Nashville – A Change Would Do You Good

By:  Nicole Dintelman

Previously on “Nashville” Maddie (Lennon Stella) and Clay (Joseph David-Jones) had a run-in with the law. What may have been a routine traffic stop turned into way more than it should have been. Clay was driving Maddie home and with him being an African American male driving in a rich white neighborhood he was stopped for “rolling through a stop sign.” Now, we don’t know if that really happened or not, but that is the reason that was given. Maddie was upset and when they asked Clay to exit the car she did as well, which only made the problem worse. By the time it was over they were both taken to jail. Thankfully, no charges were pressed but that didn’t stop the media firestorm that ensued.

Scarlett (Clare Bowen) ended things with Damien (Christian Coulson) after he tried to buy them a house and live as a happy family. She knew his heart wasn’t really in it. Even though Scarlett still has Gunnar (Sam Palladio) it doesn’t stop the feelings of loss over her feelings for Damien. Daphne’s (Maisy Stella) friend Liv (Odessa Aldon) is still staying with the family, but Deacon (Charles Esten) lets Daphne know that it can’t last forever. Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) is up to her old tricks again and steals a song to record that was meant for Maddie. Deacon finally picks up a guitar again and plays at the Bluebird.

This week the media is still all over what happened with Maddie and Clay. They’re stalking both their houses and replaying the video over and over on the news. Deacon tells Maddie to lay low and Maddie tells him she’ll be fine. The press is so bad that Deacon has trouble getting out of his driveway to go to work. When he does arrive, Zach (Cameron Scoggins) introduces him to Alyssa Green (Rachel Bilson). Zach wants to bring Alyssa on board as the Chief Strategy Officer. She’s basically there to pivot the company and help them create revenue.

Hallie (Rhiannon Giddens) is performing at The Bluebird for many of the record labels in Nashville. Juliette is helping her try to get a record deal. Juliette wants Deacon to sign her as she tells Deacon: “There’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition.” Avery (Joshua Jackson) tells Deacon that if he signs her he wants to produce the album. He can already hear the whole thing in his head. Maddie calls Clay and he’s not doing very well. Clay tells her that all of his neighbors are staring at him and he can’t even go outside his house. He tells her he’s busy and he has to go.

Zach asks Deacon what he thinks about Alyssa and he tells him he doesn’t understand why the label needs to pivot. Zach tells Deacon that the label used to survive on Rayna’s (Connie Britton) fame and now that she’s gone they can’t do that anymore. Zach tells Deacon they can take on Alyssa for a trial period (three months) and if it doesn’t work out they’ll fire her. Deacon and Zach have come to see the councilman in Nashville about Maddie’s situation.

The Councilman asks how Maddie is doing and Deacon tells him that Maddie is struggling. She’s tough, but the whole situation is taking a toll on her. The councilman tells Deacon that they need to come together and establish unity. Maddie needs to apologize and Deacon asks: “She should apologize?” The Councilman tells Deacon that’s the only way it will work. Deacon says that he will talk to Maddie. We’re thinking Maddie isn’t going to go for it, especially since she doesn’t feel like she did anything wrong.

Scarlett comes home and Gunnar is cooking and has cleaned the apartment. He’s also lit candles and set a romantic mood. Scarlett doesn’t seem to want anything to do with him though. Deacon calls Hallie and offers her a deal and tells her that she’s welcome to sleep on it. He also invited her to dinner to meet the rest of the artists on the label. Hallie’s boyfriend, George (Calvin C. Winbush), isn’t thrilled that the rest of the band wasn’t invited. Hallie tells him it will be easier when he moves out. Moves out of where? Oh, that’s right, he’s married y’all. He says he’s separated, but he still lives with his wife and kids. So, Hallie’s story just became a lot more interesting.

Liv is putting makeup on Daphne and Maddie rains on their parade. Daphne tells Maddie that they’re just messing around, but Maddie says that their mom wouldn’t like it because she didn’t want them wearing makeup until they’re in high school. Liv asks Maddie if she’s late for her apology tour or something. We’re thinking Liv is starting to overstay her welcome a bit. Thankfully, the doorbell rings. It’s Bucky (David Alford)! He saw the news and felt like he needed to come talk to Maddie.

Maddie tells Bucky that she was just dropped by a station in Memphis. Bucky tells Maddie that she may be a little bit young to remember but reminds her of the story when Natalie Maines from The Dixie Chicks criticized President Bush. They were dropped from every country radio station the next day. Natalie refused to apologize and still hasn’t. Her career was never the same after. Maddie goes to see Juliette and tells her that the councilman’s office wants her to apologize. Juliette tells Maddie that she thinks she was amazing. Juliette has to go back and record and wants to walk Maddie out, but Maddie wants to stay. The truth is Juliette didn’t want Maddie to hear the song that was really supposed to be for her.

Alyssa is introduced to the team and starts the meeting by telling them she’s never worked in the music business and knows zero about country music. Way to get their confidence in you, girlfriend. Alyssa tells them that album sales are never going back to what they used to be and streaming is worth crap. She tells them there is one market left to be mined – brand partnerships. Zach tells them that he wants them all to give this a chance. Deacon tells them they all need to make some sacrifices and it’s not a big damn deal.

