gingerp

Sounds to me like Connie is gone. Can't think of any other reason for them to use "giving away storyline" especially when it's been rumored all along she would be leaving.

Jjou

Yeah and not looking forward to any 'Rayna in peril' storylines either, esp with Juliette's plane crash nonsense.

Crystal222

So this is weird. The eonline article about Season 5 says that there's a possible new love interest for Juliette. Are they hallucinating? Or do they know something we don't? I don't see any indication of this from the S5trailer, but could there have been something in a press kit? What do you guys think?

CMT Has a Nashville Christmas Present for You: a Season 4 Sneak Peek | E! News Australia

FAB47

That is strange - it sounds like they think they saw that in the trailer ? Are they getting her mixed up with Maddie 🤔

TVFan221

I have to say, this stance annoys me. At this point most everyone knows she's probably leaving, so it's not like it will be some huge surprise ala the Good Wife's Will when something happens to Rayna in episode 9 or 10. Why don't they just confirm she's leaving, but say we can't reveal how we're writing her off? That's about the same amount of mystery but is sooo much less annoying to the fans.

soup333

Bull****. CMT didn't bring us this far to dash our hopes ABC style. Somebody needs to rewatch the trailer and pay better attention.

Stace403

I agree it's an annoying position for them to take TVFan221, which is why I'm holding out a tiny bit of hope that she isn't actually leaving - at least not for good.

I think the mystery around Connie's situation...whether she's done permanently, signed on for the entire season, doing x number of episodes... is particularly frustrating because all we have to go off of are rumors from news outlets that are often wrong, e.g. multiple sources basically confirming Nashville would be renewed by ABC nearly up until the cancellation was announced and the vague comments by those who are actually in the know like the showrunners and Chip who have commitments to CMT to not give away or hint at what's going to happen. For me, if Connie's not staying a full season, which seems very very unlikely but I refuse to totally give up hope until I have to, the key is the exact amount of episodes she actually signed on for. The numbers 9 or 10 were thrown around, but not confirmed by anyone officially, and even Tvline admitted negotiations were still ongoing when they reported it at the end of September. As far as what Lennon and Maisy said in that interview a while back, to me, they seemed flustered, caught off guard and like they were possibly just repeating the rumors already out there when they got asked. I very much doubt they're privy to Connie's contract negotiations or knew storyline beyond their script at that point so I take that with a grain of salt too.

For all we know, this might be a situation where Rayna is gone for x amount of episodes while Connie takes time off or works on some other projects and then comes back to finish out the season. If there's some big threat to Rayna's life or personal security I could definitely see her laying low and stepping out of the public eye (maybe a long visit to Tandy in California?) and the show focusing on the other characters stories for however many episodes she's gone. Obviously majorly wishful thinking, but that's what's getting me through right now.

caseycappietruelove

Thanks for this. I'm right there with you. Lets hope that is what happens...they could at least tell us they are still in negotiations or something. It really would be awful, especially to the fans, if they killed her off. As long as it's not that..

soapbubbles511

They really just need to make an official announcement about Connie. People are already mostly assuming she'll be gone. They start filming 509 next week. It's not like it's possible that they don't know what's happening. If they're killing her off they're getting ready to film it. And if she's just going to be in a few episodes in the second half, they don't even have to tell us an exact number. Not saying anything is just making me feel like Rayna's dead. Especially since they haven't released any sides for 509 even though 508 should finish on Tuesday. They're being secretive about something and that makes me feel like it's something bad


On Location for Monday

Jjou

They must know they can't actually keep anything secret until it airs? By the time these episodes air we'll know whether Connie is still in the city, sides and on location details and general storylines they indictate. It's not realistic if they think it's going to be a big surprise either way, so just let us know so we can prepare. If Rayna is disappearing but not killed off I can kind of deal, but if she's dead then I cba to watch as I'm not into watching my favourite character die.

Jjou

duplicate post, sorry!

soapbubbles511

There's no way they can keep it a secret. Even if they could manage with the sides by not releasing full pages, being very careful about what they include to not confirm what happens to Rayna, that's not the only way we're going to figure it out. It's the extras they cast (if she's dead presumably there will be a funeral full of extras). If Connie starts another project that will surely get announced. If it starts being clear that she's back in LA full time, people will catch on. And by saying nothing people are just assuming the 10 or so episode report is true.

Worse than actually watching Rayna get killed off is what happens to Deacon after. After all those years they finally get back together and get married and then a year later and she's dead. It will destroy him in a way that is not going to get remotely better any time soon. If we thought his story was depressing when Beverly died, this would be so so much worse

Jjou

I agree, the prospect of the fallout from any dead Rayna scenario is not good. Chips Esten is a fantastic actor, but I'm not up for half a season of devasted Deacon angst

CityGal

Thanks for posting.

slbcwrites

If Rayna dies, I don't think I see them having Deacon being distraught for episodes on end. I think they will have to show him being strong for the girls and trying to move forward as a father to them. One of the showrunners said in one of those recent interviews that Deacon is no longer going to be someone still tempted to drink, beating people up... I interpreted that to mean he will be stronger emotionally and more stable. So while in seasons past him headed to the brink after Rayna's death would make sense, especially the way writers had him act after Beverly died, I think the only way to have his character be viable post-Rayna would be for him to dig deep to find inner strength to carry on, and I think the girls would be the catalyst for that.

Of course, none of that makes Rayna dying any more palatable. It still royally sucks.