shron17

I agree. Now if Will hadn't come clean and instead tried to manipulate Layla to believe it was all in her head in order to protect his secret, it could have easily escalated into emotional abuse. I was confused about that scene and am wondering now if the point was Teddy assumed an attractive woman alone in a bar on her own was an escort trolling for new customers, and that he wouldn't have been tempted until he experienced it. Jeff may offer her a big payoff if she helps get Teddy to sign a contract. I see what you're saying about it not seeming like Teddy, but it can't be fun for him seeing all the fuss about Ruke's wedding. After the divorce Teddy moved on first; now he's seeing how if feels when the shoe's on the other foot. It was an FU to the radio stations/venues/fans who trashed her because of a stupid religious controversy that was basically entirely fabricated wasnt it? It was still an incredible song either way But she premiered it at her induction ceremony into the Grand Old Opry--I would imagine that's what didn't sit well with the country music people.

No, but I do feel confident that Rayna made the best decision she could for Maddie at that time. She chose not to gamble on Maddie's future with a safer choice and I agree that she doesn't need to apologize to anyone for her choices. The difference here is that you're looking at it from Deacon's point of view only, while Rayna and Teddy and even Deacon are basing their opinion in terms of what was best for Maddie. There are consequences either way of course, but at the end of day I'd feel much worse to have made a decision that ended up hurting my child and compromising her future. It sounds like you're saying this is a one-size-fits-all situation and that every time an addict gets a woman pregnant the same choice should be made. That would just be silly. Yes, I think every woman in this situation has a right to make a decision using their own best judgment for their baby. Does that make them above reproach or mean they don't make mistakes? Of course not! Go ahead and reproach all you want. All I'm saying is that in this situation, as depicted on a TV show, I agree with the choice Rayna made. This varies from state to state and I know things are changing in terms of father's rights, but as far as I know the American legal system's first priority in child custody is to protect the child. As it should be. And I get that you put telling the truth above the welfare of a child and I absolutely do not agree. Rayna also loved and trusted Deacon when he got out of rehab and accepted his proposal and no doubt suffered betrayal after betrayal from him. Do I blame Rayna for being unwilling to bring a child into that environment and telling a lie that very effectively protected her baby from it? Not one bit.

You put a lot of words in my mouth here. I only said Rayna did what she did in order to protect her baby and that I agree and would have done the same in her situation. For me, it's not a social issue but a personal one. I believe everyone has an obligation and a right to protect their baby in the way they think is best, since they know the most about themselves and the other people involved. Many mothers would do the same in that situation; others may make honesty, morality, selfishness, etc. a higher priority than their baby's safety and happiness. But I strongly disagree it's condoning "men being forced to bow to women's will because they have the babies." From the flashbacks it seems clear the pregnancy happened at least in part because Deacon broke promises he made after rehab concerning both their relationship and his behavior, and for all those 13 years never once guessed Maddie could be his. So no, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't feel a stronger obligation to him than to my baby. But having the baby on her own wouldn't be that different from telling Deacon the baby was his. Their lives have been so entangled that getting married and having the baby with someone else was the only way to separate both Rayna and Maddie from Deacon. Otherwise when he got drunk he would have gone to scream at Rayna for keeping him from his child, not Teddy. I know some think finding out about the baby would have inspired Deacon to stay sober, but the chance that it would have put more stress on him and made it even harder is just as great. In fact, even though Deacon said he got sober for Rayna and many of the details are unclear, the relief he must have felt from having to try so hard not to lose her could have been a big factor in his recovery. And despite 13 or so years of sobriety, Deacon hasn't exactly been a poster child for healthy family relationships either.

Every situation is different. I've stated my opinion about a story line on a TV show, and my intention was not to pass a very generalized and biased judgement on behalf of all women pregnant by an addict.

Of course not! I think you missed the part where I said "in her situation."

