Welcome back to Nashville! Well, New Orleans, it turns out, where Juliette has just spent a half hour chatting up the “programmer director” dude Charles (whom she misnames Jared while venting to PA Emily) while needing to pee. She plops down on the couch in her dressing room and makes a comment about needing to go a size up when she notices Zoe is there. Why was Zoe there? She was looking for Dara (wardrobe person) and got distracted by Juliette’s fashion rack. Juliette threatens Zoe with a loss of her job if she doesn’t forget what she just heard. Emily reminds Juliette that Zoe is good friends with Avery and how maybe Juliette should just tell Avery before Zoe does. Juliette is pretty sure Zoe values her backup singing gig enough that she won’t spill, and she wants Emily to get off her back about telling Avery.
Meanwhile over in Austin, Rayna and the backstage crew are celebrating Sadie’s first big arena show tonight, opening for Rayna. Clear Channel, I mean, IHeartRadio’s Bobby Bones is there, and gets Rayna to commit to the IHeartRadio Festival in Vegas. She angles for Sadie to also get a spot, and Bobby agrees. Sadie gushes to Rayna about being an all-around badass, from motherhood to superstardom to businesswoman.
Luke’s tour is in Chicago, and he is standing on a bar giving a celebratory pep talk to his crew and his openers. Will is all about it, Deacon is texting with Maddie and tells Will he’s already on the tour, and doesn’t need to kiss Luke’s ass as much. Pam needles Deacon about letting the kid be a kid, but Deacon thinks he’s trying too hard. They walk off together, which Luke notices. Meanwhile Jeff, who is also at this gig, wants to know when Luke is going to deliver a new album. Luke says he just needs to make a few tweaks and do sequencing, and his album will be ready for next quarter. As they chat, Jeff notices Will laughing it up with trainer Tony and asks who that is. Luke tells him that’s Will’s trainer and that he’s a nice guy, and excuses himself.
Zoe is FaceTiming with Gunnar from the bus. As they catch up, Gunnar mentions that his old friend/first love Kylie is leaving town and wants to catch up before she leaves, but he’ll totally skip that if Zoe wants. Zoe tells him it’s fine, to go see her. When Gunnar asks how working for the diva is going, Zoe says it’s fine, that her friends from home came to see a show, but could barely see her on stage thanks to the lighting. Gunnar comforts Zoe by saying they probably just had bad seats.
Rayna is still schmoozing at her backstage tour party, this time working over some Austin DJs when Daphne calls. Daphne really misses her and wants to see her. Rayna doesn’t have a show tomorrow but she has to go to Idaho for a commercial shoot with Luke. Daphne wants to know if they can come. Rayna says she’ll try to figure something out, and calls Luke after they hang up.
Jeff chats with Will about his next single and adding some more radio promotion, and Will is all about it. Then Jeff handles him a non-disclosure agreement for trainer Tony to sign, cutting through any pretense Will may be trying to maintain.
Back in New Orleans, Juliette is grousing to PA Emily about her early wakeup call. PA Emily tells her she has to shoot the sex scene today, which Juliette isn’t too excited about, but she’s considerably happier about being able to sleep in her own bed that night because her next show is in Cincinnati. PA Emily compliments her on being able to juggle everything she has going on now, and says maybe that’s why Juliette hasn’t had a chance to tell…Juliette interrupts her and reminds her that Avery called her a “nothing” (not exactly, but I can see where she got that) and that’s why she plans on handling this pregnancy and baby situation by herself. PA Emily says she didn’t make the baby by herself and she has a right to know, and Juliette finally says “Fine!” and texts him.
Avery is doing court-ordered community service when he receives Juliette’s text about being pregnant. He asks if this is a joke as his supervisor warns him that the phone has to go, or will be confiscated.
Luke is headed off to a private jet when Will asks if he could have a minute. Will starts talking about Layla being lonely at home, and lest you think this is his way of trying to work Layla into the tour, Luke picks up on the possibility of trouble and says lightly he has no advice for Will if he wants to screw around on his wife. Will says this is actually about whether Luke’s had people sign non-disclosure agreements. Luke says only everybody on his tour, and says if Will’s at the point of handing those out, it means he’s made it. Will thanks him and asks if it’s ever been awkward or difficult getting people to agree, especially if they’re friends. Luke tells him if it’s not love, it’s business. He shakes Will’s hand, and he’s off.
