If you haven’t watched the season finale for Arrow, turn back now! Major spoilers ahead! 

It’s always sad to say goodbye to a well-loved character on your favorite TV show. However, in a show like Arrow where we’ve seen characters wiggle their way from death’s grip, it’s tough to know when a character is really dead, mostly dead, or if they’ll stay dead. Unfortunately, it seems like the latest Arrow death is a permanent one [last chance to run before the spoiler].

On the season finale of Arrow, it seems we’ve officially reached the end of the Malcolm Merlyn era. Lots of fans were left wondering if Merlyn was really dead after last night’s episode, and this time it seems that he is really gone. John Barrowman officially announced on his Instagram that he’s said his final farewells to the Arrowverse. It was a fitting end for Merlyn, as he died sacrificing his life for his daughter Thea by taking her place when she stepped on a land mine on Lian Yu. Merlyn wasn’t a great father to Thea, but he had a lot of love for Thea, and would move mountains (and do some super sketchy stuff) to try to keep her safe.

part 1 of 2 Spoiler Alert! Thank you to all the fans, cast and crew for an amazing 5 years #Arrow #Merlyn #YouMakeMyLifeAwesome I love you. JB

A post shared by John Barrowman MBE (@johnscotbarrowman) on May 24, 2017 at 9:43pm PDT

Of course, this is Arrow we’re talking about, so you can’t totally rule out the chance of Barrowman re-entering the Arrowverse in a dramatic fashion, like Malcolm Merlyn coming back from the dead ala Sara Lance, or an alternate-universe version of him returning like Laurel Lance. But judging by Barrowman’s pretty definitive statement on his Instagram video of, “I am very sad to be leaving the Arrowverse,” this looks to be the end of Malcolm Merlyn as we know him. John Barrowman brings a ton of fun and passion to the shows he works on, and the fandoms surrounding those shows, so he will most definitely be missed. Of course, with the new Torchwood audio plays releasing, you can still get your Barrowman fix from the Doctor Who universe.

Spoiler Alert! Part 2 of 2 again thanks for all the support over the last 5 years. Now look out for the USA revised autobiography. JB

A post shared by John Barrowman MBE (@johnscotbarrowman) on May 24, 2017 at 10:19pm PDT

What did you think of Malcolm Merlyn? Are you sad to see him go, or do you think he needed to go? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

Feature Image: The CW

And if you need more Barrowman, here’s 5 questions we did with him in Toronto: