Nashville Review: It’s Sure Gonna Hurt

Ah, Nashville. I’m bummed my time with you is coming to a close, even if you are mostly soapy, dramatic ridiculousness. Case in point, this episode, which had Rayna and Deacon in therapy and a whole bunch of other couples who probably could have used some. I will say that their therapy session did a nice job of breaking down their relationship, from its inevitability to its unhealthy cycle of anger and guilt. I doubt they’re going to be able to break that cycle by next week’s finale, but I hope they at least end up in a place where that seems possible. Their handhold at the end of the episode was one small step in the right direction.

Scarlett and Gunnar spent most of the hour apart, with Scarlett off filming her commercial and Gunnar performing with Elton John. I was surprised by how cathartic the commercial ended up being for Scarlett, and the flashbacks to her relationship with Gunnar were perfectly bittersweet. Her declaration that she’s still in love with him (well, duh) felt a little anticlimactic, but it was very Nashville to have it happen as he slept with Autumn.

I love that Elton John was essentially Autumn’s wingman, inviting Gunnar up onstage and putting him in such a good mood that he just had to get some sweet lovin’ afterward. Sam Palladio was genuinely and appropriately ecstatic and terrified to play with him, but he definitely held his own.

Juliette and Avery continued to convince themselves that they’re better off apart, as she spent the day with new flame Noah and Avery attended Layla’s album launch party. Neither did a great job of this, and I still feel like it’s only a matter of time before they get back together, though I don’t think it’s going to happen by next week. Noah has to know that Juliette ended things more because of Avery than him; spaghetti squash and different taste in movies is definitely not enough to justify incompatibility. I continued to be way impressed by Layla’s master manipulation as she smoothly convinced Avery that she was upset about Rayna’s absence and needed to be comforted. I started out kind of liking them together (at least as a way to give him a break from Juliette), but Layla’s jealously is sucking all enjoyment out of it at this point.

Also in things hard to watch was Luke on The View (just because I really hate The View) but ABC has to be loving all of this cross-promotion. I’m kind of with Will in that I’m ready for him to be able to talk about his music instead of being gay, but it was nice to see him decide to face Cynthia Davis on his own. It was also sweet that he got to hear about the impact he had on someone, even if the guy did it in the creepiest way possible by showing up at his house. The Colt storyline felt like a really roundabout way for Colt to tell his dad that he’s proud of him, but at least it was a nice father/son moment.

They’ve got a lot to wrap up next week, though I’m prepared for quite a few cliffhangers. My impression was that no one knew it would be the series finale, so it’s definitely possible that there’ll be some balls left in the air.