S03.E06: Nobody Said It Was Going To Be Easy

[Clemgo3165]

 

Seriously?? But he comes off as so smarmy! And did on Smash too! Maybe this just proves he a brilliant actor...

 

I've read interviews with him before and he comes off as a totally self-absorbed &sshole. But then someone earlier had seen him on the View and loved him. Who knows.

[Sutton]

I saw him on the View and he was gracious, funny when talking to the one person who was interviewing him. They started talking about his role on Nashville, he was facing the audience and a few women on his right side of the audience said out loud that they were on Deacon Team, when he heard that he turned his back to them. After a few seconds he then turned around and said he was only joking, really...Self-absorbed $sshole I agree with that.

[airwair]

I've been a victim of his douchebaggery on twitter. I'll never understand why he has so much time on his hands he can sit around and bash fans of his show all day just because they aren't #TeamLuke.

He can be shown the door at any moment and I'll be okay. Don't even get me started on this Broadway actor with no instrumental ability taking the stage at the Opry.

[Sutton]

Him being on stage at the Opry is it because he sings Country Music on Nashville. I though getting invited to appear at the Opry you had to have recorded songs in country music and have them be on the charts selling records. I didn't know just anyone can perform at the Opry.

[SlovakPrincess]

Oh my word, that was boring!  Teddy finding out he was hooking up with a prostitute - thanks to Jeff's machinations - was even boring.  I even got so bored I think I blacked out at the end ... can someone tell me: did Teddy actually call the prostitute again to hang out?  Idiot.

 

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be getting out of Scarlett's current story. 

 

For the first time in forever, I enjoyed Rayna's stuff with Luke - probably because she was screwing him over and beating him at his own self-promotion game.  Heh heh.

 

Zoey bores me to death, but Juliette was awful and ridiculous to her.  Watching her go from "you're fired ('cause I'm an insecure little snot)!" to "where's Avery?  I want to have a heartfelt conversation with him ... in your hotel room"   really made me roll my eyes. 

 

I did enjoy Avery, who seems to be getting his act together finally.

 

And then Zoey goes home to find Gunnar with his newly found son and annoying jerk of an ex-girlfriend.  Zoey really couldn't catch a break this episode!

 

The Will and Layla marriage needs to wrap up soon.  Layla can either be conniving (and hopefully kill Jeff soon -  I so want this to happen!) ... or pathetic and sad.  Having her switch gears every episode isn't working for me.

[madam magpie]

Him being on stage at the Opry is it because he sings Country Music on Nashville. I though getting invited to appear at the Opry you had to have recorded songs in country music and have them be on the charts selling records. I didn't know just anyone can perform at the Opry.

The Opry invites people...both to perform as guests and to join. I don't actually know what you get if you join (except for a plaque or something), but it's a prestigious invitation in country music, same for playing there. They've always invited lower-tier performers, but it has seemed odd to me that most of the cast has played there, actually. I guess they're popular enough and the Opry is embracing the idea of the show.

[airwair]

I can see people like Chip, the girls, Clare, Sam, and Jonathan playing because they are actually musicians in their own rights and write their own original songs and play other venues around town.

Will Chase being invited seemed completely ridiculous to me, as he does none of the above.

They might as well ask Connie to perform.

Opry membership gets you a life long respect and brotherhood with some of the most revered musicians to grace this planet. It also obligates you to one performance every so many months to stay current. While they do invite guests to perform, the guests typically have to have at least a bit of a resume or a pedigree.

Edited November 4, 2014 by airwair

[madam magpie]

Yeah, but they aren't known for being musicians. They're known for being actors. I mean...I think it's perfectly fine; it's just always seemed odd to me. Having a guy known as a Broadway star play there is even stranger, though. I agree.

So membership is all ceremonial? Like a star on the Walk of Fame. It's just prestige that you get, right? No money or anything. I guess it's kind of like a lifetime achievement award, but there's also something cliquish and political about it. I'm remembering the "scandalous" story of the Carter family refusing to join because the Opry left out Chet Atkins; the Nashville establishment feared he was so good he'd put all the session guitar players out of business. The Carters held out and since they were such huge stars, the Opry eventually relented. So there's politics to it as well. I always think of the Opry as being like the cool kids' college frat.

