Nashville - Recap: It's Business and It's Personal

For instance, "Your Wild Life’s Gonna Get You Down" featured characters struggling to keep their lives from figuratively exploding. Whether career issues or personal matters, everyone was teetering on the brink of ruin this week, and some of them are carrying that "tip of the iceberg" burden into next week. However, others have already begun the process of exploding, and it's really going to suck for the people who'll have to pick up the pieces.

But enough with the metaphors and similes. Let's get on with the episode.

Credit: ABC/Mark Levine

One of the things I liked about "Your Wild Life’s Gonna Get You Down" is that it never really felt as melodramatic as it actually was. This is because so much of the drama felt natural and organic. I'm mostly referring to the stuff with Maddie (Lennon Stella), who spends the entire episode at odds with Teddy (Eric Close), who grounds her after she sneaks out to go write music with Deacon (Charles Esten). When Rayna (Connie Britton) is able to get her out of her punishment so she can come to the Luke Wheeler show Deacon will be performing at, she meets Luke's teenage son, an amateur DJ who helps Maddie and Daphne (Lennon Stella) record a track that immediately gets posted online, which sends Rayna into a fury since it violates the family's anti-social media rule. But Maddie sees herself as a performer, despite her parents' attempts to keep her out of the public eye, and although one could easily see how the girl would be frustrated, given just how much music means to her life, her actions have unfortunate consequences.

Credit: ABC

Luke (Will Chase) sees the video Maddie posted online under the name "Maddie Claybourne" and puts two and two together about the identity of Maddie's real father. This not only creates problems between Rayna and Luke, but also between mother and daughter, as Maddie feels as though Rayna is trying to hide away her "bastard" child. In a wonderful moment of parental indignation, Rayna tearfully declares that nothing could be further from the truth, and that Maddie is loved and wanted. What's great about this scene is that it's not only a figurative collision of the music business and personal drama, it's a literal one. Rayna and Maddie's argument is backtracked to the ongoing Luke Wheeler show going on, and the music is so loud that the two would have been shouting at each other even if emotions hadn't been at an all-time high. It's Rayna and Maddie, each, quite literally shouting to be heard by the other person, and although mother and daughter make up, the damage has already been done. Rayna has to explain things to Luke in the hopes he'll understand that things with Deacon aren't going back to the way they were just because they have a daughter together. "You're my present," Rayna tells Luke. "And, I hope, my future." It's basically the first real test of their relationship, and an indicator of its sustainability, and it has pretty much nothing to do with their respective careers, yet it's still compelling. Basically, Nashville has come a long way in building its non-industry conflicts.

Case in point, Teddy and Deacon nearly come to blows over the ladies in their lives: first, Maddie. Teddy drags her away from Deacon's house after she's caught sneaking away, and warns Deacon against trying to be a father to Maddie, since he's not her parent and never will be. Deacon, of course, didn't know Maddie was grounded at the time she came to visit him, but Teddy doesn't really care. But his actions against Deacon might have a more aggressive motive, since Teddy is still clearly obsessed with Megan (Christina Chang), and is doing his damndest to hurt Deacon in lieu of having Megan to himself. Yet the strangest part ends up being that Teddy ultimately isn't the one who reveals the affair to Deacon. Instead, it's Megan, who accidentally lets slip that what happened between herself and Teddy was a "mistake" that "can't happen again". Deacon overhears this, immediately puts it together, and nearly hauls off and hits Teddy before punching the wall instead. (Side note: Has there ever been a villain who hasn't said "Do it!" when at the mercy of the good guy?)

