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We're back in Nashville and Juliette and Dante are still having all the sex, but MethMom doesn't exactly approve of the situation. But Juliette is ruled by her ladyparts and ignores her crazy mom and sends her cry to her new sober companion (can it be Watson? Please?). But that sober companion is doing a pretty shitty job because MethMom stalks Dante and discovers that he's making out with some chick named Esme downtown. Juliette gets her poor put-upon assistant to bring Esme to her backstage at her concert and yells at her a bit, but Esme says that Dante just helped her out and now she's in real estate and has a gross house with lots of giant windows that would be just perfect for Juliette to settle down in. Yeah, Juliette's dumb enough to believe that. But after Jolene freaks out again, and some pills make Juliette think that she's off the wagon, they take her home and get ready to send her back to rehab. But while Juliette is slowing realizing that the incriminating drugs are actually a medication that Jolene is deathly allergic to, Dante and Esme are making off with about half a million dollars of Juliette's money. Meaning, MethMom was totally not that methy (this time) and Juliette is alone again… naturally.
Teddy's all pissed off because he found out that Peggy leaked the information. She tries to turn this on Lamar (but she really doesn't have a leg to stand on), so he kicks her to the curb. He also decides to cut Lamar's company out of any contracts with the city (now that he's got the big Subway deal, and no, this show does not make me want to eat those sandwiches any more than The Biggest Loser and Chuck did). My knowledge of politics is limited to Scandal and Parks and Recreation, but can Teddy just make these arbitrary decisions without some sort of cabinet or council vote? Whatever, I so don't give a crap about this storyline and I refuse to believe that anyone watches this show to see this nonsense. Carl is pissed, so he meets with Tandy to figure out how to take down Teddy. See, Tandy's all pissed because now that Lamar's home from the hospital and reconciled with Rayna, he thinks that Tandy's pushing him out of the business (and she totally is) and makes her the scorned child. There is only room in his heart for one daughter at a time, apparently.
Scarlett has a cute dinner with Deacon where he tells her to grow a backbone and ask for what she wants (i.e. tell Rayna about Gunnar's dead brother) and she tells him that he's got a nice girlfriend in Stacy and he shouldn't screw it up. Then she does ask Rayna to get Gunnar some sort of a deal, but Gunnar is what you'd call remarkably unappreciative. Now that he's got his hot-as-heck buddy Will around teaching him how to have confidence, he only needs Scarlett for one thing and it isn't music. He sings a song (with lyrics ripped from his dead brother's journal) and it is great. Maybe the best song this show has had in a long time. Good for dead brother, because Gunnar gets approached by a music producer who wants to cut his demo (though Gunnar lies and says he wrote this song, and if this "stolen from a dead guy" story plays out the way it did for Adriana on , it won't go well). Avery sees this music producer exchange and just looks on with his sad eyes. And when Scarlett is backstage at the Red Lips/White Lies tour and sees Avery humping gear, she looks at him with her own sad eyes, and then he takes her to stand on the stage post-concert so she can get that big arena vibe. The difference between being Rayna's kid and a person on her label are that the kids actually get to play music during sound check. Still, who cares about those two mooning at each other when we've got Will and Gunnar to get back to. And I know what you're thinking, who the hell cares? But trust me. Will is comforting Gunnar and sitting way too close to them, and I started thinking, wouldn't it be awesome if they totally started making out? And then realized I've been on Tumblr a lot lately and that's just rife with gay 'ships of all variety so my perspective is skewed, and then Will totally just hauled off and kissed Gunnar. Gunnar didn't take too kindly to this, of course, but for a minute there… kind of hot.
