Nashville, 1×19 Why Don't You Love Me

With two episodes to go til the end of season 1, things are really starting to heat up in Nashville!

There is just something so sexy about a man with a guitar. And when he is using that guitar to sing to the woman he loves after fourteen years of being apart, it’s a pretty incredible thing to watch. There is something so incredibly comfortable and, as Deacon said, right about Rayna and Deacon. They know each other so well, they’ve been in love for so long, and now they are finally getting their chance at making it work. The only problem is that Rayna has this huuuge secret that she’s been keeping from his all this time – he’s the father of her older daughter, Maddie. When this comes out, not only will it be a major revelation, but Deacon will also have to deal with the fact that Rayna’s been lying to him all this time. It’s hard to see how the relationship will be able to make it over such a huge bump. So, I’m hoping it stays buried for a little while so we can enjoy some perfection before it all comes crashing down.

Meanwhile, I never thought I would feel bad or sympathetic for Teddy, but this situation with Deacon does pull at my heart strings a bit. He’s been Maddie’s father since she was born, and the notion that he could be robbed of that role must be terrifying. I mean, what does the man really have besides his daughters? At the same time, we weren’t there fourteen years ago, but Teddy obviously knew Maddie was Deacon’s and apparently had no problem robbing Deacon of the same…so maybe I don’t feel that bad after all. What do you think? I do worry about Maddie, though. I don’t believe that biology is what makes a father, and clearly Teddy has been hers all these years, but it’s not going to be easy for her to learn her whole life has been a lie.

Ok, let’s talk about Gunnar. The way I see it, there are two options. One, he’s a total homophobe whose small-mindedness is making it impossible for him to get a grip. Or two, he’s freaked out by the fact that he kinda wanted to kiss Will back. Are there any other options? I refuse to believe that Gunnar is a bigoted ass, so my assumption is that at some point he’s going to return that kiss. Is that crazy? Am I reading this wrong? I was excited when Gunnar and Scarlett finally hooked up, and I definitely think he wanted to be with her, but the harshness of his reaction to Will makes me feel like something is going on there. Clearly, Gunnar is struggling since his brother died (I was glad he at least tried to get that producer to listen to his ballads), but I don’t think it’s related to the situation with Will. What do you guys think? Is there any other explanation for Gunnar’s behavior toward Will?

And then there’s Juliette.  It’s crazy to think that she really trusted Dante since his creepiness seemed so obvious from the get-go, but apparently she did, and she is definitely hurting from his betrayal. Juliette spends the episode guzzling down whatever liquor she can get her hands on, attempting to drown her sorrows into oblivion. She busts in to yell at Deacon at the wrong moment and he, feeling frustrated with Rayna and fed up with Juliette, walks out and quits on her, despite her needing him for a performance that evening. Sounds like bad news, but actually it’s GREAT news because it gives Avery a chance to finally catch a break. Juliette stumbles over to the roadies looking for someone who can fill in and Avery jumps at the chance. Scarlett is confused looking on as her ex-boyfriend is standing in her uncle’s place on stage, but the performance goes off without a hitch and Juliette is grateful. The highlight of the episode, though, was hearing Avery sing The Morning of the Rain while jamming with the other roadies. (More of that, please.) After the concert, Avery and Juliette spend some time together and, in her drunken stupor, Juliette attempts to seduce Avery. Avery wisely turns her down. I like the idea that these two could be each other’s redemption. And this show seems to have a theme with female vocalists and the men who play guitar for them. I’m excited to see where this goes.

 

A few other thoughts:

-Juliette and Rayna were both nominated for a Female Vocalist award at the CMAs! That’s going to be a fun episode.

-Watching Deacon break up with Stacey was brutal. Of course I’ve been rooting for Rayna, but Stacey was lovely and good to Deacon, and it was really sad to watch her get her heartbroken.

-Jolene is turning out to be a wonderful mother. Somehow she has managed not to relapse, which seems miraculous to me, and she’s really there for Juliette. I hope this relationship continues to develop positively.

-It seems like every episode or two Juliette appears to be having an epiphany and making progress towards being a decent human being, and then by the next episode she’s horrible again. Do you think she’s finally ready to stop treating her mother so badly?

-I find the Teddy-Lamar-Tandy-Coleman storyline to be such a bore. It seems Coleman has decided to step aside and let the situation implode so that he can seamlessly step in and clean up the mess. I have no thoughts on this, I don’t really care what happens.

As always, your comments are much appreciated. Thanks for reading, see you back here next week!