S05.E22: Reasons to Quit

[ElectricBoogaloo]

SEASON FINALE!

Quote

With Deacon and the artists of Highway 65 taking a stand, Zach sends a message. Maddie and Juliette's conflict comes to a head. Daphne goes to a pool party. Gunnar returns from Avery's tour.

Promo:

[WhosThatGirl]

What was that? I'm sorry but I can't with anything that happened.

First.. the stupid song storyline.. I mean you would think it was something way more serious than it what it actually was with the way everyone was acting. I mean really.

Second, I sort of love Zach. One for

calling Deacon out in the fact that highway 65 has never been something he has wanted really. But I can't with "you liked having us as a family" ending. Ugh.

Same with that random scene with Summer Roberts smoking and then making out with Deacon. Almost as random as when she sang last week. The hell? They really never knew what to do with Rachel Bilson did they? I kind of hope she doesn't return next season, I like her and all but I think she can find something better to do with her talents.

The only good thing was Scarlett and Deacon breaking up. For good,

hopefully.

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, WhosThatGirl said:

First.. the stupid song storyline.. I mean you would think it was something way more serious than it what it actually was with the way everyone was acting. I mean really.

I. mean. REALLY!  I know.  It's just baffling.  The drama.  The horror.  The fact that this lasted so many episodes.  Withdrawing from the AMA nomination?  There's no reason to do that.  They're acting like Juliette stole lyrics from Maddie's diary or robbed Rayna's song stash.  But she didn't.  She just decided not to deliver the song.  Maddie missed out on an opportunity we aren't sure she would have taken.  But the songwriter got his money.  And Juliette's performance is 100% Juliette's performance.  I'm not saying it's nothing but it is not what they've made of it. 

I also liked Zach pointing out that Deacon has acted like Highway 65 is a burden.  Again, I still don't think Zach's base demands were unreasonable.  And now Deacon wants to release the label's biggest artist? He says he doesn't want to run it like a charity but he isn't really coming up with ideas to monetize.

And blech to Zach being lonely and seeing a family there.  Just. Blech.  Why would they ruin what is otherwise a decent story about commerce vs. artistry?

Did they somehow make it seem like Gunnar is to blame for the breakup again?  I fast forwarded these two a bit but I did catch Gunnar talking about Scarlett not being able to trust him.  WTF?  I mean W?T?F?

Double WTF goes to Alyssa's weird kiss outside the Bluebird.  She was a big waste of a character.  It feels like someone managed to cast Rachel Bilson and demanded she be used but they had no idea what to do with her. 

I did like that Scarlett and Juliette had a scene together. 

[WhosThatGirl]

5 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I. mean. REALLY!  I know.  It's just baffling.  The drama.  The horror.  The fact that this lasted so many episodes.  Withdrawing from the AMA nomination?  There's no reason to do that.  They're acting like Juliette stole lyrics from Maddie's diary or robbed Rayna's song stash.  But she didn't.  She just decided not to deliver the song.  Maddie missed out on an opportunity we aren't sure she would have taken.  But the songwriter got his money.  And Juliette's performance is 100% Juliette's performance.  I'm not saying it's nothing but it is not what they've made of it. 

I also liked Zach pointing out that Deacon has acted like Highway 65 is a burden.  Again, I still don't think Zach's base demands were unreasonable.  And now Deacon wants to release the label's biggest artist? He says he doesn't want to run it like a charity but he isn't really coming up with ideas to monetize.

And blech to Zach being lonely and seeing a family there.  Just. Blech.  Why would they ruin what is otherwise a decent story about commerce vs. artistry?

Did they somehow make it seem like Gunnar is to blame for the breakup again?  I fast forwarded these two a bit but I did catch Gunnar talking about Scarlett not being able to trust him.  WTF?  I mean W?T?F?

Double WTF goes to Alyssa's weird kiss outside the Bluebird.  She was a big waste of a character.  It feels like someone managed to cast Rachel Bilson and demanded she be used but they had no idea what to do with her. 

I did like that Scarlett and Juliette had a scene together. 

This whole season was really a big confusing mess to me. Especially given this finale we got tonight. Nothing made any sort of sense to me. Tonight's episode was all over the place to me.

And I can't get over it the song drama. It was so stupid. The dramatics. Like with Maddie I sort of get it.. she's still a teenager but Juliette running away in heels and Deacon chasing her.. ew.  Was I supposed to be moved by this scene? I was laughing. Like these two people are grown ADULTS! 

On Scarlett and Gunner.. I don't know why the writers hate Gunner so much. But that guy gets written like he's always wrong. All the time.

[TVbitch]

I'm okay with it. Yes, I  had to hear Maddie's song AGAIN, and Zach/Summer became yet even more totally inexplicable, but Avery didn't crash in that stormy drive back home, and Gunnar told Scarlett off (in hushed tones), and Will spoke more than a couple words, and Daphne didn't go all emo about Deacon & the new chick.  I hope next season they will focus on music and simple life drama. 

[GaT]

Wow, that was all nice & pat, huh. The whole song storyline is wrapped up when Juliette suddenly decides to confess all & withdraw her name from nomination, & Maddie loses to Katy Perry. Hopefully we don't have to hear that song again. The ridiculous Avery & the-woman-who-nobody-knows-who-she-is-but-she-wants-to-bone-Avery plot was finally wrapped up without having Avery screw around. The Scarlet & Gunner drama is ended (supposedly) when Gunnar finally breaks it off with Scarlett, but I don't have a clue what is going on with Zach & Alyssa. Will broke up with Zach & I hoped that meant he was gone for good, but then Deacon gave his "family" speech so who knows. Alyssa served no purpose (like the rest of the season) & her part didn't even make sense, so again, who knows. 

If I decide to keep watching when this show comes back, I hope Zach & Alyssa are gone, we don't have any more Maddie or Daphne storylines, Scarlet & Gunnar stay broken up, Juliette actually lives her life thinking about how she keeps making the same mistakes over & over, & the show goes back to being about music.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ha, love that the show was like oh crap, it's the season finale! Uh, can we put Will in the background of every scene watching other people sing so everyone knows he's still around? Poor Will. You deserve better!