Speaking of kissing, Rayna's hooking up all around Nashville. When she stepped off the plane all cuddly and flirty with Deacon, I started to wonder if I'd missed an episode, but turns out that he's still with Stacy and that's just how she behaves around him. Wonder if Stacy has turned the picture from that big ad campaign of Rayna's into a dartboard yet. And Rayna's home but doesn't have her kids, so instead she hooks up with Liam. She happily tells her sister, "We went to second base… does that make me slutty?" Well, that doesn't make you slutty, but the rest of the episode does, in the Rayna-gets-her groove-back kind of way. Liam invites her to go to St. Lucia for a long sex-filled weekend (the sex-filled not outright stated, but heavily implied) and then he is all over her on stage (so much for keeping it professional) while they are singing a song that she wrote with Deacon. Deacon can't watch and his little domestic bliss with Stacy is over faster than you can open a can of SpaghettiOs. He professes his love to Rayna, and she tells him she's planning on banging the hell out of Liam on the beach and he should go back to Stacy. But then, because it's Rayna and she's nothing if not indecisive, she decides not to go to St. Lucia and instead goes to Deacon's house to tell him that she's in love with him. Thankfully, he did not take her advice and get back with Stacy (because that would have been awkward for Stacy). So they finally have sex and they both seem pretty happy about it. Poor Liam, he never stood a chance… even with the promise of far-off lands. -- Angel Cohn
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously: Scarlett signed to Rayna's label and was treated to a meeting in the board room in her honor. Stacey existed. Rayna wanted to build a better relationship with Lamar, who survived a heart attack (or two). Scarlett and Gunnar's new neighbor Will didn't have chasing skirts in mind, a fact that will be reiterated in word and deed in this coming episode. New boyfriend/manager Dante brought out the worst in Juliette, and Tandy revealed to Teddy that Peggy leaked his divorce to the tabloids.
We open in Cincinnati, where Dante is taking a shower in the bathroom of Juliette's suite. It's wheels up in an hour, since they're heading back to Nashville. Emily has told Juliette that she has to move out of her house since the owners are coming back. Didn't she rent that, like, three months ago? She didn't bother to get a year lease? Dante wonders why she hasn't bought property yet, and Juliette explains that it's because she always thought she'd buy something when she had someone to share it with. Dante understands the desire to share a big moment with someone, and Juliette asks if he wants to go house hunting. KIDS TODAY! Maybe try buying, like, a set of pots and pans together first and see how it goes. But Dante agrees, mentioning that he has some friends in real estate and will put out some feelers. And nothing is sexier than a man with real estate connections, so Juliette bangs him in the shower, assuming that her own plane will wait for her since she's the boss. Though Dante's presence, like a very sketchy Tony Micelli, makes you wonder who, in fact, is the real boss.
Back at the tree trunk, Gunnar is reading one of Jason's old journals. It has song lyrics and "stuff like that." Before Scarlett can share in this moment of grief by singing a tender country song about the Rainbow Bridge, where not only devoted pets but criminal siblings wait to cross you over to the other side, Will comes storming in the yard on a motorcycle. He announces that he's got his first gig in town (the day at 11:30 AM), which is apparently why he's wearing his finery of a Canadian tuxedo. Additionally, he traded his truck in for the motorcycle. He hands Gunnar the keys, asking if he'd like to take it for a spin. Gunnar of course would, and Scarlett manages not to be a nag while also reminding him that he has songs to get to Jeannie at the publishing house and to be careful.
And then we're post-flight with the Red Lips, White Lies crew. Deacon and Rayna depart the plane hand in hand, looking awfully friendly even though she's wearing one of Liam's old fedoras. He thinks it's unbelievable that Juliette didn't say a word to them the whole flight, but Rayna informs him that though he's not used to how she treats the rest of them like that all the time. But anyway, who wants to talk to Juliette?! They're both glad that they had a chance to catch up, and Rayna notes that it was a fun week. Deacon agrees. And then before they can just fall down and do it on the tarmac, Stacey comes running over to greet Deacon with a big hug. As Rayna smiles but can't hide her lying (about the fact that it's so charming to see Deacon happy with another lady) eyes, Bucky asks her about her schedule for the few days. Rayna doesn't have the girls this week, and asks Bucky to set up times with both Scarlett (so they can discuss her contract with Rayna's label) and Liam (so they can finish the album and...other stuff).