I really don't want to jump in either, but wanted to point out the huge risk Rayna would have been taking with Maddie's future. What do you imagine the odds are that Rayna could have still provided a stable and loving home environment for her if she told Deacon--50/50, 70/30? Two things that lower the odds of that even further, in my opinion, are: 1) Deacon's father and his own childhood. This kind of situation DOES get passed down from generation to generation and increases the likelihood of a rough transition to fatherhood; and 2) Rayna's weakness for taking him back time after time. When you have a man who promises to be a good father to your baby but wants to be her only father, do you accept his offer or take a gamble that it will all work out somehow if you tell the truth? I'm glad Rayna did what she did and in her situation would have done the same thing. The same thing applies to going down the other road as well. This isn't something you can ever "untell" once it's been told. The plan to tell Deacon he couldn't be in Maddie's life unless he stayed sober would probably work right up until the first time he got drunk. Can he be trusted to abide by the rules, or even a court order, when he's under the influence? Very, very doubtful. She did, and I think the fact that Maddie had that for 13 years does now and will continue to benefit her far more than the lie hurt her. Telling Deacon would bring all sorts of risks into her life at a younger age--chaos, danger, disappointment, divorce, etc. etc. Your relationship with your father has an enormous affect on your love life as an adult and I think the one Maddie had with Teddy will serve her far better than the turmoil that could have been present in her life with both Teddy and Deacon trying to be her father. I think Rayna and Teddy did these things to protect Maddie, and that both Maddie and Deacon are at least starting to understand this. I know others don't agree and am fine with agreeing to disagree. I'm not trying to change anyone's mind, just felt the need to put in my $.02 worth.

No, not an insult at all and I apologize if you experienced it that way. I was just clumsily expressing that to me saying someone "should" have whatever by a certain age sounds like a young observation, regardless of chronological age.

No, I'm saying I think Rayna has the right and the obligation to try as hard as she can to do what she thinks is necessary to make her dreams come true without being blamed every time her kids do something wrong. I guess to me a young 'un is anyone who thinks any given character/person should have their shit together by a certain age. Life just doesn't work that way, and I disagree that anyone of a certain age, talent, skill, etc. should be held to a higher standard because of that. This is what I think Rayna is doing, and what I'm going to enjoy watching her doing each week. I know your mileage varies.

Again I ask, where is that coming from? No one has said that But it is being said that Rayna's neglecting her kids by going on an arena tour of that length, even though she talks to them every day and sees them as much as possible. And it is likely that going on tour and doing all of the publicity is the best way to insure H65 gets the best start it could have and it clearly needs to happen now and not later. So yeah. I think it is, to say the least, being implied that if Rayna does what she thinks is right and necessary for her label she's causing her kids to act out and her family to crumble. The thing is, Rayna had reached a point in her life where some rebuilding was absolutely necessary. Her career stalled a little with her last album and she had to figure out a way to still do music in a fulfilling way. She started by writing a song and working with Liam, then asking for her own label so she could work with young artists. When Jeff took over she had to separate herself by buying out her catalog with everything she had, and it all snowballed from there. Everyone's forgetting about the changes in the music industry that require her to work even harder and open up her life in a way she never did, just to have the same level of success she had before. On top of that, her personal life changed in a huge way with the divorce and then losing the chance she had with Deacon. When a long-term relationship ends there's a natural urge to replace that loss with someone else, even though it often turns out to be the wrong person. This may surprise and dismay you young 'uns, but people do lose their way and may crash and burn in their 40's, and {GASP} even their 50's and older. I don't so much see a woman who's lost herself and turned into a "fame whore" (whatever that is!) but someone trying to adjust to life's challenges by finding her balance and doing what she needs to do to be happy. And we all deserve that no matter how old we are, right? Wherever the search for happiness takes Rayna, I'm absolutely certain it will encompass doing the best she possibly can for her kids.

If Rayna were only selling her own records this sounds like a good business decision. Since she's starting a label with more artists and a wider variety of music it makes sense to reach as many people as possible and have the ability to showcase her own artists whenever possible.

Not understanding how you don't see arena touring as Rayna's "core" audience since from the pilot it sounds as though she's been selling out arenas since Maddie was small. Starting a label that can compete with Edgehill while encouraging its artists to flourish rather than exploiting their talent for profit has been high on Rayna's list of self-proclaimed priorities since early season 2. I would find this tedious to watch as well. I'm glad this is the show I'm seeing on my screen: Different people like different aspects of the story--some would like it to revolve around Juliette which would only frustrate me. Thanks for the great description of my favorite part of the show.

The point is that you need more than just money to build a successful label. You need people who want to buy and support and listen to the music you're producing and the only way to get that is to put your music out there, in person and to take advantage of every bit of publicity you can find. Rayna is building the foundation of her label with her own fame, so that she can pass that opportunity along to the others she signs.

I agree Luke's macho persona comes across as sexist. And it really came out in that song he wrote for her. I'd love to see him freak out over Rayna's successes and for his women fans to turn on him, but I'm probably dreaming.