Edited November 4, 2014 by madam magpie

[airwair]

There are definitely politics involved. It's a little more than ceremonial-- there are rules you have to abide by and you're obligated to do a certain number of shows per year, but largely yes. It's a pomp and circumstance deal.

[slade3]

Seriously?? But he comes off as so smarmy! And did on Smash too! Maybe this just proves he a brilliant actor...

Yes, he was hot, but that doesn't mean he didn't look like he could be obnoxious. Very serious, unhappy face. But a chiseled attractive face and a nice body. (I even checked online to see if Debra Messing was in NYC that week and she was.) 

[shron17]

Having a bunch of kids you don't know over for drinking, going to barn parties full of drunk people and boys who want to grope you, dragging your little sister along to any of these events, posting videos airing your family secrets, these are destructive.

 

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.

 

My expectation is that Maddie will continue to act out against the nanny, because she's not acting out because she has no supervision; she's doing it because she wants her mother to pay attention to her. Every time Maddie does something wrong, Rayna coming running. When Maddie doesn't do anything wrong, Rayna leaves. What Rayna does as a result of that is up to her.

 

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.

 

I'd like her to stop chasing money and fame she doesn't need and give Maddie the attention she does need. Others don't, that's fine. But yes, I judge Rayna negatively as a result of her choice to contine this status quo. And she's a very different woman from the one who saw all this clearly last season and cancelled her tour with Juliette.

 

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 can't help wondering if the criticism of Rayna's parenting would be as strong if the roles were reversed. If Rayna had been the stay-at-home mother with Teddy touring, and if Rayna had gone for a date at the last minute - she's be crucified, and there would have been songs of praise for his dropping everything and coming back to see them.

 

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. 

Edited November 4, 2014 by shron17

[madam magpie]

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.

 

Sure, because no kid with a nanny or a parent at home ever got into any trouble. I don't think Maddie's problem is solely supervision. You do. OK.

 

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.

 

That's a pretty offensive asumption to make. When Teddy leaves town for a year without discussing child custody arrangements with the other two parents involved and setting up a situation that works for everyone, your assumptions may have validity. When Teddy is the one the child needs desperately to reconnect with but he gets engaged, leaves home, and only flits in and out when something goes wrong or one of the kids cries, your assumptions may have validity. (Oh wait, actually, that happened back in season two and everyone complained then too.) Not holding women accountable for their mistakes or behavior because maybe someone wouldn't criticize men in the same situation doesn't do women any good. It's just another veiled sexist dig: Oh, those poor women....they can't be at fault because the big, bad men would get a pass. Plenty of people have said plenty of things to explain why they judge Rayna negatively in this particular situation, and it has nothing to do with believing she should give up her life and career and stay home with her kids. I mean, give me a break. Poor Rayna. She has millions of dollars, incredible talent, gorgeous lovely kids, a business on the rise, respect in her field, and two hot guys chasing after her, writing her songs, and professing their undying love. She's healthy, successful, smart, famous, and fully in command of her life and career. Clearly, she's oppressed by men and the masses and probably needs a telethon in her honor.

Edited November 4, 2014 by madam magpie

[izabella]

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.

 

The thing is, what night could he change his date to?   It's not like Rayna is going to be home for the weekend, or next week, or next month.  So the Mayor has to put his entire social life on hold while Rayna is on tour for a year? 

[shron17]

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.

 

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. 

 

The thing is, what night could he change his date to?

 

 

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.

Edited November 4, 2014 by shron17

[madam magpie]

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.

