Here's how Riverdale paid tribute to Luke Perry in first episode since his death
7 March 2019, 14:02
"It is dedicated to Luke, as all episodes will be for the rest of our run."
Riverdale aired its first episode following the sudden passing of the universally loved Luke Perry last night (March 6) and closed the hour with a touching tribute to the actor who, along with his character Fred Andrews, are the heart and soul of Riverdale.
Luke passed away on Monday (March 4) following a stroke. Production was suspended on the show to allow his co-workers time to grieve their loss. Tributes flooded in from family, friends, co-stars and fans and ahead of the episode, series creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa confirmed that, for the rest of the run, all episodes would be dedicated in Luke's memory.
Sharing a photo on Instagram of Luke with some of his cast mates from the early days of production, Aguirre-Sacasa wrote: "Going through pictures on my way to set. From the early days. With Luke in the middle. Our heart, always. Tonight’s episode of #Riverdale finds Fred doing what he does best--helping Archie. It is dedicated to Luke, as all episodes will be for the rest of our run."
As promised, the episode - which Perry also appeared in - ended with a touching and incredibly emotional tribute to the actor.
Fred appeared very briefly toward the end of this week's episode, coming to Archie's aid, fixing his knife wound, dishing out solid gold advice and being the best dad that anyone could ever ask for. The episode was even more poignant given Archie's determination to help a young runaway - a mentality that was clearly instilled in him by his dad.
While his screen time was short, fans were understandably emotional. At the end of the episode, the screen faded to black and an 'In Memoriam' card popped up with Luke's name on it. It was simple, it was short but it was touching.
At the time of his passing, there were just a handful of episodes from season 3 left to film. The cast are currently shooting around episode 18/19. Production has yet to address how they will handle what happens to Fred in the wake of Luke's passing but they'll do so when they're ready.
Until then, all we can do is enjoy and celebrate the scenes that Luke had already completed as King of all our hearts, Fred Andrews.