Aw, bummer. Still he must say something to make it obvious Rayna still has feelings for Deacon for Luke to react as he did.

I agree completely and am more than happy to hang out with you in left field. Rayna's actions have changed because her circumstances have changed, not because she's with Luke or is being written differently. Whether she turned down both proposals or accepted Deacon's, I think she would be doing exactly the same things to get as much publicity she can for her label. The plan was to use the momentum from releasing her album and go as far she could with it. If not, she would have stayed with Edgehill and taken a well deserved break while Jeff released her greatest hits album. Luke thought starting her own label was a bad idea from the moment she mentioned it and I'm not surprised his patience is wearing thin. He's just shallow enough to support her as long it's convenient for him.

Thanks for posting this! I was wondering if it might not be so much what Rayna said as what the reporter picked up from the way she talked about their relationship. And don't worry, the fact that Rayna's trying to move on doesn't mean those feelings aren't still there. We just have to be patient and let them tell the story.

Layla seems very manipulative and looking for someone who's powerful. I'm going to say Teddy, who's lonely and vulnerable right now.

I don't know that Maddie's problem is solely supervision either, but she wouldn't be able to invite people she doesn't know into the house if an adult was there and she couldn't sneak out to parties if one was checking up on her. In fact, I doubt her problems would all be solved if Rayna gave up her career and devoted all of her time to her children either. Sometimes you just have to do what you can to keep your kids safe and I think hiring a nanny is a step towards doing that. Teddy made his plans at the last minute when Maddie was about to go out. It doesn't seem fair either to automatically assume the adult's plans always supersede the teenager's when a younger child is involved. Teddy is Daphne's parent, not Maddie, and it's his responsibility to plan ahead so that Daphne isn't left by herself when he goes out.

Just to clarify, this isn't an assumption I'm making about any post or posters here, but something I've observed in my life. I may notice it more as a single mom, but I've heard ad nausem praise for fathers who pick their kids up from school, take care of them when they're sick, etc. etc., usually from women and all for things moms do without giving it a second thought. Anyway, it wasn't meant in any way to offend anyone here or disparage their opinions. To a night when he had a babysitter, which I think would have been preferable to his first plan to leave Maddie and Daphne alone together for an entire evening. ETA, leaving them home alone would probably be fine if Maddie agreed to stay home, knew she wasn't permitted to have anyone over, and had acted responsibly in the past.

Apparently we also have different definitions of destructive behavior, because I don't see any of the listed behaviors as intentionally destructive on Maddie's part. But sneaking out to go to a party, experimenting with drinking and inviting people into your house while parents are gone is quite "common" behavior for many teenagers who have enough independence and opportunities that enable them to do these things without being caught. As for the Maddie Claybourne video, Maddie openly admitted she hadn't thought about the consequences before posting it so saying "airing your family secrets" seems a little harsh. I'm just trying to figure out how Maddie will continue to act out if she's unable to sneak out or have use of the house sans adults. If her behavior gets worse rather than better, then sure I'd say there's a bigger problem. I haven't seen anything to indicate Maddie only gets attention from her mom when she does something wrong, but it is a convenient way to put all the blame on Rayna rather than Teddy, who was the parent on duty in each instance. Yes, last season she cancelled her tour and took a year off. Now she's trying to start a label and continue her career. It sounds as though you're saying she should just give up on her dream of having her own label. Right now is the opportune time to use the publicity she's been getting to help her label. No, it's not vanity label but she is the only one available right now to market it, along with having a lot more lose if it fails. I try not to make negative assumptions, but yeah, I thought of this. Men always get the highest praise for every little thing they do for their kids while it's assumed a women should always make them her first priority. It's just funny to me to blame Rayna for being out of town when all Teddy had to do was change his "date" to a different night. Re: Maddie's drinking, I agree someone should probably talk to her about the dangers. Still, she knows Deacon is an alcoholic and from my admittedly foggy memories of health class back in junior high it seems as though the genetic factor was mentioned once or a thousand times. There's really no guarantee she'll actually listen and take to heart how easily she could fall into that trap anyway. Which is why more supervision seems to be the safest way to go. It takes a little more vigilance than Teddy has shown to let her go off without talking to parents, etc. and checking to make sure she's really where she says she is.