As the Crow Flies - Scarlett & Gunnar (bonus: they included the conversation right before the performance where Gunnar tells her he's done trying):

Kasey Musgraves with Maddie & Daphne:

[luna1122]

I'm honestly surprised that this show isn't better right now. I still enjoy it, cuz I like most of the actors, but I have loved all Herskovitz/Zwick shows before and really thought the quality of this show would only improve. But yeah, tonite was very pat and goopy, with the Zach is just a lonely boy who wants a family crap, and over the top, with the song 'stealing' crap. A joke about Juliette stealing Maddie's song was even made on the AMAs?? wtf? This kind of thing has to happen all the time. Juliette didn't steal anything from Maddie, except a possible opportunity. Maddie didn't write the fucking song, and she might not have even wanted it. She might have recorded it and it might have been a bust. Juliette made it a hit. She was a little underhanded and tacky, at best, not worthy of all this angst and disavowals and drama. I DID, however, like it when Juliette stopped moping on the sofa and suddenly had a plan, even if the plan torpedoed her own self.

And we got no reaction from Deacon or Maddie about what Juliette did to make things better? Just the random scene with Scarlett, tho they've never been friends? That was just weird, tho I liked that scene.

Random road chick always hovering around Avery and sucking on ice cream cones and trying to undercut his marriage is a shady bitch, and I'm glad Avery quietly told her off and ran home to Juliette.

And yeah, WTF with Scarlett acting both hurt that Gunnar didn't call her but also like she hates his guts and is justified in doing so, and judging him? How is he the bad guy here??? Ugh. Please let them be done forever.

I do enjoy Jeffrey Nordling sleazing it up everywhere.

[piratewench]

Interestingly, I read an article yesterday about songwriting in Nashville and the process that artists and labels go through to put "holds" on songs and the drama that can ensue from that.  The song storyline with Juliette and Maddie is actually rooted in reality.  Songwriters don't always write for a particular artist, but sometimes they do.  However, they don't always control who can put "holds" on songs and sometimes it happens without their knowledge.  In this case, where Juliette was given a song by a writer to give to another artist, she actually kind of violated the code that exists, mostly unwritten, in Nashville about how songs and artists come together.  The article actually discussed a somewhat similar situation, where Blake Shelton's team heard a song and put a hold on it, unbeknownst to the songwriter, who intended it for someone else.  Artists, or their labels, will sometimes put a song on hold so no one else can use it (in theory).  In this case, a new artist heard the song and wanted to record it.  He did in fact record it and had the chance to have Blake listen to the song.  Blake still called the guy a "song stealer" but let him have the song.  Obviously Blake Shelton has no problem with getting hit singles, so it was easier for him to just let it go.

So the situation with Juliette and Maddie was similar, except that Juliette kept the song for herself, even though she didn't necessarily need it.  And the whole "she sings it better" that I've heard is kind of irrelevant.  Anyway, it's a legit storyline, with roots in Nashville songwriting/recording reality.  I do think that the real point of the storyline was what Deacon said to Juliette about it - that Maddie respected and looked up to Juliette and to have Juliette do something underhanded like that really damaged that respect and that relationship.  There are consequences to actions.

As far as the rest of the finale, I thought it was a good wrap up for the season.  I was glad there wasn't a real cliffhanger, although I suppose Highway 65 is still kind of hanging in the balance.  I loved the full circle moment with Deacon and the girls driving back from California to end the episode, much like Rayna started the premiere doing the same.  I was glad to see Deacon being very measured in his response to Zach at the end, something I think would have made Rayna very proud.  I was glad they postponed any kind of next steps for Deacon and Jessie.  I think Deacon needs more time and I'm glad he's getting it.  I'm on board with that relationship, but I was hoping they would be respectful of Deacon's grief, and it seems they are.  I was happy to see Avery go home to Juliette and have that loving reunion.

The only thing that seemed weird and off-putting to me was the deal around Alyssa kissing Deacon.  It was out of place and had NO buildup that made it make sense at all, at least to me.  I read what Marshall said about it and I'm still thinking WTF?

So I'm probably the only one who liked how it wrapped up.  I'm ready for season 6!

[Silly Angel]

What has happened to the psychology of this show? None of the characters make any sense anymore.

I liked the stolen-song subplot; I thought it was quite escandalo. But Juliette confesses all and embraces her perfect husband and all is right. No, wait, first Juliette steamrolls over her church friend, then insanely accuses avery of hitting on her, then steals the song, then whines to Avery by phone about fascinating things like diapers and air conditioning because, I guess, she suddenly has no idea what it's like to be out and tour and it never occurs to her that ain't nobody got time for that, even your endlessly patient husband.

Scarlett "picks apart" everything Gunnar does and sabotages relationships with a thousand tiny cuts--since when? I'm thrilled they broke up. (free Gunnar! Establish the Gunnar-Will-Avery spinoff immediately!) But G could have legitimately mentioned that Scarlett mopes around like an entitled tree squirrel and is a wet blanket and a joy killer. Waaaah, they want me to sing but I'm a poet! Waaah, all these people are watching me onstage living the dream of countlessNashville hopefuls; how dare they! Waaah, I have to dress up cute for a photo shoot and not look like I escaped from the 1932 Free People catalogue! Waah, this elaborately nonsensical video shoot is so hard and my husband so cute and nice; think I'll bone the shitty director! Waah, I'm pregnant! Waaah, evil journalist twisted my words by publishing exactly what I said! Waaah, I lost the baby!

At least they didn't kill Avery on his drive home in the storm that was all over the radio and very scary, apparently, even though nothing came of it. So glad he's off the tour bus. That whole thread was idiotic. So sick of Rando Tour Chick sidling up to him like a rhinestone Littlefinger and needling him about his marriage. I'm relieved he did not bone down on her, but if they weren't going to, and he wasn't even tempted, wtf?

Meanwhile, "Alyssa" sings. Because. Then smooches on Deacon, which is highly unacceptable. "You looked like you needed it"??? If that happened to me, there would be a pair of bloody lips lying on the pavement. Put it back in your pants, Summer Roberts. No. One. Is. Allowed. To. Touch. Anyone. Else. Without. Their. Permission. Go back to Bluebell where you were awesome.

