Welcome to back to ‘Nashville’! Rayna, Tandy, Maddie, & Daphne are visiting the grave of Rayna and Tandy’s mother, though Maddie is busy listening to Deacon’s “A Life That’s Good.” She wants to know the background of the song, and though Rayna doesn’t seem to mind answering, she wants to focus on connecting with her mother/Maddie & Daphne’s grandmother. Maddie is in one of her sulky moods. Rayna perks up and invites the girls and Tandy to join her at the Symphony Ball for a night of dress up and music. Daphne is excited but Maddie is uninterested.
Over at Juliette’s, Manager Glenn grets Juliette with news ol’ Charlie Wentworth has sent over a nice car as a thank you for Juliette’s “performance.” Heh. Juliette wants to know what progress has been made as far as re-starting her tour with Rayna. Manager Glenn says Manager Bucky says Rayna isn’t quite ready to start things back up again, even though Juliette points out she’s been pushing her label all over town. Manager Glenn mentions the fact that Rayna didn’t sing at the stockholders showcase and worries about pushing Rayna too hard on the tour. But Juliette says she can’t afford to push another date with an album to promote.
Rayna is still at her mother’s grave, wishing her a happy birthday. She talks about Maddie having such a hard time with everything, and says she herself is having a hard time figuring out who she is at the moment. The possibility of losing her singing voice is especially rough on Rayna.
Meanwhile, Teddy and Peggy are playing house, as Peggy is secretly frustrated over yet another negative pregnancy test. Teddy is considering a bid for the US Senator spot that may be opening up next year, to reclaim the Conrad name. Apparently his poll numbers are up despite a bumpy start and he has gotten Nashville back on track fiscally. Peggy is excited for him. Teddy proposes to her with his mother’s ring. Peggy wants to know if he’s just trying to avoid a scandal or if he’s doing this to do right by his family. He says it’s both, and asks Peggy to keep this a secret until he can tell the girls. Peggy agrees.
It’s Edgehill photo shoot day, and Will gets his glamor shots taken while Brent looks on approvingly. Brent says the song Will performed at the showcase (“What If I Was Willing”) has gotten a great response and Jeff wants him in studio cutting that song immediately. Will reminds Brent that his songwriter friend wrote it so he needs to get his OK. Brent asks if that’s going to be a problem, and Will says no (so it’s obviously going to be). Meanwhile Layla Grant simpers her way through her photo shoot, while a newly-leather clad with pink-streaked hair Scarlett looks on. When it’s Scarlett’s turn, we get the whole just-fell-off-the-turnip-truck discomfort again.
Deacon visits lawyer Megan’s office to apologize for his behavior and thank her for everything she did for him. He tries to give her a check, and she says she doesn’t accept payment for her court-appointed cases. Deacon says it’s only fair since she’s a “big, fancy lawyer” who went out of her way for him, so she says he can buy her dinner and call it even. Deacon agrees.
Tandy has another one of Nashville‘s patented secret outside meetings with a private investigator, whom she has asked to look into the night of her mother’s death. The PI has found the original police report indicating that the night of her mother’s accident, her mother’s car may have been followed by a Cadillac, which is of course what Lamar Wyatt was driving at the time. Except, of course, Tandy says Lamar was in Louisville that night. Well, the PI has found that Lamar didn’t check into a Louisville hotel until 4 hours later that night. What’s more, an interview with one of their housekeepers, Mrs. Munson, placed Lamar in Nashville that night, arguing with his wife, his wife saying she was going to leave him. Tandy doesn’t necessarily seem to remember a Mrs. Munson and anyway, Mrs. Munson later recanted, and died shortly after. Tandy seems convinced by this circumstantial stuff, which of course will turn out to have some kind of explanation that will make her regret her inevitable cooperation with the US District Attorney’s office against her father.
Meanwhile Rayna goes to visit Juliette and tells her she has to cancel the tour to spend time with her family. Juliette is livid, saying unlike Rayna, she doesn’t have a near-death experience to help sell her record. Rayna says Juliette’s a smart girl and will figure something out.
Inside an empty (except for a now normal-looking Scarlett) church, Zoe is singing “Wayfaring Stranger.” Scarlett and Zoe reminisce about their days at church together when they were younger. Scarlett tells Zoe about the aspects of being a signed major label act that she isn’t enjoying so much, like the photo shoots.
To DOWNLOAD “Wayfaring Stranger” (A Cappella) (a traditional spiritual hymn) as performed by Chaley Rose, click HERE.
Will goes to see Gunnar at the Bluebird. Apparently Gunnar’s been avoiding him. Will turns on the charm and apologizes for singing Gunnar’s song without permission, but excitedly tells Gunnar that Jeff loves “What If I Was Willing” and wants to make it Will’s 1st single. Will tells Gunnar this is money for him, and buzz because other artists (or performers, as Gunnar reminds him) will be knocking down his door for songs. Gunnar finally agrees to consider it as Avery has overheard the new conversation. That’s right, Avery is the new barback at the Bluebird. I know Nashville’s a small town, but this is kind of silly. Gunnar is over the moon excited about seeing Avery at work (only not).
