Nashville - Recap: Can't Remember To Forget You
Recap and review of Nashville - Season 2 Episode 11 - I'll Keep Climbing:
In kicking off the second half of Season 2, Nashville has shown its priorities are somewhat mixed. "I'll Keep Climbing" starts out as a fairly even split down the middle between soap opera conflict and more grounded, industry-related drama. If you've read my reviews before, you likely know that I prefer the latter narrative, as I don't care about the relationships or the personal drama nearly as much as the series seems to want me to. It's the music industry stuff -- the very realistic problems that an artist faces on his or her way to superstardom, and the difficulty a star faces in maintaining his or her status -- that is most interesting. And so at least half of "I'll Keep Climbing" was a miss, for me. The episode isn't necessarily bad, but it's weighted down by stories that don't really need to be there.
Credit: ABC
We kick things off with Juliette's latest music video, which serves as a montage that gets us up to speed with everything that's happened since the midseason finale: we learn that Peggy (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) has died as a result of her injuries after being shot, sending Teddy (Eric Close) into a spiral of grief-fueled paranoia. It turns out that the person who attempted to kill him blamed Teddy's policies for his perpetual unemployment, which I suppose is a story that makes sense, relative to where the narrative has been going concerning Teddy-as-Mayor.
Credit: ABC
But the shooter's eventual death (as the result of a suicide) does not allay Teddy's fears. He worries that the shooter may not have been alone in his disgruntled hostility, and so he vows to keep his distance from Rayna (Connie Britton) and the girls, for fear that he might put them in harm's way simply by being around them. However, by episode's end, he's utterly torn to shreds by his grief and loneliness, visibly breaking down into a pool of tears for the first time in the series. And it's an effecting moment, though brief; yet it might have been more effective if Peggy had been someone we'd been given to caring about, as opposed to being a misguided, manipulative villain for much of her time on the show. It also doesn't help that Teddy isn't exactly the show's most sympathetic character either. He's largely a good man, but the show doesn't frequently ask us to identify with him, so there's a certain remove between Teddy and the audience that makes it hard to feel for him beyond the basic sympathy we feel for a man who'd just lost someone he loves.
But Teddy's loss is only one small part of the episode. Let's delve into the rest:
Credit: ABC
Gunnar (Sam Palladio) learns that Will (Chris Carmack) no-showed an important radio interview, and no one knows where he is. So Gunnar seeks Will out, and finds him camping out in the forest. What follows is an examination of Will's difficulty in coming to terms with his sexuality, as he considers himself "disgusting" and doesn't want to return to the city, or the public eye. He reveals to Gunnar, over a campfire, that he had been planning on killing himself. He recalls standing on the tracks, waiting for the train to take him. Will grimly tells Gunnar that the train lights felt like relief, yet he just couldn't bring himself to go through with it. And it's just as well, since Gunnar absolutely snaps on his friend, knocking him to the ground and chiding him for being so stupid as to consider suicide. Gunnar makes Will promise him that he'll call if he ever gets so desperate again, and a frightened Will promises, saying that if he couldn't bring himself to commit suicide before, it's unlikely he'll ever do it now. It's a stunningly poignant scene, particularly when you consider how the friendship between Gunnar and Will has eroded. Palladio and Carmack, in particular, really sell the inherent drama of the scene: suicide is nothing to take lightly, and the characters treat the issue with all the weight it deserves. When the two make up the next day, and Will has his confidence back, it feels like the show has earned that character growth. For me, this was one of the best parts of the episode.
Credit: ABC
Of course, that's not all Gunnar has going on this week, as he receives a call from Scarlett (Clare Bowen), who reveals that KELLY CLARKSON wants to record "Fade Into You", one of the songs they wrote together. Gunnar gets together with Scarlett, and they work on the song together, even getting some new material ready for the showcase. This includes "Lately," a beautiful ballad that Kelly Clarkson absolutely adores. She wants to record the song, as well as anything else they've got. Kelly even offers them the chance to work with her own producing team, which has Gunnar over-the-moon. However, Scarlett realizes she just can't do it, and storms out of the showcase after begging Kelly's pardon. It turns out she's still upset over Gunnar dating Zoey (Chaley Rose), and to be frank, jealousy isn't a good look on her. She not only continues to take out her bitterness on Zoey (who is officially over it, and tells Scarlett as much), but also on Avery (Jonathan Jackson), whom she is convinced has feelings for Juliette (Hayden Panettiere).
