S03.E19: The Storm Has Just Begun

[hqtextbook]

At first I was really mad about the Triple-Exes disbanding because their music has been phenomenal. But actually, as long as some combination of scargunnery is singing together I'm happy...

[toodles]

I've said this before, but this Deacon liver thing is so fake.  I just can't deal with it.  Someone sick enough to need a liver transplant is not up and around.  He would be sick in bed, you know, dying.  I need to remember this is a soap opera set to music.

[anonymiss]

http://www.beautylish.com/a/vxgzv/kevyn-aucoin-makeup-lesson-contouring

Or do a Google Image search on 'contouring makeup'.  

I don't know who does JLo's, the Kardashians' and Christina's but they must spend over an hour on it.  That's probably why I think they look great.  I'm admiring the artwork moreso than them.  I bet some of these celebs can walk around totally anonymous if they wear no makeup. . 

Christina and Kim Kartrashian have used the same contouring expert makeup artists Scott Barnes and Kristopher Buckle. On the show, though, she'd be using Nashville's makeup people, wouldn't she? I didn't see anything amiss about her makeup or major contouring really. She looked mostly white and luminous. I think it was the highly arched, dramatic eye makeup to pull her face up and make it look more angular (to slim after the recent baby weight) that made her look very artificial and doll-like.

Edited April 25, 2015 by anonymiss

[quangtran]

I think we're meant to believe Juliette has postpartum depression. Was it me?

I think that the writers want us to believe that Juliette has postpartum depression, but I think this idea is just a ruse, and that her real issues is far deeper. Since the very start, Juliette has felt that she was not worthy of love and is incapable of giving love back. Having a loving boyfriend/husband didn't fix this, and neither will a healthy new child (especially one that she thought about aborting and put up for adoption). In their rush to get married, Juliette and Avery never properly dealt with what broke them up in the first place.

 

Juliette (to Rayna):  You said once before what a baby needs most is love. And that is the one thing I know absolutely nothing about giving. I mean, I try. I try. And I always seem to do something to screw it up every single time.

 

The way I see it, the PPD story is like what the writers did with Scarlett's pill-popping. Many predicted that she was heading towards a Jessie Spano addiction story, when really it was just one element in a season-long arc about her not being strong enough for the spotlight.

 

At first I was really mad about the Triple-Exes disbanding because their music has been phenomenal. But actually, as long as some combination of scargunnery is singing together I'm happy.

I'm hoping that with Avery gone, that they will finally change to the much better band name "The Exe"s. The is nothing XXX-ish about a band that mostly sings country folk ballads.

 

They've so seriously changed the character's personality that he's virtually unrecognizable from the first half of the season.

I don't think he has been that different, mostly because I never bought into the popular idea that he was going to turn into a wife-beater. Yeah, he was crazy jealous of Deacon with Rayna, but he did always get on really well with her kids (especially Daphne, who adored him), so those two elements from the first half of the season are still there in this episode.

Edited April 25, 2015 by quangtran

[airwair]

I don't understand why they make these lead characters fly around in private jets and live in mansions but have no security and no domestic help besides Juliette's Emily and their managers. I guess it makes them more interesting, to see them do stuff like lose sleep over babies and pick the kids up from school and plan weddings and parties.

Because Nashville is not LA.

It's not uncommon to see country stars out and about on their own taking care of their business. Tim and Faith are regulars at their local Starbucks, for example, and just a few months ago I saw Martina and her daughter getting pedicures.

Brad and Kimberly Porkblood Williams are seen out quite often, as are pretty much everyone.

Johnny Cash and June used to make snacks (that they would personally deliver) for the "Stars Homes" tour bus that came around and it wasn't uncommon for Johnny to even hitch a ride with them down to his office/studio. No security, no nothing. Just a guy needing a ride from some strangers.

It's one of the things I really love about this place--celebrities are treated like regular people. No one follows them or bothers them, so they can get their grocery shopping done in peace. Nicole Kidman has said it's one of the reasons she and Keith chose to raise their daughters here.

Basically the only people who have entourages here are Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift and I have to wonder how much of that is really for safety and how much is ego.

[Guest]

Even in LA, stars go to Starbucks and get their own pedicures.  And I'm sure superstars in Nashville have security at their homes and domestic help with driving the kids around and tending babies.  

 

I'm not saying people would hassle them in public. I just think the depiction of Juliette especially is kind of far fetched.  She was this Taylor Swiftian superstar (in season 1) with a private jet and crazy real estate but no friends or entourage or security or domestic help, just Emily and Glen.  I'm not buying Avery can't work because she failed to mother up.  Not that I expect this show to do reality well.  It's just my pet peeve about the writing.  

