On last week’s episode, we saw firsthand that Deacon was having difficulties playing the guitar again. And this week, it looked like his tune troubles weren’t getting any easier. That injury is nasty.
Elsewhere, Rayna and Teddy finalized their divorce, parting amicably and promising to keep their family close. I’m glad the writers aren’t drawing these two out in a bitter divorce; they were too boring together to be bitter, anyway.
Meanwhile, Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) and head executive Jeff (Oliver Hudson) continued to butt heads. Juliette was still pissed about Jeff adding Layla Grant (Ashley Peeples) and was completely over her “fresh off the farm act.” Jeff wanted Juliette to sing at this super-important event with stockholders of Edgehill Records, but Juliette passed in favor of performing at the Wentworth anniversary party in Maryland, whose family is one of the most powerful in the country.
A Blossoming Flirtationship
Juliette brought Avery (Jonathan Jackson) along for the performance and she even told him, “I’m glad you’re here.” As you all know, I’m Team Juliette/Avery all the way, so I was loving this. They were introduced to the happy couple, and husband Charlie (Charlie Bewley) wanted to play with Juliette for his wife. He seemed harmless enough.
Later, Charlie asked about Juliette’s “boyfriend.” She immediately responded that Avery was not her boyfriend and that “he’s just on the payroll.” Avery overheard Juliette and was not pleased. I’m just going to pretend I didn’t hear any of that and stay in my blissful Team Juliette/Avery state of mind.
Back in Nashville, Teddy may have ended one relationship, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a crazy lady waiting in the wings. Peggy (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), who miscarried on the last episode, carried on with a fake pregnancy and continued to accept money from Teddy. Peggy kept going on and on about the baby and how she wanted to name him “Theodore.” Lock your doors, Teddy. This woman is whacked!
Deacon Confronts His Past & Rayna Encounters Musical Woes
Deacon did a lot of soul-searching and attempted to redeem himself on this episode. He talked to Teddy about Maddie (Lennon Stella) and even went so far as to say, “I’m not built to be a father.” But Teddy was not having this pity party and told him that Maddie was never going to stop watching him and he needed to man up.
Deacon headed back to Alcoholics Anonymous, where he found out his sponsor Coleman (Robert Wisdom) was leaving Nashville. However, Coleman offered some words of wisdom for Deacon: “The only way for you to be a father is to cope with what yours did to you.” At first, I didn’t know what this meant, but Deacon soon broke my heart with his chilling story.
At the meeting, Deacon confessed that his father was a mean drunk who beat his mother and sister. “When you’re a man, you’re going to be just like me,” his father told him. “Here I am,” Deacon heartbreakingly said. He so desperately doesn’t want to be his father and vowed not to ever beat his child. It was difficult for Deacon to be so open about his past and Coleman was proud of his progress.
(Side note: Charles Esten’s execution in this scene was just flawless. He is just so, so good. You can feel the sadness and desperation in his eyes and you can’t help but root for him. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cry during this scene.)
Meanwhile, Rayna tried to get back to work on new music. She wanted to finish her record with Liam (Michiel Huisman), but after she turned down his offer to go to St. Lucia last season, he was hesitant. He eventually gave — I mean, it’s Rayna James — but when it came time to finish the record, she told Liam that she can’t sing anymore because the accident damaged her vocal chords! Ruh-roh!
This revelation didn’t stop Liam and Rayna from sleeping together, however, so I guess she’s not too upset about it. At the event itself, she successfully managed to avoid singing by asking Scarlett (Clare Bowen) to sing. Jeff was not happy about that change of events.
Nashville’s Rising Stars & Juliette’s Falling One
Both Scarlett and Will (Chris Carmack) got makeovers in preparation for Jeff’s party. Will took to his just fine, but Scarlett is not a fan of the glitz and glamour. Still, she looked so amazing that Gunnar (Sam Palladio) was practically speechless.
Will sang one of Gunnar’s song, which Gunnar was peeved about. It was a great song and perfect for Will’s voice. Scarlett also sang, and Gunnar so wished he was up there with her. (Rayna needs to pick up on the Scarlett and Gunnar chemistry ASAP. Those two would take her Highway 65 label to the next level!)
Somehow, I knew this Juliette and Avery goodness was too much too soon. After Juliette’s sexy performance, Avery confronted her about the “payroll” comment and Juliette played it off as Avery being too sensitive. (Do not start with me about that, Juliette.) Avery basically told her that she chose to live an unavailable, unattached lifestyle that made it impossible for anyone to be her friend. Juliette retaliated by telling him that if he didn’t stop he was fired and thus proved Avery’s point. (Help! My heart is hurting.)
In order to hide her pain and anger, Juliette turned to the bottle, and Charlie walked her back to her room — only to kiss her in the doorway! At first, Juliette was stunned and tried to play it off maturely. She went on a spew about Avery’s comments on her being unavailable, to which Charlie said he is the same way.
They continued to make out — and probably more — behind closed doors, but I’m not going to think about it because it breaks my heart. We got a few steps forward with Juliette, then a thousand steps back. Did I mention that this is all going on in the same house as his wife?
Juliette Barnes. So classy.
Hollywoodlifers, what did you think of this week’s episode? Will Rayna get her voice back? Is Juliette going down the wrong path, again? Let us know!
WATCH: ‘Nashville’ Season 2 Promo
— Avery Thompson
Follow @AveryThompson
More ‘Nashville’ On HollywoodLife.com:
- ‘Nashville’ Recap: Rayna & Juliette Make New Enemies
- ‘Nashville’ Season Premiere Recap: Rayna Gets A Nasty Wake-Up Call
- ‘Nashville’ Scoop: Sam Palladio Teases Gunnar’s ‘Redemption’ In Season 2