I don't think those are the only options. But based on both reading and experience with teenage girls, perfectly normal often doesn't mean happy and well-adjusted. While Maddie does have a few more issues than some girls she also had the advantage of a stable and loving childhood and now has 3 parents to support and love her whether in person or long-distance. The extra supervision a nanny can provide isn't a substitute for a parent, of course, but many teens do act out in the same ways and more supervision can prevent a whole host of trouble they could get themselves into E.g. if Teddy had been home Maddie couldn't have brought the kids home and wouldn't have kissed Colt.

Well, it is pretty normal for a 14-year-old girl to kiss a cute boy who's listening to her and promising to be there for her, so I'd have to say yes. They aren't related by blood, and their parents aren't even married yet. Sure, Maddie is sad and lonely but If you're saying she kissed Colt because of deep-seated psychological issues I think that's a bit of a stretch. Now if he returns her feelings and they want to date or whatever, I hope Maddie talks to Rayna or Teddy about it first, but that remains to be seen.

In my opinion, Maddie didn't intend to throw an unauthorized party either. She made a bad judgement call by inviting her stepbrother to be and his friends who she didn't know back to her house so she could spend more time with people her own age. Completely normal. A nanny isn't one more person telling her what to do but someone to make sure she follows the rules that she thinks don't apply to her because she's now old enough to make her own decisions. Also completely normal, though you may have to ask a parent rather than another teen. Many seem to see Rayna as the ultimate bad mother, but I think she's a woman struggling to build a new record label while being there as best she can for her kids at the same time. There's no way a negligent parent would have flown in to deal with Maddie and Daphne after what happened at the house; she would have the parent at home deal with it. She talks to them both on the phone a lot and flew them in so she could see them while they made the commercial. And it wasn't "lame" to go ahead and fulfill that obligation in between spending time with her girls. I was thinking too that the perfect solution would be for Deacon to come back and help with the kids. But no one knows enough about the different situations to put it all together. Still, Deacon's decided to make the best of being on tour and maybe it's a good place to work on his music and get more exposure. I'd love it if he started writing and performing so much great stuff and show off all the talent he has, tons more than Luke Wheeler. Which would also probably get him out of his contract.

I think Maddie's acting like a normal 14-year-old girl. She knows what the rules are but figures none of that bad stuff her parents worry about will happen to her so she ignores the ones that seem unnecessary when it suits her. By that age kids have heard about the dangers around them ad nauseum. What she needs is not one more lecture but an adult around to make sure the rules her parents set are followed. If Teddy can't be bothered, then a nanny will do just fine. It would be nice if Rayna could be home more but she needs the publicity for her record label and has to use the momentum of a new album--if she waits 6 months no one will care.

Good episode. I'm glad Rayna is trying to separate her career from Luke's. To me that proves she's doing all of this for her label and her own music, not for fame and fortune. If she was just a "fame whore" (LOL whatever that is, because does anyone really need fame?) she'd be content to ride on Luke's coattails and go as far as it would take her. Instead she's tried to build her career on producing good music and sees her label as an extension of that. That's why she hasn't in the past campaigned for awards and gone the commercial route--she wants her music to stand on it's own. I think she got temporarily caught up in the whirlwind of Luke's fame and fortune while she's struggling to find her way in the different music market. Micah seems like a sad little kid, and it's believable to me that he would latch on to Gunnar, probably the first man he's met to show interest in him for quite a while. Sounds like his mom's been dragging him from place to place for men who have way more interest in her than him for most of his life. While I agree Scarlett and Terry's storyline has a few stereotypes I'm willing to find out where it's going before making an assumption that it's bad writing. I like the actor, his voice and the song they worked on. So this storyline can't be any good unless Terry is white, or can't sing, or from some state up north? Sheesh. Going on a date doesn't have to mean accepting an invitation at the last minute and sending your 10yo along with your 14yo and her friends. Overall I think Teddy's a great dad but that was a totally idiotic and irresponsible decision. Maddie already had plans and needs supervision herself. If it was only for an hour or so and somewhat urgent, then okay. Sure, it's hard being the only parent in town and it sounds like he didn't have a say in the amount of time Rayna's away but that's not an excuse for not making your kids' safety your top priority. He should have either asked for help or declined due to the short notice. I think the nanny is as much for Maddie as Daphne so she'll have to check in with someone who can follow up if Teddy isn't available. And I don't think Deacon should have been involved in the conversation about Maddie's punishment since he isn't in any way legally responsible for her. Though I don't mind him asking Teddy where he was after Teddy made such a bone-headed move and then lied to save face.