Kazia

I read in an article that, at the FNL reunion, CB answered "of course, of course!" when asked if we'd see more of Rayna Jaymes in season 5. If that's true, perhaps she still is under contract? Or perhaps she wants to give season 5 a chance? Personally, I thought Connie seemed relieved that Nashville was canceled, but now it seems like she's on board, so who knows what's going on with her.

They saved Friday Night Lights, so maybe they can save Nashville! (I'm only partially serious with that - FNL is in an entirely different league of TV shows, imo). Like many others, I'm really shipping for Lionsgate to get it picked up for a full fifth season so that we can see what the new show runners can do with it. That seems to be the overarching complaint (the writers drove the show into the ground), so now let's test this theory and see what these actors can do with different writing. Also re: voices... Chip Esten's voice gives me chills. He has an easy, passionate, and catchy way of singing to my novice ears, and I love listening to him. And I know Connie isn't a singer and that her voice is the weakest, but her duet with Maisy is my favorite of the season (and maybe series, though I really like "Casino" with Clare and Sam). I think their voices blended well together, probably because Maisy has an uncanny way of harmonizing with other voices.

I just rewatched part of Season 3, Episode 12 where Maddie and Rayna are writing a song together (this is after Rayna left the BlueBird for a performance she was supposed to give because she was overwhelmed with memories of Deacon). Maddie was like, "Juliette signed with Big Machine at 14 and you signed with Edgehill at 16, and I have a lot more support than you did." Like, whatever happened to that? Whatever happened to sweet, considerable Maddie sitting in Rayna's beautiful house writing and singing songs that she and Deacon worked on? Sweet Maddie who understood (after some gentle reminders) that things take time and that she's in a very fortunate, promising position? Sigh. I'm kind of glad it was canceled, but at the same time, I'm secretly hoping for another network/Hulu/Netflix/whatever to swoop in and give it a ten episode shortened season so that the new writers can fix the mess. Looking forward to seeing what Connie does next, though! I'm wondering if she'll be moving back to LA now? (especially after the stance she took on all the new legislation in TN?)

Yes, but Rayna isn't holding Maddie back in the same way her father held HER back. Her father did not support music AT ALL (probably because of her mother), and there were other underlying issues as well. Rayna, meanwhile, GAVE Maddie a record deal and promised her she could get out there IN TIME... Rayna learned from her own mistakes and knows first hand how hard she had it on her own at 16. It's also important to note all this music talk started back when Maddie was still 13/14/15. Rayna put her out there with baby steps. I get that Maddie is frustrated (and rightfully so, to an extent), but I still don't see this as any reason to emancipate yourself. From what I remember, Rayna did it because her father promised her she'd NEVER be able to sing music under his roof, so it's different (and probably just as unrealistic, if we're to be honest, but it's a TV show and this is the backstory, whereas the Maddie thing is center stage). I just hate how this show is throwing around emancipation like it's nothing because it's truly a BIG DEAL and something that shouldn't be used when you just don't get your way. I totally agree that Maddie is vulnerable to outside influences. She doesn't seem to be as tough as Rayna was at her age, so that's probably another reason why Rayna is so worried. She's been spoiled and coddled her whole life, and I really think they should mention that at court. What experience does Maddie have taking care of herself? And when she WAS by herself, didn't she throw a party with Colt and have the cops called on her? Also just wanna say that seeing Daphne bawl her eyes out backstage and Rayna sing while looking back at her, unable to comfort her, broke my heart. My heart hasn't been stirred like that since season 1 when Rayna sat down with Maddie after the Deacon revelation!

You know, I'm really trying to understand Maddie, but I can't. Here's an analogy: I get into Harvard/Yale/etc. (so the Sony deal), but my parents tell me I can't go. My great aunt Trudy said she'd foot the bill, but only if my parents were in agreement. They're not because, say, I already accepted an offer with a great scholarship from the in-state flagship uni that has a better program in my desired degree (so the Highway 65 Deal). In this case, I CANNOT emancipate (if I'm a minor) just because my parents said no and because Aunt Trudy can make it financially feasible for me to go to Havard. My parents would have my back and be teaching me a good lesson ("you already committed somewhere and it's a good opportunity," aka "you already are signed with Highway 65 and Sony would exploit you"), and I'd be mad, of course, but emancipate? And have ANYONE support me thinking I had a good chance of doing it? College, like getting a record deal, is a CHOICE and a privilege. No one's hurting Maddie physically by having her stay with Highway 65, and Rayna is still supporting her by making that happen for her. Has the world honestly gotten to the point where spoiled, entitled kids of celebrities can get what they want automatically? And like CASH could REALLY have a top notch attorney under her dirty little sleeve? I bet 100% Ryanas tram is better. That plot line is just so ridiculous that I can't stand it. They're either gonna have Maddie realize she's wrong and go flying back to Raynas arms or magically have her win her case and get poised to go off on her own, thus creating a storyline for season 5. They're desperate for views to get renewed, but unfortunately, they lost sight of what the show is and what it was supposed to stand for. I'd watch season 5 if it happens, but I'd also prefer to see Connie Britton freed up so we could see her star in something else.