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Ultimately, Scarlett ends things with Avery, telling him that they're basically like "old slippers," finding little more than comfort in their mutual familiarity. It's a poignant metaphor, but I don't like the damage this whole jealousy storyline is doing to Scarlett's character, as it just doesn't feel like the Scarlett we know. She's passing up chances and ruining potential career-making opportunities, and for what? Because a guy she dumped moved on? Avery was right to call her out on her hypocrisy, even if it is easy to understand why she'd be upset. I mean, it IS her ex-boyfriend dating her best friend. But even then, you'd think she'd find a way to be happy for them, as Gunnar and Zoey close out the episode confessing their love for one another. It's all schmaltzy as hell, and feels twice as pointless. In my opinion, this whole arc was pretty much the worst plotline of the episode, and I hope it ends sooner rather than later, as they took a willing guest star in Kelly Clarkson, and then proceeded not to do a whole lot with her. Felt like a missed opportunity to me.
Another missed opportunity is the show failing to get Juliette out of the endless cycle of infuriating storylines. It's almost as if the writers have no idea how to write Juliette if she isn't either being torched by the media, or screwed over and used by some guy. There's a really interesting story this show could tell about how fame changes once it's attained, and how even the biggest, newest superstars have to fight off constant threats to their throne. I'd have loved to have seen Juliette become the new Rayna, fending off the threat of the new Juliette as represented by Layla Grant (Aubrey Peeples). But the show has instead decided to focus on how Juliette is continually vilified by the media for her affair with Charlie Wentworth. And to make matters worse, a new media scandal hits, when Juliette is goaded into an argument by a Bible-thumping lunatic, who claims that Juliette will burn in Hell with her mother, and adds that God will condemn them both. Juliette confronts the man, who is standing near a barricade where Layla is signing autographs, and tells him that "There is no God that would believe a crackpot like you." But, naturally, what ends up on the internet is a Vine of Juliette saying "There is no God!" on infinite loop. And there are just some things you don't mess with when it comes to country music fans: their truck is one, and their God is the other.
Credit: ABC
And so Juliette has to endure getting paint tossed at her from hostile crowds, while also enduring constant, lewd remarks about her personal life. When she makes a last-ditch plea to Layla to come forward and tell the media what was really said -- since Layla was close enough to Juliette and the Bible-thumper to hear the entire exchange -- the teen star agrees. Of course, it's not out of the goodness of her heart, but rather because 1) if Juliette's career tanks, so does the tour, and 2) Juliette will now owe Layla, and it's obvious that Layla gets off on having that kind of power. And so she holds a press conference and reveals the truth, and...the public doesn't care. Turns out Juliette wasn't wrong when she remarked that she could scream the truth at the top of her lungs in a sold out arena, and no one would believe her. The media has made up its mind, and the last we see of Juliette this week is the country star sitting in front of her TV, tearfully watching a news report that shows fans and protesters alike burning her CDs and merchandise in one big bonfire.
So yeah...Can this girl catch a break at some point? Seriously, Hayden Panettiere deserves much better than the stories she keeps getting, yet this is largely all she ever gets. I can understand that she's considered the original bad girl of the show, but I don't think it's a characterization that fits anymore. She reminds me of Ivy from the dearly-departed Smash. She started out as a villain in the first season in much the same way Juliette was, yet her character was softened as Season 2 started, recognizing that she had become a fan favorite, and also recognizing that her villainous characterization no longer made sense for the part. I wish Juliette could catch a similar break from the creative forces behind Nashville, because I'm kind of over seeing this crap happen to her again and again. She's like a puppy that's all kicked out.
Credit: ABC
I suppose I would be remiss if I didn't mention Rayna and Deacon (Charles Esten), who suffer their own industry-related issues this week. Rayna has finally gotten out from under the thumb of Edgehill, but she learns from internal research that the album she made with Liam (Michiel Huisman) may not be strong enough for launch just yet, due to the soft sales of the lead single. And so she begins looking at prospective acts for the label to boost the roster of talent. One band, Cadillac Three, reminds me a lot of Florida-Georgia Line, and I wonder if we'll end up seeing them again, or if this is merely to get the ball rolling to its logical endpoint: Rayna signing Deacon.
Granted, it might be the obvious route, but I could easily see the show going in that direction anyway, since the episode closes with Rayna coming home to find Maddie and Deacon writing together, having penned a fantastic song in just under ten minutes. Deacon, who spent much of the episode being brutish towards his lawyer girlfriend due to the pressures of songwriting, comes across as less of a jerk here, now that he's in his element with his biological daughter. But I still feel like the character has a long way to go until he's entirely rehabbed as a sympathetic figure. It's part of the larger problem with the stories here. At least half of the characters are actively unlikable when they don't really need to be. It's not organic for Deacon to be a jerk, any more than it is organic for Scarlett to be a green-eyed monster. But the story needs them to be, so they are, whether it makes sense or not. And I just can't get on-board with that kind of storytelling.
"I'll Keep Climbing" is a rough sit, and while it's not as if I feel like I wasted my time, I also don't feel as though my investment was rewarded with a strong episode. I only rant because I know Nashville is capable of better. Hell, this season, in general, has been really strong. But that doesn't really excuse such blatant missteps as this week's installment. Hopefully, the show gets back on track as it settles into the midseason groove. I certainly have the faith it can.