 

Fair enough. That absolutely does happen, for sure. And while single moms get crapped on, single dads are held up as heroes. The whole notion of men "babysitting" their kids is such a cliche because the stereotype has traction. But no one here is saying anything like that. No one is criticizing Rayna for having a job or working hard or even traveling and being away from her family from time-to-time. We're criticizing her for two things: 1) changing her personality where family/her kids/her musical ethics are concerned as a result of Luke and his constant, desperate quest for more and more fame; and 2) not recognizing how much SHE (not Teddy, not Deacon) is needed at home right now. There will may be times in the lives of these kids that Teddy or Deacon would be more needed, but right now, Maddie needs Rayna's guidance and supervision, not a nanny's, not even Teddy's or Deacon's as much. It's Rayna whose relationship is most damaged with Maddie and Rayna who's done very little to try to repair it. If Rayna were someone who'd been portrayed as not being super-invested in that relationship or as having a very hands-off parenting approach, the audience would likely shrug it off more than they do. But because Rayna has always been portrayed as a person whose value system says, "I need to make sure my kids are OK above all else," what we see is her changing who she is to suit the man she's with. If that's not an anti-feminist theme, I don't know what is.

 

Women and men cannot have it all all the time. That's a myth. We can't have booming careers, successful home lives, well-adjusted children, and solid marriages all the time without any give anywhere. What is possible is to work together with your partner (partners), family, friends, etc. to balance all of it. This very storyline--balance for a working mom--came up on Friday Night Lights when Tami had her baby. She just about lost her mind and nearly quit her job because she was so overwhelmed and devastated about leaving her baby at daycare. That's perfectly normal, especially for working women. In the end, with the help and support of her husband, they sorted it out so that she kept her job and raised her children in a way that she believed was right. Rayna has done none of that, she talks to no one, and there were no extraordinary circumstances in that FNL storyline either. Everyone's dad was the one she thought, no one's great love was a drunk, no one was getting married after dating somebody for five minutes while her kid was miserable, no one's grandfather/father/stepmother had just died/been murdered. I realize Nashville is a soap opera and FNL was a more realistic drama about family/community, but damn. They're cramming one extraordinary circumstance after another into their plot and expecting the audience to buy that the solution is treat it all like it's normal family life.

Edited November 4, 2014 by madam magpie

[Sutton]

 

They're cramming one extraordinary circumstance after another into their plot and expecting the audience to buy that the solution is treat it all like it's a normal family life."

         MadamMagpie -- I have nothing to say you've said it all. WOW

[RedheadZombie]

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.

 

And I suspect that this is part of the problem.  The assumption that Maddie's plans should supersede her father's.  That it's fine for Maddie to stay home as long as she agrees to it.  I think they're walking a fine line that many parents of privileged children walk.  There's an assumption that if you give your children everything that money can buy, send them to the finest schools, bail them out of every mistake, love them like crazy, and deny them nothing - they grow up to be happy and well-balanced.  Instead, they grow up to be Paris Hilton.

 

While I don't believe in corporal punishment, I think Maddie is sorely lacking discipline.  She had a fit when she thought her plans were being affected, and instead of insisting that Maddie stay home with Daphne, Teddy gave in to Maddie and let her take Daphne with.  Maddie reminds me a lot of my best friend's older sister.  Amy was very intelligent and loving, but she had the strongest personality in that family, and when Amy was upset - everyone knew it.  And everyone tiptoed around Amy - parents and four siblings.  Amy was completely unable to step back and see how her behavior impacted her siblings.  Add in the fact that Amy was the only adopted child, and you had people tripping all over themselves to prove to Amy she was loved just as much as her siblings, and you had an entire household revolving around her. 

 

Maddie is incredibly privileged, and she has three parents knocking themselves out to kiss her ass.  They run to her, pet her, soothe her, cry with her, sympathize with her.  It's not working, and her behavior has escalated to involving Daphne, and influencing Daphne to start acting out.  And I just don't agree that this is normal behavior.   I never threw a party in my house, allowed a younger family member to be around alcohol/drugs/smoking, or neglected them to the point they had to call the police for help.  They've done everything right by making sure Maddie knows she's important, beautiful, and loved.  But at some point you need to get the girl into counseling and lay down the law a little.  Excusing everything she does as normal teenage behavior is doing her no favors. 