And again with the since when. Since when is Zach a lonely little boy who never had a family? We saw nothing of the groundwork laid for his character to justify Deacon's amazing sensitive act as the Silicon Valley heart-whisperer.

Hi, Will! Bye, Will! See you next year, or not. Wow, it just occurred to me now that we watched an O.C. reunion all season. I don't think they ever met on Nashville, though. Took me long enough.

[piratewench]

24 minutes ago, Silly Angel said:

And again with the since when. Since when is Zach a lonely little boy who never had a family? We saw nothing of the groundwork laid for his character to justify Deacon's amazing sensitive act as the Silicon Valley heart-whisperer.

 

Actually this we kinda did see when he talked to Rayna about what it was like for him growing up, way back in the premiere.  I wasn't at all surprised with how this turned out.  He was clearly a socially awkward guy, a little boy in a grown man's body, who made a lot of money and then tried to act like a bully and a control freak to assuage his sad childhood.

[seewillrun]

I feel that the song-stealing is such a big deal because it was Maddie that she hijacked the song from...this was betrayal from a close friend and that made it personal.  It wasn't too many episodes ago that Juliette was taking Maddie to New York and advising her on performances and being a mentor.  Deacon, who had just found out about the whole thing, reacted like a dad.  Hopefully when he calms down he'll re-think kicking Juliette off the label.  And wouldn't that be a legal matter anyway.

Why does Deacon have to choose to be sensible now?  Zach needed a quick punch, then Deacon could have reasoned with him. 

The Alyssa / Deacon kiss made absolutely no sense whatsoever. 

I'm hand-waving past all the things that happened, that couldn't have happened like that.  Zach is not an owner of the company so he couldn't have gotten the power turned off.  I've been married for 34 years and if the utilities are in my husband's name, they won't even talk to me.  And why would he have access to the checking accounts...that's just dumb.  Did they think up this great scene (at Hot Tracks, and not that great of a scene) and then wonder how they could get there? 

The Deacon and Jessie moment was acted brilliantly.  I felt like they were almost saying good-bye for good.  Like this could have been something, but it's just too soon. 

Never thought about Jessie's son Jake and Daphne being the same age.  I liked their conversation at the party and would have liked the car scene to have lasted longer.

The whole time Scarlett was walking to the door, I was so afraid that Gunnar would stop her. 

Edited August 11, 2017 by seewillrun

[bilgistic]

I liked it. Soapy ridiculousness galore. I didn't understand the point of the singalong at Tracks, but whatever. I also don't care about Daphne's young teenage drahmz because this is not a show for children and teenagers.

The phones are dead! You don't say! Modern desk phones run on electricity. There were more people at Highway 65 during the power outage than have been there during its entire existence.

[seewillrun]

52 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

There were more people at Highway 65 during the power outage than have been there during its entire existence.

Thanks for the laugh this morning!!

[notcreative enough]

"Reasons to quit" are you trying to tell me something Nashville because if I'm honest that is all you are giving me. You need to find a way to make me stay. 

I'm only going to say one last thing about this song stealing business. Because the show beat it to death and so did all of our legitimate complaints of this dumb story. Juliette seems care more about "stealing" a song that Maddie never had any legal claim to then she did when Jeff got killed saving her life. Now that is something that should have a lasting impact on her. Not oh no Maddie's mad at me I regretted the moment I did it. Remember when Maddie Pepsi challenged her song verses the version Juliette made her try and everyone loved J's version. Instead of being a brat about a song you don't have how about thanking/acknowledging the help she gave you on the song you do have. Would the original been such hit? We will never know.

I was all for Summer Roberts calling out Deacon for his lack of business knowledge until she kissed. Really. That just destroyed all of your valid points.

Cry baby Zack wants a family does he. At what point did the Nashville co. treat him like family. How on Earth did he become super rich and successful. He is acting more like a trust fund baby then a guy who created his own fortune. This show needs Nolan Ross for it's billionaire backer. He wouldn't put up with this shit and sure as hell wouldn't cry about it.

I wish we seen more of the HW 65 woman that saved the day. It's nice to see characters multiple times before they do something big. But I'm sure they didn't want to pay an actor for 3 minutes every few episodes... Oh Will I didn't see you there.

Remember when this show had Scarlett and Juliette sing so many songs that they each got there own albums of songs along with the 2 two that got released of the season songs. What do we get this year the same song for at least 6 episodes. You would be lucky to hear the same song twice in the first few seasons. Now we're lucky if we hear a new song an episode. Are there even enough songs to make a back half album? Gunner and Scarlett seem to be the only ones with multiple songs. 

What's with Hayden/Juliette not being in any group scenes. She wasn't in the last two weeks. Deacon had to talk to her separately. And why is she always laying down. J is the one that was in an accident but I thought she was mostly healed unless something happened to H.

If you weren't going to make Avery cheat why did we need to spend 3 episodes with women trying to lead him astray. This only led Avery to reaffirm his love for her. I thought he knew she stole the song, maybe he was already on tour when it happened.

It did look like Juliette's truth talk to Scarlett will make her think about all the ways she truly is fucked up and that it isn't all Gunners fault. Her crack about how she hopes that Gunner can learn to search his soul without the help of someone else. Girl I don't see you trying to search your soul if you had we wouldn't have had to deal with all this crap.

All in all it was just another episode of Nashville. If I didn't know it was the finale I never would have guessed based on this. Nothing major happened just like nothing major happened since Rayna died.

[CrystalMoon]

I'm not a fan of the teen drama, but I didn't mind them this episode. And Daphne can be pretty funny. When Deacon was asking her which song Juliette stole and Daphne just pointed to the ceiling, it made me chuckle. And when Maddie asked Daphne if Flynn would be at the party, I liked the way Daphne said, "Yes, he will be in attendance." LOL

I hated the kiss between Alyssa and Deacon. In fact, I hate her character. I wish she would just leave the show. She has no purpose. It's like the actress's contract said she gets to kiss Deacon and she gets to sing, so they let her do both. WTF?!