Credit: ABC

All of this stuff is the kind of fantastically soapy stuff I love about Nashville, as Charles Esten and Eric Close are totally game for the dramatic excesses of the storyline. In fact, I was really confident about where this story was going, since it seemed to be headed towards illustrating that Deacon has grown to a point where he can handle tragedy/heartache/bad news without resorting to another downward spiral. His blow-off speech to Megan is tremendous, and it finally seems like he's going away to have some time to himself to think things over and cool down. But his final line, in which he declares he's sick of being the savior-like good guy, seems to indicate another shame spiral. And frankly, I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to revisit "Drunk/Destructive" Deacon. I'd rather we got just about any other storyline than that. Even Deacon sleeping with Juliette again; hell, I'll take the return of the fake Tim Tebow Juliette married over this. I really don't ever need to see another Deacon spiral again, so I'm seriously hoping they're swerving us with this, because the show is better than having to go down that road again.

Credit: ABC

The rest of the episode is an interesting intersection of business issues and personal matters: Scarlett (Clare Bowen) is working with Avery (Jonathan Jackson), and it's taking up all of his time. He ends up writing with her backstage during Juliette's entire set, irking her severely, and prompting her to chew Scarlett out. But Scarlett ups the ante by dedicating a kiss-off song to Juliette, and this causes a backstage implosion. Scarlett basically breaks down after Juliette yells at her, pleading with Juliette to fire her so she doesn't have to take the hecklers or the record executives molding her into something she's not. It's an incisive moment for the character, as we see all her vulnerabilities laid bare. It says a lot about the frailty of her character that, with all this experience accumulating under her belt, she's no more confident in her abilities nor any more comfortable onstage than she was when she first got up with Gunnar at The Blue Bird to sing The Civil Wars' "If I Didn't Know Better." Ultimately, Juliette refuses to fire her, saying that it's her "raw nerve" sensitivity that will make her great. Of course, she comes to this conclusion without realizing that Scarlett has a pill addiction. She even notices that Scarlett is acting high during the after party, but Avery quickly discards the notion of his ex having a drug problem. He also discards Juliette's jealous notions, telling her that if this is going to work between them, she'll need to start trusting him. She vows that she does -- which is exactly what scares her, since he has her heart, and could pretty much destroy her if he wanted. But Avery, whose transformation from jerkwad in season one to one of the show's most likable characters in season two, vows he'd never do such a thing. Man, I hope he sticks to that promise.

Credit: ABC

Another solid story this week was the upcoming marriage between Will (Chris Carmack) and Layla (Aubrey Peeples). It nearly gets derailed several times: by Layla's parents, who deem her "too young" and go as far as to refuse to speak to her again if she goes through with it; by Jeff Fordham (Oliver Hudson), who isn't entirely convinced that Will is into girls; and by Gunnar (Sam Palladio), who doesn't want to see Will ruin the life of an innocent girl just so he can protect his public image. Fordham asks Gunnar, straight-up, if Will is gay, and he tells him the truth: that he's seen Will "pull more tail than a rabbit hunter." It's clear that Gunnar isn't exactly thrilled about this wedding, but Will insists that it's the only way, and that Gunnar will never understand what he's going through. There's a clear conflict of conscience going on beneath the surface with Gunnar, but his loyalty to his friend ultimately wins out. When he comes to the chapel to tell Will that he didn't tell Fordham about his sexuality, Will's tears of relief made this Carmack's best moment of the season, since it really did seem like a massive weight was being lifted off his shoulders. Gunnar is begrudginly accepting of the marriage, which is officially performed at a quickie late-night chapel. It's a solid storyline in how it creates the concern not just around Will's career, but also his well-being, since Fordham explains that country music will never accept a gay star. It's a story that prompts feelings of sympathy for just about everyone: for Gunnar, who's caught in the middle of this untenable situation; for Will, whose entire livelihood is threatened; and for Layla, who has no idea what she's signed up for. It wasn't until tonight that I realized I'm more interested in the direction of this particular storyline than any other.

Credit: ABC/Mark Levine

"Your Wild Life's Gonna Get You Down" keeps Nashville firmly in the "win" column, as conflicts build in impressive fashion. Kind of loving the back half of this season, actually. It's a real resurgence for the show after a hit-or-miss first half. And I see no reason (other than "Deacon on a Bender") to suspect it'll stop any time soon. Here's hoping the show keeps bringing the goods.