So this episode was much better than the last, but it still had its problems, albeit different ones. For one, there were way too many attempted storylines. It felt like we focused on Maddie, Hallie, and then the writers tried to cram everyone else in there for their cameos. Also, why on earth is Hallie, a non-series regular getting so much screen time. It’s not even like she’s a supporting character in a main plot like Damien was; the storyline literally revolved around her with Juliette and Avery as supporting characters. I really have no idea to cover this episode other than to run down the characters to make sure everything gets covered. So bear with me Nashies, it’s going to be a slightly bumpy ride.
As a side note, I am still holding out hope for Will to greet Alyssa with a slight revision of the classic line Luke says to Ryan on
The O.C.: "Welcome to Nashville, B----." Or at the very least, I am hoping for some meta reference to Chris Carmack and Rachel Bilson's shared past on the series. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Let’s start with Maddie. I didn’t hate her this hour. You could even say I liked her. I wouldn’t go overboard, but she does not get the award for most annoying character, not even close. As a side note, I’ve decided to start giving out awards on a weekly basis to the characters than infuriate me. So her video has gone beyond viral with reporters camped outside her house. She’s on every news channel and her actions even inspire some gifs (more on that later). The question on everyone’s mind is how to handle the situation. Everyone has a different opinion on how she should handle the aftermath. Zach wants Maddie to basically apologize and admit she was wrong, just acting like a teenager. Bucky, who seems to be sticking around, tells Maddie that if she doesn’t apologize there could be ramifications later down the line. Juliette thinks Maddie was brave and should stick with her guns because they’re survivors. And Deacon, poor Deacon, just wants to do whatever will make this go away the quickest for Maddie.
So in the end, Maddie decides to take a little bit of everyone's advice from everyone, but mostly Deacon when she decides to show the world who she really is. She livestreams her apology on social media, where she explains what she’s sorry for and what she’s not. Then she shows the world who she is by performing a song with Daphne. I can't remember the last time Maddie and Daphne sung together, so that was a nice treat. I think Maddie handled the fallout in a way that was very her but also showed a level of maturity. She was able to admit where she had gone wrong, but she also stuck to her convictions. She surpassed my expectations and for that I am proud. She even handled her "break-up" with Clay with grace. Last episode, Maddie was whining about them taking some space, but this episode she was able to see that they were never going to work. While they may care about each other immensely, Maddie was able to let Clay go, and go he did. The episode ended with Clay packing up his things and leaving Nashville. So Maddie, you earn the award of most improved character for the episode. Congrats!
If you're wondering when the ranting starts, wait no longer as I express my frustration with Hallie. I mean come on EPs, this isn’t rocket surgery. I literally do not care whatsoever about her personal life and all the drama it entails. So she’s in a complicated relationship with a guy who will probably never leave his wife. Yawn. She has doubts about using new musicians because it will hurt said guy’s feelings. Boring. I would rather have her screen time divvied up between the series regulars, so we could actually get more than a few scenes on some of those storylines. That actually would have solved both of my major issues with the episode: no Hallie and it wouldn’t feel like the showrunners were trying to cram everything down our throats at once. Also, I could be alone here, but I wasn’t blown away by her performance. Deacon and Avery acted like she was god’s gift to this green earth. I mean it was somewhat obvious she would end up at Highway 65 because it’s the only record label on our show, but still. Deacon felt the need to sign her as his performance gave him chills. Pass. And Avery desperately needed to produce her album because she has something rare in country music. Oh please. To clarify, I didn’t think her performance was bad; I just don’t think it deserves the praise and awe it’s getting. I feel like this storyline is only here to create eventual Javery drama based on the promo for next week’s episode. From what I can tell, Juliette gets jealous that Avery and Hallie are working together. More unnecessary drama. How about a storyline that focuses on Avery outside of these women? Who’s with me?
