Riverdale Premieres Season 4 and Pays Tribute to Luke Perry
Last Wednesday, Season 4 of the mystery thriller, Riverdale, premiered on the CW and opened the new season different than past. Every season thus far usually introduces a new mystery for the Riverdale gang to figure out which typically involves some sort of murders or creepy figures. Oh how Riverdale likes to keep it strange. However, with the real life death of Luke Perry who plays Archie’s father, Fred Andrews in the show, we were faced with Riverdale’s task of speaking on his death. The first episode of this season did just that. We patiently waited for this tribute and explanation of death and I personally was very touched with the way the show handled it.
Luke Perry died at the age of 52 to a stroke in his home. His character might have been one of the minor characters in the series with the teenage cast being front and center, but his presence caused major impact for the cast and others around him. When news of his death has spread, the Riverdale cast spoke out of their sadness and surprise as well as the 90210 cast which Luke Perry was also a part of. We weren’t sure how Riverdale was going to adress his death and when, since they decided to not bring it up during the last season run. We even saw some of the last scenes Perry shot in the last season.
Moving forward to season 4, within the first ten minutes of the episode, Archie receives the tragic call of his father’s passing. Throughout the whole episode, we are seeing how Archie and everyone around him is handling the news with also the return of his mom played by Molly Ringwald. Even though it comes at tragic timing, I am happy we will be seeing more of Molly Ringwald and I definitely missed her during the Flashback episode. Everyone in the show was doing their best to support Archie while dealing with their own heartache as they all had a personal connection with Fred Andrews. Archies’ best friends: Betty, Veronica, and jughead were all by his side when Archie decided to go visit where his father passed and bring his body back to Riverdale.
A nice touch the writers decided to add was adding a guest appearance by Shannen Doherty, a friend of Luke’s from 90210 to the episode. by adding her, we saw her mourn with the Riverdale cast which really showed how many people loved Perry. Now I never watched 90210, but seeing Shannen pray and cry over her friend’s death in the show really brought tears to my eyes as I could feel her pain.
Overall I think the writing in this episode was beautiful and very touching. I was a bit worried there for a minute with Archie. In past seasons, I feel Archie has been all over the place especially with his emotions and trying to control his actions. There has been so many faceplates watching Archie over the years. I mean the kid does some questionable stuff and with this episode I thought we might get another extreme reaction from him. Yes his father died so he has a lot on his plate, but I would not want him to make a move that would upset his father. With his father being gone, I really want Archie to mature and live his life to the fullest where his father can smile looking down on him. In this episode, Archie almost once again made a big mistake ran by his emotions, but luckily he was able to come to his senses once he discovered the truth. It even helped him re-evaluate some of his past decisions. As sad as Luke’s death is, this may be the key in the story to finally help Archie grow as a character. The death of one births another.
The last comments I have to make for this episode is a shout out to the editing of the last scene in the episode. If you have not seen it yet, I highly recommend that you do. In the scene, we see flashbacks of Archie’s memories with his dad in their garage with a final closing of a shot of Archie and his dad in a picture frame. I felt it was so well executed with the lighting, imagery and music that I was absolutely balling in tears. Luke Perry’s death was tragic, but I am proud of the beautiful tribute they were able to give him. Rest in Peace Luke Perry.
As beautiful as the first episode was, let’s be real. Writing in past Riverdale seasons has been questionable with a lot of like what the heck is going on in the episodes. However, this will not stop me from watching this season so I hope if you are a fan, you will stick it out too. I hope to update you more with my thoughts as the season continues. To get notified of new posts, be sure to subscribe and like, comment, and share. Also be sure to check out my post for an October giveaway. Until next time my Bombshells, Bye!