Jolene has also shown up at the airport to meet Juliette, handing her a bunch of sad-looking daffodils. Juliette does not appear to be thrilled about this greeting, particularly when Jolene grabs Dante and says she needs to talk to him. She is SO not even there to see Juliette! I do feel that every jerk thing Juliette does to her mom is warranted. It turns out Jolene doesn't like her new sober companion and wants to work with Dante again, which is a huge surprise. Juliette reminds Jolene that she's not respecting the boundaries that they talked about, and has to go back to her apartment. They leave without even offering Jolene a ride. You know she hitched there or, like, took a jitney.
Meanwhile, Teddy is closing the deal for Subway Field. They even have Subway soft drinks on the table! The baseball team will be called "The Nashville BMTs" and Jared will be the mascot. The lady from Subway talks about the future success of the team and leaves. When she's gone, Teddy complains to Cole that Lamar's company will still get some work from the Metro contracts. Cole says that there's no way around that, and then Peggy walks in. She's all, "Excuse me Mr. Mayor, do you have our weekly beej penciled in?" Cole excuses himself, and when Peggy plants one on Teddy he does not respond in kind, telling her that they need to keep it discrete. She hasn't seen him all week and at least would like to have dinner or a drink or a handie, but he tells her that he has the girls and will try to call her later. And then he takes a call from his lawyer. Do you guys think that Peggy is going to kill Teddy and then herself when he dumps her? And if that DOES happen, would it not be awesome? Particularly if she's buried in a beret?
Scarlett has dinner with Deacon and Stacey, who is a proponent of takeout. Is this, along with the fact that she generally seems like a perfectly cool human, supposed to make us like her more? Because it's not working. Scarlett reveals to Stacey that Deacon has been known to eat cold spaghetti from a can, which really comes as no surprise. Though I would buy it if someone said that he lived solely on beef jerky. Gunnar hasn't showed up for dinner yet, and Deacon wonders if everything is okay with them. Scarlett admits that her solo contract with Edgehill turned things upside down a bit, and Deacon tells her to talk to Rayna about it -- if there's something she wants, she's gotta ask for it. This is advice that he, himself may take in about half an hour or so. Stacey runs off to get the door, and Scarlett basically tells Deacon that she's great and he should keep her. Deacon says, "Yeah, she's a good girl." Only he could say that in a way that makes you find him more charming.
And then we're in the studio with Rayna and Liam, YAY. I know that he's really just a distraction to drag out Rayna and Deacon's reunion, but in my heart of hearts I am still kind of Team Liam. Even with his skinny scarves. It's late-night, and Liam was happy to field Rayna's last-minute call since he'll take time with her whenever he can get it. Rayna asks Liam to play the Nashville show with her, admitting that they have a great time together on stage. Liam agrees, and is glad that Rayna is doing so much better than when they last saw each other and she was sobbing on his bathroom floor. But remember how awesome he was? And how sexy he is now? Lamar's illness has given Rayna some newfound perspective, and she says she wants to live in the moment. She feels freer than she ever has. Liam asks, "How free?" and she gives him THE EYES. And if you have THE EYES looking at you out of hair like that, you kiss a lady. They start making out on the studio couch until Bucky comes and cockblocks them like the dorky uncle that he is. He asks how things are going and gives them a thumbs up, while Rayna and Liam giggle like teenagers.
After a break, Will and band are charming a crowd full of ladies who have no qualms about drinking beer at 11:30 AM. Gunnar is in the audience as well, and rocks out in his subtle, understated way. As Will and the band take a break and he heads to greet Gunnar, a curly-headed blonde asks for his autograph. Will asks for a phone number instead, because he is SUCH a LADIES MAN. If there's one thing he loves more than his cowboy hat, it's pussy! Gunnar is impressed at Will's swagger, not just with the ladies but on stage. Will is happy enough to school him in the MANLY ARTS if you know what I mean, and I think you do.
