Nashville boss previews the battle for Highway 65 in the season 5 finale

With one hour left in Nashville‘s fifth season, there are still a number of unresolved issues, the biggest being the battle between Zach Wells and Deacon. And with the future of Highway 65 currently up in the air, it’s time to make some decisions. “We’ve been building toward this literally since the beginning of the season, the idea of what happens when you have this threat and the threat is made manifest,” showrunner Marshall Herskovitz tells EW. “For us, it was a lot of fun to have it all come together in this final episode. It’s the climax of that story, so the very survival of Highway 65 is at stake and that’s a big deal.”

But Highway 65 isn’t the only question mark heading into the finale, “The whole issue of Juliette stealing a song came out already. It’s been made public but it hasn’t been resolved,” Herskovitz says. “What’s going to happen as a result of this?” And when it comes to what does happen with Juliette, Herskovitz says, “I think a little bit of a surprise to our audience and I’m looking forward to their reaction to it.”

On a happy note, country star Kacey Musgraves has a cameo in the hour, and Herskovitz says they’re already trying to find ways to bring her back. And then there’s the little fact that “somebody kisses somebody in this,” Herskovitz says, though he won’t reveal either party involved.

Generally speaking, Herskovitz says: “It was very important to me that the finale have real emotional resonance, regardless of whether there are cliffhangers and questions about what happens next year. My main concern was that the audience really feel a sense of emotional connection to the show. We wanted this final episode to really wrap up a lot of the stories.”

For more, watch a sneak peek of the hour above.

Nashville airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on CMT.