I'm so tired of Juliette messing up, begging forgiveness, then have to do somehting terrible to herself because of her mistake. Can the writers please not repeat this arc next season? Can't she have a music-related storyline that involves something else? Give her a competitor, an adversary, someone she can scheme and fight against, someone we can hate. Juliette's the best when she has a mission to accomplish.

And I am so happy that Avery was actually in the ep and that he and Juliette finally reunited. I thought for sure there'd be one phone conversation and the ep would end with him alone in the bedroom with the tour girl. But we got our happy reunion, thank God. After last season javery shippers deserved it!

As for the rest of the ep, I enjoyed it. Could really use more Will and less Zach. The show really needs a bad guy, ala Jeff Fordham, and Zach just isn't it. I wish he and Alyssa would go somewhere else and do something else.

I was very happy to see Scarlett and Gunnar breaking up. Finally, I hope. But I was also the most bored during their scenes. I really hope S6 doesn't revolve around their relationship anymore. Why can't they start writing music again? Doesn't anyone do that anymore on the show?

I liked seeing Deacon and the girls driving down the road in the last scene. It totally went over my head that they were driving home from California like Rayna did. I thought they were just out for a drive on a nice afternoon. And I totally didn't understand Maddie's "I fee free" comment. I would've rather they just didn't talk or maybe started singing a song along with the radio or something rather than that cryptic comment.

[ahpny]

Quote

 Modern desk phones run on electricity

Yes, but unless they are plugged into an AC electrical outlet discretely from a telephone jack, they will indeed continue to work without "power." The phone jack itself carries an electrical signal as well as whatever power the phone needs. My old-style trendline phone continued to work throughout the several weeks of power loss incident with hurricane Sandy (but newer cordless phones that had separate power plugs ran out soon and died).

Crazy, unhinged Zack doesn't work for me. Neither does suddenly sagacious and emotionally-attuned Deacon. But I was pleasantly surprised Avery avoided cheating and storm-related travel injury . Also on board with "the talk" between Scarlett and Gunner, but would concede that Gunner's timing was a bit off.

[LIFLA]

3 hours ago, CrystalMoon said:

I'm so tired of Juliette messing up, begging forgiveness, then have to do somehting terrible to herself because of her mistake. Can the writers please not repeat this arc next season? Can't she have a music-related storyline that involves something else? Give her a competitor, an adversary, someone she can scheme and fight against, someone we can hate. Juliette's the best when she has a mission to accomplish.

I totally agree. It's so boring and predictable already. The show needs another bad guy or gal, someone like Jeff or some competition like Rayna was to Juliette. 

Scarlett and Gunnar are a mess. This season was terrible for them. They seriously need to figure out what to do with them and stop this getting together and breaking up. This is what, the 3rd or 4th time they've done this?

 

Am I the only one who HATES Maddie?? Like seriously, seriously hates her? From the emancipation disaster from last season, to her hogging up all the screen time this season, she makes the show almost unwatchable for me. I can't deal with all of this teen drama! 

Man I had such high hopes for this show returning. I thought the new showrunners were going to restore this show back to the glory of seasons 1 & 2. I think this season was not all that much better than the fourth season, which is saying a lot. Sorry, I just had to rant about how disappointed I am with this show lol

[nlkm9]

I loved the fact they were driving through like Rayna...didnt like that deacon had to promise not to date, even though I dont want him to date lol. 

Since when is the breakup Gunnars fault?? 

Ok, so when they were all singing and dancing together that was AMAZING--more Will, I love Will!!!.

I hope that daphne gets some recognition for her singing

[slasherboy]

16 hours ago, Wandering Snark said:

Ahh yeah you can always see a Quick Change artist act is in the works when the woman comes out looking like the Michelin Man! Though the hair change was a neat wrinkle as were the polka-dots.

Does anybody know how this quick-change trick is done and can you explain it to me?  I'm fascinated by it.

[GaT]

5 hours ago, bilgistic said:

There were more people at Highway 65 during the power outage than have been there during its entire existence.

 

4 hours ago, CrystalMoon said:

I'm so tired of Juliette messing up, begging forgiveness, then have to do somehting terrible to herself because of her mistake. Can the writers please not repeat this arc next season? Can't she have a music-related storyline that involves something else? Give her a competitor, an adversary, someone she can scheme and fight against, someone we can hate. Juliette's the best when she has a mission to accomplish.

I agree, I am tired of watching Juliette make her 4,395,594,393 obviously stupid mistake & being the only person on the planet who can't see the consequences of her actions. When the show first started, it was Juliette (up & comer) against Rayna (established star) & the show worked. The crap they have her doing now is garbage.

[Mnemosyne]

I was wondering why there were no previews for next week. I had no idea this was the finale until reading it here just now. How uneventful. I'll be back next season, since I do love the characters/actors. But man, this show has really gone down hill since season one, the reasons being eloquently listed here.

[paulvdb]

4 hours ago, ahpny said:

Yes, but unless they are plugged into an AC electrical outlet discretely from a telephone jack, they will indeed continue to work without "power." The phone jack itself carries an electrical signal as well as whatever power the phone needs. My old-style trendline phone continued to work throughout the several weeks of power loss incident with hurricane Sandy (but newer cordless phones that had separate power plugs ran out soon and died).

And they will continue to work fine as long as the phone company still has power unless you use an ip-telephone system where you have to plug your phone into your cable, dsl or fibre modem. Because without power your modem won't work. And at an office the phones are usually connected to a switchboard that needs power to work. So without power you won't have a working phone in your office.

[deacondahling]

I was a little underwhelmed by the finale, but I think after the tumultuous season we've seen, they decided fans needed to be let off easy, maybe? 

I am concerned about Hayden's future on the show honestly. It seems like someone involved in the show has it out for her. I just hate to see her character has reverted back to making stupid mistakes and begging forgiveness. If she's going to be a troublemaker, I wish she could at least own it like she did in the beginning of the show. They've made her weak and whiny, like a Scarlett in training.

