Egadsville
This priceless face on Rayna says it all about her arc this week. Markus Keen bitches about Avery, and decides Rayna herself needs to produce his album. But then when he drags her to the rehearsal space and plays her a song, he refuses to listen to her notes and gets really whiny and petulant before running away to play pinball. (Where IS this rehearsal space? They use it all the time -- since season one -- and I can't help wondering who bankrolls all this. Especially the free pinball.)
At any rate, between Markus being a jacknozzle and Maddie being the most insufferably petulant teen, Rayna is about ready to take anyone with a six-letter name starting with M and fire them into space with Richard Branson. Expense it to Highway 65 and hope they write some songs up there so it can be a tax write-off.
Duetville
To make Markus understand the emotion and potential she heard in his old band's music -- which he's clinging to much too hard -- Rayna asks Daphne and Maddie to repeat their talent show performance. Maddie is a total wad about it ("Oh, NOW you want me to sing?!?"), and Daphne starts crying and runs out -- which leads to her admitting to Rayna what she heard in the bathroom that night. Rayna gives her a nice but weirdly distant pep-talk -- no hugging, no tear-wiping; the scene plays as if she might as well be talking to Layla and not her own daughter -- but it works, and Daphne goes back in to sing. Only to find out that Maddie already did it and Markus is ever so grateful, and Daphne feels totally superfluous. POOR DAPHNE. I jut want to squeeze that little muffin. She also reminds me visually of Gretl from The Sound of Music and so I'm really hoping one day she'll beg off singing because she's got a sore finger.
Teenville
This expression of smug teen whateverment is Maddie's whole week: She picks a fight with Rayna about everything, won't cut Daphne a break, won't do anything Rayna asks because Rayna doesn't ever do what MADDIE asks (as if that is how functional parent-child relations EVER occur)... she does make awkward reference to The Sex, though. "Does she know?" Colt asks her on the phone. "That I love you? No," Maddie says. I guess that's their code for "that the tour bus was rocking and no one came a-knocking."
I am also including this shot because Rayna immediately confiscated Maddie's phone. Later in the episode, she filches Daphne's to call Colt, and I wonder if this smoking gun will go off later when Colt either a) texts something revealing to Daphne's phone, incorrectly thinking Maddie still has it, or b) texts something revealing to Maddie's, forgetting Rayna has it.
MASHville
Another sign these two are going to blow up soon: Maddie is shown doodling excessively in that priceless teen way. She's got it bad, y'all. I wish they'd shown her playing MASH and rigging it so that she ended up in a mansion with Colt driving a Ferrari and being a successful recording artist with a manageable number of kids. Then again, she already basically lives in a mansion so maybe the two of them would really dig a shed as a change of pace.
Sexheadville
Welcome to Gunnar's post-coital coif, which has been thrust off-center, so to speak. He basically had a one-nighter with the roadie, but can't help trying to turn it into something more profound despite Will's and Avery's pleas that he accept it for what it was. He agonizingly misreads her signals, tries so hard to have any kind of official date, and then gives up, only to have her show up for another boffing later. She just wants fun. He wants to stare deeply into her eyes, searching for the meaning of life, and then have someone to wave in Scarlett's face while she trots around with Caleb. Good luck, son.
Schmoopyville
Layla and Oliver Hudson are mad crazy happy. He earns his way into the CEO job at Luke's company, and invites Layla to move in with him; everything is so hunky dory that you just know the other shoe is about to drop and stab one of them in the brain.
WHAT WHY ARE WE STILL DOING THISville
Deacon and Scarlett still haven't left Natchez, because OH MY GOD THIS IS GOING ON LONGER THAN TAYLOR SWIFT'S 1989 TOUR. And so we're treated to a poster of Soft-Focus Bev Goes To Glamour Shots, promoting her usual gig at The Landslide. Deacon decides to go, but Scarlett refuses, because that club is where Bev's dreams went to die in some smelly regular's overflowing ashtray.
Cassingleville
But then Scarlett uncovers Bev's demo from the days after Deacon left, in an envelope with all her rejection letters. She finds it in the top drawer of a desk in Bev's COMPLETELY EMPTY apartment, by the way. A drawer in which she would have already looked, because she has stripped that place so clean of everything that the cabinets barely even have handles. But, Contrivance has kissed her cranial rope, and so Scarlett decides she's proud that Bev didn't give up on her dreams, or something. And goes to the bar and sings one of Bev's songs to all the friends who loved her, and PLEASE GOD CAN WE SLAM THIS DOOR.
Hairville
Let's get one last look at the hair, though, before she cuts it. I hope this cut is not merely a two-inch trim masquerading as drama.
Also, Scarlett is wearing a tank top and jorts under a poncho made of spiderwebs. "SOME PIG," it says on the sleeve.
Happyville
Ugh, but then on the way home, Deacon calls his sponsor -- the one who works at a bar -- and tells him he wants to buy into the struggling club. On one condition. Please trust that I am barfing in my mouth while I type this: He wants to rename it THE BEVERLY. I hope he fills it full of sad microwaves and people who yell.
