BWW Recap: NASHVILLE Goes From 10-60 With No Signs of Slowing Down

To say the winter finale was full of cliffhangers, curveballs, and straight up anxiety (that last one was on my part, not NASHVILLE's) would be an understatement. The December 10th episode managed to catch up on the storylines of almost every major character, and still leave us patiently awaiting tonight's spring premiere.

To recap: Avery and Juliette are not only back together, but are headed to the altar. Deacon's drinking has finally caught up with him for the worse; he's been diagnosed with a severe liver disease that he's told will most likely lead to cancer. Rayna finally admits to both us and herself that she is in love with Deacon- facing an enraged, angry, and awful version of Luke Wheeler. Micah, Gunnar's thought-to-be son, is actually his nephew. Sadie Stone has become reacquainted with her jealous and abusive ex-husband, Teddy is in love with an escort, and Layla is popping pills. Phew- think I got it all?

It's safe to say tonight's episode has a lot of explaining to do.

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"The wedding is off but the drama is on" line from the pre-show teaser couldn't be more accurate. I'm the first to admit that something never really sat right with me concerning Luke, but this rage is something I never would've expected. The longer he continues to drive into wedding cakes and yell irrationally, the less I sympathize with him and the more I want to say "Go Rayna." Maddie voices what everyone else is thinking when she asks, "Does this mean you're gonna marry Deacon?" We're thinking it too, Maddie. We're thinking it, too. Deacon's happiness at the news that the wedding is off is precious. And Luke's attitude continues to make me count the episodes until he's gone for good.

Layla, meanwhile, is in a coma, fighting for her life (that is if she is at all concious) following a near fatal intake of pills and alcohol- creating potential legal problems for everyone's favorite antagonist, Jeff Fordham.

This bright spot, however, amongst a coma-induced Layla and a broken to-be-marriage, are newlyweds Avery and Juliette.. The two are married, happy, and adorable as ever.

In a very un-NASHVILLE fashion, the show gives us a glimpse of almost every storyline before the first commercial break. With reason, clearly- you don't drop four or five continuous bombs without proper follow up. But I'm more shaken from the twenty second Sadie Stone scene than all of the drug overdoses, weddings (or lackthereof) induced rage, and overall drama so far. Call it powerful writing, incredible acting (which, coming from Laura Benanti, we already expected), but the strength of the scene is unparalled. Wow.

As much as I appreciate that the NASHVILLE writers are trying to show us as much as possible- it's kind of a blurry mess to me. I'd gladly wait an episode or two to divulge in some storylines if it meant a bit slower-paced, easier-to-keep-up-with episode. Between fighting and crying and yelling and lying I'm feeling a bit lost. However, I must pause to appreciate Rayna's truthful foreshadowing, "Luke imploding isn't gonna be good for anyone!"

Following the horror that came with Sadie's excursion to buy a gun comes another raw and emotional moment from Ms. Laura Benanti. I could listen to her sing an entire episode's worth of music. I'm really looking forward to where this storyline goes. Amidst all the insane hooplah that this episode is halphazardly throwing out, it's nice to have a musical moment as a breath of fresh air.

Which, of course, is dampered by Luke insanely immature attitude, prompting her to reply with what we've been thinking for the past half hour, "I guess I dodged a bullet." What started at the CMA's (which I calledI, mind you) has finally come to a head, and while Rayna is far from 100% right, it's no secret that Luke is jealous. With just a smidge of maturity, I'd feel sorry for him. Will Chase's portrayal, however, gets two thumbs up. Making me hate a character was an honor previously just reserved for Oliver Hudson (Jeff Fordham).

And speaking of, I have to (temporarily) commend Jeff for getting the reality show footage destroyed. Whether he's looking out for number one or actually cares for Will and Layla is up in the air, but for the moment, it's nice to see someone being a stand-up guy between the "I'm-not-getting-married-so-let's-party party," and the heartbreaking tale of "I'm not your Dad, I'm your Uncle." Micah's not-so-believable acting is another thing completely, but the writing is there.

Sadie Stone's storyline is by far the most engaging, interesting, and attention-grabbing writing I've seen on NASHVILLE in a while. An entire episode dedicated to this storyline would've left me satisfied, but, luckily (or hopefully), there's a lot more where this came from throughout the rest of the season.

And where one plot point begins, another (seemingly) ends. Will and Layla are off the hook (for now) and amicably splitting- thanks in part to Jeff Fordham.

Truthfully, the episode's pacing (minus Sadie Stone's arch) was too fast for me to fully become fully invested in anything. I'm hoping, it being the midseason premiere, it slows down a bit to fully concentrate on and do justice to each of its intiguing, building storylines. Though, I must admit, after nearly two months of waiting the NASHVILLE writers were not shy about throwing all they could into the episode.

Whose storyline are you most invested in, and what do you hope to see during the second half of the season? Comment below or tweet me @WendiReichstein!

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