Meanwhile, Rayna and Tandy bring Lamar home. Somehow, he seems even MORE crotchety than before the heart attack, and has to remind his daughters that he's neither dead nor dottering. "Dead Nor Dottering" is totally going to be the name of my new country band. He then proceeds to be nice to his nurse, at least. Tandy and Rayna make haste in getting out of their childhood house of nightmares, and we learn that Rayna is staying with Tandy. But enough with small talk! Rayna announces that she kissed Liam and that, in fact, they made out. Tandy asks if Rayna wants it to happen again. DUH. Rayna says that she doesn't know, before adding that Liam's really hot. Tandy is a proponent of a Liam fling, because Tandy is a wise woman. Rayna asks if going to second base with Liam makes her slutty. Nay, it makes her lucky. Go forth and bone Liam while you are still neither dead nor dottering, says I!
At Soundcheck rehearsal studios, Deacon and the band are waiting around while Juliette and Dante schmoopily look at house listings. Deacon approaches them, hoping that they can run through "Undermine." She suggests that he and the band run through it themselves, and he points out that the band members have lives and families they haven't seen in a long time. While everyone's happy to work, it doesn't seem like Juliette is all that interested in it today. Juliette notes that she works harder than anyone there, and Dante tells Deacon to stop complaining and go back to leading the band. Deacon has had it OFFICIALLY and says that, with Juliette not listening to him and him sure as hell not listening to Dante, he might need to be done. He'll finish out this leg of the tour, but suggests that Juliette get herself a new bandleader. Her response? "It's fine. You're replaceable." Juliette's streak of good decisions continues unabated! Deacon sends the band home.
Teddy meets with his lawyer, who confirms that Peggy was the leak. As he learns this, the fourteen extra testicles he's grown while banging Peggy shrivel down to raisin-size proportions. Wah-wahhhhhh.
Meanwhile, Scarlett meets with Rayna. They're in an office full of enlarged album covers, one of which is some mighty '80s looking Rayna Jaymes glory. From a distance, she looks like Paula Poundstone. Is that a perm? How do you explain this, Connie Britton? Rayna is excited to go through Scarlett's music and figure out what they'll use for her first single, and talk about setting up a tour. But Scarlett wants to talk about Gunnar, and how his brother died the day before their audition. She has an instinct for how to get Rayna to give Gunnar a second chance, which is essentially to compare the two of them to Rayna and Deacon. And as we've now seen, Rayna herself may have been in possession of a scraggly weave once upon a time.
While Scarlett is advocating for Gunnar, the man himself is getting advice from Will on how to win over a crowd of ladies. It basically involves eyeballing the prettiest girls in various sections of the audience and making them think that you're heterosexual. He suggests that Gunnar try out his newfound learning at open mic night at Tootsie's. Gunnar, I think, is already drunk and so susceptible to influence.
Back at Soundcheck, Jolene shows up, once again unannounced and unwanted and not respecting boundaries. But, she has news! She saw Dante kissing another woman on lower Broad Street. Juliette is not having any of Jolene's "crazy" "accusations," but Dante does admit that he was on lower Broad, where he saw a "friend" named Esme, who he sponsored a few years back. She's a realtor, and brought a particular house to Dante's attention. But the real problem here is that Jolene is a stalker. Well, ONE of the real problems. Juliette tells Jolene to get out before she's thrown out.
With that, we're at Tootsie's open mic night. Because Avery is the saddest human -- sadder than Jolene and Peggy combined -- he got there too late even to sign up. To add to his woes, Gunnar is on stage and killing it with a whole new sound. Will and his band back Gunnar up, and with his newfound ladykilling confidence, Gunnar is happy to let his armpit sweat stains fly! The ladies fall prey to the pheromones floating through the air while Avery looks sullen. MORE sullen.
