Nashville – Love Hurts

By starrymag | February 3, 2017

By: Julie Mante

 

 

Rayna (Connie Britton) and Zach (Cameron Scoggins) meet director Damien George (Christian Coulson) at the Riverwood Manison for Gunnar’s (Sam Palladio) and Scarlett’s (Clare Bowen) music video. When Damien goes to check on The Exes, Gunnar feels like James Bond in his suit while Scarlett has some reservations about her dress. It feels more like a sexy white slip than a dress. When Damien looks at the pair, he tries to assure Scarlett that her dress fits the character she will be playing in the music video. Scarlett is not convinced. Back at Highway 65, Rayna and Bucky (David Alford) are taking care of some business when she discovers that her box is missing. She finds it inside Randall’s (Jordan Woods-Robinson) desk, but cannot confront him because he took a sick day. Rayna is stunned.

 

Maddie (Lennon Stella) has been hanging out with her new friend Clayton Carter (Joseph David-Jones). He has been expanding her musical tastes as well as teaching her some history about country music. When he tells her about his musical hangout, Maddie is eager to join. When they arrive at Joe’s, Clayton is given the rock star treatment and invited to sing his song “Before You” on stage. Maddie cannot keep her eyes off him and his soulful vocals. After they leave Joe’s, Maddie kisses Clayton. Clayton does not want to cross the line with Maddie because she is still a minor so he decides to take her home. Maddie is not happy being rebuffed.

 

Scarlett is still having trouble understanding Damien’s concept for The Exes musical video. Damien tries to explain and Scarlett tries again even though the process does not make sense to her. Randall is called into Rayna’s office. When Bucky shows him the box that he stole, he starts to cry. When Bucky asks him if he has been sending Rayna flowers and letters, Randall is confused. He explains that he stole the box as a souvenir for his mom who is a huge Rayna fan. He wanted his mother to think that he and Rayna were friends. He apologizes to Rayna for stealing. Bucky tells him to write down a sentence and to wait outside. When Randall leaves, Bucky tells Rayna that Randall is not the stalker. They agree to fire Randall, but the stalker remains a mystery. The stalker has continued to send Rayna unwanted presents and she is at a loss of what to do next.

 

Maddie is playing a song she has been working on when her younger sister Daphne (Maisy Stella) checks in. Daphne has a feeling that she has a new boy in her life so she teases her older sister. When the phone rings, Maddie is quick to kick her sister out of her room. It’s Clay. When he asks her what she is doing, Maddie tells him she is working on a new song. Clay wants to hear it, but Maddie is embarrassed. She puts him on speaker and starts to play the song. Clay wants to hear the song in person and asks Maddie if she can come see him now. Her parents Rayna and Deacon (Charles Esten) are relaxing on the couch watching a movie when they see Maddie headed for the door. When they ask her where she is going, she tells them that she is seeing a boy. Shocked by her honesty, the parents try to play it cool and ask their daughter questions about the guy. Maddie does not provide much details and says goodbye.

 

As the camera keeps rolling on the music video, Damien does not feel that Scarlett is expressing genuine anger. He tries to get Scarlett angry and it is not hard because she has been frustrated the whole time. She is able to provide a convincing shot. Damien decides to call it a day and tells Scarlett she did a good job. He invites the duo for a drink, but Scarlett would rather get some rest. Gunnar asks her if it is okay if he joins Damien and she says it is fine.

 

Clay’s pad is a rundown record studio. He explains that his friend owns it and lets him use the equipment at night in exchange for doing errands for him. Since Clay uses it a lot he does not feel the need to live somewhere else. Once Maddie begins playing, Clay is enamored with her. When they kiss again, Clay pulls back. Maddie tells him that she is fine keeping their relationship a secret if he is worried about the age difference. When he tells her that they should be friends for a while she lets him know that she is not a virgin. Frustrated, Clay tells her that the problem is not her age or virginity, (or lack thereof) but her race. She is white and he is black. Stunned, Maddie does not understand why that is a problem. Clay lashes out at her and says she does not get it because she is rich and assumes the world is color blind, but it is not. Maddie is speechless and Clay is instantly remorseful. He apologizes and tells her that he will call her tomorrow. He tells her the song is great. Maddie awkwardly leaves and goes home.

 

Damien and Gunnar talk at the bar. Damien tells Gunnar that watching movies as a kid in London inspired his passion for directing. When Damien asks Gunnar about his relationship status with Scarlett, Gunnar reveals that their relationship is still a bit rocky after the whole Autumn fiasco. Talking to Damien, Gunnar realizes that he can be selfish at times because he knows that Scarlett will always forgive him. Scarlett is struggling to sleep when Gunnar comes home drunk. He wants to have sex, but Scarlett declines because she is nervous about filming a sex scene in their music video in five hours.

 

When filming resumes, Damien is not convinced with Scarlett’s performance. When he tries to coach her, Scarlett has had enough. She tells him that she does not feel comfortable being too sexy and she feels they have enough footage for the music video. Angry that she is challenging him, Damien tells the cameraman to delete the footage they recorded that day. He says they can continue filming when Scarlett gets on board, but Scarlett walks away and Gunnar follows her.

