tbh, i can totally see them going that route if mgg decided to leave the show because he's made statements to the effect that he'd really love to play that type of storyline (and because, seriously, if you're going to send off a well-loved character and you've got an actor with the chops to pull it off well, why not do it with a bang?), but i really think tptb have more sense than to do it otherwise. (at least, i hope they do.)