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(Warning: spoilers)

We still don’t know who Riley is. We don’t know anything about her family. We don’t know why everyone treats her like a child or why she just goes along with it.

I’ve got a theory forming about who she might be. Here’s the breakdown.

Riley’s family

In the first episode, she mentions that her car was actually her grandmother’s.

But then in this update, Mrs. Romano calls her an orphan and a charity case. I don’t know if she meant that Riley was actually an orphan or if she was just insinuating that Riley wasn’t one of them.

But if she truly is an orphan, it would explain why we haven’t heard anything about her parents. So maybe Riley lost her parents somehow, then was raised by her grandmother until she died. After that, she was put in the system. The Fairchilds then took her in as a foster child. It makes them look generous and charitable just in time for Marcus’s reelection. It also conveniently overshadow’s Lily’s terrible behavior.

That town & Fairchilds

I’m getting the feeling that Riley wasn’t actually from that town. We know she stayed with the Fairchilds for that one summer when they were 16. But she wasn’t present for the first mixer with Lily’s harp performance. Sheriff Hawthorne also didn’t recognize her when she drove in.

I had previously assumed Riley was staying with the Fairchilds for the summer because she was friends with Lily. But I don’t think that’s it. I think the Fairchilds took her in and she lived with them for some time—no more than a year.

After Lily’s death, she was no longer part of the LIs’ lives. They all continue to live their lives in that town without her. Yeah, she goes to college out of town, but she left before they even finished high school.

So where did she go?

If she was being fostered by the Fairchilds, it makes sense that she’d be removed from their home following the death of one of their own children. They would’ve been deemed unfit to foster her. She would’ve been placed into a different home after that.

This also aligns with my White Oleander comparison. It would also explain why Riley doesn’t seem to have her own identity.

Not only that, Lily was about to be shipped off to a boarding school. If Riley really was being fostered by the Fairchilds, she would’ve then replaced Lily while Lily was away. But Lily dying threw a wrench in that plan. The state took her away and they were no longer able to make her part of the family.

Now fast forward five years, they’re throwing this elaborate wedding and Vivienne is oh so eager to induct Riley as an official Fairchild.

Why is everyone worried about Riley?

Declan, Fabian, Luna, and Emma all seem extra protective and worried about her. They treat her like she’s fragile. Declan and Emma have both implied that she might be a danger to herself.

So my next question is this: What happened to Riley in the aftermath of Lily’s death? Did she feel guilty and try to kill herself? Did she have a mental breakdown and get sent to a psychiatric facility? Or are they aware of some tragic past that we just don’t know about yet?

Surely, she must have some sort of traumatic past. She shakes off trauma like it’s a regular thing. She’s almost numb to it. She just picks herself up and keeps going, because that’s how she’s had to live her whole life.

I think we also haven’t seen much of her past because her life has been lived in fragments. Years with Mom. Years with Grandma. Year with the Fairchilds. Year in Foster Home 2. College.

Putting it altogether, my theory is this:

Riley was an orphan the Fairchilds were fostering as a charity case. It was supposed to make them look good. Lily had issues with the law and made them look bad. Riley was agreeable and everybody took a liking to her. They decided to ship Lily off to boarding school and to keep Riley, eventually adopting her. Everyone would forget about Lily and celebrate Riley instead. They would also get the glory for whatever success Riley achieved in the future, because without them, none of it would’ve been possible.

Lily was onto their plan and began her own plan of sabotage. She decided that if she died, then everyone would mourn her and remember her positively. While it also would make Marcus and Vivienne look like terrible, negligent parents. Marcus would lose his election. Most importantly, they wouldn’t be able to replace her with Riley, because Riley would get taken away. That’s exactly what happened.

Oh. Another thing, Lily sabotaged Riley’s future chances with Fabian/Luna. By dating them, she’s permanently put Riley in her shadow. And we see this now in the present. Riley feels uneasy pursuing anything with Fabian and I’m assuming Luna for wlw. They will always remember Lily first and are now marked with feelings of betrayal, secrecy, and being left behind.

Years later, Amelia is getting married. This is the perfect opportunity to invite Riley because she was “like part of the family.” Conveniently, Marcus is also running for reelection.

The wedding event is three months long because it’s all a plan to absorb Riley into their world. This is why Vivienne is trying to set her up with Julian. If Riley marries Julian, then she would stay in town permanently. Vivienne could continue to pretend to be the benevolent mother figure and act like Riley was the long lost daughter who returned. Riley then fulfills her role as the “trophy daughter”. She makes them look good and erases their tarnished reputation left behind by Lily. And again, whatever success she achieves in the future would be credited to the Fairchilds for their wonderful, benevolent hearts.

Going forward

Riley needs to decide who she really is and who she wants to be. She has to learn that she’s an adult now. Her life no longer needs to be dictated by her circumstances. She has the power to drive her own plot and to change it. But it’s been so engrained in her that nothing is within her control. I think somehow she’s going to have to learn how to fight for that control: for her identity and her future.

Waterlily

jealousy

“I won’t beg anyone for a blessing to love you” (Cassiel, Heaven’s Secret 3 S2 Ep8)

Watercolour illustration of Cassiel x Audrey

Kuretake Gansai Tambi & Pentel “sky blue” watercolours on Canson Montval 300GSM cold press watercolour paper

It’s been years since the last time I used watercolour for illustration, so I’m a little rusty with transparent media (thank you for your existence, gouache 🥹). Under these, you will see the thumbnail/ planning, process, mediums I used, and the failed pieces lol 😂

Everytime I touch watercolours, they keep reminding me the reason why I left their ass alone for years 😂 They might as well be my reason to start digital.

One of the best cards ever produced, honestly.

Bonus

I've been obsessed... Thank you @manicpixelwench 🫶