When The Bold and the Beautiful had Liam collapse not once but twice, we assumed that was just kinda him being him. (Mr. Waffle Man does have a bit of a history of fainting and falling.) After his life was saved by Grace, we figured that that would be the end of the short story. He’d realize that we all always have one foot in the grave and try to reunite with Steffy, Hope or both, only to instead come to learn that Ivy is back in L.A. and as into him as ever.

Even though she sure doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to let him know that she’s there. (Make it make sense, writers!) But the point is, we never in a million years imagined that the show would really kill off Emmy winner Scott Clifton’s on-screen counterpart. Now, though, since it was revealed that Liam has an inoperable brain tumor — and a terminal prognosis to go with it — we’re not so sure.

As things stand, the Spencer family has been decimated. Darin Brooks’ Wyatt was written off and Linsey Godfrey’s Caroline, killed off. As for Don Diamont’s Bill? Sheesh. We don’t even recognize him anymore, not since he made the indefensible decision to get double murderess Luna sprung from prison. (We love a good baddie, but that’s sheer lunacy — no pun intended.)

So perhaps Bold & Beautiful really will send Liam to the hereafter like so many unfortunate characters before him and pivot altogether away from the Spencers. If the powers that be tried to re-pair him with either Steffy or Hope, we’d all groan, “Here we go again,” and don’t pretend that you don’t know it. It would have been lovely to see him reunite with Ivy, but even historically, the show always played her as not second fiddle to Hope and Steffy but third. (These days, Electra gets more screentime!)

Though it would be devastating to lose a cast member as brilliant as Clifton, he surely wouldn’t be out of work for long. In fact, the time is perfect for him to reprise the role with which he made his daytime debut: Dillon on General Hospital. (Read why here.) Although, if we were him, knowing how funny and fast on his feet he is, we might take a shot first at landing a sitcom or becoming the next Ryan Reynolds.

Do you think Bold & Beautiful is just psyching us out the way it did with Finn, Li, Eric and Sheila? On your way to the comments, get a sneak peek at the week ahead in the below preview photo gallery. Anyone wanna guess how Liam takes the news that he’s a goner? The answer’s in there.