 

Scarlett thinks Damien is nuts while Gunnar thinks he is passionate. Gunnar encourages Scarlett to get out of her comfort zone and listen to Damien’s instructions. Scarlett believes she does not need to be more “free” because she is happy the way she is and she does not feel the need to change for a music video. As the pair continue to talk, Damien approaches Scarlett in a subdued manner and asks her to trust his less than conventional methods for the music video.

 

While Maddie is interning at Tracks Studio, Clay sends her a text but she does not respond. Despondent, Clay lays in bed holding a bottle of pills contemplating his next move. Maddie visits Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) to see how she is doing and talk to Juliette about her current situation with Clay. The young teen tells Juliette that she likes Clay, but she does not like how he can be mean sometimes. Juliette advises her to walk away. It may be tempting for Maddie to try and “fix” Clay, but she cannot. Juliette has been down that road before and it did not work out. Juliette hopes Maddie will take her advice and avoid heartbreak.

 

As Clay is playing on the street, two young white men approach him. They ask Clay to play Kenny Chesney’s “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.” Clay tells them he does not know the song, but they do not believe him and offer him twenty dollars to remember. Annoyed, Clay tells them that he thinks the song is stupid and the guys get angry and accuse the musician of looking down on them.

 

Zach and Rayna check on how the music video is going. Rayna can sense that Scarlett is feeling uncomfortable and tells Zach about her concerns. Zach tells her that Damien has unorthodox methods, but he is good at what he does. Rayna still has her doubts. Maddie tries to call Clay, but he does not pick up. When she arrives at his place, he tells her to go home. He has a huge cut on the side of his head and as Maddie tries to ask him what happened, he collapses. Maddie calls 911.

 

At the hospital, Maddie is restless as she waits to hear word on Clay’s status. When she asks the nurse at the front desk she is told that she cannot get any information because she is not a spouse or a family member. Meanwhile, Maddie has been ignoring texts from her mother who is wondering why she is not home at this late hour. Zach meets Will (Chris Carmack) outside after Damien kicked him out for using his cell phone. Zach offers to hook up Will with a feature in the New York Times and Will declines. Zach apologizes for overstepping, but gives Will his cell phone number.

 

Scarlett and Damien clash on another concept and Damien reaches his breaking point. He asks Scarlett why she has not become famous yet. He taunts her and wonders why she is submissive and lets people treat her like garbage. He asks her why she decided to take Gunnar back after he has slept with so many women and hurt her over and over. Scarlett lashes out and tells Damien that he is the only one mistreating her. Damien lets her know he does not care if she quits, but he refuses to treat Scarlett with kid gloves. Scarlett decides to channel her anger and continue filming the music video.

 

When Clay finally gets released, Maddie is ready to help, but he tells her that he does not need any help. Frustrated, Maddie asks why he is acting so cold. Clay admits that he is bipolar and does not want to burden Maddie with his condition. Maddie says he can take medication, but he refuses. He says that when he takes the pills, he stops feeling and it effects his music. He does not see their relationship going anywhere. There is too much working against them. He’s older. He’s broke. He’s black. It would never work and her parents would never accept him. Maddie says that they could work but he is too scared to admit it. He ignores her and walks away.

 

After Scarlett and Gunnar finish the music video, Damien goes to see Scarlett. He knows that she is angry with him right now, but he tells her that she did a great job. Scarlett is quiet at first, but asks him why he believes he can treat people badly. He tells her to wait until she sees the music video. There is a method to his madness. In the morning, Maddie is in bed thinking about Clay and it is obvious that she has been crying. Daphne comes in to tell her that breakfast is ready. Daphne can sense that Maddie is upset, but Maddie refuses to tell her anything. She tells her younger sister that she is skipping breakfast.

 

Gunnar is cooking breakfast when Scarlett comes downstairs. While Gunnar is happy that the music video is over and done with, Scarlett is upset that Gunnar told Damien about their personal history. She feels ashamed that people would perceive her as weak for taking Gunnar back over and over again. Gunnar tells her that she is wrong. She is not weak, but strong. As they embrace, it is clear that Scarlett has a lot of doubts.

 

When Maddie goes downstairs for breakfast, Deacon and Rayna have some questions. They tell their daughter that if she wants to be treated like an adult, she needs to act like one. They spent the night worrying about her until she got home. Maddie is in no mood to talk. She says she did not answer their texts because Clay was in an accident and he was in the hospital. She apologizes to her parents for not answering their texts. Rayna asks her about the new guy in her life and wonders if she and Deacon can meet him. Maddie is quick to say that the “relationship” is over so it is not necessary. She takes her cereal and goes back to her room. Her parents at a loss on how to handle the situation.

 

The doorbell rings. Deacon asks who is there. It’s Clay. Maddie overhears everything and comes downstairs. When Deacon opens the door, Clay is dressed up and tells Maddie’s parents that since he has been spending time with Maddie that it was time to introduce himself. Rayna invites him inside and both parents start asking him about his music. Maddie stops all conversation when she runs to hug Clay for showing up. Later, Rayna and Bucky are talking about the music video when a strange man is holding a package looking for Rayna. When he sees Rayna, he starts walking toward her wanting to talk, but Bucky blocks him from getting close while Rayna is frozen and petrified.