The last two episodes of CMT's "Nashville" season 5 have not been very easy and desirable for its fans as they bid Rayna Jaymes (Connie Britton) goodbye after she got into a very serious car accident. In episode 10 of the present season, a heartfelt tribute was offered to Rayna, not just as a farewell to her as a character, but to Britton as well, as she finally leaves the show.

In a CMT featurette on the passing of Rayna, executive producer Marshall Herskovitz revealed that when he took over the show, Britton had expressed her desire to leave the TV series. Herskovitz also added that Rayna had to die several episodes before the last episode of the season in order to give viewers the chance to grieve her death and see that there is life still even after a tragic loss.

The funeral scene was something that actor Eric Close, who plays Teddy Conrad in the series, described as amazing, judging from how nature seemed to cooperate with the mood of that particular portion of the episode. When they set up to shoot the scene, it started to rain.

Clare Bowen, who plays Scarlett O'Connor, was also in the intimate funeral ceremony in episode 10, and she revealed that she was especially moved by the message that Deacon Claybourne (Charles Esten) prepared for Rayna. "She was my north, my south, my east and west, my working week and Sunday rest, my noon, my midnight, my talk, my song. I thought that love would last forever, but I was wrong," Deacon read aloud during the funeral.

"Episodes 9, 10 are easily the hardest, most difficult, saddest episodes of, you know, five seasons that have seen our shared tragedy," Esten said in the same featurette. "It was gut wrenching and some moments felt impossible. How do you portray that kind of loss other than just being there and trying to be as honest as you can," he added.

Esten further described the loss of Rayna as indescribably momentous. The recent episode highlighted how Rayna meant to all the people who surrounded her and loved her, according to Herskovitz.

Meanwhile, Carter Matt reported that the episode of Rayna's death resulted in a surge in ratings for the show. Episode 9 got a 0.3 rating in the 18–49 demographic and at least 1.12 million viewers. It is believed to be the show's best performance in the ratings game since January this year.