Glee season 6 is so close we can taste it, and there are some characters we’d like to see one last time before we say goodbye.

Glee is back tonight with a double-episode premiere for its sixth and final season. We recently brought you a reminder of where we left off all our major faves at the end of season 5, but today we’re journeying into the realms of fantasy with a countdown of some of the most brilliant former characters that we hope to see in Glee season 6.

Of course, Glee’s last season is a short one – just 13 episodes in total – so there wouldn’t be time to give all these characters a proper last hurrah. If you delve around in fandom you may find some spoilers about the status of one or two of them, but it’s doubtful that most of these faces will ever pop up in Lima again. This article should be taken as pure wish fulfillment, not legitimate theorizing, and we’re focusing on the actual characters and how they’d fit into Glee season 6 – regardless of how famous and unavailable some of these guest-star actors might be!

Without further ado, here’s our wishlist of the top ten characters that we want to see return in Glee season 6.

#10 – Cooper Anderson

It’s a rare occasion that we glimpse a family member of any of the New Directions, so it was quite a surprise when we got a whole episode featuring – and named after – Blaine’s “Big Brother.” Blaine had never mentioned his mysterious older brother before, but once we meet Cooper, it’s easy to understand why: he’s arrogant, embarrassing, overpowering, and he makes Blaine feel like crap. Their reconciliation is a little heavy-handed, but it gets there in the end, and Matt Bomer brings a surprising sincerity to an otherwise very satirical character. Bomer and Darren Criss have believable chemistry – actually best seen in the special feature of Cooper’s Transformers audition tape – and it’s a shame that we never even hear Blaine mention him again. From the underground fandom rumblings about Glee season 6, it sounds like Blaine will have some pretty important stuff going on – the kind of stuff your family is usually there for. It would make sense for Cooper to be a part of it in some way.

#9 – David Martinez

Ricky Martin only joined Glee for one episode, “The Spanish Teacher,” during season 3, but his character David Martinez made an impression as someone very likeable and very real in an episode that was otherwise rather ridiculous and a tad offensive. Another bonus of this character was, despite a total lack of condescension on David’s part, his presence served to totally drag Will and show him up as a really mediocre Spanish teacher – you know, his actual job that he was getting paid for, unlike coaching the glee club. Given that Mr Martinez took over Mr Schuester’s position as McKinley’s Spanish teacher, he’s presumably still somewhere around the school, teaching the kids Spanish a lot more competently than Will ever did. It would be really nice to see him drop in on the alumni or the new glee club kids in season 6.

#8 – Terri Schuester

When we last saw Terri at the end of season 2, she had made her peace with Will and the glee club, and was moving to Florida to start a new life. Good for her. But this character was such a crucial part of Glee’s first few years, it seems weird to end the show without ever seeing her again. Terri, as awful as she was, got a pretty raw deal. Her fake baby plan was inexcusable, but it came from a place of insecurity and panic because her partner of 15 years started pulling away from her and emotionally investing in someone else. Terri became a villain, but she didn’t start her shady deeds until after Will gave her a reason to freak out – a reason that wasn’t unfounded. She’s always been sort of pitiable, and we’d like to see how she’s doing. Terri may be perfectly happy in Miami, but her crazy sister Kendra probably still lives in Lima, right? She could totally visit. Jessalyn Gilsig was a regular during the first season, and if Glee season 6 is all about honoring the show’s legacy, then Terri needs to make a final appearance.

#7 – Elliott Gilbert

Adam Lambert as Elliot Gilbert was season 5’s greatest gift to us all. This character was gorgeously refreshing, not only for his fantastic musical performances but because he clearly thinks his new friends are all insane and he isn’t afraid to side-eye the hell out of them and offer some real talk when it’s needed. He’s a great audience surrogate, but not in an annoying or heavy-handed way – he just happens to be, despite his creativity, talent, and desire for stardom, a slightly more normal and realistic outsider, who reacts to the drama of Rachel, Santana, Blaine and Kurt with a distinct tone of “y’all need to chill.” It was amazing and he should have been in literally every episode. Those kids need him. Unfortunately, Adam Lambert has bigger and better things to do, like touring stadiums with Queen, but Elliott lives on in our hearts, and we’d love to see his good influence help diffuse our favorite divas one more time.

#6 – Beth Corcoran

So this baby’s like, five years old now or something – old enough to have a bit of a personality. She’s the daughter of Rachel’s mother Shelby, and the biological child of Quinn and Puck – it’s all very messy, and gets messier when you think about the fact that Puck has hooked up, in various degrees of seriousness, with Rachel and Shelby… It can’t be denied that Beth was the catalyst for a lot of Glee plotlines, and it’s been mentioned that Shelby visits Rachel in New York occasionally. Does Rachel consider Beth her little sister? Does Puck still healthily miss his daughter, who he never wanted to give up? Does the thought of Beth still turn Quinn into a crazy person? Bring back this adorable little girl – and her mom Idina Menzel, I guess – and see what drama she causes this time!

