The sad reality that Cory Monteith's character Finn Hudson will not be coming back to Glee is slowly sinking in. FOX released a sneak peek at season five of the hit show and Monteith's absence from it was palpable. The majority of the trailer is upbeat and focuses on the upcoming Beatles tribute, Sue Sylvester's new reign as principal of William McKinley High and the rumored proposal from Darren Criss' character Blaine, however there is a quick flash to a somber Rachel (Lea Michele), foreshadowing trying times to come.

On July 13, Monteith overdosed on a mixture of heroin and alcohol in his Vancouver, Canada hotel room, leaving show execs scrambling to figure out a way to deal with the sudden loss of its star. After his death, Glee had to figure out how to write Finn's character, Rachel's finance, out of the show. After much speculation, Ryan Murphy revealed to Deadline that Monteith's character would not die of a drug overdose.

Murphy told the publication, “At one point, we were going to have his character die after an accidental drug overdose — that was something we had considered. But we have decided that we’re not going to have him pass from that. Basically, what we’re doing in the episode is we are not telling you yet, or maybe not at all, how that character died. The idea being, how somebody died is interesting and maybe morbid, but we say very early on in the episode, ‘This episode is about a celebration of that character’s life.’ That might be weird for some people, but it felt really exploitative to do it any other way.”

Glee's third episode, entitled "The Quarterback," will see the characters told of Finn's death at the start and then will focus on how individuals grieve for their lost friend. It is reported that Lea's character will only appear in the final scenes.

Grab your tissues boys and girls, "The Quarterback" is guaranteed to be a cryfest. The new season of Glee begins Sept. 26.