Before we get into this, here’s your spoiler warning: if you haven’t watched Sunday night’s episode of The Simpsons, don’t even read ahead. Spoilers. Huge Spoilers. Elephant-sized spoilers. You’ve been warned.

So, The Simpsons killed off Rabi Hyman Krustofski on Sunday. For those just tuning in, that’s Krusty the Clown’s father, who expired during a much needed heart-to-heart with his son.

“If you want to know my honest opinion of you, I’ve always thought you were… eh.”

And that’s when he bit it. The exchange was meant as a transition into Lisa’s anxiety about her own dad dying, but the show’s been building up to a character death for sometime now. In fact, fans have been wondering who’s next for over a year. Since the first hint, dropped by creator Al Jean last fall, the hype has been building, until even Jean himself thought that people were getting too excited.

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This is what he had to say to anyone, disappointed that it wasn’t a major character (quote via Entertainment Weekly): “For about six months, I’ve been saying this is overhyped. People said it’s an iconic character [who dies], but I never said it’s an iconic character. I never used those words.”

So, farewell to Rabi Krustofski and to Jackie Mason’s “beloved” role – Jean’s words, not ours. Onwards with Season 26!