion. Betty's phone begins rings, it's Archie, who TBK threatens to go after next. Betty encourages him to and also threatens to take on TBK herself.

TBK goes after Archie
After eavesdropping on them and learning that Archie and Betty have developed powers and that Archie's kryptonite is palladium, TBK approaches him as Dennis, hands Archie another piece of palladium, and hits him over the head with a large wrench. By the time Archie awakens, he is restrained in the attic. When Alice unexpectedly arrives with Bingo, TBK orders him to get rid of her unless he wants to see Alice die too. Archie claims that he's just cleaning and that he'll come by later. Alice leaves Bingo at the house and exits. After she does, Bingo rushes upstairs at Archie's command and attacks TBK, knocking him through the boarded up window and on to the ground below. However, TBK manages to escape before Archie can get free.[9]
Two weeks in the well[]

TBK makes Betty a proposition
Flashback to the two weeks Betty spent as TBK's prisoner. He kept her trapped in a well until reaching a crossroads. He tells Betty how it is up to her to decide how their story ends. He senses they are kindred spirits and pulls Betty up from the well, where he then gives her a choice to either dismember his latest victim's body or become his next victim. With the saw in hand and classical music playing in the background, Betty dismembers the body at TBK's behest. He then simply lets her go, telling Betty that they are the same and that the world will be more interesting with her in it, as this act proved they are bonded forever.[10]
Killed at Slaughter-Con[]

TBK has prepared a dinner for Betty
TBK returns to Riverdale after learning that Betty has planned a serial killer convention, with himself and her set as the centerpieces of the event. After watching her tackle an innocent man on stage during day one of the convention, TBK calls in to speak with Betty during day two. He accuses Betty of wearing a human mask and claims to have seen her true face underneath when she dismembered the body at his behest. If she were to catch him, he asks what she would do next, perhaps live a normal, white picket fence life with Archie, he remarks sarcastically, as he personally believes that their story ends with the two of them sharing a kiss in the dark. And so, on the third and final day, while Betty is at the convention, TBK breaks into her house, kills an agent, and restrains Alice and Charles in the dinning room whilst he waits for Betty's return in the garage, where he has planned an entire dinner for the two of them. Betty commands him to take off his mask. Instead, he instructs Betty to put her mask on, which he constructed himself to resemble his own. TBK gives Betty two options: either she kills him with her father's gun, or she puts on the mask and they kill her mother and brother together. Betty resists the urge to put the mask on and kills TBK instead.[11]
Physical Appearance[]
TBK's identity was concealed behind a green trash bag with eyeholes poked in the front. In fact, most of the time, his entire body was wrapped in trash bags and duct-tape, though when he posed as a worked named Dennis, Betty discovered that he was an older white man with light-colored hair and blue eyes.
Personality[]
TBK was a ruthless serial killer who liked to torture his victims by killing them in the places he used as hideouts while traveling across the country. Despite his homicidal nature, he seemed to have a certain affection and interest in Betty, whom he affectionately called "Pretty Betty." When he somehow finds out that Glen has sexually harassed Betty, TBK attacks him, showing once again that he seems to care about Betty.
Victims[]
- Theresa Tran - Murdered by TBK in his lair.
- Betty Cooper - Captured by TBK for two weeks. (survived)
- Glen Scot - Attacked by TBK in his car outside of Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe and dismembered.
- Archie Andrews - Captured and tied up by TBK in the attic of the Andrews house. (survived)
- Alice Smith - Captured and tied up by TBK in the dining room of the Cooper house. (survived)
- Charles Smith - Captured and tied up by TBK in the dining room of the Cooper house. (survived)
- Unnamed FBI Agent - Murdered by TBK in the Cooper house.
Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- The Trash Bag Killer is not a character from the Archie Comics. He's an original character, created specifically for the series.
- The character is based on the real life serial killer, Patrick Kearney, who was convicted in 1978 as California's "Trash Bag Murderer" after committing over 21 murders and leaving some of the remains in trash bags along California's Interstate freeways.
- The abbreviation TBK is a reference to Dennis Rader, the "BTK Strangler".
- The kidnapping scene of Betty imprisoned in the well is a direct reference to 1988 novel by Thomas Harris, The Silence of the Lambs and killer Buffalo Bill.
Gallery[]
- See also: Category:Images of Trash Bag Killer
References[]
- ↑ Aguirre-Sacasa, Roberto (writer) & Andelson, Steven A. (director) (February 10, 2021). "Chapter Eighty: Purgatorio". Riverdale. Season 5. Episode 4. The CW.
- ↑ Grassi, Michael (writer) & Andelson, Steven A. (director) (February 17, 2021). "Chapter Eighty-One: The Homecoming". Riverdale. Season 5. Episode 5. The CW.
- ↑ Sullivan, Ted (writer) & Correa, Gabriel (director) (March 10, 2021)."Chapter Eighty-Three: Fire in the Sky". Riverdale. Season 5. Episode 7. The CW.
- ↑ Anderson, Arabella (writer) & Talalay, Rachel (director) (March 17, 2021). "Chapter Eighty-Four: Lock & Key". Riverdale. Season 5. Episode 8. The CW.
- ↑ DeWille, James (writer) & Amick, MädchenM (director) (September 1, 2021). "Chapter Ninety: The Night Gallery". Riverdale. Season 5. Episode 14. The CW.
- ↑ Turner, Devon (writer) & Boltt, Nathalie (director) (September 22, 2021). "Chapter Ninety-Three: Dance of Death". Riverdale. Season 5. Episode 17. The CW.
- ↑ Aguirre-Sacasa, Roberto & Murray, Greg (writers) & Correa, Ronald Gabriel (director) (October 6, 2021). "Chapter Ninety-Five: Riverdale: RIP(?)". Riverdale. Season 5. Episode 19. The CW.
- ↑ DeWille, James (writer) & DeWille, James (director) (March 20, 2022). "Chapter One Hundred and One: Unbelievable". Riverdale. Season 6. Episode 6. The CW.
- ↑ Sullivan, Ted (writer) & Dafoe, Tara (director) (March 27, 2022). "Chapter One Hundred and Two: Death at a Funeral". Riverdale. Season 6. Episode 7. The CW.
- ↑ Maroon, Chrissy (writer) & Woolnough, Jeff (director) (May 1, 2022). "Chapter One Hundred and Seven: In the Fog". Riverdale. Season 6. Episode 12. The CW.
- ↑ Leigh Williams, Tessa & Murray, Greg (writers) & Correa, Gabriel (director) (June 12, 2022). "Chapter One Hundred and Twelve: American Psychos". Riverdale. Season 6. Episode 17. The CW.