And Scarlett...please Jesus let Gunnar be done with her forever. Bring Zoe back, or find him someone awesome. I love Scarlett's voice and I loved her character in season 1 and most of 2. She was actually funny back then. She makes me want to rearrange her nose now. Such an brat. 

 

The kiss? Totally stupid. I think Rachel Bilson wanted to be propped up for a singing career and they tried to do that with her. I think they made a last ditch effort to give her a memorable moment, and the kiss was it. Yes, it probably is what opened Deacon's eyes to Zach being lonely, but I so could have lived without that spiel. I wanted Deacon to knock the hell out of Zach and pack his bags. 

I was so glad to see Glenn again though. Wish Bucky had been there.

[WhosThatGirl]

Eh. I just.. there's nothing that is exciting about this show but it's habit and it hasn't done anything to turn me off from watching except just being bland and boring. Other shows I've stopped watching because it legit felt like they were insulting my intelligence and trying to rewrite history to fit a story but I dogriss. Nashville is just kind of there. So I'm still in it. Also since its start on cable it comes on during non peak tv for the most part so nothing is really on to conflict with me watching. When it came back last January, shows were on winter break when it came back this summer all my shows were on summer break so.. yeah.

I mean don't get me wrong I hated season 4 of Nashville, hated! This season was meh. Aside from Rayna dying which I did kind of foresee considering it was known Connie wasn't in this for the long haul. Before anything was even said about Nashville comingtbbaxk, she didn't seem that broken hearted about the cancellation and then the news was said she was leaving after 10 episodes and how else could they have Rayna leave without her dying? 

[sadie]

9 hours ago, Silly Angel said:

What has happened to the psychology of this show? None of the characters make any sense anymore.

I liked the stolen-song subplot; I thought it was quite escandalo. But Juliette confesses all and embraces her perfect husband and all is right. No, wait, first Juliette steamrolls over her church friend, then insanely accuses avery of hitting on her, then steals the song, then whines to Avery by phone about fascinating things like diapers and air conditioning because, I guess, she suddenly has no idea what it's like to be out and tour and it never occurs to her that ain't nobody got time for that, even your endlessly patient husband.

Scarlett "picks apart" everything Gunnar does and sabotages relationships with a thousand tiny cuts--since when? I'm thrilled they broke up. (free Gunnar! Establish the Gunnar-Will-Avery spinoff immediately!) But G could have legitimately mentioned that Scarlett mopes around like an entitled tree squirrel and is a wet blanket and a joy killer. Waaaah, they want me to sing but I'm a poet! Waaah, all these people are watching me onstage living the dream of countlessNashville hopefuls; how dare they! Waaah, I have to dress up cute for a photo shoot and not look like I escaped from the 1932 Free People catalogue! Waah, this elaborately nonsensical video shoot is so hard and my husband so cute and nice; think I'll bone the shitty director! Waah, I'm pregnant! Waaah, evil journalist twisted my words by publishing exactly what I said! Waaah, I lost the baby!

At least they didn't kill Avery on his drive home in the storm that was all over the radio and very scary, apparently, even though nothing came of it. So glad he's off the tour bus. That whole thread was idiotic. So sick of Rando Tour Chick sidling up to him like a rhinestone Littlefinger and needling him about his marriage. I'm relieved he did not bone down on her, but if they weren't going to, and he wasn't even tempted, wtf?

Meanwhile, "Alyssa" sings. Because. Then smooches on Deacon, which is highly unacceptable. "You looked like you needed it"??? If that happened to me, there would be a pair of bloody lips lying on the pavement. Put it back in your pants, Summer Roberts. No. One. Is. Allowed. To. Touch. Anyone. Else. Without. Their. Permission. Go back to Bluebell where you were awesome.

And again with the since when. Since when is Zach a lonely little boy who never had a family? We saw nothing of the groundwork laid for his character to justify Deacon's amazing sensitive act as the Silicon Valley heart-whisperer.

Hi, Will! Bye, Will! See you next year, or not. Wow, it just occurred to me now that we watched an O.C. reunion all season. I don't think they ever met on Nashville, though. Took me long enough.

I seriously laughed out loud at this entire post! Bravo and thanks for making watching this ep worth it just to read your post!!!!!

[dirtydi]

10 hours ago, luna1122 said:

 

Random road chick always hovering around Avery and sucking on ice cream cones and trying to undercut his marriage is a shady bitch, and I'm glad Avery quietly told her off and ran home to Juliette.

And yeah, WTF with Scarlett acting both hurt that Gunnar didn't call her but also like she hates his guts and is justified in doing so, and judging him? How is he the bad guy here??? Ugh. Please let them be done forever.

I do enjoy Jeffrey Nordling sleazing it up everywhere.

Oh my gosh yes!  I thought the same exact things (or maybe even mumbled to myself). 

Also, I don't get Rachel B.'s character either.  I hoped they were going to try her with Gunnar because she is quirky and fun, the complete opposite of Scarlett.  But then nothing.

Edited August 11, 2017 by dirtydi

[KaveDweller]

12 hours ago, piratewench said:

Interestingly, I read an article yesterday about songwriting in Nashville and the process that artists and labels go through to put "holds" on songs and the drama that can ensue from that.  The song storyline with Juliette and Maddie is actually rooted in reality.  Songwriters don't always write for a particular artist, but sometimes they do.  However, they don't always control who can put "holds" on songs and sometimes it happens without their knowledge.  In this case, where Juliette was given a song by a writer to give to another artist, she actually kind of violated the code that exists, mostly unwritten, in Nashville about how songs and artists come together.  The article actually discussed a somewhat similar situation, where Blake Shelton's team heard a song and put a hold on it, unbeknownst to the songwriter, who intended it for someone else.  Artists, or their labels, will sometimes put a song on hold so no one else can use it (in theory).  In this case, a new artist heard the song and wanted to record it.  He did in fact record it and had the chance to have Blake listen to the song.  Blake still called the guy a "song stealer" but let him have the song.  Obviously Blake Shelton has no problem with getting hit singles, so it was easier for him to just let it go.