 

Kimberly Porkblood Williams...lol.  

Edited April 26, 2015 by Guest

[madam magpie]

I think Juliette without help is far fetched only because she enjoys that star lifestyle. It's not really about her celebrity status. She could be a rich nobody and jet around, so I agree that she'd have nannies and housekeepers, etc.

But I mostly believe that Rayna has no live-in help. That's just not her style. It does surprise me a little that people just walk up to her front door unannounced, but I can make up a story about her security people knowing Deacon, Scarlett, etc. and just letting them in. That Rayna has no nanny, drives her kids to school, cooks, etc. seems pretty on point with her character. And I suspect no one would bother them around town, especially in Belle Meade. I mean, I don't live in Tennessee and have visited Nashville only a few times, but I've seen Martina McBride and various others, including Clare Bowen and her huge dog, actually, out at coffee shops and restaurants with their friends and families. It really is pretty common to see these people around town being regular, nothing like the crazy "look at me" nonsense that is LA. And yeah, I agree with airwair, it's really nice. The South is just different in that way. You get it somewhat in Austin too, though I'd say the star power there is a bit less.

Edited April 26, 2015 by madam magpie

[Guest]

Yeah, I can buy it more with Rayna.  Her career highs are past, if she wants to pick the kids up from school while running a record label, I can buy that.  It's not like she ever really works, though who does on tv short of cops, lawyers and doctors?  But if they had her turn down some great opportunity because she had to pick the girls up from school or something, I'd balk then, too.  There's choosing to parent 24/7 and there's being forced.  Avery acts forced.  

[airwair]

Rayna still probably had very little to no help even when her career was at its prime. As magpie said, it's just who she is, and in Nashville you don't have to have an entourage if you don't want it. As I said before, celebs in Nashville are allowed the respect and privacy to run their errands and enjoy their town in peace.

I have very distinct memories of Jessica Simpson showing up to Nashville to "go country" (a la Jade St. John) and she brought her LA team with her--five security guards, an assistant, hair/makeup people, manager, etc--and took them with her EVERYWHERE.

She was promptly deemed pretentious and ridiculous and laughed out of town.

As far as help at home, I do assume Rayna and Juliettr have cleaning people that come on a regular basis, but why would we need to see that? There's enough going on in this show without having to watch a guy mop their floors.

Edited April 26, 2015 by airwair

[madam magpie]

I think Rayna would turn down a career opportunity to go get her kids...I mean, if she had to and it was an emergency. She's got a pretty decent support system, so it's hard to imagine a realistic scenario where she'd have no choice but to go herself, but I believe she'd do it. I don't see Rayna leaving the kids high and dry so she can...what? Tour, record, be interviewed? Plus, she's a huge star and could call most of her own shots anyway. But I do think that with the exception of the end of last season and the first half of this one, Rayna has been shown to be a pretty devoted, protective, and involved parent. That's why her behavior when she was with Luke was so bizarre and off-putting, to me anyway.

The stuff with Avery...I don't know what to make of it. On the one hand, it seems like he expected Juliette to stop everything she was doing and care for the baby alone. On the other, it makes zero sense that they wouldn't hire people to help them. The show, once again, left out important information that would allow us to judge what those two were trying to do and why. That's just, as is often the case on this show, the fault of the storytellers. I'm not sure it says anything about Juliette and Avery at all.

ETA: Dear god, yes. Please just let us assume Rayna doesn't clean her own house. I don't need time devoted to the cleaning lady and her sad family problems. This show has too many extraneous characters already!

Edited April 26, 2015 by madam magpie

[Guest]

As far as help at home, I do assume Rayna and Juliettr have cleaning people that come on a regular basis, but why would we need to see that? There's enough going on in this show without having to watch a guy mop their floors.

Would you balk at a story that Rayna can't go on tour because she has to mop the floors, though?  

[Ellaria]

The show, once again, left out important information that would allow us to judge what those two were trying to do and why. That's just, as is often the case on this show, the fault of the storytellers. I'm not sure it says anything about Juliette and Avery at all.

Exactly. Do these writers know what they are trying to convey? It seems like a mix of poorly conceived story lines: PPD, a young married couple that are not well prepared for the demands of parenthood, two ambitious people in country music whose careers and personal lives are often in conflict, etc. Instead, viewers are left discussing celebrity entourages and whether Rayna has housekeepers. This one is on the writers.

Edited April 26, 2015 by Ellaria Sand

[Clanstarling]

As someone who has had PPD, I can attest that you can have it, function in public with no one (not even your spouse) knowing you have it. It is a deep well of darkness that, I imagine, is different for every woman. I just don't think they're doing a particularly good job of portraying it, if that's where they're going with Juliette. The closest thing in my opinion, was Juliette starting at the ceiling, with a tear running down her cheek while Avery slept.

