Life is a sad country song, and if this week’s episode of Nashville is any indication, the horizon only looks more and more somber.
Juliette’s postpartum spiral gets visibly worse when she breaks down on Live with Kelly and Michael, and her drinking and denial has become so evident that even Jeff can longer deny it. It may be stupid, but Jeff goes to Avery and begs him to talk to his wife. Don’t worry, Jeff hasn’t grown a heart, he’s simply worried about the press getting wind of Juliette’s home troubles. Nevertheless Avery does reach out to his wife, only to find a party raging in their home. Once the guests are thrown out, it seems as if Juliette and Avery have a real chance at reconnecting. Avery and Cadence make an appearance at Juliette’s launch party, where Cadence cannot seem to stop crying. At first it seems that Juliette is getting to where she needs to be, scooping Cadence up to soothe her. The pressure becomes too much for her, so Juliette does what she does best, runs away.
Luke is advised to drop Will from his tour, but Luke isn’t willing to give up on his friend. Will is invited to the launch party for Juliette’s new album, and at first it seems as if he is being accepted. Slowly it becomes apparent that he is not, and Luke realizes this isn’t going to change. Will is officially dropped from Wheelin’ Dealin’ Records. Just a side note, I am not liking this new PR girl at all. No brand building should be worth sacrificing your integrity, or at other people’s expense.
Scarlett can barely stand to be in a room with Gunnar, which puts a huge strain on Gunnar professionally. What comes out of this is that we finally get to see Scarlett’s boyfriend’s true colors. The good doctor really doesn’t have any respect for Scarlett’s music career. He basically tells Gunnar Scarlett’s dreams are a fantasy, and that as a doctor he has the real career. Luckily Beverly wakes up and is alert enough to be some sort of a distraction for her daughter. Beverly’s brush with death inspires her to apologize to her daughter and her brother. Peace looks to be on the horizon until Beverly flatlines at the end of the episode. It looks like mother and daughter may not have as much time as they thought they would.
Rayna faces an uphill battle as the reality of Highway 65’s image hits her. She knows the label needs a big name artist, and isn’t afraid to look outside of the country waters to find it. So Rayna hops on a plane to fish for Marcus Keane, a rock star who recently went solo and is looking for a label where he has the freedom to do his music his way. Marcus and Rayna’s midair meeting actually goes very well, leaving Rayna feeling confident. She signs him, but I have a feeling Bucky’s instincts about the deal being expensive and risky could become a reality. When something seems too good to be true, it usually means you should be watching your back.
My votes for underrated storylines this week go to Layla and Daphne. Layla poured her soul out at a performance at the Bluebird, all while knowing that no one she cared about could be there to support her. The one person who does see and support Layla is Glenn, and I really think that she should take him up on his offer to manage her. If the man can handle Juliette Barnes, he can handle anything. Daphne’s storyline seems like it’s going to be weighty as well. That poor little girl is slowly drowning in the whispers and rejection from Teddy being in prison, and no one seems to notice. Or at least, they won’t notice until things become visibly worse.
How much more turmoil can the country music cast handle before it becomes too much?
[Photo credit: Mark Levine/ABC]
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