In happier news, Liam and Rayna enter the studio and he tells her that he's got them reservations. She thinks he's going to take her to a nice restaurant, but in fact it's something fancier: reservations to St. Lucia! And, I mean, Deacon would MAYBE take you to Ponderosa. TEAM LIAM! But also Team Deacon, in the end, long-term. But for a short-term life strategy, I feel like you just couldn't do better than banging Liam for a week in the Caribbean. Then their hearts can beat as one! No more love on the run. Rayna is surprised and delighted, but notes that she can't just take off with him with her kids and ailing father and being on tour and all. Liam isn't buying the excuses, and reminds her that she wants to live in the moment. She nearly kicks him in the face and tells him that she's thinking about it.
Meanwhile, Deacon and Stacey unload bags of groceries (including his favorite, spaghetti in a can), and he drops the news that he told Juliette to get a new bandleader. He's lived enough crazy for two lives, and thinks it's time for him to live in the real world for a while. And real world means a girlfriend with boring hair, I guess. Stacey gives him a big kiss, and you almost feel a little bad for her.
Juliette takes a look at the house that Dante has found, and the two of them talk about Jolene's "bizarre" behavior. He says that they'll have to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't relapse, if she hasn't already. While Dante takes a call, Juliette squirrels Emily off to a particularly hideous corner of the house and asks her to get the aforementioned realtor/kiss receiver Esme passes to tomorrow night's show. Jolene's behavior might be bizarre, but there's nothing wrong with a little healthy suspicion on Juliette's part.
Back at Tootsie's, Gunnar gets his first number from a hot chick. Will should really teach a course at The Learning Connection. More exciting, however, is the approach of a man named Jack Nelson, who would like to lay down Gunnar's song as a demo. He asks if Gunnar wrote the song, and Gunnar says yes, because why get into the whole dead brother thing now? Jack gives Gunnar his card with instruction to call him tomorrow, while Will takes the hot chick's phone number. He leaves the bar, and Gunnar is left with only an empty stool separating him from Avery. Avery, who has been really humbled by manual labor, first tells Gunnar that his song was incredible, and then apologizes for their altercation at the house a few weeks ago. Gunnar drops the fact that he and Scarlett are together now AND mentions Scarlett's record deal with Edgehill. This is all news to Avery, who merely wishes Gunnar luck with the song and walks off. Don't you feel like he should be drinking hooch out of a brown paper bag at this point?
Rayna visits Lamar, with two big iced coffees in tow. Is that really good for a dude who just had a heart attack or two? In any case, Lamar has papers spread all over the table, but it has nothing to do with a baseball field. It's his Rayna Jaymes scrapbook! Awwww. Even though he didn't always approve of her choices, he still followed her career. Rayna didn't know this and is touched, and brings up the fact that Watty told her about the affair with her mother. But Lamar doesn't want to dwell in the past. Rather, he wants to start over with Rayna. She'd like that too. Father and child reunion! I'm sure he'll get nasty to her again about two episodes from now, though.
And then it's time for Teddy to confront Peggy about leaking news of his divorce to the tabloids. She says that she didn't mean to, and that a reporter tricked her into confirming the story. Riiiiiiiight. And berets grow on trees. Peggy claims to have felt awful about it, which is why she never said anything. Teddy asks how the reporter got the story, and she desperately says that she doesn't know, and that Teddy has to believe her. She makes the mistake of mentioning Lamar, thinking that he was the one who told Teddy. This is all news to Teddy, and Peggy admits that if she didn't convince Teddy to pick Lamar's stadium site, he threatened to spill the beans. Now Teddy gets to be pissed about that too. Peggy reminds him that they love each other, but he says that's not enough. He first asks Peggy to leave, then upon her protestation tells her to leave. This is all going to end with Peggy rearing up from a bathtub after we all think she's dead, isn't it?