Now let’s transition to the smaller story arcs that were forced down our throat. I’m going to lump Juliette and Avery together because both of their story arcs mostly revolve around Hallie. Juliette is back in fighting form, acting as Hallie’s champion. She’s a supportive friend to Hallie and gives her some good advice about the married guy. This is the Juliette we love. She’s also a good friend to Maddie, giving Maddie advice about what to do. However, she continues her deception when she sings the song meant for Maddie. I lowkey loved the song, so I’m going to ignore it. That storyline isn’t over, but it doesn’t look to be coming to a head anytime soon. Probably by the end of the season. So we don’t really get much of Juliette besides that, but this episode she is a supporting player for the episode’s larger arcs. And then we have Avery, who just has to produce Hallie’s album. Like I said, I don’t see what the big deal is about Hallie. Avery seems to think producing her album would be a great score, but I think he’s more talented than that. Let’s have been tour as an artist or produce for a big name. I’m happy he’s getting screen time, but I wish he could be the focus of a storyline. He continues to the bridesmaid, except Hallie is now the one getting “married.” Here’s an idea, let’s sign Avery to Highway 65 instead of Hallie. I mean if most of our series regulars are at that label, then let’s get him a record deal. Avery turned down an opportunity to go on tour because he thought Juliette couldn’t handle him being gone. However, he can make an album in Nashville and be there for Juliette. It’s a win-win.
Now onto Scarlett and Gunnar. First thing’s first. Damien is gone! WHOO! Is he gone for good, probably not, but I’ll take what I can get. As usual Scarlett continues to annoy me. She gets runner-up for the most irritating character. Here we have Gunnar making her dinner and doting on her every whim, and she still continues to string him along. Apparently her feelings for Gunnar have changed, so while he’s being all stable and available, she just doesn’t feel sexually attracted to him. So instead of ripping the cord like she should, she listens to Deacon’s advice to keep him on the hook. Deacon basically says that just because Scarlett doesn’t have romantic feelings for Gunnar right now, she may later on, so Scarlett shouldn’t end things because she may feel differently later. This just feels like a way to keep the drama going in Scarlett and Gunnar’s relationship. Damien being gone isn’t good enough; they still have to jump through hurtles. Also, this feels like it came out of nowhere. I thought Scarlett was supposed to be conflicted about her feelings, meaning she still had feelings for Gunnar. Now all of a sudden, the romance is gone? I don’t buy it. Like I’ve said before, Scarlett needs to make a choice. On the plus side, Gunnar can cook. Ladies, he’s becoming quite the catch. So the saint award goes to Gunnar, who edged out the forerunner of Deacon.
Oh Deacon. You gave Maddie great advice but horrible advice to Scarlett. Wanting to do whatever it takes to make this situation disappear as quickly as possible for Maddie, great parenting. Telling Maddie to follow her heart and that you support her, amazing. Having Scarlett keep Gunnar on the hook, not so much. This is why you lost the saint of the week award. Can I just point out how hypocritical this is coming from Deacon? Before he and Rayna got together for the good, he was basically in the same situation with her as Gunnar is with Scarlett. Rayna kept Deacon on the hook for years, and we overlook that because they were supposed to be endgame, but Rayna still kind of played mind games with him. So I thought Deacon would tell Scarlett to let Gunnar go, but his advice makes no sense to me. This is the first time in a while, Deacon has disappointed me. The new EPs have almost succeeded in destroying every character near and dear to my heart. If it was their intention to anger and alienate the fans, congratulations, you’re doing a bang up job.