[romantic idiot]

I never threw a party in my house, allowed a younger family member to be around alcohol/drugs/smoking, or neglected them to the point they had to call the police for help.  They've done everything right by making sure Maddie knows she's important, beautiful, and loved.  But at some point you need to get the girl into counseling and lay down the law a little.  Excusing everything she does as normal teenage behavior is doing her no favors.

I was with you till this bit. I don't think things are that dire yet. Not counselling dire for sure. Maybe she just needs a BFF. Or her music. But i agree that Maddie has been too indulged. Understandably so, but they are all allowing her to act out too much. 

 

re: Rayna, I'll say that just because she has been successful is no reason for her to rest easy now, especially with a fledgling company that needs getting off the ground. And before it can be a haven for talent, it needs to be a viable company, which just isn't the case if Rayna's album is anything that stellar. Because she is its only hope right now - Juliette is out, Scarlett is out and Sadie is really new. In fact, Sadie needs Rayna to do well and the push that H65 can give her. Did she make a mistake assuming that Teddy would be there for her just like when they were married? Yes she did, but she's rectifying that now and good for and of her. It's not like children must have continuos parental contact to grow up well - I don't think those going to boarding school are neglected than day scholars myself. 

[shron17]

Sure, because no kid with a nanny or a parent at home ever got into any trouble. I don't think Maddie's problem is solely supervision.

 

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.

 

The assumption that Maddie's plans should supersede her father's.  That it's fine for Maddie to stay home as long as she agrees to it.

 

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.

Edited November 5, 2014 by shron17

[DeLurker]

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.

Biologically true, but I don't think that Teddy's ever acted in a way that showed he made a distinction between his love and parental responsibilities towards the girls.  As soap operaesque as the Maddie's Daddy storyline is, I haven't seen a change in his attitude towards her.

 

Given the age difference between Maddie and Daphne, I can't see where Maddie would have wanted to take Daphne along on her outing.  At her age, I certainly wouldn't want to.  I would have stayed home seething about how unfair my parents and the world is.

 

My feeling is they skipped a few steps with Maddie from going out with her friends and getting into normal teen behavior to having an unauthorized party with lots of people, drinking and property destruction.  One thing I do like is that they are not having a friend lead her reluctantly down the path to badness.  She's making choices and she's facing the consequences of them (well, not really this time).

 

I'm thinking 14 is a little too young to burden Maddy with the "always watch yourself, you might get addicted talk'. For one, I don't think it's going to really sink in at 14.

My daughter was younger when we started having these talks.  I've had to have them with both kids as their Dad is an addict (marijuana which is generally considered not addictive) and several members of his family have alcohol problems.  It's not a conversation that you have once and hope it sticks - it is a dialogue that develops over time.  As a parent, it feels irresponsible to not tell them that they may have a genetic predisposition towards addiction (and that there is still a lot of unknowns in that correlation).  JMO.

 

I've been a victim of his douchebaggery on twitter.

Airwair - Do tell!

 

ETA: 

I read the comment as Maddie is not Daphne's parent, not that Teddy wasn't Maddie's parent

.Ahhh...changes the whole meaning of what was written and cancels out all my blah blah blah.

Edited November 5, 2014 by DeLurker

[Clemgo3165]

 

Biologically true, but I don't think that Teddy's ever acted in a way that showed he made a distinction between his love and parental responsibilities towards the girls.  As soap operaesque as the Maddie's Daddy storyline is, I haven't seen a change in his attitude towards her.

 

I read the comment as Maddie is not Daphne's parent, not that Teddy wasn't Maddie's parent.

[Sutton]

Airwair - I second that "Do Tell" He trys to come across as I'm this great guy with all this talent, I don't know why you guys don't like me.

[Midru]

 

I'm thinking 14 is a little too young to burden Maddy with the "always watch yourself, you might get addicted talk'. For one, I don't think it's going to really sink in at 14.