It's morning back at the tree trunk, where Gunnar has spent the night in the guest room since he got in so late. Scarlett drops the news that she spoke to Rayna about the dead brother situation, and Rayna is happy to give him another shot. Gunnar is a giant dick as he says that he didn't ask her to do that. Scarlett thought that he'd be excited about this opportunity, because it's what they both wanted. Gunnar says that Scarlett knows who she is as an artist, but he's just figuring it out. He loved the raw and real sound from his night at Tootsie's, and would like to continue stealing his dead brother's lyrics and see where it leads. That's the music he'd like to play now, and it's not something that he and Scarlett can do together. Scarlett says that she just wants him to be happy, and he says that of course he's happy. He doesn't LOOK very happy, though.
Backstage at Red Lips, White Lies, Deacon walks hand in hand with Stacey and they run into Liam. Deacon thought that Liam got fired, but Liam reminds him that they made up in Atlanta. Deacon should remember that one since he flipped the heck out when he saw their canoodling. Liam asks if Deacon is still enjoying bubblegum glitter time with Juliette, and Deacon replies that every night's a joy. Deacon introduces Liam to Stacey, who already knows who he is. Liam notes that Deacon probably doesn't deserve Stacey and kisses her hand as Deacon's reaction seems to settle somewhere between bemused and annoyed. Rayna approaches and she and Stacey exchange fake pleasantries. Deacon wastes no time in shuttling Stacey off to see the stage, which allows Rayna to tell Liam that if they leave tomorrow they can have a nice long weekend in St. Lucia. He smiles just like a big bad wolf (it is this that makes me like him so much, I think), and goes in for a kiss. She playfully rebuffs him, noting that this is her place of work and they must be professional. He says, "Until tomorrow," and she looks appropriately excited for someone who is on the verge of banging Liam McGuinnis on a beach for three days straight. That's what Oprah would call "living your best life."
The infamous Esme then comes to visit Juliette backstage. The fake glasses and nose should tip off Juliette to the shadiness of this entire endeavor! At least I think it's a fake nose. Esme is prepared to answer questions about financing, but Juliette quickly tells her that what she wants to know about is Esme's relationship with Dante. Esme says that Dante basically saved her life, pulling her back from the "end of the line." She clarifies that she and Dante were never involved romantically and are just friends, adding that Dante isn't dorky enough for her. Speaking of Dante, he enters and is "surprised" to see Esme there, noting that he could have handled questions about the house. Juliette says that she got the answers she was looking for, and then says she'll take the house. Just when you thought she had made all the good decisions a person could possibly make in one episode!
Meanwhile, Scarlett runs into Avery backstage at Red Lips, White Lies, and wonders what he's doing there. He explains that he's working. Avery congratulates her on her success and she thanks him as the head roadie dude barks at him to get back to work. Is there anyone else from his past in front of whom Avery can be humiliated, or have we exhausted all possibilities?
Back at City Hall, Cole walks in on Teddy cancelling all of Lamar's city contracts. Teddy says that Lamar won't get a dime off of the stadium or any other Metro projects. Cole is pissed, noting that some of those contracts were set up as a favor to him, and service underprivileged areas at reduced rates. He thinks that Teddy is being impulsive. And, as predicted, a lousy mayor.
Poor Emily has been forced to keep Jolene captive in a room backstage, just so Juliette could officially introduce her to Esme. Jolene instantly recognizes Esme as the kiss-ee, but Juliette says that she's not concerned about Esme -- it's Jolene that she's worried about. Jolene is all, "MOI?" Esme takes off and Dante asks Jolene if she's been using. Jolene claims that she's not the one using anyone, and is not in need of an intervention. But Juliette claims that this is just how she acts when she's about to fall off the wagon, and Dante pulls a baggie of pills out of...somewhere. Jolene claims that the pills aren't hers, while Juliette freaks out at her mom for being a drug-addled liar.
