The truth shall set you free, no matter how much it hurts.

Deacon finally told Rayna the truth about his cancer, and it went over exactly as you would expect.

Let's get into Nashville Season 3 Episode 15, which brought out some surprising sides to some familiar characters.

It was very sweet for Rayna to invite her daughters to sing at the Grand Ole Opry. Maddie and Daphne were wonderful and performed with seasoned confidence. It helped that Deacon was there to support them on guitar.

I loved everything about Rayna and Deacon's duet. Forgetting about the song for a moment, it's amazing how much emotion and meaning Connie Britton and Charles Esten were able to convey through their eyes. You could feel the history and love between these two people. 

Alas, this was not the grand romantic reunion fans have been waiting for. The episode ended with Rayna confronting Deacon for leaving the concert so abruptly, begging him not to leave her anymore.

You [Deacon] leaving like that hurts. It hurts as bad as it did the first time you ever did it. And I know we've skipped a few steps here, but babe, please don't leave me anymore.

Rayna

• Permalink: You leaving like that hurts. It hurts as bad as it did the first time you ever did...

Her words held more meaning than she knew because Deacon finally told her he has cancer. Rayna responded by slapping him... Not the reaction I pictured, but it worked.

It was sad to see her weep in his arms, but I'm glad the truth is out.

Let me open this up to you guys. Where do you see Deacon's cancer storyline going? A lot of you have speculated that either Rayna or Maddie will be a potential match for a liver transplant. Which one do you think is more likely? Or do you think the show would actually kill off Deacon? 

On a much lighter note, Gunnar, Scarlett, and Avery are officially The Triple Exes. The Triple XXXs? The Triple Xs? Not sure how they're going with the spelling here. 

I actually enjoyed both Gunnar and Scarlett tonight. Gunnar was hilarious trying to come up with the band name. I like the more goofy side of him. Some of favorite band name ideas: Fried Green Tomatoes, Highway Cheese, Beer and Foam, and Scargunnery.

It ended up being Doctor Hottie who came up with the name after Scarlett mentioned her band mates were her ex-boyfriends. 

I like Scarlett when she's a confident performer. Her time dealing with stage fright felt forced. She also looked the prettiest I've seen in a long time. Maybe it's because her bird's nest hair was pulled back out of her face. 

There was clearly a look of jealousy when Gunnar saw Scarlett kiss Doctor Hottie. I know they are probably endgame, but I'd like to see Scarlett continue this new relationship for the time being.

Here's something I'd never thought I'd say: I liked Luke in this episode.

I know, it surprised me too! He acted gracious toward Rayna at the concert. It was great to see a softer side to Luke's personality when with his son.

He also seems to be okay with Colt wanting to be around Maddie.

Colt: Well, I was thinking that maybe I could come home, for good. Could be nice spending some more time together.
Luke: With me or with Maddie?
Colt: With both of you. Are you mad?
Luke: No son, I'm not mad. Heart wants what the heart wants.

• Permalink: No son, I'm not mad. Heart wants what the heart wants.

Unfortunately, we were treated to Will's insecure side again. He was especially rude when talking about working with openly gay songwriter, Kevin. 

Please, please, please let this be the final push Will needs to come out. Clearly Kevin has no problem getting country artists to work with him. Maybe Will will realize coming out won't be a death sentence to his career. 

I really hope so because watching him hate on other gay guys is infuriating. 

Speaking of infuriating, let's talk about a love story for the ages: Jeff and Layla.

While, we can see how twisted this relationship already is, I can't figure out if Jeff has a hidden agenda with Layla. He seems to be in full support of getting her music heard. He keeps telling her how talented she is and gets her song on iTunes despite Bucky's roll-out plan. 

And yet, he says some of the most awful things to her. 

Layla: I'm not your puppet, okay? I don't know what I am to you, but I sure as hell am not that.
Jeff: Okay, fine. Then what do you think we should do next? Come on, Harvard. What are your genius ideas?
Layla: Have you forgotten that you work for me now?
Jeff: Oh really? Is that so?
Layla: Yes, really. 'Cause everybody else in town hates your guts.
Jeff: [interrupts and kisses her] Everybody?

• Permalink: I'm not your puppet, okay? I don't know what I am to you, but I sure as hell am not that.

Jeff seems to get off on making her mad and then having sex with her. Oh let's not forget his lovely comment about how he would have no problem telling her if she looked fat because he's not her boyfriend. What a Prince Charming! 

Sadie broke her silence about her abuse on Good Morning America, and I was cheering her on the entire time. It made it all the more better to see her evil ex-husband watching it on the TV. He seemed shocked to see her say it out loud. Now the world knows what he's done. He'd be stupid to try to harm her or interfere in her business again.

Oh yeah, and Teddy's now aware Natasha is under surveillance, meaning he's probably under surveillance now too. Yawn!

Favorite Performance of the Week: This goes, hands down, to Deacon and Rayna's duet. Their chemistry was on fire, and they sang beautifully.

So over to you guys! What did you think of the episode? Were you sad there was no Juliette? Where will Rayna and Deacon go from here? What are your predictions for Nashville Season 3 Episode 16? Sound off below, and don't forget you can catch up on missed episodes when you watch Nashville online via TV Fanatic! 

Amanda Steinmetz was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She went into retirement in June of 2027. Follow her on Twitter.