Nashville - Season 2 Premiere - Recap: Coma Chameleon

Credit: ABC

It's been two weeks since the car crash that has left Rayna (Connie Britton) in a medically-induced coma, and I don't think you could convince anyone for a single second that she's in any real danger of being killed off. Had it been Deacon (Charles Esten) in the coma? Sure, that would have been a bit more plausible, especially since this is largely an ensemble piece, outside of the central dynamic between Rayna and Juliette (Hayden Panettiere). But taking away one half of that dynamic would derail the series in a huge way. The episode is less interesting when it's focusing on whether or not Rayna will pull through than it is when dealing with how those close to her deal with the fallout of the accident. Unfortunately, far too much time is spent on the question of whether or not Rayna will pull through, and while the matter is thankfully resolved by the end of the episode, I felt the premiere put a bit too much focus on Rayna, especially with the unnecessary flashbacks to her early courtship with Deacon, including the conception of Maddie (Lennon Stella) and the inevitable breakup that led to her marrying Teddy (Eric Close), as Deacon gets so drunk that he couldn't remember having proposed to Rayna the night before. It's nice to be able to witness these moments, but I just didn't feel they fit as well with the rest of the episode.

Another plot that didn't feel like it fit was the aftermath of the apparent breakup of Gunnar (Sam Palladio) and Scarlett (Clare Bowen), whom we learn rejected Gunnar's marriage proposal from the end of last season. Gunnar tries to get over Scarlett by repainting the house and giving her space while she looks for a new place to live. Will (Chris Carmack) tries to get his buddy back into the swing of things by throwing a house party for him, but Gunnar can't seem to get into it, even when a cute girl essentially throws herself at him. He's too attached to the memory of Scarlett, who is already moving on to her newly-minted record deal with Rayna's label. Meanwhile, Avery (Jonathan Jackson) may be a better person now, and exploring his music career as Juliette's lead guitarist while playing the occasional show at the Bluebird, but he still doesn't mean much to the overarching plot at the moment. Nor does Juliette's search for a new assistant, as she ends up sleeping with a handsome applicant, presumably to dull the pain she still feels over her mother's death (or, you know, just to have some fun, attachment-free sex; either reason is totally valid).

Credit: ABC

Also on the underwhelming side of things is the ongoing story between Teddy and Peggy (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), who is pregnant with the Mayor's child. Though Teddy went through a certain measure of character rehab last season, he's right back to being equal parts cold and affectionate, comforting Maddie over the true nature of her parentage while disavowing any and all emotional responsibility for Peggy's unborn child, opting instead only to offer financial support. It's not exactly riveting stuff, but I'm not sure it's meant to be, at this point. However, it still doesn't feel of a piece with the rest of the episode.

But with the bad parts out of the way, we can get into what was good about this episode. First and foremost, the decision not to drag out Rayna's coma or Deacon's imprisonment for multiple episodes was the best choice the series made with this premiere. Deacon feels understandably guilty about what happened, and pleads guilty to the charges against him. However, the judge refuses to accept his plea since the charges could still be upgraded to involuntary manslaughter should Rayna die. And so Deacon spends the episode beating himself up over what happened, even going so far as to bitterly refuse to acknowledge Scarlett's insistence that he's still a good person deep down. When she tells her uncle that he's been like a father figure to her, Deacon roars at Scarlett that he's not her father, sending the girl running off in tears and questioning whether the rest of the world is actually right about the kind of man Deacon is. Both Charles Esten and Clare Bowen do solid work with what are pretty broad characterizations, finding a way to imbue both characters with the necessary amount of pathos to make their respective scenes feel like more than just over-the-top melodrama. When Deacon learns at the end of the episode that he's being released because Rayna has awoken from her coma and told authorities that he wasn't the one driving, Esten manifests a look of shame and relief that sums up the conflicting feelings Deacon is experiencing.

There are other performances that carry this episode through, such as a dynamic scene between Teddy and Lamar Wyatt (Powers Boothe) in which Lamar accuses his former son-in-law of failing to make Rayna happy. Lamar is wracked with guilt over his failings as a father, and tries to be there for Rayna, particularly since he wasn't there for her mother when she died in a similar car accident when Rayna was only 12. There's also a wonderful little scene between Maddie and Juliette that represents the best of what the Juliette character could be. She feels very authentic when comforting Maddie at the hospital and assuring her that what happened to her mother was not her fault. It's a relatively brief, simply scene, but it's Hayden Panettiere's best work in the series so far, due to its emotionally restrained, quietly understated quality. Lennon Stella also holds her own quite nicely, as she starts to feel more and more like an integral part of the ensemble.

Credit: ABC

Ultimately, Rayna wakes up and exonerates Deacon, but that's the limit of her mercy for him. As she tells her father outside the hospital, Rayna is done looking into her past, and is focused only on looking ahead to her future. She's intent on living her life, making the most out of each day. For the second time in her life, Deacon has driven her to the realization that she wants more out of her life than what she's settled for, emotionally. Hopefully, this marks the start of a new path for Rayna, in addition to a renewed focus on her career, as those bits tend to be the most interesting. The episode already gets plenty of mileage out of its music, such as in sequences at Juliette's sold-out, Rayna-less concert, Avery's performance at the Bluebird, and Gunnar and Scarlett's final duet before she goes on to start her career with Rayna's label, in a scene that echoes their duet from the series pilot. It's all great stuff, and the show would be well-served to get back to being about the vibrant musical scene in which these characters exist.

The season premiere of Nashville is far from perfect, but the series feels like it has a renewed sense of identity, and this choice gives all of its storylines, and the actors inhabiting the roles, a more concrete purpose than they had in season one. It's a welcome approach, even if the premiere's focus isn't always where the most interest is found.