Nashville - Recap: The One Where Somebody Dies, Maybe

Credit: ABC

So the episode covers the entire ensemble, and some of the storylines are more successful than others. It isn't normally my business to lead with the weakest, but I figured I might as well start at the bottom. I find it almost impossible to get truly invested in the romance between Gunnar (Sam Palladio) and Zoey (Chaley Rose), particularly since so much of it is couched in how Scarlett (Clare Bowen) has reacted to learning the truth. It's kind of silly for her to be so bent out of shape when 1) Gunnar isn't her boyfriend, and 2) she's already back together with Avery (Jonathan Jackson), so it's not like she could have a claim on Gunnar anyway. I certainly understand certain facets of jealousy, and why it's just not kosher to date a friend's ex, but it seemed like Scarlett would rather her friends be miserable and apart, all to satiate her bruised feelings. As Zoey correctly points out, Scarlett was the one who ended things with Gunnar, so while she has a certain right to be upset, it's just silly of her to turn it into a grudge. Besides, as Zoey also notes, if Scarlett were really her best friend, she'd understand just how happy Gunnar makes her, and wouldn't try coming between them. But really, this is all just a lot of chatter leading to Scarlett making amends with Zoey, and Zoey rededicating herself to her relationship with Gunnar after briefly ending it in order to save her friendship with Scarlett. And it's just not all that interesting.

Credit: ABC

And it carries over into another storyline, as Gunnar remains miffed that his song now belongs to Luke Wheeler (Will Chase), and commiserates with Deacon (Charles Esten), who is similarly annoyed at being kicked off of Teddy's benefit concert. And so the two men team up together to put on a show of their own, commandeering a friend's private property to stage a concert that draws a respectable audience, and earns Gunnar some real recognition from a well-connected contact. So at least it's looking like Gunnar is making waves in the music business, and with those waves is the possibility that Deacon might also be returning to the spotlight, as he expresses a desire to be a solo artist again. So basically, everyone is moving up in the music industry, metaphorically speaking.

Credit: ABC

Well, except for Layla Grant (Aubrey Peeples). She's still hugely popular and successful, but she finds herself making her fair share of enemies this week. She continues to patronize Juliette (Hayden Panettiere), who strongly suspects Layla was the one who leaked the story to the press about Charlie Wentworth (Charlie Bewley). However, she can't prove the accusation, and becomes frustrated as she begins to suffer abuse from crowds over her perceived reputation as a homewrecker. She's so rattled that she flubs the words to one of her songs during a concert, prompting Avery to come to the rescue and bail her out with an impressive vocal of his own. The depiction of the varying degrees of fame, and the equally varied instances of success and invasiveness, is interesting material for the episode to explore. And it adds further depth to the characters, particularly Jeff Fordham (Oliver Hudson), who gives Layla a stern lecture about her attitude, and warns that if she had anything to do with leaking the Juliette story to TMZ, she'll be out of a contract.

Jeff still isn't a good guy, per se, but he's no longer necessarily a mustache-twirling villain either, and that has to be counted as a plus. Of course, he still gives Rayna (Connie Britton) a hard time about her contract, and announces his plans to release her album anyway. But he and Rayna have several encounters throughout the episode that help them better understand one another, as Jeff sees how passionate Rayna is about the music, and Rayna can see just how much Jeff believes in the artists in his label, even if it's a completely self-interested, mercenary faith. It's about as engrossing as I've found the Rayna/Jeff story to be so far, and I doubt it'll come to an end simply because Rayna has managed to buy her way out of Edgehill (by essentially liquidating everything she owns to hand Jeff the $20 million).

Credit: ABC

Juliette also shows the steely demeanor that Hayden Panettiere plays so well, as she rebukes the press for trying to butt into her personal life, and tells them that her private life will remain just that: private, and hers. The video of this speech quickly goes viral, and while it's hard to believe she'll have been entirely vindicated in the eyes of the public, it seems that she's no longer a pariah. She even gets an encouraging lecture from Charlie, who offers his sincere hope that she is able to find someone deserving of her love, and whom she can love in return. And it's this speech that prompts Juliette to realize that Avery is exactly that someone, a development that I'm surprised took this long to occur. Juliette and Avery have felt like a pretty natural pairing since day one, and although I've loved their platonic dynamic, I think there's just as much potential in having Avery become the Deacon to Juliette's Rayna. But for now, it's not meant to be, as Juliette rushes to Avery's hotel room to confess her feelings, only to find him with Scarlett. Panettiere plays this scene with all the gut-wrenching heartache that you'd expect from the character, as Juliette has somehow, once again, found a way to choose wrongly in her love life -- and it's clear she's already begun the process in her own mind of blaming herself. It may be heartbreaking stuff, but it makes for damn good drama.

Credit: ABC

Which brings us to our big cliffhanger. The episode builds up that Teddy (Eric Close) has a less than pristine reputation among his constituents, and this story has its payoff when, while leaving the benefit concert, Teddy is attacked by a disheveled gunman. They struggle and the gun goes off, but Teddy is quickly able to subdue the man, who feels. However, the fight wasn't without collateral damage, as the stray bullet struck Peggy. It would seem Peggy would be the death that the show has been alluding to since last week's preview, but we still have one possible candidate. After Will caves in and sleeps with his ex again, he finds himself plagued by self-loathing over his homosexual lifestyle and his inability to be out while maintaining the career he wants so badly. And so he's driven to contemplating suicide. After the benefit concert, he walks off to the train tracks and, with tears in his eyes, waits as a train comes rolling up, its horn blaring its warning (a sound that is audible in the Teddy/Peggy scene, linking the two moments of tragedy). As the train nears, we see Will take a slight step forward, although the scene cuts away before we can see whether he's been struck and killed or not. I would bet money that he hasn't been killed, but Will isn't really a crucial character to the main storylines either, so who knows? Regardless, I have enjoyed Will's character arc, as he struggles with his masculine identity in an industry that privileges masculinity. It's an interesting story to explore in the world of country music, whether there are gay artists, and just what gay stigmatization would do to an artist's career prospects, even in a time like today, which is vastly more tolerant (though still VERY far from ideal) of different lifestyle choices. I really hope, at least, that this isn't how Will's story ends. But I suppose we'll have to wait until January to find out.

Credit: ABC

"Tomorrow Never Comes" was a very packed episode, but it still managed to be a pretty engrossing midseason finale. I'm not certain of where the show intends to go in the second half of season two, but I'm more than up for seeing what Nashville has in store.