 

If she is already drinking, she needs to be talked to. They can't wait until she is a full-blown alcoholic before they say something. She did not grow up seeing the consequences of Deacon's drinking, so she is likely less familiar with the ravages of alcoholism. And Maddie is also putting herself in position to have sex before she is ready. And kissing her new brother was a creepy cry for help. 

 

It is understandable that she is acting out. But she still needs a wake up. A great scene that they could have is where either Teddy or Rayna acknowledge her feelings, but explain that you still have to be a responsible daughter no matter what BS you are going through. (I don't think Deacon could give this talk because he hasn't learned this lesson himself)

 

I'm thinking 14 is a little too young to burden Maddy with the "always watch yourself, you might get addicted talk'. For one, I don't think it's going to really sink in at 14.

 

If she is already drinking, she needs to be talked to. They can't wait until she is a full-blown alcoholic before they say something. She did not grow up seeing the consequences of Deacon's drinking, so she is likely less familiar with the ravages of alcoholism. And Maddie is also putting herself in position to have sex before she is ready. And kissing her new brother was a creepy cry for help. 

 

It is understandable that she is acting out. But she still needs a wake up. A great scene that they could have is where either Teddy or Rayna acknowledge her feelings, but explain that you still have to be a responsible daughter no matter what BS you are going through. (I don't think Deacon could give this talk because he hasn't learned this lesson himself)

[romantic idiot]

Why is kissing a cute guy who pays attention to her a cry for help? I don't get that at all. Surely one isn't expected to develop filial feelings all of a sudden because of a piece of paper...

[airwair]

Will Chase had posted an article in which he said Deacon and Rayna together won't happen because when it does it will be the death of the show and no one wants that, or something. I responded and said something to the effect of, "that comment makes me want to cry" or something equally stupid (and not disparaging to him or Luke Wheeler in any way) and he responded with some typical condescending nonsense about poor me, do I want him to send me a candy gram? He sits around and does this stuff quite often, especially if a remark about Luke is made. He takes it WAY too personally that people like Deacon more than Luke and then lashes out and then wonders again why no one likes him.

Did anyone see his bitchy tweet about having to wait il commercial break to get to his seat because he was late to the CMAs? First off, I don't even know why he was there? And secondly should he just be glad he was invited? Also, be on time if you want to be seated immediately.

I could go on for days. :)

I still think it's odd that people think it's so natural to make out with your future stepbrother.

So assuming this wedding does happen, would they spend every weekend and holiday hooking up at their parents house and that isn't supposed to be weird?

[Sutton]

Airwair - That's one reason I don't tweet. Something like that would have me ban from tweeting because of the language I would be using to put that jerk in his place. He's such an a$s he doesn't get it and I hope what I'm reading in some of the spoiler episodes takes him down real hard. The mans a stuck up, condescenting person (there was another word I was going to use but didn't) and I WANT him gone from my TV screen ASAP. The mans got one hell of a bunch (load) of chips on his shoulders. "Do I want him to sent me a candy gram?" you need to tweet back that he will have to sent 95% of the viewers of Nashville a candy gram because we're Team Deacon. 

[DeLurker]

Airwair - wow. I always got the impression Luke was a douche, but sounds like Will Chase brings it to the role organically.

[Kathemy]

I still think it's odd that people think it's so natural to make out with your future stepbrother.

 

I think it's odd that people think it's odd.

 

This is a cute boy/girl that you've met two or three times whom you have no biological connection to. Then your parents are going to get married and suddenly all thoughts about "wow, I'd really like to hit that" go straight out the window? I don't buy it, and these things happen all the time.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Telepath

[Temperance]

Finally saw this episode.

Will and Layla's reality show looks like the most fake thing I've ever seen, too fake even for reality tv. Most of reality television has fake love and instalust, not  just mild animosity.

Deacon's song was the best for me of this season.

Kiley's son sure is trusting for a kid who moves around a lot and has a mother who's always looking over her shoulder. As suspicious as Kiley is, it's hard for me to believe her son wouldn't be just like her.

Rayna and Luke are ready to explode.