Back in Nashville, Scarlett is at South Circle Publishing, working on a new tune she’s stuck on. But she keeps getting distracted by the guy selling pizza outside the window. Except he’s not selling pizza, he appears to be a homeless guy aimlessly rambling. Scarlett’s publisher is excited to see her working and says Miranda is interested in a couple of her songs. Scarlett mentions she’s stuck on the new one, and when her publisher suggests a co-write, Scarlett says she’d prefer to keep this one to herself for now. She closes the window when the homeless guy starts up again with his pizza chants.
Luke’s private jet is carrying Luke, his sulky teenage son Colton, and Rayna’s newly sulky two daughter Daphne and Maddie. Colton hands off his soda to the attendant, saying it’s gross, and after Luke chides him for his lack of manners, Colton complains about this boring trip, prompting Luke to remind him where his $1500 headphones came from. Luke says that Rayna thought this would be a good opportunity for the kids to spend time together, and Maddie pipes up about how Sage is Colton’s real sister and she doesn’t want to be there either. Where is Sage? She hasn’t been cast yet She’s at dance camp. Daphne goes into spoilt brat mode when she tells the attendant she’d prefer chocolate milk over regular milk.
Teddy has taken a meeting with Jeff in the mayor’s office, where he informs Jeff that the school board has approved the music education pilot program in 3 schools, and Jeff thanks him for helping him to navigate the bureaucracy. Jeff says he also wants to encourage Edgehill’s artists to be mentors, and suggests Teddy’s daughters could come up with a list of artists they’d be most excited about…WE ALL SEE WHAT YOU’RE DOING JEFF FORDHAM! But Teddy doesn’t, and his new arc appears to be one where he tries to rediscover what happy and fun are (much like Deacon, which makes Jeff Teddy’s Pam, minus the sex. For now.). Jeff is only too eager to help, and gives Teddy a pep talk about how Rayna does not have the monopoly on cool parent stuff. Jeff seizes the opportunity to tell Teddy he is coming to a party tomorrow. Teddy’s all aw shucks but you know he’s going to go.
Kylie brings Gunnar fries that are all mushy inside, just like he likes them, and he apparently likes his fries with applesauce. I have not tried this (fries with mayonnaise is my thing), is it any good? Gunnar asks why Kylie’s leaving town so soon, and she sheepishly admits she’s been online dating a guy in Tulsa and wants to move out to see if there’s something there. Just then, we are introduced to Kylie’s son Micah, who makes a surprise appearance at the diner because his friend’s sister has chicken pox, so their mother dropped him off at the diner. Kylie sends him to the back to clean up, but he’s going to come back.
Juliette is on set for the Patsy Cline movie, and has a slightly awkward conversation with Noah about their upcoming sex scene shoot. Noah says he does pushups before those scenes, which is unhelpful to Juliette. Avery interrupts their conversation with a phone call, which Juliette doesn’t take. Avery leaves voice mail, and is forced to hand over his phone because he is supposed to be doing his community service now.
Daphne is catching up Rayna on everything, including how good she’s getting on the ukulele and her new obsession with glow in the dark bowling. Luke jokes that she hasn’t taken a breath in an hour and Daphne says it’s because she hasn’t seen her mom in so long. It’s about time for Rayna and Luke to start their shoot though, and before they do, Luke asks for a picture of all of them. Maddie rolls her eyes, but they all smile for the cameras. The photographer says that is one good looking family, and Maddie is having none of it. Rayna protests a little but doesn’t scold her. Daphne angles for all of them to be in the commercial, and when Rayna says they can’t just change things at the last second, Daphne goes off into another fit about how this trip sucks. She runs off, and Rayna can’t give chase because it’s showtime.
Rayna and Luke complete a scene in their shoot, and they have a short break that Rayna intends to use to talk to Daphne. Luke asks if she knows what she’s going to say, and Rayna says she doesn’t, she’s just shocked by what came out of Daphne’s mouth. She’s worried about this being a consequence of being away more. Luke says that what makes them successful keeps them away from their kids more than they’d like, but the kids will get used to it over time and will stop acting out. Rayna doesn’t want her daughters to get used to it, and she doesn’t want to get used to it herself.
