Nashville - Recap: Daddy-Daughter Dilemma

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The best stuff of the episode involves the fatherly-love triangle between Deacon (Charles Esten), Teddy (Eric Close) and Maddy (Lennon Stella). Teddy finally learns that Maddy has been meeting with Deacon under Rayna's (Connie Britton) supervision, and he's absolutely furious about it. It gets worse when Deacon accompanies Maddy on a special open mic performance, and Teddy decides to take Deacon outside. They get into a huge argument as Teddy accuses Deacon of trying to use "that music crap" to weasel his way into his daughter's life. However, Deacon argues that he's merely living up to his responsibilities, the very same responsibilities Teddy told him he had. The scene is fittingly intense and is effective largely thanks to Eric Close's unhinged performance. We've never seen Teddy this riled up, nor has any of his loved ones. Maddy storms off, her entire day ruined, and Rayna chases after her. Meanwhile, Peggy (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) can only question Teddy and ask what the hell his bone is with Deacon, at which point Teddy reveals that Deacon is Maddy's biological father. Still, it's completely beyond the pale for Teddy to act so crazy, and I wonder if they aren't building to some larger act from Teddy, perhaps a violent outburst or some similarly dangerous, stupid, self-damaging decision.

However, what I liked most about the storyline is in how Maddy's growth as a character, as well as the development of her bond with Deacon, is reflected through her music. Her decision to sing one of Deacon and Rayna's biggest songs, "A Life That's Good" (a song she previously sang in her bedroom with Daphne), illustrates her desire to connect with both sides of her family history in a more substantial fashion. And that's mostly why Teddy is so defensive, since the musical connection is something Teddy will never have with Maddy, and it's something he only barely understood when he was with Rayna. He doesn't seem to hold the music business in very high esteem, and so it's no surprise that he isn't all that happy about Deacon working with Rayna to help nudge Maddy towards that very career (although I don't think Rayna and Deacon are actually trying to push her towards music, I do think they're supporting her natural inclination towards music, and Teddy can't condone this because it's inherently exclusionary towards him. I like the nuance of that characterization, since Teddy isn't really a bad guy, per se. As he correctly tells Peggy, he was the one who was there for all the fevers and tears throughout Maddy's childhood. Granted, this is only because Deacon didn't know Maddy was his child. But the point still stands. It's one of the more natural, relatable storylines on the show right now.

Credit: ABC

I also found myself enjoying the storyline between Rayna and Tandy (Judith Hoag), as the latter sister is starting to feel a twinge of remorse about condemning her father to serious prison time. Lamar (Powers Boothe) drafts Rayna to get Tandy to appear as a character witness at his trial, and Tandy is understandably conflicted. Lamar is hoping to have his confinement converted to house arrest, and I ultimately expected this to happen if only so that Lamar would be able to have a more active role in the story, since I just didn't see the show continuing to have Rayna (and others) visit the prison in order to accommodate Lamar's storyline. It's already been a bit uneven as it is, as I'm not entirely sure if the show has a clear endgame in mind for this plot. It just sort of feels like something to stall for time, and while I may be completely wrong on that score, the show doesn't do a distinct enough job making it feel integral beyond having it be the reason Rayna can't purchase her way out of Edgehill. And hey, maybe that was always supposed to be the only reason for it. And if that's the case, at least the show has wisely opted to give the storyline minimal screentime in relation to everything else. Ultimately, Tandy doesn't testify, and Lamar is remanded to custody. So more prison time for Old Man Wyatt. And Rayna remains none the wiser about Tandy's involvement in bringing down the federal hammer upon their father.

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We also get a storyline in which Gunnar (Sam Palladio) and Zoey (Chaley Rose) head out with Avery (Jonathan Jackson) to visit Scarlett (Clare Bowen) on the road. Some elements of the story work better than others. Zoey and Gunnar going back and forth on telling Scarlett about their relationship, only to decide against it pretty much foreshadowed that Scarlett would end up finding out about it on her own by the end of the episode. And that's exactly what happens, as Scarlett catches the two kissing and storms off. It's mostly a story centered on friendship, and the places from which we draw our strength, as Scarlett earlier tells Zoey she doesn't know what she'd do without her, and later spends private time with Avery, one of the few constant sources of reinforcement in her life. But seeing Gunnar and Zoey sharing a connection independent of her pretty much affirms her worst fears about her place in their lives. I haven't been that invested in the Gunnar side of things, but this could provide an interesting wrinkle into the Scarlett plot this season, as she seems on the verge of complete emotional collapse at nearly all times. It's more compelling, at least, than the relationship between Will (Chris Carmack) and Layla Grant (Aubrey Peeples). It's not a bad story, per se, but each week pretty much hits the same beats, with Will continuing to fake his way through straightness while Layla scowls and schemes, with Will admonishing her for her bad attitude. Will's handsome ex is now his personal handler, so expect that to complicate matters sooner rather than later. As for Layla, she's doing plenty of complicating right now...

Credit: ABC

It's from Will that Layla learns about Juliette's role in breaking up the marriage of Charlie and Olivia Wentworth (Charlie Bewley and Brit Shaw), and she wastes no time in informing TMZ about it, creating an entirely new media firestorm that threatens to tear Juliette's career apart. That's the cliffhanger that closes the episode, and it's a much more potent ender than the storyline that preceded it, as Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) spends the episode waxing and waning on whether she really wants to be with Charlie. She knows it's a bad idea, but he's just so passionate about her, confessing his love and even leaving Olivia to be with her (which he reveals by asking her to turn on Extra, where Mario Lopez and Maria Menounos are breaking the news). But after a heart-to-heart with Avery in which he states that real love is capable of transforming a person into the best version of themselves, Juliette tells Charlie that he doesn't really love her, he only thinks he does. She encourages him to go back to Olivia, and believes the matter is settled. But this is Juliette we're talking about here. Nothing is ever really over for her, unfortunately.

I may sound pretty down on "I'm Tired of Pretending," but I actually really enjoyed the majority of it. I might not have 100% faith in each storyline, but I like how even the ancillary stories are coming together, so that everyone is more or less in the same orbit. Nashville has a keen storytelling style this season, mixing and matching layered, nuance storylines with the more ambitious soap opera plotting in a more fluid manner. I'm really digging Nashville this year far more often than not.