Well, that didnt take long. Were just four episodes into ABCs Nashville,and the writers have already thrust volatile pop-country vixen Juliette Barnes into the wood chipper of celebrity scandal, turning her into a tabloid sensation on the precipice of descending into Lindsay-Lohan Land. And unlike, say, Charlie Sheen, winning she is not.
If you remember (and who could forget?), at the end of last weeks episode a gaggle of gawking teenagers caught Juliette on camera, shoplifting nail polish at the grocery store. As viewers roundly predicted, shit really hit the fan this week in the wake of such trespasses. The singer wakes up with the fuzz at her door. They dont arrest her (and are apparently cool with her sloughing them off and shutting the door on them) but they do inform her that the viral inferno sparked by the fan-cam footage is raging to the tune of four million YouTube views.
Add it together with the rest of last nights storylines the torch Raynas still carrying for Deacon and the strain that her husbandTeddys run for mayor is putting on their marriage;Averys refusal to see Scarlett as the natural songwriting talent that he, perhaps, is not plus the host of new characters that came between our host of already-star-crossed lovers, and its no wonder why this tear-filled episode was the series tensest and soapiest so far.
Nashville: The Real Dirty South
Things kicked off in rather shocking fashion, with Rayna and Deacon in bed together, cuddling and making out tenderly. Luckily for Rayna, this scandal was safe from the trappings of hidden cameras because it was only a dream. (Meh, lazy.) I have a feeling the faint look of disappointment with a slight undercurrent of disgust that graces Raynas face, as she awakens to the cold reality of pearly-whites-ear-to-ear Teddy handing over her morning coffee, is something were gonna see more and more of as the season rolls on.
Meanwhile, starry-eyed Scarlett and Gunnar have landed a publishing deal on the strength of the demo they cut with Watty White. And so they go from slogging it out in the service industry over at the Bluebird Caf to finding gainful employment as staff writers for a Music Row publisher. At work, Gunnar almost immediately gains a love interest their boss Jeannes fetching, yogurt-obsessed young assistant,Hailey.
While Scarlett and Gunnars musical careers are well on track, Juliettes battling to hold on to hers. The fallout from her ill-fated shopping excursion has legs. The CMA Awards have cancelled her as a presenter, SNL is planning an opening sketch at her expense and the fate of her arena tour (which she is gearing up for by doing yoga) is in jeopardy. Glenn, her manager, flies out McKenna, her publicist, and the pair go into damage-control mode dressing Juliette in conservative, church-ready attire (This does not look sexy, this looks poor!) and hastily booking her for a Sorry, I fucked up appearance on Good Morning America, which she reluctantly agrees to.
Things arent any better for Juliette on the home front. Despite her own run-ins with the law, her junkie mama Jolene is none too pleased with her daughters criminal endeavors although she bakes her daughter her favorite pink macaroni anyway, as if crashing under her roof by court order is all hunky dory. Juliette doesnt buy it. She accuses Jolene of pretending to be a good mother a ruse to steal valuables for drug money and proceeds to rummage through her handbag for evidence, but instead finds a mother-daughter baby picture, cueing this episodes obligatory Hayden Panettiere breakdown-and-cry moment.
On the political front, Teddy isnt shaping up to be the formidable mayoral candidate Lamar may have hoped for hes currently trailing frontrunner Coleman Carlisle (who we discover is also Deacons AA sponsor) by an insurmountable 12 points in the polls. Hes practically on life support, Tandy tells Rayna. So Lamar organizes a $1,400-per-plate fundraiser at the country club (Raynas personal hell on earth, where it does seem like every other woman in there would make a better politicians wife than [she] would) and Tandy asks her to perform. Inexplicably, Raynas manager Bucky asks Deacon (obviously a Coleman supporter) to do the gig.
Turns out that was a terrible idea. At the country club, we quickly gather that Deacon dislikes Teddy and Lamar as much as he used to like getting high. Moments before Raynas performance, tensions come to a glorious head when Lamar starts berating Deacon for showing up underdressed, and an all-out brawl erupts between Deacon and the rest of the Jaymes/Conrad/Wyatt gang. Im gonna do this thing, but Im not gonna kiss your ass while Im doing it, thats [Teddys] job. You think I want you to be here right now? Teddy replies. Deacon gets in the best blow Im here to help you?! Hell, Im not even votin for you. Youre nothin but a straw man.
For a politician, Teddy has a tough time putting on a brave face and watching Raynas show, barely making it through the first song (Changing Ground, a slithery country rocker thats, uncharacteristically, the episodes only spotlighted original song). Teddy doesnt leave the room because he doesnt like the number, but because hes getting the evil eye from country club socialite Peggy Samper. Later, in the episodes big reveal, Peggy and Teddy have a clandestine meeting on the outskirts of town. They both share a secret. She thinks he should come clean. We all know what that means, right? Looks like a dirty business deal isnt the only thing that might sink Teddys floundering campaign. Can you imagine Rayna standing by her shameful man in a political press conference? I sure cant.
At home after the fundraiser, Rayna is in tears as she admits to a frustrated Teddy that she knows she must fire Deacon. Wait, didnt she already do that last week?
Across town, love is on the rocks for Scarlett and Avery. After a chichi dinner exchange with Gunnar, Hailey and Jeanne make the bone-headed boyfriend feel like an unsuccessful pariah. The dinner is pure torture for Avery and his pain is palpable, but our sympathy for him quickly evaporates when we see him storm off like a petulant man-child over having to be the supportive one for a change. My music speaks for itself! he proclaims. Granted, he can write songs like Elvis Costello, but what a dick.
Later, Scarlett and Deacon are having lunch (Shes his niece, remember?) and she expresses that, essentially, in a town of musician casualties, shes already having survivors guilt and considering a move back to Mississippi, or wherever shes from. Seriously, Scarletts inability to stop loving Avery for long enough to see his unmitigated self-absorption and kick him to the curb is quickly making her the shows most cringe-worthy character. Gunnar, on the other hand, is emerging as a cruelly hilarious, mischievous prankster flirting with Hailey by pointing out her dude-like tendencies (in bed, of course) and stocking the work fridge with post-it-note-marked yogurt.
Never has Juliettes hunger for artistic cred been more clear as when she realizes that she may not have the clout to weather scandal unlike Rayna, Glenn tells her, As good as you are, you havent earned it yet. That doesnt stop her from completely blowing it on Good Morning America. After making a pitifully prideful attempt to explain away her shoplifting trespasses, GMA host Robin Roberts rattles Juliette by asking her if the scandal has been hard on her mother, prompting her to walk off the set.
Juliette has a come-to-Jesus exchange with Glenn when he threatens to drop her unless she tells him why she shoplifted. She gives what wouldve been a perfectly sympathetic, almost reasonable response for GMA It made me feel like I could take care of myself when no one else would. I dont have friends, just people that wanna be seen with me, she adds. The episode ends with her giving Deacon a booty call. Its lonely at the top.
Previously: Dysfunctional Families Are High in the Mix
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