Micah enjoys fries with applesauce too, a detail clearly meant to establish a possible genetic connection between Gunnar and Micah. Micah then banters with Gunner about the joys of fries with grape jelly, and in the course of their conversation, Gunnar asks Micah how old he is. As a worried Kylie looks on, Micah says he’s 9 and 1/2, and that sure gets Gunnar thinking. After sending Micah to the back of the diner, again, Kylie tells Gunnar Micah’s not his. It’s going to turn out that Micah is Jason’s kid and therefore Gunnar’s nephew, right?
Deacon and Pam are in bed, clothed, and Deacon is trying to watch his Western while Pam tweets. Deacon teases her that if he can watch her teenage vampire movie, she can watch his Western. As she scrolls through her timeline, she sees a picture Luke tweeted out from the ad shoot. And Deacon sees it too, and he is just thrilled about Luke spending the day with his daughter instead of Deacon being able to.
Layla is in studio with a cute producer recording “Good Love,” cowritten by Justin Davis, Jonathan Singleton and Sarah Zimmerman, and she is hamming up her recording session for the cameras. Jeff walks in and thinks she’s flirting with the producer. The producer says she must be lonely. Jeff kicks the cameras out, much to Layla’s dismay, and asks the producer how things are going. The producer says they’re good now, but it took a while to get her there because she wasn’t feeling the lyrics.
To DOWNLOAD “Good Love,” cowritten by Justin Davis, Jonathan Singleton, and Sarah Zimmerman and performed by Aubrey Peeples, click HERE!
Meanwhile Will and trainer Tony are in his hotel room after a workout, and Will is ready for something more intimate when Tony asks him if he wants to get dinner later. Will says maybe, and asks Tony to sign a standard non disclosure agreement, saying it’s just a standard thing for “kind of celebrities.” Tony is disappointed, and asks Will if he has all his boyfriends sign one. Will says that’s not what this is, and kind of bluntly says this is a physical relationship. He admits that it’s easier to deny a relationship than to be in love with a man. Tony walks out, and when Will starts to give chase, Deacon walks down the hall. So Will covers by pretending he fired Tony. Deacon asks if everything’s OK, and Will unconvincingly says it is.
Daphne is ready to apologize if it’ll make Rayna feel better, but Rayna wants to know if that’s how she really feels. Rayna assures Daphne that she understands how hard the time apart is on both of them, and that she flew the girls out just to see them. She promises to take advantage of every second they do have together, and suggests something fun after the shoot. This is enough for Daphne.
Juliette is in her trailer worrying over her figure and getting through the next 3 weeks without people knowing she’s pregnant when a movie assistant tells her a guy named Avery is here to see her. With Glenn watching, Juliette says she doesn’t know anybody with that name. Denied entry into her trailer, Avery starts yelling outside her trailer about the pregnancy, a rant that Noah hears as he heads into his own trailer. Glenn goes out to confront Avery, and Avery demands to know if Juliette’s pregnant. Glenn says she is, and though he’s surprised to hear Avery ask if the baby’s Jeff, he tells Avery that Juliette says the baby is his and that he (Manager Glenn) believes her. Glenn then chastises Avery for what he’s become – a drunk, ranting crazy. He reminds Avery that that’s what Juliette grew up around, and he won’t allow Juliette’s child to grow up in that environment either. Avery asks what Glenn wants him to do, and Glenn tells him to go away. Avery sheds a tear.
Jeff has it out with Layla in studio, telling her she needs to stop flirting with the producer. Layla calls out the double standard of Will being able to fool around with his trainer (how did she know?) but she can’t have any fun. Jeff says it’s not about gender, it’s about the fact that Will sells records, and she might be able to if she would just quickly and cheaply record the songs she’s sent. Layla tells him their deal is that her album will go gold, which won’t be cheap, and she blames Jeff for sending her all this lovey-dovey stuff she can’t relate to right now. Jeff tells her to fake it. Layla asks to try writing something herself. Jeff said that would require Layla actually having feelings.
Rayna, Luke, the girls and Colton arrive at the bowling lanes, and immediately get accosted by fans. Luke and Rayna politely decline photos and autographs, saying they’re just there for some family time.
Back on set for the Patsy Cline movie, the director chats with Juliette and Noah about their upcoming sex scene, and Juliette wonders about camera angles and such. Noah helpfully suggests that Juliette be on top, so that her bare back is showing but there isn’t as much focus on her front. The director loves it and Juliette is grateful. As they set up, Noah tells Juliette that he knows and assures her that her secret is safe with him.