At the dinner for Hallie, Deacon tells Hallie that he really hopes she will become part of the Highway 65 family and it is artists like her that are the reason that Rayna started the label. Avery talks to Hallie about producing her record, but when he tells her that he would bring in outside musicians she isn’t so sure. Liv shows Daphne a website she made making fun of Maddie. At first, Daphne tells her she can’t post it then after Liv pressures her she says ok fine.

When Hallie gets home, George is waiting for her and tells her that he brought up moving out to his wife and she freaked out on him. Hallie tells her to get a lawyer and he tells her that he doesn’t have money for that. Maddie is still obsessed with the news regarding her situation and learns that Clay has been in the trouble with the law before. There was an incident where Clay was suicidal and she becomes worried that could happen again. She tries to call him but he doesn’t answer.

Zach and Alyssa give Maddie a PR statement to read to apologize and Maddie tells them she’s not reading it. She tells them she won’t lie. Deacon asks her if she’s sure there’s nothing she wouldn’t change about that night and Maddie tells them she’s sorry but she’s late for work. The page Liv created is blowing up and Daphne tells her that she has to delete it. Liv tells her that people will create other pages and Daphne says she doesn’t care, she has to delete this one. Liv finally gives in and deletes it. Where does a homeless girl get money to create a web page?

Zach asks Will (Chris Carmack) what he thinks about Alyssa’s idea about the branding. Will says he thinks it’s ok and Zach asks him if he’ll talk to the others. Will tells him that he doesn’t think so. He feels like Zach is using him as the middle man and he needs to keep him out of the business stuff moving forward. Scarlett stops by to see Deacon. She asks him if it’s weird that she doesn’t want to be physical with Gunnar. Deacon tells Scarlett that he can’t tell her what to do and she may not feel a certain way for him right now but it could change. He tells her to take some of the pressure off herself.

Maddie is still trying to call Clay, who is doing everything he can to keep himself occupied. We’re wondering if he’s stopped taking his medication. He’s very antsy and on edge. While Maddie is at work a reporter for The Nation comes to try to talk to her. He tells her that he thinks she was really brave and asks her if she has anything she wants to say. Hallie tells Juliette that she can’t make a record because she can’t do it without her band. Juliette says that she has to forget about George. He’s married. Hallie says that George needs her and when he’s on stage with her she feels safe.

Scarlett, Avery and Gunnar are at the bar playing pool and talking about the jingle thing. Rather, Scarlett is beating all the guys at pool. Will arrives and tries to tell them that Zach is not a bad guy, he’s just doing his job. Avery gets a text message from Juliette about Hallie and tells them he has to go. Gunnar asks what’s up and he tells all of them just the routine with Juliette. “She starts the fires and he puts them out.” Avery goes to talk to Hallie. He tells her to meet him at the studio the next day. Avery asks Hallie to give him two hours in the studio with the guys he wants her to work with before she says no.

Maddie finds some of the mean meme’s that have been created about her. Deacon asks her what’s wrong and she tells him nothing just people being mean. Maddie says that she just reacted. She didn’t think and now even he thinks she was wrong. Deacon tells her that he never said that. Maddie leaves the room. Daphne asks what happened and Deacon tells Daphne that it is just a bunch of people saying mean horrible things about her sister online. He says he’ll never understand how people can do that.

Hallie meets Avery at the studio and hears the guys playing her song. She asks Avery if she can go sing with them. Avery tells her it’s her song, of course, she can. She surprises herself when she loves it. Maddie finally goes to see Clay and he tells her he hasn’t slept for three days. She asks him if she can do something and he tells her that she can’t help him. Maddie asks him if he’s breaking up with her over this. Clay tells her they were never really together. There was never really a place for them, even though he feels so much for her. Maddie tells him she feels the same way.

When Maddie gets home she goes to her dad and apologizes for being so stubborn. Deacon tells her that her momma was a fighter. Maddie is a lot like Rayna in so many ways. Deacon tells Maddie that she is a wonderful, generous, kind young woman and those people do not know her. They only know what they saw in the video. He tells her he’s proud to be her dad and she should say something in her own words so they know it’s coming from her and who she really is.

Zach tries to kiss Will and Will pulls away. When Zach asks Will what’s going on he tells him that he doesn’t think things are going to work out with them. He doesn’t feel like he can be himself as a musician, be loyal to his friends and date him. Will says he can’t sing about mops or fertilizer. Zach starts laughing and tells Will that Alyssa got a call regarding him today. Will wants to know who called. Zach tells Will that he’s the one that doesn’t want to sing about mops. Finally, he tells Will that it’s Budweiser. Budweiser wants to work with Will.

Maddie asks Daphne to help her with something. She’s doing a live stream to apologize. She apologizes for her language. Maddie says that she apologizes for escalating the situation and she understands that the police officer was just trying to do his job, which she acknowledges is very difficult. Maddie will not apologize for trying to protect her friend. She then tells everyone who Clayton is. Clay is watching Maddie’s video. Maddie tells everyone that Clay is one of the kindest, most sensitive people she’s ever met. Maddie asks Daphne to join her on screen and she and her baby sister dedicate a song to the now wayward traveler.