There’s a new villain in Riverdale, and she’s choosing leather over a blazer.

Hiram Lodge has been terrorizing Riverdale in one way or another ever since he was released from prison. Whether he’s getting Archie intro trouble, cutting deals to control the town, Gargoyle Kingin’ it up, or secretly opening a prison, he’s been a villain in almost every sense of the word.

We’ve watched as character after character have had to choose whether to cower before him or risk everything by standing up to him. We’ve witnessed his own family walking on eggshells and having to make deals with Hiram just to maintain their safety and sanity.

His level of power and control really is terrifying, but does that make him a good villain? I would argue, no. Why? Because it doesn’t appear that he has any motivation beyond getting more rich and powerful and satisfying his own ego. He’s got “Napoloen Complex” written all over him, and throws a petty tantrum whenever someone doesn’t bend to his will. He’s as pitiful as he is scary. Honestly, I’m more than over his reign of terror over Riverdale.

Enter Gladys Jones.

A new parent has come into town, and it looks like she’s already begun forging a parallel path to Hiram’s. She’s cutting deals, she’s making moves, she’s manipulating Riverdale’s inhabitants, all for an end goal that isn’t completely clear yet. She’s doing everything that Hiram’s been doing, and she’s making it a whole lot more interesting.

For so long, Gladys Jones was just an invisible figure in the Jones family on Riverdale. As the parent of a main character, she got her obligatory mention once or twice a season, at most, but we knew very little about her. We finally got to meet her in season 3 when Archie and Jughead sought refuge at her home during their time on the lamb. Even though she was still largely a mystery, we pretty much fell in love with her instantly.

We definitely didn’t fall in love because she was a sweet, lovable lady who we couldn’t help but be sympathetic toward. Nope, nothing like that. She definitely doesn’t have what I like to call the “Fred Andrews effect.” Instead, we fell in love with her because she’s exactly the kind of cool, no-nonsense mom that Serpent King Jughead needs, and the kind of badass woman that FP would fall for.

She’s not the first thing you’d think of when you picture “mom,” that’s for sure, but that’s one of the best things about her. A “mom” shouldn’t have to fit into a perfect little box. A mom is a woman who has a child, and Gladys shows a really cool side of that. She’s got a lot going on, but it’s obvious that she really cares for her children, especially Jelly Bean, and the other kids she takes into her home. When you stack her up against the other Riverdale parents, she’s far from the worst.

While there still is some mystery to her, she made it obvious, right from the start, that she wasn’t to be messed with. When Penny threatened Jughead, it looked like Gladys had a really extreme reaction and potentially killed Penny. We still don’t know if Penny is dead, but now that we’ve seen more of Gladys’ plan, it’s clear that whatever she did was more than an act of vengeance. It was a power move to prepare for her eventual return to Riverdale.

She’s cunning, she’s manipulative, and she seems to be truly fearless. All while actually having a heart. Sure, she probably has a lot of selfish motivations, too, but beneath it all is a woman who loves her family and cares about the well-being of others. A few others, at least. Hiram’s one saving grace could have been his love and loyalty to his family, but in Riverdale season 3, he’s proven that that’s just a farce.

It’s so much more fun to watch Gladys fight and talk her way from the outskirts to the top of the Riverdale food chain than to see man-child Hiram buy his way into success. It’s so much better to watch a character that you could at least imagine yourself having sympathy for making moves than someone who’s become a lifeless tyrant.

Jughead and FP could really learn something from the matriarch of the family. While they flounder, trying to save the Serpents, Gladys is out there making actionable moves to further her agenda. Maybe we’ll even see a new Serpent Queen in the future, but it’s likely Gladys is setting her sights higher than that.

If anyone can finally take Hiram down, I think it’s going to be Gladys. She’s willing to play his game, and it looks like she just might beat him at it. I can’t wait to see how their stories both parallel and intersect for the rest of Riverdale season 3.

This even extends to Veronica and Jughead, whose stories are becoming more intertwined than ever before. They’ve been interacting more frequently in season 3, and it could be because their parents are going to be at the head of Riverdale’s latest power struggle. It’ll be cool to see how they handle it differently and also if/how they lean on each other through that.

By adding Gladys Jones to the mix, I believe Riverdale has found a way to wrap up what was becoming a stale storyline in a very interesting way. They’ve introduced a new Hiram Lodge character to take down the old, but it’s the Hiram Lodge that the show’s deserved all along. A real, nuanced, motivated, powerful character.

She’ll definitely burn a few people along the way, but I can’t wait to see Gladys Jones shine for the rest of Riverdale season 3.