‘Riverdale’ Creator Explains Why Luke Perry’s Death Won’t Be Addressed Until Season 4

*Warning: Spoilers ahead*

Late actor Luke Perry’s loss has been felt by fans, friends and family. But Riverdale isn’t addressing Perry’s unexpected death just yet.

Of course, the series paid homage to Perry, who lost his life at just 52, over the span of several episodes and dedicated all future episodes to the actor. Following Perry’s death, his on-screen son Archie (KJ Apka) made reference to him being away on a business trip and the Andrews matriarch, Mary (Molly Ringwald), returned home to care for him. Season three, however, ended last night with no explanation of Fred’s (Perry) whereabouts.

So when can we expect Fred Andrews to receive a proper send-off? Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa says it will most definitely happen in season four.

“When Luke passed, it was such a shock, and it was devastating and we kind of have to deal with the emotion of that, and then you have to figure out everything that comes next,” Aguirre-Sacasa told E! News.

The creator went on to explain why they opted not to address his passing in season three, saying, “We’d written a bunch of the rest of the season and it felt like rather than try to squeeze something—and for me, something that’s so monumental and so defining…and we didn’t know how we wanted to deal with it. You know, you’re just reacting.”

Ultimately, Aguirre-Sacasa says they decided, “rather than do it quickly or do it wrong, let’s take our time, let’s figure it out, and let’s deal with it at the beginning of season four.”

With such a delicate matter, taking it slow seems to be the right way to go.