Avery and Juliette are making progress. I'll give them that.

My parents told about drugs and alcohol my whole life. With addiction in her family, Rayna, Teddy, and Deacon need to get serious with Maddie.

[politichick]

I read the comment as Maddie is not Daphne's parent, not that Teddy wasn't Maddie's parent.

I agree. And forcing a teenager to drag along a younger sibling to hang out with other teens is never a good idea.

[Lady Calypso]

So, clearly I'm more than two years behind but since I'm working on my binge watch of the series, this particular episode has me wanting to vent a little bit. Or maybe a lot. 

I find myself fast forwarding through a lot this season. I'm not sure what it is, but there's so much I'm not in the mood to tolerate. First of all, this season so far has ruined Deacon scenes, especially during his songs. He's fine with the main cast but because he's stuck with Blonde Groupie Pam, or whoever she is because I haven't been able to pay attention through her scenes, I miss being able to just enjoy Deacon scenes. It's a shame because I've enjoyed all other recurring characters, even when they're being assholes or irritating twits. Hell, I even managed to watch Beverly scenes last season, even though I didn't like her at all. This love interest chick is not a good character for me and it makes me frustrated that she's still around. 

I also had to fast forward through Scarlett scenes with the black homeless man. I'm sure it's a fine arc for Scarlett, but I'm not interested in a singing black man to shine light on Scarlett. I wish I was interested, but I'm not. 

I also couldn't care less about Teddy and his escort. I do think that he's trying to be a good dad to make up for him not being a good guy. I also care a lot less about Rayna and Luke this season. I actually did like them in season 2. But this season? Rayna's a hot mess, and Luke's turned into an even bigger power hungry jackasss who doesn't seem to be there for his own kids. He's definitely a bad influence on Rayna this time around. 

I do want to address this Maddie and her Two Dads situation, because they're all handling it wrong. First off, Rayna and Teddy need to realize that Deacon is now a part of this and he should be getting some say in the situation. Maybe not over Rayna and Teddy, but these two keep leaving him out on almost all parenting decisions and sometimes not even informing him, period. I'm not the biggest fan of Maddie, but she's clearly lashing out because of everything that's happened and nobody is actually dealing with the situation with Deacon. And look, Maddie getting closer to Deacon could be a good thing if Teddy and Rayna would sit down with Deacon and Maddie to discuss how to handle things as a family. Rayna's definitely handling things all wrong. She's not really getting how upturned her family is right now. And with her getting engaged to a major country star and not being home, it seems like Rayna needs to sort out her own priorities. She's been getting on my last nerve because the first two seasons, with her wanting to create her own label, it felt like her heart and soul was in it. Now, it feels like she's in it for the fame and the publicity and that's it.

And that just goes to show why Maddie and Daphne are interested in being on stage and wanting to be in the music business. They see the fun, the glamour, the fame and they don't understand the difficulties behind the scenes. All they see is their mom being happier out touring and playing music for the fans, something that has been present their entire lives. They've never known their mom for being a regular, stay at home one. And that's fine; Rayna should be able to do what makes her happy, and she has been managing to make it work now for years. However, things seem to be changing now that she has her own label. She needs to find a way to readjust and not do what Luke's doing with his own kids. 

Deacon's not faring well as a father because he may be there for Maddie and he may enjoy getting to know his daughter, but he hasn't been making the hard decisions. He's trying so hard to be part of her life and to be liked that he's not really doing much to discipline her. I get why, in a sense. He has no parental rights, technically, to discipline her. But it's just sad to see Maddie go to her biological dad when she does something bad, as if she knows that Deacon will be on her side always. He's struggling to be a parent, for sure, and it doesn't help when he's left out on the important conversations. What he does need to do is step it up and start figuring out a way to be more than Maddie's "fun, cool dad". He's on tour right now against his will, sure, but he doesn't seem to be putting as much work into the harder aspects of being a dad. And at this point, he's known about Maddie for at least a year. 

