I completely understand your point-of-view. Losing the show is already difficult enough, and Phillip's death will make the loss all the more poignant -- But therein lies the beauty ... Phillip is the the one character on the Springfield canvas that literally impacts every one of the core families, because of the emotional ties he has with them.

Obviously, his death will impact the Spaulding family -- that goes without saying, and the impact will be mind-blowing. I mean, think about the way James has been behaving, and the potential life-changing effect this could have on him. And Lizzie ... She just found her way back to loving her father, and now she's going to lose him. Alan ... fill in the blanks -- there's so much rich material there for Ron Raines. And finally, Alex ... she lost Lujack all those years ago, and now to lose her beloved nephew ... Marj Dusay will break our hearts over this.

His death will also have a deep impact upon Lillian and Beth, whom, I still consider a Spaulding, no matter their marital status, because she belongs with Phillip -- always has ... But, I digress ... Lillian is already breaking my heart (shout out to Tina Sloan for her subtle, yet heart-wrenching performances thus far); but can you even imagine watching Beth as she deals with losing the man she has loved since she was a girl? I tear up just thinking about watching Beth Chamberlain bring this to life on screen ...

Phillip's death will impact the entire Bauer family, because of his life-long friendship with Rick, and the fact that he reveres Ed the way he does ... Watching Rick deal with his loss will surely break our hearts, because never, in all my years of watching soaps, have I witnessed such a deep and abiding friendship between two men. Regardless of the circumstances, they've always come through for one another. Their friendship is a foundation for both of them. *deep sigh* Michael O'Leary's performance will be all the more moving, knowing that he and Grant have shared a similarly close friendship off-screen all these years.

His death will impact the Coopers, because of his past marriage to Harley and the fact that they have a son together. Will Harley and Zach return for the funeral?

His death will impact the Lewis family, because of Lizzie's marriage to Bill, and the respect he and Bill have for one another; not to mention his life-long friendship with Mindy.

It will impact the Shayne family, especially Reva, because she and Phillip have always had an emotional connection. He understands her in ways no one else ever has; and vice versa ...

It will impact Blake Marler and her family, because he was Ross's nephew, and he and Blake were once very close.

And last, but certainly not least, it will deeply impact Olivia and Natalia, because of Emma ... Olivia has already been through so much in the past weeks/months, and this will no doubt take a toll on her -- And can you even imagine having to tell your eight-year-old daughter that her daddy is going to die? No doubt CC will rock the Light with that performance; like she does every time they give her such emotional material.

That being said, I think I've hit all the major intersections -- and again, as much as it will break my heart to watch, the choice of Phillip for this particular storyline truly is ingenious, because he is the one character who can bring the entire town of Springfield to tears as they bit him a final farewell ...

I started watching GL when Grant Alexander first made his appearance in 1983, and thus far, his journey has been heartrending ... I, for one, am looking forward to finishing this amazing journey with him ...

I can't believe your killing Philip. It took how many years to get him back, regardless of the fact that your going off the air, but to kill him is rubbing salt in the wound.