And then we are mercifully escorted to happier times! Rayna is on stage and gives a big shout out to her producer and temporary lead guitar player, Liam McGuinniss. He grabs her for a big hug, smiling his wolf smile (SWOON) and kissing her on the cheek. Deacon and Stacey watch from the audience and, it must be said, Deacon looks none too thrilled. A fan yells out a request for a song called, "Postcard from Mexico," and Rayna says that Liam doesn't know many of the old ones. But he knows this one, which is apparently one of the cool ones. The band launches into the song, and Stacey confirms with Deacon that this is one that he and Rayna wrote together. The song is great, and Liam and Rayna are the best together -- all sultry good times and wolf-growling and eye fucking. I'm basically having a "Happiness is..." moment right now. Liam kind of grabs Rayna by the waist and pulls him to her and it's really hot. You know who is not enjoying it so much, however? Yes, that's right, Deacon, who excuses himself to go get some water.
In less exciting times, Tandy finds Lamar working in his office. She reminds him that he should be recovering and not working. But Lamar is pissed because he's just learned that Teddy's cancelled all their Metro contracts. He blames Tandy, since she told Teddy that he had Peggy on the line. It turns out that Lamar can only like one daughter at a time, and for once it's Rayna. Poor Tandy!
Meanwhile, Stacey finds Deacon backstage and wonders why he never came back. He tries to shrug it off, but Stacey is wise. She asks if, when Deacon came back to see her last week, he was actually there to see Rayna and her father in the hospital. Stacey is smart enough to read the paper, it turns out. Deacon says that he was in town to see Stacey, and just stopped by to see Rayna on his way home. He apologizes, since he should have told her that. Stacey, because she is a straight-shooter who we actually would enjoy having a beer with if Rayna and Deacon weren't destined to be together for all time, asks if Deacon still has feelings for Rayna. To his credit (kind of), Deacon simply says, "Yeah." He mentions their long history, and says that though he's trying it's not quite out of his blood. He says that he wants to be with Stacey, but is just trying to be honest. He miiiiight have tried that a few months ago. Stacey storms off and Deacon follows her. She says she needs a little time, and then all of a sudden Rayna is there hovering. And so Stacey storms off again.
Rayna asks Deacon if everything is okay. He gets a very Deacon look about him as he first says yes, but then doubles back and tells her that it isn't. She asks what's the matter, and Deacon simply says, "You." He's tried forever to fight the thing between the two of them, and just when he thinks he gets there...well, you know what happens. He doesn't even have to finish the sentence. Liam appears with his skinny scarf and fedora to ask if Rayna's ready. Rayna tells Deacon that she and Liam are going to St. Lucia together, and he needs to call Stacey and make it right. Which...COLD. Even as pro-weekend-in-St.-Lucia-banging-Liam as I am, at this moment you DO just really want Rayna and Deacon to admit that they are destined to be together (at least until he learns about Maddie's paternity!) and just start making out. So, all in all, this episode does ultimately take us where we want to go. I just wish there had been a hot-times-in-St.-Lucia episode before we got there. Also I both love and hate this show for making me have actual FEELINGS about all this. Deacon looks at Rayna with his smoldering, sad eyes and it just about kills me.
We cut to Cole and Tandy having dinner together. She notes that Lamar is recovering from his heart attacks, but there will still be changes coming to the company. Lamar's not retiring, but Tandy says that she and Cole both know that it's time for him to take a step back. She'd like to propose a new alliance -- one that's truly for the betterment of Nashville. It'll be the two of them, like old times. And I must admit to raising an eyebrow at that remark, which suggests to me that these two were at one point down with the swirl. Tandy says that they both know Teddy is a terrible mayor, and if Cole were to take a look into Teddy's past -- specifically the Cumberland deal -- it might help him if he ever needs ammunition. Though the political subplot still feels like filler between the juicier scenes, I will say that I enjoy the trend of Tandy becoming a little more interesting.
We return to Juliette. Emily has returned Jolene to her apartment, where her counselor will stay with her through the night. Juliette then picks up the bag of pills from the table. Upon closer look, she notices that it contains a drug that can't be Jolene's -- she's allergic, and would stop breathing if she took it. Juliette learned that the hard way when she was ten. All of a sudden, Juliette wonders where Dante is. It turns out that he took the walk-around money about half an hour ago, and his phone is going straight to voicemail. Because that how it goes down when you've been grifted!
