Nashville - Season One (Wednesdays, 10pm on ABC)

[Wyliefan]

Of course, next season Gunnar's brother's girlfriend will suddenly appear and she will know that those lyrics were her "man's" so will use that against Gunnar. And then they will make out.

I think you've nailed it.

[dbell1]

Bumping to praise last night's show. Kudos to the writers. They turned Matt the random upstairs neighbor into a real person with just a few minutes of dialogue.

And Hayden really deserves an award for her work here. She can go from bratty to heartbreaking in seconds. No more pink macaroni for Juliette.

Why was Jolene living alone? And roaming around with cash? And if she can get to Dante by just calling his disposable cell phone, then why didn't the crack security team think of it? But that scene where Dante got shot - hated it. It was over in seconds and felt like a high school play.

So, Rayna and Teddy kept a secret about Maddie for 12+ years and then leave their paternity test in an UNLOCKED box in the closet? Next week's scenes after that implodes look pretty awesome. And thank you writers for having Rayna tell Teddy off about that 'emotional affair crap and that Daphne was a product of love. He's been bitching at her all season about never being in the marriage.

Welcome back Lamar. He seemed to only come back to life once Rayna finally asked him for a favor.

I see Avery/Juliette/Scarlett as a triangle next season. And happy that Gunner got dumped on his faux outlaw ass.

[emason]

An UNLOCKED box in the closet that Maddie seems to know all about to boot. Seriously? I'm sorry but this show has gone seriously downhill from the first 3 episodes. The writing was better then, the music was better then, and so on.

I do agree that the scene with upstairs neighbor deserves praise though; that was the best part of the whole episode.

[manhn]

Love the upstairs neighbour. Still hate Lamar. And how does Maddie even understand how to read a paternity test? I remember looking at one for some estate file I had, and it was all blah blah blah to me.

[gkelly]

Maybe it's more that the very fact that one exists means there was some question about her paternity. She doesn't need to know the answer -- just that there was a question.

[ArtisticFan]

Maybe it's more that the very fact that one exists means there was some question about her paternity. She doesn't need to know the answer -- just that there was a question.

Good point. I remember every time my parents were out I was looking through my mom's stuff for proof I was adopted. I just knew I was...despite the fact I look like both of my parents and sound like them both too. I took everything I found as a clue, including a card that translated said, "Congratulations on your new arrival." That wasn't a typical saying where I grew up so I thought it meant I had arrived by plane or something.

I suppose the excuse for the show could be that Rayna typically does have that locked up. However, she pulled it out in case she needed the information in court and had not had time to lock it back up yet.

[Susan1]

Maybe it's more that the very fact that one exists means there was some question about her paternity. She doesn't need to know the answer -- just that there was a question.

Yeah, in the preview she was telling someone that she didn't think her dad was really her father. It said "negative" right where we could read it, so that's kind of self-explanatory. Why she was even looking through Rayna's papers which should have been locked up and put away somewhere in the first place was not explained though.

Loved it all anyway!!!!!!!!!! Although I still don't like Avery.

[Jenny]

Agree that the lock box was weird. My immediate thought was why would the mother of two girls keep something so important on a low shelf in a closet full of glittery outfits? Kids snoop, and kids also love to try on mom's clothes, especially when they are glittery - it was a recipe for disaster. If it indeed was a temporary place for it - and it didn't look like it - then the writers should have made that clear. The other element I didn't like is Rayna telling Maddie that there was grown up stuff that she'd tell her about when she was old enough - I guess it's realistic, but if I was Maddie that would not have made me feel any better.

But, wow those girls can sing - too bad their scene with Deacon wasn't longer!

Also agree that the cowboy is now a real character, the whole trying to make people think you're something you're not/inner conflict theme worked really well with Gunner's demise. I was glad that some guys called Gunner out in the bar though, to show him that his inauthenticity is so clear.

Speaking of, I didn't like Scarlett's Opry debut. It was milky - good singing, decent song, but no different than 1000 other girls doing the same thing, and a far cry from what she did with Gunner. Their raw appeal was in how honest and innocent the songs were, and it just didn't translate to the produced, full band version of her on stage. It was closer to her Ring of Fire performance, and I didn't think that was particularly interesting either.

I feared that Deacon would be off the wagon in the season finale, and here we go. It will be an interesting turn of events though, because early in the season one had the impression that Rayna might have abandoned Deacon in his hour of need, then later we found that she had stuck with him through too many benders and several rehab stints, so she came out looking like the hero who had been wronged by Deacon. But now he finds out that she has kept one of the biggest possible secrets in the world from him, and the tables turn pretty fast.

As for Juliette, I totally agree that she is the break out star here. She can do more with a facial expression than others can do with pages of script. Jolene's attempt to help her daughter was so misguided too, poor thing - she made this big move to help her, but in the end she's done the worst thing for her - left her all alone.

And goodness they are really working to turn Avery around, no? I do think they had wanted him to have his own fanbase as one of the main cast and realized early/mid season that they weren't quite getting the "appealing bad boy" character right, and are now redeeming him in prep for whatever they plan for him next season. Plus, it's interesting that among our three men, the writers keep shifting who's the good guy and who's the trainwreck each ep.

Love Tandy and Lamar, but Teddy can go any time. When he said "because I'm the Mayor" I really wanted her to say "but I'm Rayna James" - BAM. Juliette would have

[my little pony]

Agree that the lock box was weird. My immediate thought was why would the mother of two girls keep something so important on a low shelf in a closet full of glittery outfits?

pretty much the exact thing happened in my family. but instead of a box that may or may not usually be locked in a closet, the papers were in the cedar that was used as a coffee table in the living room. it didnt even have a lock. but we are a shady bunch.