Back at the bowling lanes, Daphne is having herself a great time and even Colton seems to be joking around a little in his sulky teenage way, and Maddie is moping because of a tabloid picture calling her Rayna’s “Plain Jane daughter.” After promising to do what she can to protect the girls from the cameras that are everywhere now, Rayna has a sweet chat with Maddie about finding a way to be the best version of herself and not allowing tabloid vultures to define that for her. Probably the best moment of this episode so far, because the show really is best when it focuses on family and friendship over the soapy stuff.
Will goes for a night walk in the park, cruising for a pickup, I guess. A guy seems game, but it turns out he’s there to mug Will with his friend. They take his wallet, beat him up, and call him horrible, hateful, homophobic slur.
Deacon and Pam are on their own walk through the city streets, enjoying messy hot dogs and banter. Deacon thanks her for turning his day around, and says Luke Wheeler can ruin things he’s not even here for. Pam says she’s not sure it’s totally his fault, but is interrupted by a call from her sister. She has to take it, which allows Deacon to see Will limping out of a cab into the hotel, and to find out he probably got mugged in Jackson Park. Deacon goes to see Will and when Will finally opens the door, he tries to pass this off as a bar fight. Deacon tells him he’s a “live and let live” kind of guy, but that Will shouldn’t go into the parks – Deacon has some friends who got themselves in real trouble that way. Will is a little panicked that Deacon also knows now.
Maddie, Daphne, and Colton exchange friendly goodbyes, and even seem interested in hanging out while Colton’s in Nashville. He heads off to join his mother, and the girls are picked up by Teddy. Their freshly Raybanned dad wants to have a really fun day with them too now.
Scarlett is back to working on “Red Flag” and the guy out in the street is still chanting about pizza. She makes a little progress into the chorus but gets stuck again. She brings the guy out in the street a sandwich, and after asking her name, he introduces himself as Terry. He thanks her for the sandwich, and says he can’t take it without offering something in return, because he is not a beggar. He asks Scarlett if she’s the one who was singing inside, and when she says she is, he finishes writing her chorus for her.
BONUS: Check out the “Nashville: On The Record” featurette on “Red Flag,” with commentary from cowriters Stephanie Lambring and Shannon Wright as well as performer Clare Bowen.
BONUS: Check out an acoustic performance of “Red Flag” by cowriters Stephanie Lambring and Shannon Wright:
BONUS: Check out cowriter Stephanie Lambring’s version of “Red Flag”:
Over to Cincinnati, where Juliette is grousing over a blouse that doesn’t quite fit while Zoe walks by. Zoe asks if everything is OK, and Juliette is polite instead of kicking her out. Zoe says it must be hard doing everything on her own, and Juliette asks how Avery is. Zoe says he’s not well, and before they can go any further, Noah surprises them with a visit. Zoe is all gushy fangirl before leaving. Noah says he likes being around Juliette, and when Juliette tries to remind him about her situation, Noah says he gets it and doesn’t care. He asks Juliette to show him around, and she agrees. Their scenes are working pretty well, I’ve got to say – they are believable as friends, at least.
Avery runs to Gunnar, who is still angry at him. Avery begs for forgiveness, and Gunnar lets him in because he can see that Avery’s in a really bad place.
Layla is in her bedroom trying to write, and as she seethes, she sees the photo of Will and her. She looks like she wants to throw the thing, but mindful of the cameras, she puts the photo down and runs to the bathroom, where she looks for pills, finds nothing that’ll do (or thinks better of it), and instead breaks the mirror, cutting her arm. Layla weeps.
Back at Gunnar’s, Gunnar’s being a good friend to Avery, agreeing that texting Avery was a terrible thing for Juliette to do while Avery says he’s not even sure Juliette wants Avery anywhere near the child. Gunnar thinks Avery should be able to have a relationship with the kid if he wants, but Avery’s not sure what he wants. He says he always figured by the time in his life he had kids, he would have it together – a house, a wife, a grill, instead of a “sad dad” apartment. Avery talks himself into a point where he wonders if it might be best for the baby and for him to stay out of it since he and Juliette can’t spend 2 seconds together without it going to crap. From the look in his eyes, Gunnar’s starting to think of his own situation and the possibility of Micah being his.
