I think that Willis is departing along a very challenging and controversial arc right now. It's going to test everyone who believes that Leslie is basically a decent and kind personality; it's even going to test the character's own self-image. It will be difficult to write for him, difficult for us to read and will remind us that, on the personal level, there are rarely 'white hats' or 'black hats', only victims of others' determination to control your life.
There have already been dark rumblings on the comic's comments page; I think that he may lose some readers over this. I doubt he'll care - Willis has always struck me as a man who wishes to write a story for the story's sake rather than a being commercial author who writes to sell Patreon subscriptions and I generally admire his artistic integrity in this matter. However, that doesn't mean that the fallout will be any less heated.