At the Symphony Ball, Maddie is still sulking while Rayna and Tandy put a happy face on it. Rayna and Tandy greet Lamar, who is working the room, and they also spot Teddy chatting with Peggy across the room. Side note: The Ball is taking place at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center and features members of the Nashville Symphony after a real-life bankruptcy drama that thankfully was resolved.
At rehearsal, Juliette is trying to create a set list that focuses on her more mature material while Manager Glenn tells her she is going to have to open things up to her teen material. After some back and forth about how there’s no way Juliette can do arenas without putting a major focus on her sparkle bubblegum material, Juliette seems to concede the point.
Lamar has taken the stage with Rayna and Tandy at the Symphony Ball to thank its patrons. He pays tribute to his late wife, Virginia Wyatt (Rayna and Tandy’s mother), who introduced him to the symphony. Tandy sports a knowing look.
Deacon and Lawyer Megan are at dinner, and Deacon is having trouble cutting his steak. Megan guesses he can’t play guitar now either, and Deacon says he has only himself to blame for that. Megan wonders if he got adequate medical care while in jail and thinks that based on the bail amount that the mayor is not a fan, resulting in Deacon being unfairly targeted. She thinks he may have grounds for a civil suit against the city, but Deacon says he isn’t the litigious type. Megan says she hasn’t met anyone who’s as much of a glutton for punishment, and Deacon says he can’t figure out why somebody like her would represent somebody like him. She says it’s a long story and he wants to hear it.
Back at the Ball, Maddie is texting away as Lamar wants to take a picture with his daughters and granddaughters in front of a portrait of Virginia Wyatt. When Rayna calls Maddie over, she tries to refuse. Rayna says this is the whole family together – Maddie obviously disagrees but sulks through a picture. She continues to throw attitude at her mother when Teddy greets her, and Maddie immediately changes her tune for him. Peggy weasels her way into the conversation and is all charm for Rayna and Maddie. Except that she’s worn Teddy’s mother’s ring on a necklace, which Maddie immediately points out. That goes over very well with Maddie and Rayna. Teddy didn’t realize Maddie and Daphne would be there, and after Maddie storms away without accepting his attempt to explain, he tells Rayna that Peggy is pregnant.
Back at dinner, Megan shows pictures Deacon of her husband, who was shot and killed just 2 years after they had gotten married by a 17 year old. The shooter was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. Megan says that after years of hating the shooter, she realized that wasn’t going to bring her husband back. To stop hating the shooter, she had to know him, and she still visits him from time to time. Megan gets emotional talking about it, and Deacon is moved. She claims to have plenty of shortcomings, and Deacon wants to know them. They agree the night is not going to end when the check is paid.
Scarlett and Zoe are hanging out watching movies at Zoe’s, when Zoe tells her that she’s no longer the good girl preacher’s daughter of Scarlett’s memories. Zoe wants to go out with Scarlett and have some fun.
At the Ball, Tandy makes some pointed remarks to Lamar about the night their mother died. Lamar claims their mother’s last words to him were something like “Pass the salt” when they had breakfast together. He does seem like he’s hiding something but it’s pretty obviously not going to be what Tandy thinks he’s hiding. Meanwhile Rayna discovers that Maddie’s run away from the ball. Teddy has all the city’s resources at his disposal to find her. Lamar blames Rayna and Teddy, and lays into Peggy for being the source of Maddie’s latest heartbreak. Rayna says she doesn’t care whose fault it is, she just wants to find Maddie. From the camera angles, you would almost think Maddie’s hiding in plain sight on the second floor.
Meanwhile at Juliette’s, Manager Glenn gets off the phone and excitedly reports to Juliette that Edgehill has signed an act even bigger than Rayna James…Luke Wheeler. Juliette eagerly says she’ll be happy to co-headline with him, but Manager Glenn reminds her she’s going to have to open for him. Juliette is not down with that at all, and is starting to argue when she gets a phone call. She tells the person on the other end to take a deep breath and that she’ll be right there. Gotta be Maddie, right?
Gunnar is playing “What If I Was Willing” at the Bluebird, thinking the place is empty. But of course, Avery is still around. Gunnar stops singing when he sees Avery, and they wind up having a conversation about the song. Avery all but comes out against Gunnar giving away the song, and tells Gunnar the song is going to be big for somebody.
Megan and Deacon are back at Deacon’s, sharing their flaws and bantering. It’s going well, and Deacon kisses Megan just as Rayna shows up, because of course. Rayna spills about the night gone bad and Maddie having disappeared as Megan tries to excuse herself. Rayna and Deacon tell her she’s fine, and Rayna asks Deacon to stay where he is because she thinks Maddie may come to him. Meanwhile Maddie is barefoot at a gas station and nervous. Juliette drives us and Maddie sobs. Juliette hugs her and tells her she’s got Maddie.
