Nashville - Recap: Girls Aloud
Recap and review of Nashville - Season 2 Episode 7 - She's Got You:
Well that certainly escalated quickly. I've often said that Hayden Panettiere is too good to be wasted in the overly soap operatic storylines Nashville keeps giving her, which often see Juliette Barnes repeating the same mistakes, and hooking up with the same kinds of untrustworthy, controlling men again and again. But "She's Got You" goes all-in on the Juliette melodrama, and I'm not sure anyone other than Panettiere could have made this all as compelling as it ended up being. This episode was all over the place in terms of narrative and tone, but the things that worked really worked.
Credit: ABC
Juliette's "Inside the Dream" Tour rolls into Houston, and she's more than a little miffed about all the attention going to opening act Layla Grant (Aubrey Peeples). Local radio DJ Bobby Delmont depicts Layla as the next big thing on his show, while barely paying any mind to Juliette. Making matters worse is the poor attendance for her eventual show, as it comes across as though a sizable portion of the crowd left after Layla's performance, and those that stayed weren't wild about the show either. The sole comfort Juliette gets out of the entire situation is from sex buddy Charlie Wentworth (Charlie Bewley), who butters her up with talk of how she's the Queen of Country Music, and she shouldn't have to bow down to anyone, especially not Layla Grant. Of course, what's interesting about Juliette's storyline this week isn't the affair or the All About Eve-style usurping by Layla Grant, but rather the examination of just how difficult it is to make it in music when you're a woman -- and a pretty one, at that. We learn that Juliette, in her desperate teen years, put out for Bobby Delmont to get radio play, and in an impassioned monologue that's delivered with great inner turmoil from Panettiere, Juliette explains to Charlie that he'll never be able to understand the difficulties of a business where talent doesn't always decide who makes it and who doesn't. It's hard being a woman, much less being a woman in country music.
And so Juliette reaches out to Layla to try and mend fences. She tells the starlet that if anyone ever treats her "like a whore," to come see her and she'll set them straight. But Layla refuses what she believes to be Juliette's attempt at charity, saying that she isn't Juliette. "Go save someone else," she tells her, leaving a shocked Juliette to remark, "I guess nice ain't my color." Neither is "being controlled," as Juliette lashes out at Charlie when she discovers he had Bobby Demont fired for his comments about her. Apparently, Charlie's company owns the radio station, so he did it to send a message that Juliette isn't to be overlooked. However, Juliette is quick to exert her own agency in her life and career, demanding that Charlie rehire Delmont, only to then bring Delmont in to see her privately. She explains the situation and says that if he dares speak out against her again, she'll have him fired permanently. Juliette also manages to secure increased radio play as part of the blackmail, in addition to a guarantee of more coverage than Layla Grant. Say what you will about Juliette's tactics, but she's clearly someone who knows how this game is played, and it's a wonderful progression for a character that's often been used and manipulated by more powerful elements, almost to an obnoxious degree.
Of course, while "nice" isn't her color, neither is "peace and normalcy," as she gets a knock on her hotel room door late that night, revealing Olivia Wentworth (Brit Shaw). Olivia says she knows about the affair Juliette is having with Charlie, yet before Juliette can respond to the accusation, Olivia cuts her off. "I only have one question. Why are you sleeping with him...and not with me?" Olivia pulls Juliette in for a kiss, and her body language does all the talking for how floored she is by Olivia's move. It's a stunning bit of soap opera excess, but I found myself loving it despite myself. These sorts of out-of-left-field twists don't always work unless the performers go all-in on them, which is precisely why this worked out as well as it did. We don't know how far Juliette and Olivia go just yet, but it's an interesting wrinkle to throw into the plotline, especially if we absolutely must remain entrenched in Juliette's love life for another half-season or more.
Credit: ABC
But the drama didn't stop with Juliette this week, as Rayna (Connie Britton) has a lot on her plate. Teddy accuses her of trying to turn the girls against him when Maddie (Lennon Stella) refuses to sing at his wedding to Peggy (Kimberly Williams-Paisley). To make matters more complicated, Maddie continually asks about Deacon (Charles Esten), a question to which Rayna doesn't know how to respond. She's also still embroiled in the buyout issues with Jeff Fordham (Oliver Hudson) over at Edgehill. So yeah, it's a pretty rough week for Rayna. However, she does find comfort in places both expected and unexpected. For one, Rayna is able to get Scarlett (Clare Bowen) a spot on Juliette's tour as yet another in the long-line of opening acts (seriously, they might as well just call the tour "Juliette and Friends" -- or "Juliette and People She's Only Barely Putting Up With Right Now"). Scarlett is worried about making Rayna proud, but Rayna vows she's already proud of her, and though it's a small moment, it's clear that there's some measure of mother/daughter-like affection between the two that causes Rayna to forget, if only for a moment, the heaping mound of crap she has to deal with. She also finds comfort in the bed of Luke Wheeler (Will Chase), whose ranch she visits. They commiserate over the difficulties of divorce, shoot some beer bottles off a fence, and have copious amounts of sex, which I suppose is a good use of your time when you're both that good-looking.
Credit: ABC
Yet Rayna still has to deal with the Maddie problem. After a talk with Teddy in which he explains that Maddie will always be his "first girl," she decides to sing at the wedding after all. Maddie sings a song she wrote for the wedding alongside Daphne (Maisy Stella), and I'm telling you, any music sequence featuring the Stella Sisters is like sunlight on the soul. Seriously. It's not only an incredibly sweet performance, it dovetails nicely into the continued storyline in which Rayna decides to set up a meeting so Maddie can finally get to know Deacon as her father, and not just as the family friend he's been all these years. Yet Deacon has troubles of his own, as he's trying to get back out into the music scene for the first time since the accident. He turns to Avery (Jonathan Jackson), of all people, which is awkward even before Deacon catches him with Scarlett the morning after. Deacon needs a guitarist to play with him at an open mic, and this storyline inevitably veers in the direction of a weird buddy comedy. And I strangely enjoyed it. It's a bit silly, in places, but it's grounded in the very real conflict brewing within Deacon. He wants to get back into music and to reestablish his connections with others, but he's held back by his own inhibitions. That's why it's so poignant for the show to have Avery serve as Deacon's guide, as he earlier implies he doesn't respect Avery, only for that opinion to slowly come back around by the time of the open mic performance. He even invites Rayna and Maddie, who gets to know him a little better as her father. It's a bit saccharine, but the show needs these kinds of grounded, human moments to offset the over-the-top drama. I enjoyed it.
Credit: ABC
Less interesting was the ongoing plot in which Gunnar (Sam Palladio) attempts to use the song he wrote as leverage to get a record deal, meeting with Jeff Fordham to perhaps parlay his songwriting into a career as a solo artist. We're not yet at the point where this is all that compelling yet, but hopefully this is going somewhere worthwhile. As for the other stories this week, Luke (Chris Carmack) still doesn't like the relationship with Layla due to her attempts to sabotage Juliette. Will is also jealous of his ex-lover's new relationship, and this inner conflict over his own sexuality and how he'll be perceived is one of the more intriguing conflicts of the episode, as so much of it is unsaid. Will does nothing while his ex is harassed by two homophobic men at the bar, only to track them down in the parking lot and beat them mercilessly without saying a word. He then returns to the hotel and consummates his show-mance with Layla Grant, as if trying to reassert his masculinity in some way. Everything Will does seems to be in furtherance of reclaiming that masculine sense of identity that he fears will slowly erode until he ends up being as vulnerable to homophobes as his ex. It's a storyline I wish had gotten more time, but the plot made great use of the time it was given.
"She's Got You" is one of the strongest episodes of the season so far. Managing its over-the-top moments with its subtler drama equally well. Nashville is still working out the kinks of its season 2, but it's well on its way to justifying the viewer's investment.