‘Nashville’ Season 5 Premiere Spoilers: Sneak Peek Episode Reveals Juliette’s Injuries [RECAP]

“Nashville” is finally back! Well, almost. After ABC canceled the drama, fans were left with a cliffhanger that left Juliette’s life in the balance. Her plane disappeared, but luckily, CMT picked up the series to reveal what happened to the singer. On Thursday, the network aired a sneak peek at the first hour of the Jan. 5 premiere, and it was packed with news about our favorite country crooners.

Season 5, episode 1 takes “Nashville” fans to the night of the crash. Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) is found in the wreckage of a plane crash, and she isn’t doing well. She’s bleeding and can’t speak. The woman who finds her starts singing to her while waiting for emergency responders.

Avery (Jonathan Jackson) rushes to the scene while Rayna’s (Connie Britton) family finds out via the news. Reporters say that Juliette is the only survivor.

After three weeks, Juliette still hasn’t made any public announcements about her progress. Juliette can’t feel her legs. She shattered two of her vertebrae, and she is stuck in a wheelchair. A doctor has hope, though. Juliette can move one toe, and that means that this might not be permanent. She isn’t feeling very optimistic, though.

Rayna visits Juliette, something she has been doing a lot, and Juliette says she feels pressure to get better. She also thinks she caused the accident. “If not this, then something else. Me in this chair — I knew it was going to happen,” she says. She thinks she made too many mistakes in life.

Juliette also tells Rayna that she was saved by an angel. She remembers the woman who sang to her. “See now if you were doomed, why would an angel come and save your life?” Rayna asks.

Rayna has other worries, too. After paying to get Maddie (Lennon Stella) out of her shady record deal, Highway 65 is in financial trouble. Rayna has to go play a show for some Silicon Valley big wigs. They fly her out to California, but the mother of two starts panicking the second her plane hits a little bit of turbulence.

Rayna tells Deacon (Charles Esten) about her panic attack, and Deacon points out that it’s because of Juliette. Rayna has to pull herself together. She has a show to play, but it seems Silicon Valley isn’t into country music. The company executive, Zach Welles (Cameron Scoggins), is the only one paying attention to her.

Juliette probably wouldn’t mind being ignored right now. She leaves the hospital with a hoard of paparazzi waiting for her. Reporters say that she is rumored to be paralyzed, but Juliette hasn’t commented on her condition.

When she gets home, she tells Avery that he doesn’t have to stay with her. He says that he loves her, but Juliette isn’t so sure he’ll feel the same way after taking care of her for a while.

The injured starlet falls asleep in her chair and is plagued by dreams about the accident. She wakes up and needs Avery to take her to the crash site. Avery doesn’t think they’ll find what she is looking for, but Juliette is determined. Her chair can’t handle the terrain, so Avery carries her in his arms. Juliette is suddenly upset to find the crash site cleaned up. “I thought I was gonna die,” Juliette sobs. “Why didn’t I die?”

The sun rises, and Juliette apologizes for making him drive out. She asks him to take her home, and Avery kisses her. They stop for smoothies on the way home, and Juliette hears singing from a church. She finds her angel in the choir.

Elsewhere, Rayna’s family has a little drama while she is gone. Maddie writes a song, but she is having trouble finishing. When Daphne (Maisy Stella) writes a verse to help her finish, Maddie gets angry. She didn’t want her sister’s help. She didn’t want anyone’s help, actually. She wanted to do it on her own, but Scarlett (Clare Bowen) goes to Maddie’s room to chat about collaboration. That’s a key to having success in a creative field. Eventually, Maddie decides she likes Daphne’s addition and apologizes to her little sister.

Their mother, however, can’t fix her problems so easily. Rayna calls Deacon (Charles Esten) and says she can’t get on her plane tomorrow. She doesn’t understand the feeling, but Deacon thinks she’ll be able to get over it in the morning. She watches a video of Bill Monroe singing “Wayfaring Stranger” before going to sleep.

Deacon shows up at her doorstep the next day. He says he is going to help her get on the plane. First, Rayna gets him into bed, but she has no intentions of getting on the flight with him. She tells Deacon that she’s lost. She feels like she is buried by her work and has forgotten who she is. She wants to drive back to Nashville by herself, and Deacon says he’s worried about her. Rayna notes that she is concerned too.

When Rayna stops at a gas station, she finds an old man playing “Wayfaring Stranger.” The man tells her she should sing it with him. She tries not to, but he tells her that singing is good for her. “You might find the joy you’re looking for,” the man says. Rayna sits down and performs with the old man.

That’s where CMT’s sneak peek ended, but there is still more to see. The full two-hour premiere of “Nashville” Season 5 airs Thursday, Jan. 5 at 9 p.m. EST on CMT.