Yeah, I can buy that stuff like that happens and is an issue, but I still thought Maddie (and moreso Deacon) was over-dramatic about it. I actually thought Juliette wronged the writer more than Maddie. If she had said to him, "Hey, I know you think Maddie could do this, but I think I could kick ass singing it. Give me a shot at it," I'd have no issue.  In business you have to take opportunities where you can get them. It's not like it was Maddie's one shot at a song or her big break. She had a hit, she got nominated for an AMA, and that famous song writer wants to work with her in the future. Juliette was still supporting her with advice. Plus, Maddie probably would have whined about how unauthentic it would have been to sing something she didn't write..

I don't think that writer wrote it with Maddie in mind though. Didn't he say he had a song written and when he heard first single release he got the idea that she could sing it? If he really cared about her singing it he could have reached out to Highway 65 directly. He was a big name, so it's not like Juliette was his only way in. It was always super contrived that he asked Juliette to bring it to her in the first place.

8 hours ago, ahpny said:

Yes, but unless they are plugged into an AC electrical outlet discretely from a telephone jack, they will indeed continue to work without "power." The phone jack itself carries an electrical signal as well as whatever power the phone needs. My old-style trendline phone continued to work throughout the several weeks of power loss incident with hurricane Sandy (but newer cordless phones that had separate power plugs ran out soon and died).

I've never worked for an office didn't have phones with a separate power cord. I know there are older phones that don't need that, but a modern office is not likely to have them.

[WhosThatGirl]

Yeah my main problem is how dramatic Deacon(and Juliette in that scene with him) acted about it all. Maddie I get because she's a child and all wrongs feel like major betrayals at teenage years, but again.. the fact that it grew into this big arc was ridiculous to me.And yes I'm sure it happens in real life but I very much doubt it gets as life or death as this show was making it out to be. They acted as if Juliette stole a Rayna song or something Maddie wrote herself.

And again.. Glens line about water songs, would Maddie have chosen another song about water? 

And yeah.. what were they doing at highway 65? Just.. singing as a form protest? Having a jam out because Zach cut off all the electric? I didn't really get it.

i feel like they were able to get Rachel Bilson and contract for a whole bunch of episodes and then halfway realized they had hardly used her for what they were paying her for. So let's have her randomly pop up at random commercial shootings for the artists just cause and also let's have her sing! And then let's write a random scene where she smokes and goes nuts and tries to kiss Deacon.. seriously What was that? The only moment of hilarious with Alyssa was when Scarlett cried during the commercial and was like "it was supposed to be a table!" And her going "um okay, would you like me to see if they can change it to a table?" Other than that she was pretty useless.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

NashChat with Chris Carmack:

[bilgistic]

1 hour ago, WhosThatGirl said:

And yeah.. what were they doing at highway 65? Just.. singing as a form protest? Having a jam out because Zach cut off all the electric? I didn't really get it.

The dark-haired woman with sunglasses on her head said the word "protest" at Tracks (which in my mind is spelled and punctuated Trax! because it was formed in 1983? I don't know.). It was something like, "I'm gonna organize a protest!" My immediate thought was she was going to look funny out on the sidewalk by herself with a sign, yelling about Highway 65. I guess the singalong and Scarlett's drunk-looking "dancing" was the "protest"? I don't know.

[piratewench]

8 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

The dark-haired woman with sunglasses on her head said the word "protest" at Tracks (which in my mind is spelled and punctuated Trax! because it was formed in 1983? I don't know.). It was something like, "I'm gonna organize a protest!" My immediate thought was she was going to look funny out on the sidewalk by herself with a sign, yelling about Highway 65. I guess the singalong and Scarlett's drunk-looking "dancing" was the "protest"? I don't know.

You mean Kacey Musgraves?  I think she'd get some attention. Lol. 

[Kathemy]

8 hours ago, nlkm9 said:

Since when is the breakup Gunnars fault?? 

Everything is Gunnar's fault.

Always.

[dbell1]

It has to be said. If I hear "Tidal Wave" one more flipping time, with those fluttering hands, I will not be responsible for the carnage that results. Why wasn't Maddie in the police car with Rayna? Ugh. 

And in what world are Maddie and Juliette "pop" singers? Hell show, spend some money on a real female country singer and make it a Country Music award that they're up for. Or is this show not called "Nashville" anymore? The first few seasons we had some real stars, guess no one wants to be associated with this show anymore? And yes, I see you Kasey Musgraves. Sucks what radio has done to her. THAT would be a great storyline, the lack of female singers on the radio.

Rachel Bilson can get off my show now please. What a waste of screen time. She can take whiny Zack with her. That man is a few steps away from the "psycho with a gun" storyline.

Will, I love you. "You were an ass to my friends. Don't call me." I miss Will. 

Only interesting part to me was finally seeing Jesse and her son interact. Give me more of that. Daphne had some nice moments too.

[MollyB]

3 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

Didn't he say he had a song written and when he heard first single release he got the idea that she could sing it? If he really cared about her singing it he could have reached out to Highway 65 directly.

This.  He was a little pissed when he found out that Juliette had lied about Maddie not wanting the song, but it took him less than one episode to get over it, take the money and leave. This story line being the catalyst that brings Highway65 together and makes them realize what it is and how they want it to be is dumb. 

 

3 hours ago, WhosThatGirl said:

So let's have her randomly pop up at random commercial shootings for the artists just cause and also let's have her sing! And then let's write a random scene where she smokes and goes nuts and tries to kiss Deacon..

She's the 'plus one' of the cousin your mother made you invite to your wedding.  She gets drunk and rowdy and no one knows who she is or why she's there.

 

22 hours ago, GaT said:

The ridiculous Avery & the-woman-who-nobody-knows-who-she-is-but-she-wants-to-bone-Avery plot was finally wrapped up without having Avery screw around.

I really, really didn't like this person.  She was pushy and irritating.  Avery should have thrown her off the bus-literally.  But to be very shallow here-when she marched into the hotel room with the sandwiches, I thought her ass was on backwards.  Like someone cut her in half and put the top half back on facing the wrong direction.  She shouldn't wear skinny jeans with low shoes.