On Page 2: Who’s number one on our countdown to appear in Glee season 6?

#5 – Matt Rutherford

Remember this guy? Matt was a member of the “original twelve” New Directions. He and Mike Chang both joined the glee club along with Puck after Kurt’s stint Beyonce-ing on the football team, but unlike Mike, Matt’s character only stuck around for one year before we’re told he transferred. He had two lines of dialogue in the whole season, but he was still one of the originals, and given what we’ve heard about the bonds formed on set during Glee’s first season, the actor Dijon Talton must have had some great experiences being part of that initial rollercoaster ride of Glee exploding into the mainstream. Plus, he may or may not have had illicit relations with April Rhodes. Matt deserves to come back and marvel – or shake his head – at all the crazy times he missed when he left McKinley.

#4 – Lauren Zizes

Lauren was a pretty major Glee character for a while there – she grew from a small comedic background student to a fully-fledged glee-clubber. She had plots and solos of her own, she went to Nationals, and actress Ashley Fink went on the live concert world tour with the rest of the cast. She’s a favorite of many fans, and probably the most beloved temporary New Directions member. Lauren has a great, and realistic, mix of confidence and vulnerability, and her romance with Puck showed worthy character development for both parties, even if Puck’s true love did turn out to be Quinn. Ashley Fink is also Chris Colfer’s best friend in real life, and although Lauren probably got the hell out of Lima – last we heard she had a wrestling scholarship to Harvard – if she were to return, it would be cool to see her and Kurt have a significant, and probably humorous, storyline together.

#3 – Ryder Lynn

You wanna talk about raw deals? Look no further. Ryder Lynn, played by Glee Project winner Blake Jenner, was introduced in season 4 as one of New Directions 2.0, recruited by Finn, who saw a bit of a kindred spirit. Right from the start, Jenner acted the hell out of everything he was given – his performance was subtle, nuanced, earnest, crotchety, and above all interesting, but he got shafted in a major way. This guy can just never win – from a recycled dyslexia plot which results in him getting dumped, to constantly getting messed around by both the girl he likes and his best friend in an actual Cyrano de Bergerac situation, to getting catfished by another friend, whom he totally should have dated if the show was as brave as it thinks it is – and eventually, and unsurprisingly, quitting the glee club. Ryder was the show’s best new regular – not least because he’s the first glee clubber to openly criticize Will’s terrible ideas – and he could have done so much more with better material. Glee season 6: #JusticeForRyder.

#2 – Isabelle Wright

Isabelle was Kurt’s boss and mentor at Vogue.com, where he interned upon arriving in New York during season 4. This plotline was put aside once Kurt was finally admitted to NYADA, to the disappointment of many. There’s always been a fairly significant portion of fans – including Chris Colfer himself, who pitched Kurt as the future editor of Kurtin magazine – who never quite saw performance as Kurt’s true career path, and it would be great to see a storyline where he realizes this and becomes comfortable with changing direction. He could reconnect with Isabelle while pursuing a new goal as a designer, stylist or costumier. Sarah Jessica Parker is another star who probably isn’t available at the drop of a hat, but we can dream, right?

#1 – Jesse St. James

Number one on our countdown is, of course, Jesse St. James. Could there be any other option for the top spot? Jesse is a complex character, as naive and ridiculous as Rachel in his own way. Every time he re-visits Glee, he’s grown into himself a little more and it becomes clearer and clearer how very much in love with Rachel he is. His last appearance in season 3 showed him as a competent and compassionate coach – there was a lot of depth to his worry and panic about Unique – and although he was still hung up on Rachel, he respectfully congratulated her and Finn on their engagement, and he privately helped her out by voicing his thoughts to NYADA dean Carmen Tibideaux.

If the show chooses to give Rachel a new romance, we’d prefer it was with Jesse to any other character. Acting out scenes of Rachel moving on from Finn will probably be quite sad for Lea Michele, and it would be nice to imagine her doing this with the support of her real best friend Jonathan Groff. Jesse is right for Rachel in different ways to Finn – there’s not always one person for everyone, or sometimes you don’t get to keep the one you thought was the one. Finn complemented Rachel beautifully, but if Jesse has continued to mature in the time since we’ve seen him, he could also be a very good match for her, someone who’d help her rediscover her passions and who dreams the same way.

Glee season 6 premieres tonight on Fox at 8 p.m. EST with “Loser Like Me” and “Homecoming.”