From her tour dressing room, Rayna calls her girls and they’re all giddy after a beauty day with Teddy where he took them to the spa, let Daphne get her ears pierced, and let Maddie get highlights. And now Rayna feels left out. They wish her the best for her show that night, and Rayna tearfully says goodbye.
Meanwhile Teddy arrives for the party Jeff invited him to, and Jeff quickly introduces him to Briana and Natasha. After Teddy makes a characteristically awkward start talking about his daughters, Natasha flirts with Teddy and reveals her Masters degree in English literature. Jeff says out loud, “Chicks dig power,” and somehow, neither Briana nor Natasha nor Teddy slaps him. Teddy takes a call from a panicked Rayna who starts to lay into him about the ear piercing and highlights happening not under her watch. Teddy reminds her they agreed Daphne could get her ears pierced when she was in the 5th grade and that Maddie got highlights, she didn’t shave her head or dye it purple. He tells Rayna, rather unfeelingly, that she’s not here right now and some of these things are going to happen without her being there. Then he excuses himself from the rest of the conversation.
Over to Luke’s tour, where Pam congratulates Deacon on winning over a tricky crowd, and they spot Luke yelling at Will about how he can’t go out on stage with such a bruised black eye. Deacon walks up and suggests Luke have one of his people put some makeup on Will, with a nice dig about how much makeup Luke wears. Luke informs Deacon that he’s got this, and sends Will to his dressing room, and then snarks to Pam about how she’s keeping some nice company. Deacon asks Will if he ever saw that doctor, and Will says the doctor says he’s fine. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to believe that he actually saw the doctor? Anyway, Will starts to ask Deacon to keep his secret but Deacon stops him and reiterates that none of this is any of his business. But he also tells Will that if he needs somebody to talk to, he’ll be there. Will says he doesn’t think he’ll need to, but he finally thanks Deacon in a heartfelt manner.
Teddy walks Natasha to her car while regaling her of his story of that one day in Amsterdam where he…inhaled, I guess? She tells him that having fun is liking riding a bike. Their flirty banter is interrupted when Natasha discovers that she has a ticket. Teddy offers to make it go away, and Natasha thanks him with a kiss.
Sadie comes to see Rayna after her opening set, and she’s pretty excited. Rayna congratulates her on a job well done, and Sadie asks how things went with her girls on their trip. Rayna confides how difficult it is for her to be missing big moments in her daughters’ lives, and Sadie is sympathetic. A stagehand tells Rayna it’s showtime, and Rayna puts on her game face.
Back in Nashville, an increasingly tortured Gunnar is waiting outside the Hermitage Cafe for Kylie. She wonders what she’s doing there, and he tells her that she disappeared without a word and then 6 months later she had a baby – she must think he’s stupid if she doesn’t think he’ll make the connection. Kylie says she doesn’t think he’s stupid and already told him, but Gunnar tells her his grandmother’s in a nursing home, his brother’s dead – he has no family. He needs to know whether Micah is his. Kylie hesitates, and then tearfully tells him yes. I don’t know about you, but I really think what happened is Kylie ran away in the 1st place because she had cheated on Gunnar with Jason, and that the baby is Jason’s. She came to Nashville looking for Jason, and found Gunnar. She told Gunnar Micah is his…because he’ll be able to provide for the kid?
Over to Juliette’s tour, where she’s performing “Tell That Devil,” complete with choreography, to a thrilled crowd. In the middle of the performance, she starts to struggle physically, and she heads off stage during the guitar solo. Zoe sees this happen, and takes her opportunity to take over the performance after Juliette leaves. She owns the stage and loves the spotlight, but yea…this is not going to go over well on the tour (the crowd seems to be fine with it, though!). Noah runs to see what’s wrong with Juliette, and she says she can’t breathe. She notices that Zoe’s taken over the performance, but passes out. And…scene!
To DOWNLOAD “Tell That Devil,” cowritten by Jill Andrews, Emery Dobyns, and Matthew Mayfield and performed by Hayden Panettiere, click HERE.
Come back and join us next week, where Avery meets Noah at Juliette’s bedside, Rayna’s family drama deepens, Teddy’s lady drama starts (is Natasha going to turn out to be an escort hired by Jeff for purposes of blackmailing Teddy into signing Maddie & Daphne to Edgehill?) and more!
