The third season of Riverdale was a wild and emotional ride, from Archie surviving prison and a bear attack and the rest of the crew dealing with two new gangs to an organ-harvesting cult all vying for control of the Town with Pep. Not only that, but the cast dealt with their own emotions as one of their own — Luke Perry — passed away amid filming of the season’s final episodes.
Following the 52-year-old actor’s death, The CW series dedicated the remaining episodes of the season to his memory. However, by the season finale, the show still did not address his absence other than stating that Fred was simply “out of town,” bringing back mom Mary from Chicago (Molly Ringwald) to look after her son.
As the series gears up for its fourth-season return this fall (especially following that end-of-summer finale scene with a blood-covered Betty, Archie, and Veronica huddled around a campfire), the writing team is getting ready to kick things off. Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, ever the script cover tease, posted the premiere title on social media yesterday, revealing the episode will be a tribute to Perry and his character, Fred.
Aguirre-Sacasa wrote the premiere, titled “Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Memoriam,” which he calls “probably the most important episode of #Riverdale we’ll do this year, if not ever.” He continues, “A tribute to our fallen friend. Thankful for this opportunity to honor Luke & Fred.” Update: I’m not OK. *cut to me sobbing*
If this title and dedication are any indication of what is to come in this episode, then our emotions are in for a ride. Stockpile your tissues now in time for its Oct. 9 premiere on The CW.
Probably the most important episode of #Riverdale we’ll do this year, if not ever. A tribute to our fallen friend. Thankful for this opportunity to honor Luke & Fred. ❤️🏆💎👨🏻💻 pic.twitter.com/MH7xOjNyDu
— RobertoAguirreSacasa (@WriterRAS) June 19, 2019
Photo: Diyah Pera/The CW