 

When Scarlett was trying to get her boyfriend to ignore the rules and regulations regarding fevers - I felt they ignored the most important consequence - which was that Deacon would DIE if he had a serious infection and his body rejected the liver. Those rules aren't there just to tick people off, they're there to save lives, not just organs.

Edited April 26, 2015 by clanstarling

[Sutton]

EllariaSand - You said "This one is on the writers" I say this is on the person who is the creator of the series (Callie). She is the one who  plans out the 22 episodes (I think) on what's going to happen and when. The writers are going to write how she wants the story line to either move forward or take us back. Am I wrong to say that Callie has the last word on how the series characters, dialogue and in what direction the story line goes.

[Ellaria]

EllariaSand - You said "This one is on the writers" I say this is on the person who is the creator of the series (Callie). She is the one who  plans out the 22 episodes (I think) on what's going to happen and when. The writers are going to write how she wants the story line to either move forward or take us back. Am I wrong to say that Callie has the last word on how the series characters, dialogue and in what direction the story line goes.

Writers, showrunners...they are all guilty, IMO.

I do not know the level of Callie's involvement with the show at this point.

[Sutton]

Writers, showrunners...they are all guilty, IMO.

I do not know the level of Callie's involvement with the show at this point.

Gee, I hope she still has some say. She is listed as the creator, writer and director of the series and I would hope she still has a hell of a big involvement in the show.

[airwair]

Would you balk at a story that Rayna can't go on tour because she has to mop the floors, though?

Probably.

[Soup333]

Was Teddy working at the beginning of the series? I can't remember.

 

Rayna has always been portrayed as a more down to earth superstar. The first scene of the series is her running around with rollers in her hair chasing kids down the hallway with Teddy. I would assume they have housekeeping help, but I don't know how much childcare they actually would have needed. Rayna had Teddy and Tandy, who was a very involved aunt, and even Lamarr. Not that he'd have necessarily been available to baby-sit, or that they'd even allow it, but my point is her support network was in place. And since she was nursing Daphne at the time of her Opry induction, she was clearly working the flexibility of her career. 

 

It doesn't make any sense at all that the Barley's would not have had a discussion about childcare before Cadence was born. He was producing Sadie's album and spending full days at the studio and then went on tour with the band. And they were both aware of her desire to get back to work soon after the baby was born. Did he not think she was serious about that? Maybe he was thinking that after she gave birth she would decide to stay home with Cadence for 4 months? Six months? Were they thinking they could just juggle their schedules around until she goes to pre-school? Wouldn't Avery's parents/Glenn/Emily bring this up at some point? There is no logical explanation.

 

And I'm really curious as to what happened after Avery came home and found the nanny there. Juliette stormed out of the room to finish the song and...what? He just went to bed? Did he sleep in their bedroom? Because he's a hell of a heavy sleeper if he slept through Cadence waking up through the night AND Juliette getting up, PACKING, and jetting out of there.

[Sutton]

Soup333 - At the beginning of the series Teddy was working for a bank that's how he and Peggy embezzled $2 million dollars for a venture which didn't work out. He also lost most of Rayna's money through bad investments, that's why she had to go back touring because they needed the money. He was working at the bank but home taking care of the girls while she was on tour, for months at a time. He never really made any big money to support them, only when Lamar convinced him to run for mayor did he have a job that paid maybe $100,00 plus being mayor, but nothing like what Rayna could make touring. She was the bread winner of the family.

[Soup333]

Thanks, Sutton. For some reason I was thinking that he'd been fired from the bank, but that wouldn't make sense because the embezzling scheme was still a secret then. 

[Linderhill]

 

Please just let us assume Rayna doesn't clean her own house. I don't need time devoted to the cleaning lady and her sad family problems. This show has too many extraneous characters already!

Except, of course, if that house cleaner is singing as she worked May Be Discovered as The Next Big Thing in Country.  I wouldn't be surprised if that storyline comes up sometime.  But then maybe that will be the storyline for the eventual nanny that Juliette and Avery hire (because we all know they will). 

 

As for the postpartum storyline possibilities, I wouldn't be surprised if that is how it goes.  I can see it now, Juliette tries to avoid the baby as much as she can for however many days, weeks, etc. and suddenly she's left alone with her (I can't take that name seriously) without Avery, her mother-in-law, Emily, Glenn or the soon to be hired nanny and she's forced to pick her up.  ta-da!  insta bonding, postpartum all gone.  Not that its the way it really works in the real world but it is a very common trope on TV. 

