‘Nashville’ Recap: Artistic License
Warning: This recap for the “Love Hurts” episode of Nashville contains spoilers.
The songs of Nashville pulse with big feelings — heartache, longing, betrayal, despair, ecstasy. They’re matched by the big feelings within the characters, like the burning rage and lingering shame Scarlett is prodded to explore this week by music video director Damien.
Damien’s vision for the Exes’ video is exactly the kind of scenario Scarlett hates: one that asks her to bare her feelings beyond just the words she’s written in her notebooks. She has never been one to enjoy the spotlight or the scrutiny of crowds (remember her meltdown onstage), and when Damien pushes her to let out her inner demons, she snaps.
Meanwhile, Maddie is falling head over heels for Clay, but he’s wary of pursuing a relationship. He pushes her away with excuses — first, her age, then race, then their disparate backgrounds. But he reveals the real reason is that he’s bipolar and off his meds, making him prone to wild mood swings. Those big feelings power his songs, and he isn’t willing to give that up.
Maddie isn’t fazed; she’s all in. She wants to be with him — age, race, backgrounds, mood swings be damned. If he’s in with her, then he can show up to her house and be introduced to Rayna and Deacon… which he does.
Best storyline: The demanding, harsh artist is a familiar trope embodied by Damien George. He’s not quite at David Fincher levels of directorial a**holery, but he’s certainly not the kind of collaborator that Scarlett is used to working with. His idea for the Exes’ music video certainly comes from the male gaze — a wild femme fatale in a slinky dress, teasing and torturing her lover.
But he has a point about Scarlett. She’s closed up and hides her feelings — she apologizes when she’s not wrong, she smiles when she’s angry, she takes Gunnar back after he hooks up with a series of women (including her former best friend). Damien senses there’s genius within her, but if she wants to be the next Johnny Cash, she has to lay bare all her pain.
Scarlett isn’t ready for that, and she fights against Damien tooth and nail. But he’s pushed her buttons. It’ll be interesting to see how she and Gunnar will go forward.
Related: Read All Our ‘Nashville’ Recaps
Worst storyline: The stalker strikes again, apparently. Rayna has received more letters and then discovers that box missing from her desk. She and Bucky confront Randall, who is a terrible thief, since he kept the box in his top desk drawer.
But it turns out poor Randall is not the stalker. He just wanted a memento of Rayna to give to his mom as proof that they’re friends. Kind of creepy, but not terrible. He’s fired, of course.
Later, that guy who accosted Rayna on the street shows up at the office with what appears to be another letter, shouting to talk to her. Rayna looks terrified, but it only begs the question: Why the hell does she not have security? First, she’s a superfamous singer and has been for a long time. Second, she’s received worrisome letters hand-delivered to her home. Hello? Why isn’t there a hulking bodyguard at her side at all times?
New romance report: Is it just us or does Zach Welles appear to have the hots for Will? Zach definitely seemed like a candidate to be Rayna’s stalker (although, why would a tech billionaire who is already her business partner need to stalk her?), but we definitely get some vibes from his brief scene with Will.
Standout song: “In Love,” the song that Maddie is in the middle of writing, clearly for Clay.
Nashville airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on CMT.