Scarlett approaches Avery as he's breaking down equipment from the show and asks if he's miserable. He says he's not, and is trying to make the best of a great opportunity. Scarlett is happy to see the version of Avery that she liked in the first place, and Avery says that he's trying to get back to being that person. He wonders why she's still around, and Scarlett says it's not every day that she gets to be backstage at an arena. In turn, Avery asks if she wants to be on stage. They both stand there and look out at the empty seats. It's a really lovely moment, ruined only by the stupid freaking ringlet popping out of Scarlett's scraggly-weave updo. I'm sure it's a sliding board for fairies or something.
And THEN. Oh, you guys. Rayna shows up at Deacon's house, and first wisely asks if he's by himself. He asks what's going on. Rayna says that she was at home, packing for St. Lucia, and it didn't feel right. She knows that Deacon is trying to move on with his life, and she's trying to move on with hers. BUT. BUT! She sort of shakes her head for a beat and tears well in her eyes as she tells Deacon that she loves him, and that's never not been true. Despite the double negative, it's a great moment. Chip Esten is perfect as Deacon when he asks, "Are you trying to kill me? What are you doing?" He notes that two hours ago she was heading off to bang Liam and told him to get back together with Stacey. Now she's standing on his porch telling him that she loves him. And then she tells him again that she loves him, and that's the truth. He can do with that information what he wishes, but she just needed to let him know. And so she did. Rayna turns to walk away, but only makes it a few steps before Deacon says, "Hey." And then the making out happens! And it is pretty glorious. Sigh, swoon, etc.
Things aren't going as well for Juliette. Emily tells her that, aside from the walking-around money, there's another $475,000 missing from her corporate account. She wants to call the police, but Juliette doesn't want anyone to know about this. She tells Emily to call Jolene and tell her that she doesn't have to go back to rehab. Emily wonders what Juliette wants to do about the house, and Juliette says she's buying it. It will be a good reminder to never trust anybody. I'm sure it's built on a pet cemetery or something.
Back at the tree trunk, Gunnar and Will are alone, with several empty beer bottles on the table. Gunnar admits to Will that the lyrics to his song were written by Jason, and that he lied to Jack Nelson about the song being his. But he really did the song as a tribute, and didn't know how to explain that without getting too dark. Will wonders if Scarlett's pissed that Gunnar stayed in with him instead of going out with her. Not yet, but she might be by the time this scene's done! Gunnar says that things have been getting pretty weird, and he doesn't know how to fix it. He keeps thinking that he might have been kidding himself, thinking it was going to last forever. The two lean back on the couch, with their phallic beer bottles pointing up to the ceiling. Seriously, Will has one directly in his crotch. Will leans forward and hesitates for a second before planting a kiss on Gunnar. And seriously, Nashville is really bringing it this episode. Though the bromantic sexual tension seemed to be simmering under the surface, I didn't think they'd actually go there. Gunnar kicks an apologetic Will out. I will personally procure an Emmy for this show if these two end up getting together. OR maybe Will and Gunnar and Scarlett will end up in a thrupple?
And speaking of getting together, hoo boy Rayna and Deacon. There is shirtlessness and butt grabbing and belt-undoing and it's all we could have asked for but TOO SHORT! But, fine, hotter than Rayna and Liam on a beach in St. Lucia. It was a Sophie's choice, but I made it.
We then cut to Dante and Esme on a plane. He ignores a call from Juliette and then trashes his phone. Esme has taken off the fake nose, and the two hold hands. I feel like the two of them could have gotten WAY more money than they did. Meanwhile, Juliette throws her phone at her new house's ugly mirror, looks at herself in the cracked glass, and we're out.
week: Hopefully more Rayna and Deacon sexytimes! Also, Juliette and Rayna are nominated against each other at the CMA Awards! And Deacon knows that Rayna is hiding something. Nooooooo, not yet!
Potes will gladly take that ticket to St. Lucia. She can be tweeted @traciepotes or emailed at potesypotes@gmail.com.