Ladyville
This is Luke's marketing advisor. She finally consented to having sex with him this week, because their lifestyle brand has successfully been funded by Lots Of Wholesome Advertisers. Something which seems to contravene the Luke Wheeler brand. I always thought he was supposed to be a hard-charging hard-drinking Kenny Chesney type.
Splitsville
These two break up because, when Kevin gets Will a spot in a local showcase, Will is dismayed when all the screaming girls start shoving men up to the front row. "Like they're the only people I can sing to," Will slurs drunkenly, before bitterly regretting that he ever came out of the closet and ruined his dreams. Kevin is OVER IT so he dumps Will in an alley. Meaning, he breaks up with him whilst they are IN an alley; he doesn't physically take Will's body and hurl it into a back street.
Cadenceville
I just thought you'd like to see a SMILING LITTLE MUFFIN given that everything else that happens from her on out will all be full of stress and tears. The kid they have playing Cadence FINALLY got to spend one episode being nothing but cheerful.
Messville
Juliette is jacked up on everything and sobbing in her room. It's a bad scene. She's holding the business card of Avery's attorney and can't even seem to process anything. Ugh, this is hard to watch knowing that Hayden was having a hard time herself. She is really great in this episode. In all of them, really. She is a freaking treasure.
Viciousville
As Juliette shuffles out of the hotel looking like the Unabomber, people are pointing and whispering, until a fan jumps in and takes a selfie. Juliette snaps and tackles her to the ground and begins wailing on her. The dizzy editing and Hayden's great acting make that snap feel both earned and still jolting. It's good.
Howlville
Juliette would not be pleased to know this is the still that made it on the news. Maybe this will be my Halloween costume.
Will alerts Avery, whose hackles go up. He wants to call her. He can sense she's on the razor's edge. But Will advises him not to, because he doesn't want Avery to get sucked into Juliette's drama again. Understandable, but I do feel like anyone who knows her can still tell this is UNUSUALLY psychotic behavior, and coupled with her abandonment of the family, a strong sign that Shit's Gone Wrong.
Cryville
Oliver dumps her in her room, at which point Juliette makes a play for him in a desperate bid not to be alone. Oliver disgustedly throws her off and tells her he's never wanted anyone LESS. She is devastated. Then he talks to Avery and lies -- whether he thinks of it as a lie is another story -- that the last time he saw Juliette she was in her room and totally fine. Meanwhile, she's still stewing in the juices of vodka and pills, some of which she dumps out and snorts.
Desperationville
For real, Hayden is stunning in this hour. What could have played as histrionics and hysteria instead feels like a genuine breakdown. It always feels like Juliette's tears are coming in spite of herself, and here we just sit back and watch as she tries to wrestle herself back under control and fails miserably. It's just... she's SO GOOD. I wish more people were talking about her.
nashville-recap-season-4-episode-6-20
Glenn takes a break from combing his forelock to tell Avery that, no, he hasn't reached out to Juliette. And that it hurts him not to, but yada yada yada rock bottom. Yet another person telling Avery to ignore his wild-eyed urge to call her and make sure she's not going to hurt herself. So, when Juliette texts Avery a simple, "I'm sorry," Avery responds... by deleting her from his phone. WAY HARSH, TAI.
Drunkville
Colt, meanwhile, has been meandering through Luke's party all by his lonesome. And drinking. So he ends up hammered and half-conscious in his hotel room. Maddie calls him with Daphne's phone, but he's so woozy that he needs a second before they can talk, which irritates her (if I were 15 I would be annoyed by that too because it's such a BUT WHAT ABOUT MEEEEE age). Also, Colt visually reminds me of a cross between Joseph Gordon Levitt and 10 Things-era Heath Ledger.
Shitville
Colt staggers out onto his balcony to get a sobering breath of fresh air -- don't trouble yourself with why he couldn't have stayed on the cell phone and just brought it with him; like Maddie would care if he said, "I accidentally got wasted, so please talk to me while I sober up" -- and sees Juliette stagger out to the edge of the rooftop. Here, I thought Colt was going to try and run down and rescue her and then drunkenly die himself. But no. He just watches what transpires and apparently does nothing about it, like, say, text his dad that Juliette is wobbling out on a ledge.
Vodkaville
Juliette stares at herself on a billboard and then angrily starts dumping her booze out over the street. No enterprising young individuals stand underneath it with their mouths open (unless THAT is what Colt went and did).
DEATHville
And then Oliver Hudson pops out and sees her drop the bottle, and start to tumble, and he runs over and grabs her, throwing her to safety. But of course then HE loses his footing, and OVER HE GOES. BAM. SMASH. After the only good professional day of his last year, Oliver Hudson tries to help Juliette not die, and ends up in pieces on the sidewalk. It seemed pretty obvious -- Colt was a decent red herring, but Oliver and Layla's unfettered happiness REALLY seemed like the kiss of death for them, and so he was a top candidate for The Plunge. It looks like, next week, Juliette tries to play it off like he killed himself and she wasn't even there. Which will be potentially VERY JUICY given that Cole saw it, but was hammered, and would have to admit to being hammered... let's see if Nashville can hang with this soapy twist. RIP, Oliver. I will miss your ability to hate-eye-bang every single person in your orbit.