'Nashville' Season 5 News, Spoilers: Rayna's Final Arc Culminates in Her Tragic Death
Rayna's (Connie Britton) final arc culminated in her tragic death in last night's episode of "Nashville." The fading superstar came face to face with her stalker until the car she was riding in was hit by a truck.
In the episode, Rayna ended up in the hospital following a car crash. While she managed to survive the surgery, she eventually succumbed to the fatal injuries after saying her final goodbye to her children and those who had been close to her heart, including Deacon (Charles Esten). Before her death, she also hallucinated that she was visited by her late mother (Carla Gugino).
Since the series debuted in 2012 on ABC, Britton's character has been the center of the musical series. After four seasons, the series was picked up by CMT. Despite being under a contract back then, Britton talked to the new showrunners, Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, and requested to leave the series for personal and professional reasons. Hence, they conceived a final arc to end Rayna's story.
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Rumors about Britton leaving the show intensified earlier this season when news about the actress being approached with pilot offers came out. In an exclusive interview with Deadline, the "American Horror Story" alumna shared her experience shooting Rayna's final scenes on the show. "It was hard to get through those days without everybody being in tears," she said.
In her official statement, Britton thanked the "Nashville" cast and crew and her fans for their unwavering passion and commitment, saying that they are the reasons the show still exists. "Playing Rayna has been a privilege and a deeply enriching experience for me... I'll be watching and cheering alongside all of you. Thanks or the honor of these 5 years," she said.
Now that Britton's "Nashville" journey has come to an end, fans will see how the show will move forward in the coming weeks. "Nashville" season 5 airs Thursday nights, 9 p.m. EST, on CMT.
