That game-changing shocker on CMT’s first ‘Nashville’ season is not the end, we hope

This first CMT season of “Nashville” has attempted to do the near-impossible on several fronts: Walk back its overdramatic last few stories from the ABC years, seamlessly trim down the cast, recenter its characters in their art and passions after so long at the whim of OMG plots, and bring us fans back to what we loved about the show in the first place.

But as ambitious as new showrunners Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick (“thirtysomething,” “My So-Called Life”) have been, we never thought they would try something actually impossible — but after last night’s (Feb. 23) episode, it seems they’ve tasked themselves with just that.

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“Nashville” without Rayna James (Connie Britton), well, it’s something fans never wanted to think about — as much as we love the ensemble, it’s the show’s perfect wavy-haired, southern-twanged, country star mom and finally happy wife that provides the show’s center.

And yet, here we are.

Rayna, who fractured her pelvis after getting into yet another car crash, survives a 4-hour surgery — not to mention intimate, personal life-affirming conversations with every character on the show — before, quite suddenly, dropping dead.

It’s not like we couldn’t see it coming: Britton’s jump from ABC to CMT came with a downgrade from series regular to recurring guest star — and when she was so heavily featured in the new season’s episodes to date, it was a little bit of a question mark. No one in their right mind would complain about too much Connie Britton, after all… But no Connie Britton? Nashies are livid.

After campaigning their hearts out to get this beloved show revived, it doubles the shock for die-hards to suddenly, in a surprise midseason episode, watch their beloved star die. The country drama actually distracted us early on, making it seem as if Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) might be on her way out — but once the famous Ms. James starts seeing her dead mother (Carla Gugino, in a brief but obviously memorable guest appearance), you had to know something was definitely not right.

As does Deacon, despite the doctors’ assurances that she’s just on a lot of opioids. But it turns out Deacon’s gut is correct, and once daughter Daphne (Maisy Stella) brings her school concert to her mother’s hospital bed, Rayna flatlines. And frankly we’re at a loss as to what to do about it.

“Nashville” Season 5 still has a whopping 13 episodes left to go — daunting, considering how many series have chopped the classic 22 order down to 10 or 12 anyway — but without Rayna chatting wryly with her girls, making sweet music with Deacon (Charles Esten) and giving everybody she knows jobs while running Highway 65… What’s going to happen next?

Well, first CMT is going to have to deal with the fan reaction — it will be reiterating for a while that Britton wanted to leave the show, she was not killed off.  And dying was really the only way for Rayna to go: She’d never choose to leave her family in any capacity, she put her girls and Deacon before everything — so there’s no career move, or situation, that would allow her to check out for long periods of time.

In an interview with TV Line, Britton says leaving was “Something that had been percolating over time, and there were lots of different reasons behind it. But my priority was really making sure that the timing was right… When the show was moved to CMT and we got these great new showrunners, Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick,  I was [confident] the show would be in a good place. Because one thing we learned over the summer is how passionate the fans are. We would not be on the air right now if it weren’t for the fans. We’ve all been so incredibly grateful for that. But the fans love every single one of these characters. And the show is now in a place where all of these characters can live and just be incredibly dynamic and amazing. I feel like ‘Nashville’ can go on indefinitely.”

“Indefinitely” is… A long time, especially since merely getting through the rest of the season without Rayna seems like a migraine-inducing responsibility. However, Rayna’s ex-husband Teddy Conrad (Eric Close) should be visiting or out of prison, and Rayna’s sister Tandy Hampton (Judith Hoag) travels back to “Nashville” for the funeral as well.

Previews for next week show no guardian was officially set in Rayna’s will — so in addition to parental support, inheritance questions, and the fate of Highways 65, there’s a lot of money at stake, and an ugly battle on the way. Rayna would have hated that. So much.

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Our fingers are crossed Maddie doesn’t run off and get married to Clay (Joseph David-Jones) in some kind of epic freakout — and we rest comfortable in the knowledge that this isn’t goodbye forever: “I do pop back in, after Episode 9,” Britton says. “And ‘Nashville‘s’ always going to be important to me — so I’m totally open to whatever as time goes on.”

Sounds like we’ll at least have some flashbacks and memories coming our way — and if this season’s any indication, probably some mysterious visits from beyond. Which frankly would be fine with us, too — it’s that kind of show, and if it needs to throw some more ghosts our way — or angels — Rayna’s the obvious choice. Love you, girl.

“Nashville” airs on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CMT.

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