 

22 minutes ago, dbell1 said:

It has to be said. If I hear "Tidal Wave" one more flipping time, with those fluttering hands, I will not be responsible for the carnage that results. Why wasn't Maddie in the police car with Rayna? Ugh. 

amen to the amen.

[NorthstarATL]

42 minutes ago, dbell1 said:

Will, I love you. "You were an ass to my friends. Don't call me." I miss Will. 

Which was a wonderful line, BUT it also points out what an opportunity the writers passed on! Here's a CENTRAL character who is in a relationship with the guy who holds everyone's financial fate in his hands, and THAT is all we get? No agonizing? No conflicts over friends vs. profits, artistic integrity vs. paying the bills, sexual attraction despite ethical differences? Nothing? AND it was an instance where the fact that the two people involved were gay had absolutely nothing to with the conflict between them, or with other characters. And they STILL made Zach a "lonely little boy" in the end, which is a typical victim stereotype writers love to saddle us with when they are not making us perfect angels. It's tedious.

  SO glad Avery fought every soap opera cliche INCLUDING the weather being too dangerous to fly in order to get back to Juliette with his fidelity intact! That woman was so over the line, had the genders been reversed, she could be accused of harassment.

  So Daphne is in the same peer group as Jesse's son? Didn't we already do that with Maddie? Please stop.

[piratewench]

8 hours ago, dbell1 said:

And in what world are Maddie and Juliette "pop" singers? Hell show, spend some money on a real female country singer and make it a Country Music award that they're up for. Or is this show not called "Nashville" anymore? The first few seasons we had some real stars, guess no one wants to be associated with this show anymore? And yes, I see you Kasey Musgraves. Sucks what radio has done to her. THAT would be a great storyline, the lack of female singers on the radio.

 

Well, both of those songs were "pop" songs.  Not even a little bit country.  And they've done CMA's, CMT's, but even country music artists are nominated outside of the traditional country music awards shows. 

I think it would be interesting to have a storyline that involves getting songs radio play.  That's HUGE right now in the country music world, where radio play is still the primary mechanism for country artists to get their songs heard.  And particularly the dearth of female artists on the radio.  I think it's great how Bobby Bones is doing Female Fridays on his show and really focusing on female artists, but it's still a major miss.

[seewillrun]

20 hours ago, LIFLA said:

I thought the new showrunners were going to restore this show back to the glory of seasons 1 & 2. 

I thought the storylines for Season One of Nashville were written really, really well.  The characters all intersected with each easily and the tension grew incrementally, just like it should.  That being said, Season 1's are probably the easiest to write.  The writers/showrunners assume they have a whole year and they can plan and plot appropriately.  

I just can't compare Season1 to Season 5.  There was a change in network, show runners, and the freaking lead character who was tied up in almost all storylines wanted out... so they did what they had to do in the first half to give us Rayna/Deacon (not enough, but it would never be enough), and then tried to manage the fall-out for the second half.  

This season finale, I think, left things where they can start relatively fresh for Season 6.  Maybe they didn't tie up all the storylines, but they got them to a plateau (and thank god no cliffhanger), so maybe they can move these characters into their vision of Nashville.  

Every drama needs a bad guy to drive the main characters, which we didn't have in Season 5.  I guess Death was the bad guy.  I can see Brad, evil label executive, being a good antagonist for Season 6.  I thought he and Deacon had an interesting dynamic.  Deacon, for all his faults, has been shown to be a real 'what you see is what you get' kind of person.  Brad doesn't have an authentic bone in his body and at this point probably can't recognize the truth.  That is a conflict that will be interesting to watch.  

[TVFANATICA2000]

Scarlett:  "I hope one day you can search your soul without someone else's help" or whatever she said.

Me:  "STFU Scarlett". 

The smirk she had on her face when she said that - if I could have reached through the screen and slapped her I would have.

This is supposed to be a show about country music so how about having the singers sing country songs?  Maddie's stupid song is stuck in my head and I can't get it out.  HELP!!!  The t-t-t-t-take me away is so annoying!  And Glenn is right - Juliette made her song a hit.  I don't think Maddie is capable of singing an upbeat song.

I liked Alyssa calling Deacon out on his fantasy world.  She's right - the entertainment business is cut throat and sometimes you have to do things you don't like.  He cut ties with the only person keeping Highway 65 afloat to protect his daughters feelings and put everyone else's livelihood on the line.  Then he gets mad at Juliette and is going to kick his most valuable asset off the label.  Juliette is the only one who seems to understand how the business works and that is probably why she is so successful.  Someone like Scarlett would have been sent packing back to Alabama long ago.

I thought we were going to see Daphne have some issues adjusting to life with Deacon and Maddie after Rayna's death since she feels like the "outsider" - that would be a realistic storyline.  But instead Deacon is now "Dad".  Is she changing her last name to Claybourne too?  BTW - is Jaymes Maddie's stage name or is she still a Conrad?  Or Claybourne?

I miss Will.

I had high hopes for the new writers and while this season is a major improvement over season 4, it has greatly disappointed me.  

[NorthstarATL]

18 minutes ago, TVFANATICA2000 said:

BTW - is Jaymes Maddie's stage name or is she still a Conrad?  Or Claybourne?

I hope it's just "Maddie", because that would be annoying, and also fit her character.

[piratewench]

26 minutes ago, TVFANATICA2000 said:

This is supposed to be a show about country music so how about having the singers sing country songs?  Maddie's stupid song is stuck in my head and I can't get it out.  HELP!!!  The t-t-t-t-take me away is so annoying!  And Glenn is right - Juliette made her song a hit.  I don't think Maddie is capable of singing an upbeat song.

I think the showrunners were pretty clear that they were going to diversify the music piece.  And while Nashville - the city - gets labeled as being only about country music, the truth is that it's a lot more than that.  Country music is primary, for sure, but there are all other genres represented here and I think it's great that the show is reflecting that.  Partly because country music isn't my number one music genre, I really appreciate hearing something else.  Avery's music isn't really country music per se either and I think that's refreshing.  I like that they're letting the music, as well as the storylines, breathe.