Scarlett and Zoe are having shots at the bar, except Scarlett notices a guy taking photos of her. Scarlett asks him to stop when he compliments her on her Opry performance and asks for her autograph. Scarlett has signed them up to sing The Supremes’s “Come See About Me” as the guy happily snaps (or records) away.
Juliette has brought Maddie home, and Maddie tells her that though her friends are all obsessed with Layla Grant’s cover of Juliette’s “Gonna Get Even,” Maddie prefers Juliette’s version. Juliette gently tells her that Rayna must be going nuts wondering where Maddie is, and Maddie tells her she can’t deal with her family right now. Maddie wishes she were older and could just write songs and play the Bluebird without worrying about anything else. Juliette tells her she reminds her of somebody else she knows. Maddie assumes that’s Deacon, and says she wants to know more there, but only the truth. Juliette tells Maddie that she’s sure Rayna wants to talk to Maddie about everything, because she cancelled her tour with Juliette just to spend time with her daughters. Maddie realizes Juliette is going to call Rayna, and Juliette says she is.
Back at Deacon’s, Megan asks Deacon when he found out about Maddie being his daughter. Smart woman figured it all out, and asked if that was the cause of all the “upheaval” in Deacon’s life. He admits it was, and they talk about adjusting to the fact that what they thought was normal and true is never ever going to be that way for them again. Megan assures Deacon that he’ll figure out being a father.
Juliette tells Rayna (who has come over) that Maddie walked a couple of miles from Symphony Hall. They have a good chat about Maddie, and Juliette tells Rayna she knows about Deacon being Maddie’s father. Juliette also assures Rayna that her lips are sealed. Rayna apologizes for dropping out of their tour, and Juliette tells her that like Rayna said, she’ll figure something out. As Rayna tries gently to wake a sleeping Maddie up, Juliette winces at the tender mother-daughter scene.
The next morning, Rayna is telling Maddie about Deacon writing “A Life That’s Good” and saying he was inspired to write it just by seeing Rayna. Rayna says she fell in love with him in about 10 minutes based on that. Rayna tells Maddie that she knows things are strange and difficult now, but she hopes they can figure it all out together. Maddie seems to be OK with that. Daphne calls for her mom, and they end their conversation with a hug and a laugh. While Rayna is away, her phone rings and Maddie picks up when she sees that it’s Deacon. They have an awkward but sweet conversation in which Deacon tells Maddie that everybody was worried sick about her, and to please never run away again. Maddie is pretty happy to have connected with her biological father.
Meanwhile, Tandy talks about how as a little girl, you think your parents can do no wrong, and that how as an adult, you see the flaws and question but only because deep down, you want to believe they are good people at the core. The camera finally reveals Tandy has a flash drive in her hand and she’s revealing kickbacks, payoffs, and illegal contributions to the US Attorney after all. She changed her mind because she now believes Lamar stole somebody from her lives and needs to be punished.
Gunnar comes back to the place he shares with Will and tells Will that Will can take any other song of Gunnar’s, except for “What If I Was Willing.” Gunnar wants to see if he can make it somewhere with that song. Will is angry, tells Gunnar he’s being short sighted and jealous. Gunnar retorts Will shouldn’t have performed the song without asking, and so on. Will walks out.
Back at Juliette’s, Manager Glenn says he’s surprised at what Juliette’s decided as the door bell rings. Juliette says he made it perfectly clear what her options were and all her options sucked, so she went with the one that made the most business sense. What’s that? Having Layla Grant open for her on tour. Juliette doesn’t let a gushing Layla into her house and hardly lets her finish a sentence, but it appears the tour is on.
Daphne visits Maddie in her room and demands to know why Maddie ran away and left her. Maddie says now Teddy’s getting remarried and going to have a family Maddie’s not even part of, and Daphne reminds her that they are still sisters. Maddie agrees, and tells Daphne she’s learned a new song that would be better if they sang it together. Sure enough, it’s “A Life That’s Good,” Deacon’s song. Rayna listens from outside, and gets emotional. She tries to quietly sing along, but her voice isn’t totally there. Yet. Based on the preview, that’s going to come to a head next week. So come on back for that, won’t you?
To DOWNLOAD “A Life That’s Good,” cowritten by Ashley Monroe and Sarah Siskind and performed by Lennon & Maisy, click HERE.
BONUS: Check out Nashville: On The Record featuring Ashley Monroe, Sarah Siskind, Lennon & Maisy Stella and the Nashville producers.
Ashley Monroe performs “A Life That’s Good” acoustically:
Lennon & Maisy perform “A Life That’s Good” acoustically:
Sarah Siskind performs “A Life That’s Good” acoustically:
