All the Times 'Riverdale' Remembered the Late Luke Perry

The 19th episode of "Riverdale" season 3 was a bitter one -- it was the last one starring Perry. Days before the Apr. 24 episode aired, showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa tweeted this touching photo of the late star as Fred. Aguirre-Sacasa ended his touching caption with, "Wish these scenes could go on forever..."

Back in July, the "Riverdale" crew got together for their first new season sit down, and Perry's absence was strongly felt. Madchen Amick, who plays Alice Cooper, posted this photo from the cast's table read of the premiere, titled "In Memoriam," saying, "There was nothing but love, memories and mourning for our beloved Luke as we honor him in our first episode back."

In an exclusive photo obtained by Entertainment Weekly in September, fans got a glimpse of the emotional premiere of season 4, which pays respects to Luke Perry, who played Archie's father Fred Andrews. Perry's former "90210" costar Shannen Doherty is seen making a guest appearance, holding hands with Archie (KJ Apa), Veronica (Camila Mendes), Jughead (Cole Sprouse), and Betty (Lili Reinhart) in a heart-wrenching moment.

Aguirre-Sacase explained Doherty's character, saying, "Shannen plays the person who tells us what happened to Fred. She was there and she’s an unexpected source of comfort to Archie. A big piece of what happened to Fred comes to Archie through Shannen’s character." He added, "The scene is so heartbreaking because you really feel Shannen’s love for Luke."

Earlier this week, the CW released a trailer teasing the season 4 premiere, which addresses the town coming to grips with Fred's death. Aguirre-Sacasa explained how the lines between art and life were blurred in this emotional episode, saying, "We kind of knew this was going to be brutal on the cast, especially KJ [Apa], who was Luke’s main scene partner. Everyone was really proud to gather to tell this tribute to Fred, and to Luke."

At New York Comic Con 2019, Molly Ringwald and other cast members talked about the importance of paying tribute to Fred and to Perry in season 4. Ringwald plays Fred's ex-wife and Archie's mom Mary Andrews, and will be taking on a more active role on the show in Fred's absence. She explained, "We lost him at the end of season 3, and it felt very strange to finish the season knowing what happened. But [Aguirre-Sacasa] really wanted to wait, and put some time and all his heart into it, and I feel like it really shows."