Warning: This article contains spoilers for Riverdale Season 4 Episode 1, titled "In Memoriam," that may spoil your enjoyment in discovering its plotlines. Read at your own risk.
The CW already announced its fall schedule, including Riverdale Season 4. As the show's premiere episode is now set, showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa revealed it would be a tribute to honor Luke Perry's life and his character as Fred Andrews that would begin Archie's (K.J. Apa) journey.
In a Twitter post, Aguirre-Sacasa said Riverdale Season 4 Episode 1 would be the "most important episode" of the show. "Probably the most important episode of #Riverdale we'll do this year, if not ever," Aguirre-Sacasa said about Riverdale Season 4 Episode 1 in a tweet. "A tribute to our fallen friend. Thankful for this opportunity to honor Luke & Fred."
The tweet comes with a photo of the first episode script, titled "In Memoriam," an image of Archie Comics, and the Andrews family's memory box. Aguirre-Sacasa himself wrote the tribute episode for Perry, directed by Gabriel Correa.
Perry died of a stroke in March. He was 42. Aguirre-Sacasa confirmed at the time that they would pay tribute to his death. He told Entertainment Tonight they were all in shock and still processing and grieving what happened.
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
They knew they had to address Perry's passing, but he wanted to give their selves more time and space to figure out the best way to honor him. Fans last saw his character as Fred in Riverdale Season 3 Episode 19, "Fear the Reaper," in April.
It remains to be seen how Riverdale Season 4 Episode 1 would address Perry's death. Aguirre-Sacasa revealed that when the actor died, they already outlined Season 3's last two or three episodes, per Entertainment Weekly.
The showrunner didn't want to rush things or got it wrong. So, they decided to deal with it at the beginning of the new season. They wanted to do an episode that would honor Fred, the actor behind the character, and Perry, who was their friend.
He also wanted to clear fans' assumption that Riverdale didn't deal with Perry's death. He explained they didn't want to force that part of the story in Season 3 finale.
They didn't want it to be "short shrift" or a story that was not great and emotional. They wanted to honor both Perry and his character, and it would be a big part of Archie's journey in Riverdale Season 4.
Riverdale Season 4 Episode 1, "In Memoriam," will be out on Thursday, October 10, on The CW. It will also be out on Netflix on the following day, Friday, October 11.
