Nashville Season 4 Episode 19 Review: After You've Gone

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Family drama sure can be a pain, right?

Rayna struggles with Maddie's emancipation, her worry only fueled by Cash organizing a showcase of Maddie's talent for the highest bidding record label on Nashville Season 4 Episode 19.

Kesha and Noah - Nashville

Rayna is so sad and her life has hit pause as she tries to cope with her daughter following in her footsteps.

I don't even know what life looks like without Maddie in it.

Rayna

Maddie is doing exactly what Rayna did when she was younger. She wanted to sing, didn't get along with her father, and wanted to be on her own and start her own life.

Rayna made so many mistakes; mistakes that she wanted to protect Maddie from making, but Cash has ruined it all.

Cash convinced Maddie to take a deal with the one label Rayna tried to protect her from, Lennox Hill, Maddie's off to New York, making a clean break with Nashville and her family.

Cash is so arrogant. Her interactions with Rayna are great because the hatred and tension between the two is strong, but it's time to get rid of her before she finishes leeching Maddie's soul.

Cash: She's not your daughter anymore.
Rayna: Apparently you're not very good at biology.

Maddie is 16 years old. She's going to make mistakes, she's going to make the wrong choices, and Cash living vicariously through her, or using her as revenge for her family against Deacon and Rayna is just bizarre.

She doesn't have good intentions for anyone, except herself. This is to further her career, just as much as it's furthering Maddie's.

Speaking of bizarre, how insane is it that Cash would suggest Maddie go by Maddie Jaymes?

You don't want anything to do with your mother, but you have no problem using her last name to get you in the business? You wouldn't have a career if your mom wasn't Rayna Jaymes, honey.

Deacon tries so hard, but he's never the one. He lost his sister, his daughter, and he's on the verge of losing Rayna because of the charges Frankie brought against him, as well as his outbursts.

Deacon is a mess, he will always be a mess, but being with Rayna made him a little less messy. At least until Frankie started trying to ruin his life.

He's honestly doing his best, but Deacon hasn't learned how to live as a normal person. Which is made clearly evident when his first impulse is to buy a bottle of alcohol.

I haven't struggled with an alcohol addiction, so correct me if I'm wrong, but Deacon hasn't learned to live as anything other than an alcoholic or a recovering alcoholic.

In the past four years, he's almost fallen off the wagon many times, actually ruining his sobriety once. He and Rayna aren't healthy for each other, and they never have been.

I want them together so badly, I want their star-crossed Nashville love affair to work out and survive, but Rayna needs to worry about her career and her children. Deacon needs to worry about getting better and recovering completely.

With Maddie gone for New York, this could possibly be the end for her story.

Her life in Nashville is over and she's stuck with Cash and her bad intentions with a possibly horrible recording contract.

Maddie could survive and become a great artist if she were on her own, but Cash is going to drag her down to the depths of hell with her if it's the last thing she does on this show.

Juliette and Maddie's relationship is one that could've blossomed into something more fruitful and familial.

It's not too late to change your mind, you can always go back.

Juliette

Juliette reaching out to Maddie and loaning her Glenn to try and make the right recording decision was very sweet and shows how much Juliette has grown, too.

Even with all she's going through with losing Avery to Layla, she's actually becoming a better person and helping those she considers friends and/or family as much as she's able to. She still hasn't lost her sass, though.

Who knew an Oscar nomination would be such a pain in the ass?

Juliette

Her new relationship with her co-star Noah West, guest star Derek Hough, could prove to be something a little sexy and interesting. They have great chemistry together and Juliette could use something with no strings attached, if nothing else were to happen.

But they could also make a great couple. They understand the boundaries of fame and being a celebrity, whereas Avery was apprehensive to being part of a celebrity couple and continues to be so.

Can they make it work with Juliette having a daughter and ex-husband? Noah seems like someone who would understand, but not stepfather material.

Other thoughts:

  • Will returning home to his mother's funeral and being reunited with his estranged family was very sad. Will has always struggled with his sexuality from the time his father kicked him out in the middle of nowhere to now, where he's being hunted down by the press for a comment on his sexuality and his music.
  • Scarlett and Gunnar are on the path to already breaking up The Exes. Each is following their own paths as artists, venturing out a bit on their own. What happened to Scarlett saying a few weeks ago that, after her failed solo career, being on stage with Gunnar helped her perform better? Can they just decide to be together or not be together and make it work? I'm over the back and forth between every couple in Nashville.
  • Layla anonymously tipping her and Avery's location to the paparazzi was low. She's only concerned with her career right now, which seems to be a problem with every lady Avery dates. Mixing business with pleasure never ends well, especially when your boyfriend has a problem with being part of the celebrity lifestyle and having his picture taken in his normal life. Layla is just so worried and so focused on bettering her career that her relationship with Avery could all be a sham, or perhaps it's the complete opposite. He leads her band, so her dating him is risky and could ruin her performances. It's all still so confusing, and I'm still not sure whether Layla is seeking revenge on Juliette for Jeff's death by taking everything she loves. Did she give up on that and I missed the memo?
  • This show does best with small scenes and the scenes between Daphne and Tandy, and Rayna and Daphne, were excellent. Maisy is so great for being so young, and the emotion was raw and graceful. It showed that all of these characters are overwhelmed and struggling amidst the mess Maddie has put them through, but through everything, they still love her and always will. She'll find her way back home eventually.

It seems the writers have given up a little on the show's future.

We should find out about renewal within the next few weeks, but these episodes feel like they could rush into an ending, or just leave the show abrupt. There's not a clear vibe anymore.

Pushing couples together and pulling them apart within the same episode is getting obnoxious.

Rayna and Deacon just got married and are already considering divorce. Avery and Layla came out of nowhere.

Too many couples, plus too many guest stars, and too little music has left the show weakened and I miss what it was in Nashville Season 1.

If the show were to get a Season 5, I'd hope it would return back to the country musical soap we all enjoyed and add more music into the mix.

We only see any singing now when they're on stage, most of the characters haven't even written music anymore, except for Will.

As we creep closer to the season finale, possible series finale, each of the pairs are going to have to revive their relationships and try to continue on.

Will Gunnar and Scarlett break up? Will Rayna and Deacon get a divorce? How will they go on without Maddie?

You can watch Nashville online right here at TV Fanatic to remember the simpler times and prepare yourself for what is sure to be a dramatic roller coaster to end the season.

After You've Gone Review

Editor Rating: 4.3 / 5.0
  • 4.3 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 3.1 / 5.0 (35 Votes)

Jay Ruymann was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He retired in January 2018.

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Nashville Season 4 Episode 19 Quotes

Who knew an Oscar nomination would be such a pain in the ass?

Juliette

I don't even know what life looks like without Maddie in it.

Rayna