Maddie doesn't realize how lucky she is to have so many loving, supportive family members. She's been a pretty big brat, although I can at least give her some slack due to her finding out about Deacon. But many of her actions still need to be held accountable and god damnit, her own parents need to discipline her for deliberately throwing a party just to impress a boy, I guess, as well as just plain lashing out. Maddie's a teenager who doesn't understand because she's young. I get it; she also doesn't need to know every little thing. My god, she's so realistic that it's not even funny. But yeah, if there was any a time to punish her, this would be it. Let her throw her hissy fits and move on. It's why I have appreciated Teddy and his role this season. We have seen him take the brunt of Maddie's anger and has been there for her as her father. I like Teddy as Mr. Dad. It's really nice to see that he's not all bad. And now that Maddie has mostly dropped her "You're not my real dad" act toward him (man, did I hate her for her attitude last season), their fights seem more familial. 

It's why I'm fine with them finally hiring a nanny. Teddy is handling some of the parental decisions wrong, but he's basically the only one home to do it. Rayna's been off touring and living her dream for years, since before Maddie was born. Teddy's always been there for the girls, and has always managed to do a good job. He's slipping up now that he's the mayor, and I'm sure he's slipped up many times over the years, but he genuinely wants to make it work with the girls and with Rayna's tour. But it's obvious that with Maddie being a teenager, he can't just do it alone anymore. I say this because I admire parents who raise their kids with the other parent either out of the picture or working so much that they're more absent. It's why I admire Luke's ex wife who raises their kids practically on her own. Luke's a worse parent than Rayna, in my opinion. He's there for his kids, but it doesn't seem like he's really all there. He does the bare minimum where at least Rayna has made compromises for years up until recently, and she's still trying. 

I don't know what happens after this episode, so I'm looking forward to seeing how the Maddie situation resolves itself, but what Teddy, Rayna, and Deacon need to do is put aside their differences and co-parent. If they do that, then Maddie will probably start acting out less. She probably won't stop completely, but she may tone it down. Unless she feels like three parents are ganging up on her and she acts out even more.  

Right, I guess there's more to the episode as well. I like Layla and I like Jeff, even if they're both irritating most of the time. I enjoy the Layla/Will couple implosion. It's very fascinating to watch. Although last episode's mirror smash scene is something I just didn't buy at all, the fallout was good this time around. I'm not quite sure where it's heading, but hopefully the climax won't fizzle out.

I love Avery and Juliette, like most people. Avery hasn't been the most decent guy, and his own implosion makes sense. Hopefully, with the baby, he can pull himself together. I like Noah a little bit, but I'm ok if he doesn't become a thing on this show. He's ok in small doses, but I couldn't tolerate him in a larger quantity.

I miss the old Zoey. This one is so jealous and so power hungry. I'm not liking her at all this season. I do think she deserved Juliette firing her, because Zoey was doing it for selfish reasons. She had no concern about Juliette, in my opinion. She took advantage of Juliette looking ill and stepped out to "save" her but her job description does not call for that. You didn't see any of the backup singers stepping in for Scarlett when she had her mental breakdown. The show must go on doesn't seem to apply when it comes to solo artists with a majorly successful career. 

I'm also not here for the Scott son, who is probably Jason's kid, with all the times they mentioned his name. I don't know any spoilers but I have to think that's where they're heading. Plus, it makes sense for Kiley to keep it a secret, although why she wouldn't just say "no, he's not yours" to Gunnar and leave is a mystery at the moment. 

I also noticed the pattern of the baby mamas keeping the secret child for a while from the fathers, which is why I think the Gunnar arc is a misdirect. At least Juliette told Avery a little while after, and that's really because she had a support system to push her to do it. 

Well, I guess I'll move on and I'm hoping to finish seasons 3 and 4 in a couple of weeks. Man, I had too much to say. I guess I'll be getting answers in future episodes. 

Although one more thing about Maddie, in particular: you'd think, after all the times she disobeys her family, they'll stop trusting her and start setting more boundaries. They trust her way too much. At this point, when they hear the name Talia or Colt, they should be setting boundaries.