Grab the tissues, Modern Family fans! The TV show is killing off yet another character as it enters its final season.
WATCH: Sarah Hyland says she didn’t know about character’s death until episode aired
The much-loved show confirmed last year that season 11 would be its last, but no one expected the cast to be culled in the process.
However, during Wednesday’s episode titled ‘Legacy’, the sitcom said goodbye to another major character: Frank Dunphy.
In heartbreaking scenes, viewers watched as Phil received a call that his dad Frank had been wandering around a supermarket for hours.
Worried he might be experiencing early signs of dementia, Phil rushed to his dad’s aid, and the pair shared a heartwarming moment in a barber shop before viewers learned that the Dunphy patriarch had died off screen.
“When I was growing up, he was the cool dad,” Phil said in a straight-to-camera scene. “He was hip. He knew all the dances from Grease. He knew all the expressions. BFF: best friends forever, TMI: too much Information, BJ: blue jeans. We didn’t do much that day, but it might have been one of the best days I’ve ever had with my dad. I just didn’t know it would be the last.”
As Phil reminisced on his final day with his dad, viewers learned that the realtor always felt guilty that he hadn’t followed in his father’s footsteps and taken over the family business.
“Well, you did take over the family business, didn’t you? Keeping life light, making it fun for everybody,” Frank replied. While Phil may not have followed in his father’s footsteps through his career, Frank saw himself in the way his son raised his family.
The end is nigh for Modern Family, but the cast aren’t ready to say their final goodbyes.
Julie Bowen, 49, who plays Claire told Us Weekly that returning to film the last season was bittersweet.
“I kept sobbing. It was sort of the beginning of the end. Now we’re in the groove it’s hard to imagine,” the actress told the publication in November.
“It’s like your last year of college or something you’re like, you’re almost done. You’re like, ‘Really? it doesn’t feel like it. Talk to me after I finish that final exam and then I’ll be sobbing.’”