Next up is the introduction of Alyssa Greene, Highway 65’s interim Chief Strategy Officer. Alyssa makes it very clear that she knows nothing about country music. I feel like this is a problem, seeing as the show is entitled Nashville. She gets a three month trial period to prove her worth, but I don’t see her going anywhere as Rachel Bilson was brought in to “replace” Connie Britton. Despite her lack of knowledge about the music industry and her idea that the artists create a niche in brand products, I actually really liked her. I thought she wasn’t overly featured, which is good, because we just met her. She didn’t take away screen time from our favorites; she actually forced all of them into a room together, Will included. Her arrival will obviously create drama, but I feel like it will at least be somewhat organic. We were introduced to Highway 65’s financial problems at the start of the season, and Zach does make a good point, as much as I hate to admit it. The label could be in trouble following Rayna’s death as her music sustained the business. I was also a fan of her blunt attitude, which may have turned some viewer’s off, but I thought it was refreshing not having to watch characters go around in circles trying to hide something.
So speaking of Zach, he gets the award for the most irritating character. I get that bringing in Alyssa may have been a good business choice, and looping in Deacon about what was happening was great. However, it comes down to the fact he basically tried to exploit his relationship with Will. Following the meeting of all of Highway 65’s artists where the brand promotion was introduced, the other artists are less than thrilled about the idea. Zach wants Will to basically talk the other artists into doing it. No, Zach when you are at home, Will is your boyfriend, not your employee. And as we’re reminded, this isn’t the first time Zach has asked Will to do something like this. Zach had Will talk to Deacon about finishing his and Rayna’s album after her death. Also, Zach just assumes Will likes the idea, pressuring Will into liking it. Zach continues to manipulate every character around him, even going so far as his own boyfriend. Like Zach it’s not Will’s job to spy for you. If you want to make the brand product thing happen, then convince the artists yourself.
Kudos to Will for standing up for himself. He’s be conspicuously absent the past few episodes that I almost forget he was a Highway 65 artist until he showed up in the meeting. As a gay country musician, there’s enough of an uphill battle without him singing about mops. Will has really grown over the course of the series from him accepting his sexuality to coming out and being comfortable with himself. So the fact that he’s not willing to hide his true feelings just to make his significant other happy is a welcome reprieve. While this storyline does wrap up in a tidy little bow with Budweiser wanting to work with Will, I’m all right with the direction it took. Would it have been nice for Will and Zach to break up? Maybe, but I was just happy to see good things happening for Will. He has spent so much of this show trying to please others, that it’s nice to see him true to himself AND happy.
Liv continues to stay with Daphne and is proving to be a little b----. Liv decides to make a gif from the video of Maddie with the hashtag #WhiteGirlsMatterToo. This of course makes the situation even worse with people changing the hashtag and making their own gifs. What Liv did was cruel, and I’m annoyed that Daphne left Liv post it to begin with. Yes, Daphne eventually made Liv delete the post, but by then it was too late. Other internet trolls had already created more, so it was essentially too late. I don’t know where Daphne’s mind is these days. I was sympathetic in the beginning when she lost her mother, but her actions hurt Maddie, who is going through hell. While Maddie has been a flip-flopping nightmare, she has always been there for Daphne. Daphne’s complete disregard for her sister’s feelings is just awful. Based on the previews, this storyline will carry over into next week’s episode, where hopefully Liv will be gone for good. Liv needs to leave the city just like Clay does at the end of this week’s episode.
So before I end this review, I’m going to mention how much I loved the scene of Scarlett, Gunnar, Avery, and Will playing pool. It’s been way too long since they all had a scene together, and it was a great reminder that they’re all friends. These artists came up in the music industry together, and it was great seeing them have fun. From discussing the brand products to Scarlett killing the guys at pool and Avery announcing he had a fire to put out, I loved it. I want more of those scenes. I’m pretty sure the EPs promised us these types of scenes in their slower storytelling with moments to breathe. It was just a great way for Will and Avery’s storylines to keep building momentum, but also reminded us of the friendship on the show. This scene was everything to me. I would totally watch a bottle episode with these characters sans the relationship drama between Scarlett and Gunnar.
And that’s a wrap until next week. We got a much improved episode, but it still had its problems. So what did you think of this episode? Did Maddie make the right choice? Were you a fan of the focus on Hallie? Were you glad to see Will make an appearance? Are Damien and Clay gone for good? Share your comments below.
