Here’s How ‘Riverdale’ Dealt With the Passing of Luke Perry

The sudden, shocking passing of Luke Perry on March 4 after suffering a stroke the week before left a massive hole in the lives of his friends and family, as well as on Riverdale, the show where he played emotional anchor Fred Andrews. Last week’s episode “Chapter Fifty-Four: Fear The Reaper” was the last Perry filmed before he passed, so the big question going into this week’s episode, “Chapter Fifty-Five: Prom Night” was how they would deal with his absence.

As it turns out, the production found a relatively elegant solution for the rest of the season — while still throwing in a quick, sweet little tribute to the man.

Spoilers for Riverdale “Chapter Fifty-Five: Prom Night” past this point.

The explanation comes early in the episode, when Archie’s (KJ Apa) mom Mary (guest star Molly Ringwald) shows up to the Andrews house. Though Fred and Mary separated before the series began, the parents have stayed friendly and Ringwald’s Mary has popped up now and again from her home in Chicago to help out. Initially, Archie explains that he would have picked up his mom, but Fred “took the truck.” Questioning why Mary came back to Riverdale, she explains that “things were slow in Chicago, and I just wanted to spend time with my son.”

Later, after Archie has gone through a whole boxing storyline and several people died during Junior Prom (don’t ask), Mary tells her son that she’s, “going to stay in Riverdale a little longer. I don’t want you alone while your Dad’s away.”

That’s pretty much it for the explanation part of things: Fred is out of town; Mary is staying for a while. Though it won’t make sense with the overall parent plot that’s been building this season (Mary wasn’t around back when that started in 1992), she’s taking the parental figure role Fred would have had in the last few episodes of the season.

But there is one more thing, a tribute to Luke Perry, gone but certainly not forgotten, about seven minutes in. As Archie boxes in his room upstairs, you can clearly see in the left-hand corner of the frame a conspicuously placed picture of Apa and Perry.

It’s a small note, but an important one as Perry was such a crucial part of the overall feel of the show. Even when he would pop in and out for a scene at a time, Fred was always there for Archie; and this is a reminder that the memory of Perry will remain in the fabric of Riverdale for a long time to come.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW

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