When season four of Riverdale premieres, it will feature one of its “most important episodes yet,” according to showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.
Aguirre-Sacasa took to Twitter on Wednesday (June 19), sharing the title page of the episode’s script, appropriately titled “In Memoriam” as a tribute to its fallen star Luke Perry, who portrayed Archie’s (KJ Apa) father Fred Andrews.
“Probably the most important episode of #Riverdale we’ll do this year, if not ever,” Aguirre-Sacasa captioned his photo. “A tribute to our fallen friend.” Perry passed away at just 52 after suffering a stroke earlier this year on March 4, and the Riverdale crew as well as the lives he touched in Hollywood have been devastated by the loss.
Previously, Aguirre-Sacasa had shared with ET Online that Perry’s character’s sudden disappearance would in fact be acknowledged with season four.
“We knew we had to honor Luke and address Luke’s death on the show,” Aguirre-Sacasa said. “When Luke had passed, we had already pretty much plotted out the end of this season and written the end of this season. Rather than try to squeeze something in and potentially not get it right, we thought, ‘Let’s take a beat and let’s figure out really what would be the best way to honor Luke and to honor the character of Fred, and let’s do it at the top of season four.'”
Right now, it’s not immediately clear how Perry’s passing will in fact be addressed, but it seems there’s something respectful and impactful planned that fans won’t want to miss out on. Given Perry’s role in the series, you can bet it will be as heartfelt and kind as he was as Archie’s father on the show. It’s still hard to believe that he’s gone, but it’ll be good to see his spirit being celebrated on a show he clearly gave his all on.
Riverdale will be returning with its fourth season on October 9.