I think Season 5 was a difficult season because of Connie.  Regardless of how you feel about her or her character, that was a huge problem that had to be solved, and I don't think there were easy answers.  The majority of the characters, after the immediate aftermath of Rayna's death, just weren't impacted by that on a day-to-day basis, but it needed to be addressed for Deacon and the girls and they spent a lot of time with that.  I agree with seewillrun that the finale set up a good jumping off point for season 6.

[TVFANATICA2000]

1 hour ago, piratewench said:

I think the showrunners were pretty clear that they were going to diversify the music piece.  And while Nashville - the city - gets labeled as being only about country music, the truth is that it's a lot more than that.  Country music is primary, for sure, but there are all other genres represented here and I think it's great that the show is reflecting that.  Partly because country music isn't my number one music genre, I really appreciate hearing something else.  Avery's music isn't really country music per se either and I think that's refreshing.  I like that they're letting the music, as well as the storylines, breathe.

I think Season 5 was a difficult season because of Connie.  Regardless of how you feel about her or her character, that was a huge problem that had to be solved, and I don't think there were easy answers.  The majority of the characters, after the immediate aftermath of Rayna's death, just weren't impacted by that on a day-to-day basis, but it needed to be addressed for Deacon and the girls and they spent a lot of time with that.  I agree with seewillrun that the finale set up a good jumping off point for season 6.

I wasn't aware of the showrunners wanting to diversify the music and if so, I am personally disappointed because country music is my favorite genre and that is why I started watching the show.  In fact, the things that I enjoyed most were the music and insight into the industry.

We'll see what season 6 brings and I'll keep watching maybe out of habit.  I would just like storylines to be more fleshed out.  As I said before, Daphne was depressed for all of 2 episodes.  Then her homeless friend ended up in foster care or something after she told Daphne and Maddie to leave her alone.  Characters just tend to disappear on this show.  I also don't like how the writers are rewriting history.  Yes, you are taking over the show but you can't change what happened.  Gunnar never mistreated Scarlett and Teddy did exist and raise Maddie and Daphne.

[piratewench]

I think country music is still the cornerstone, but to be fair, that has never been the sole genre represented on the show.  Avery has always been more alt/rock than he was country, right from season 1.  And Maddie's music has been less country as the seasons have gone on.  But yeah, Marshall talked about the music early on, really feeling energized by the breadth and depth of music represented in the city of Nashville, beyond just country music.  

[tennisgurl]

What I always liked about the show was the wide variety of country subgenres represented by the various characters, especially in the earlier seasons. You had Avery who is more alt/rock, Scarlett/Gunnar are more folky, Juliette is pop country, Will has kind of a Fun Country vibe, Rayna was a Big Country Diva type, and Deacon was a stripped down musician sort. I like when they focus on that.

When Avery announced that he was running off into that storm to get to Juliette, I was terrified that we would get a cliffhanger where Avery would get into an accident, and we didn't know if he was alright. When Juliette heard the door, I was half convinced it would be cops, and we would have to wait a season to see what happened. Thank God they didn't go there!

They really had no idea what to do with Rachel Bilson, did they? They just had her character do random stuff, and finally creepily kissed Deacon because he "needed it", because THATS what you do for a sad person. I actually got kind of a vibe earlier that she was into Deacon (especially when she was having dinner with him talking about how ladies must be all over him), but trying to kiss him? Back off lady!

Can this be the end of Tidal Wave, please? Its not that good of a song. I did like Maddie and Daphne more this season though, so that's something. I do prefer Daphne's teen drama to Maddie's. At least Daphne is usually pretty sensible (homeless friends notwithstanding) and her teen drama is "normal" drama, unlike Maddie. I much prefer "will the boy I like like me back?" to "I want to be emancipated so I can make awful music on a different music label and drag my dad through the mud in court".

[piratewench]

It's making me laugh that everyone keeps calling Maddie's song 'Tidal Wave'. That's not actually the name of the song. 

[WhosThatGirl]

Wait. Seriously. The song isn't called Tidal Wave? What is it called then?

Edited August 12, 2017 by WhosThatGirl

[bilgistic]

3 hours ago, piratewench said:

I think the showrunners were pretty clear that they were going to diversify the music piece.  And while Nashville - the city - gets labeled as being only about country music, the truth is that it's a lot more than that.  Country music is primary, for sure, but there are all other genres represented here and I think it's great that the show is reflecting that.  Partly because country music isn't my number one music genre, I really appreciate hearing something else.  Avery's music isn't really country music per se either and I think that's refreshing.  I like that they're letting the music, as well as the storylines, breathe.

 

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

What I always liked about the show was the wide variety of country subgenres represented by the various characters, especially in the earlier seasons. You had Avery who is more alt/rock, Scarlett/Gunnar are more folky, Juliette is pop country, Will has kind of a Fun Country vibe, Rayna was a Big Country Diva type, and Deacon was a stripped down musician sort. I like when they focus on that.

Yes to all of this. I was chastised upthread for not knowing who some real-life country singer is that appeared on the show. So what? I REALLY don't like "new country"; my tastes lean toward Johnny Cash and bluegrass. My current favorite singer/songwriter is John Paul White, who is kind of folk/Americana, and my favorite band is the Foo Fighters--straight-up rock. I enjoy the diversity of the music on the show, and know that Nashville hasn't been a strictly "country music town" in what? Three decades?

[J-Man]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

When Avery announced that he was running off into that storm to get to Juliette, I was terrified that we would get a cliffhanger where Avery would get into an accident, and we didn't know if he was alright. When Juliette heard the door, I was half convinced it would be cops, and we would have to wait a season to see what happened. Thank God they didn't go there!

I thought that, after that self-awareness monologue she had with Scarlett, Avery was going walk in the house to find that Juliette had attempted suicide -- and whether or not she survived would be our cliffhanger.

[Silly Angel]

17 hours ago, WhosThatGirl said:

Wait. Seriously. The song isn't called Tidal Wave? What is it called then?

SAVED! By a tidal wave/take me away/t-t-take me away...

Hee-hee. Now it's going through your head.

[piratewench]

Yes, it's Saved.  But I understand why people thought it was Tidal Wave.  LOL