Yeah, this puzzled me as well, to be honest... I could see her getting a BA since Eric went to college and played football there, so it isn't unfeasible for her to have followed him there, too (although didn't she once tell Julie that she almost dropped out of high school? Then how would she have the grades to get into whatever university Eric went to?). Stemming from that, since counseling and psychology are popular fields, I could see her taking night classes or something to get her MA while she was raising Julie. Also, I get her becoming the counselor because a.) She's certified and b.) She's the coach's wife. Maybe they *wink wink* hired her in (the show didn't talk about how she got hired, but since she hardly had any work experience, who knows?). However, I agree with you that the principal job seems like a stretch, and WITHOUT QUESTION so is the Braemore job. I'm applying to pursue a graduate degree and eventual career in academia, and from my understanding, there's no WAY you can become a dean of admissions with only, like, 5 years of work experience. From what I've read and heard, deans in general are usually former professors who had some experience with administration during their time (like as the chair of their department or something), and I would think that they'd also have to have a PhD (and Tami could NOT possibly have a PhD). So, even though I love Tami and supported her 100% on the show, I agree that her career advancements were a bit unrealistic. However, it's a TV show, so I have (and will continue to) suspend my disbelief.

I don't know if this counts, but I'm watching a Lifetime movie called "Hiding" and all of a sudden I was like "Hey! It's JD McCoy!" The movie is in 2012 and Jeremy Sumpter (the actor) is playing a high school student, so it looks like things haven't changed much for him after FNL ;)

OH, that's right! Duh. They're living it up at Braemore and Pemberton right now, watching Nashville on Wednesday nights and Bloodline on Netflix while drinking wine. And yeah, Connie was nominated twice for FNL (2010 & 2011), once for AHS (2012), and once for Nashville (2013). She's never won, though, which is a true shame because we all know she's one of television's best. I am just forever going to be salty that she didn't win in 2011 when Kyle did because they were a team and FNL is known as one of the best television shows in history because of them. Kyle won and Jason Katims won (the show's writer), but she got left out. *sad face* And yes, Sutton: she and Chip have such amazing chemistry, too! Looks like Connie is a just a perfect television wife, haha (except not really in AHS OR Nashville... lol).

I watched the YouTube clip the other day of Kyle Chandler winning his Emmy, and it absolutely made me wince to him kiss his brunette-haired wife first and then hug Connie Britton. Like, in my mind, they will always be Coach and Mrs. Coach, even as real people outside the show. I hope Kyle's wife doesn't mind that she has to share her husband with Connie because she will ALWAYS be his TV wife. Lol.

YES. Then their insane chemistry would flame and Deacon would be like "wait a minute..." but no one would even care because all eyes would be on the Taylor Family Reunion. We need to petition to have this happen, y'all. I daresay we don't care about much else at this point.

I also see some of Tami in Rayna at times (you're right about that scene! It felt so familiar in that way), and that's also probably why I enjoy a lot of her scenes. She calls her daughters "sweet girl" a lot, like Tami called Gracie, she calls her lovers "babe," like Tami called Eric, she makes some pretty funny faces sometimes, like Tami did...*sigh*, sometimes I think I'm only watching this because I think it's some sort of "The Adventures of Tami Taylor" parallel universe.

I can literally picture it. Kyle sits down, orders a scotch, and Deacon is leaning moodily nearby. They nod to each other, Kyle goes "woman trouble?", and they talk about it for a bit. Kyle then gives some amazing Coach Taylor pep talk before getting up to leave. When he's leaving, though, he accidentally bumps into Rayna as she's entering the bar. He goes "Oh, I'm sorry, hon. Didn't you see there" and she says "it's fine, sugar." That would be the highlight of the season.

Would the cast still be obligated to star in the show, though? I don't know much about this industry, but wouldn't they ultimately be signing a new contract with CMT that's different than their ABC contract? Or would their contracts transfer? Because to be honest, I don't know if Connie Britton would sign a new contract for the show. I've read that she's completely done with the show, like a lot of us are.

I think Kyle Chandler should show up as a guest star and give Deacon a big pep talk about marriage and about life. He would knock some sense into that man-baby and it would pull a lot of ratings because everyone is desperate to see a Kyle/Connie TV reunion.

I think the writers recognize the show's imminent doom and decided to start tying bows. As romantic as I guess it was, that ending was so corny that I cringed a little bit. I just find it crazy how the show sifted through so many things so fast in this episode. The writing just feels sloppy to me, and some of the scenes were not at the same caliber as in episodes past. I feel that even Connie is starting to slip. It would be one thing if this show failed because people just didn't connect with the material, but in this case, it fails because it's trying too hard to do too much soap. People loved the premise of the show from the first season, and when they messed with that, they ruined it. Hopefully we find out its cancelation status before May so the show can at least tie itself up.