[DeLurker]

Except, of course, if that house cleaner is singing as she worked May Be Discovered as The Next Big Thing in Country.  I wouldn't be surprised if that storyline comes up sometime.  But then maybe that will be the storyline for the eventual nanny that Juliette and Avery hire (because we all know they will).

Emily is probably the only younger cast member who is not waiting to be discovered.

[SlovakPrincess]

How did Luke find out about Deacon's cancer?   They really have been rehabbing Luke -- First, helping Sadie and then being so sweet with Daphne this week.  It's amazing how much better I like him not dating Rayna, heh heh. 

 

I do not care about Jade.  Do. Not. Care.   I'm also so distracted by the totally excessive amount of makeup she wears.

 

The Avery and Juliette stuff is so boring.  How and why did they make this couple so damn boring?!  Juliette's petty bickering with Layla and Jade just makes her look ridiculous.  I hate that she has no interaction with Deacon any more - I wish she at least knew he had cancer. 

 

I get where Caleb was coming from ... but that was kinda cold.  He could have at least hugged Scarlett and been more gentle when he was telling her he couldn't change the protocol for Deacon.

 

Will seemed happy.  So of course that was crushed quickly ... nothing goes well for Will.  Well, it got better at the end of the episode in that sweet scene, but I'm always just waiting for the other shoe to drop with him.

 

That sucks about Deacon's surgery.  

Edited April 28, 2015 by SlovakPrincess

[Brookside]

As soon as Deacon told Rayna that there was a transplant for him (not even a "possible" transplant), I was screaming "Don't tell anyone else until after the surgery".  Everyone they tell is going to get all excited and happy, and then if/when things don't work out, they have to be told and then work out how to behave towards Deacon.  To me it's like telling people you're pregnant before the 3-month mark.  Everyone starts celebrating and then 1 in 4 women have miscarriages and then that news has to be spread.

[candall]

I'm in the teeny tiny minority that doesn't like Juliette, so I enjoyed the smackdowns she received tonight.  BUT, she got me with that one little tear trickling down her cheek as she realized she's no longer Number One for anyone except herself.

 

I would love to have heard Layla's $500,000 song.  In real life, I bet the crowd would have been bummed to get Layla instead of Juliette Barnes.

[gymratgrandma]

Gunnar = YUCK.  I ff every scene he is in. So tired of his whining and sad hang-dog looks. Only time I like him is when he is singing with Avery.

[SailingBy]

Will seemed happy.  So of course that was crushed quickly ... nothing goes well for Will.  Well, it got better at the end of the episode in that sweet scene, but I'm always just waiting for the other shoe to drop with him.

 

I think those two are doomed to fail. No relationship could survive that much jawline, and that many dimples.

 

[dcalley]

Maisy looked so much like Lennon to me when she was sitting alone at the party.

[Yeldarbe]

I am way far behind on this show. I am starting to worry that a character that we like is going to end up being the liver doner.

I have to ask this here, forgive me for being off topic. Is this what Empire is like? I didn't watch the first season (not my thing and when they say I MUST watch something I shy away) but I'd do it if it is. I value what you guys have to say on the matter.

[anonymiss]

I am way far behind on this show. I am starting to worry that a character that we like is going to end up being the liver doner.

I have to ask this here, forgive me for being off topic. Is this what Empire is like? I didn't watch the first season (not my thing and when they say I MUST watch something I shy away) but I'd do it if it is. I value what you guys have to say on the matter.

Empire is awesome and fast-paced with a lot of cliffhangers. The finale was contrived as all hell though like Nashville's first season's finale (and ever thereafter).

[aradia22]

I know I was supposed to hate Juliette in this episode but I was totally on her side delivering those cuts. You can't trick me, Nashville. I remember the old Layla... and Juliette's not an idiot like Jeff who can be convinced after hearing one song. Also, what was with the crowd reactions? Juliette was not speaking that loudly.

 

I did like seeing Daphne and Luke together again though I still have no idea where they think they're going with that. 

 

Awwww. Daphne is the cutest little chipmunk! I don't even care that they're manipulating me in that scene with Teddy.

 

The doctor made good points when he was talking to Scarlett. But the will Deacon get the surgery drama was completely pointless. And then the twist at the end? What are you doing, Nashville? What are you doing?

 

I didn't realize until Avery and Juliette's confrontation that that was his mom and not a nanny.

 

Oh my God, Nashville, do you honestly think I care about Jeff and Layla? Do you? Thank God there was an adorable scene with Will right after to get that bad taste out of my mouth.

[aradia22]

 

He proposed to her in front of a huge crowd and acted insecure and jealous a couple of times but that was it.

I think you need to go back and watch some of those episodes. The show made it seem like he was going to murder someone.