Nashville Season 4 Episode 5 Review: Stop the World (And Let Me Off)
Lindsay MacDonald
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Nashville sure knows how to leave you with an emotional cliffhanger every week!
Despite wavering back and forth on his decision about Juliette in Nashville Season 4 Episode 5, Avery decided it was time to drop the mic and give his soon to be ex-wife an ultimatum. Divorce or public humiliation.
Who knows which one Juliette will end up choosing!
If we're going off of the last few episodes, it would be easy to figure that Juliette would rather keep her perfect public image in tact rather than having to stay at home and be a mommy with Avery and Cadence.
After her change of mind in "Stop the World (And Let Me Off)" though, maybe not.
For weeks, all Avery has wanted is some sign that Juliette understands her problems and wants to work through them. And for the first time, we got a hint that she does in fact recognize how far gone she is. Personally, I thought the moment that she looked in the mirror to see her own red eyes and strung out expression was pretty powerful. You could practically see her remembering her mother's benders and recognizing the same signs in herself.
Unfortunately, that recognition might have come too late.
I lose every single time, and I'm sick of it.
Avery
I have to respect Avery for pushing back against Juliette. He's been pulled back in too many times by her apologies, no matter how sincere. Male characters need to be empowered too, instead of running back to unhealthy relationships, so watching Avery stand up for himself was just what we needed from him.
We'll have to wait and see how she handles his decision, but the promo for Nashville Season 4 Episode 6 doesn't look great for Juliette.
Thankfully, our darling diva did get one moment to shine with Maddie.
I'm torn on Maddie's big moves in Atlanta. On one hand, this debut has been coming for a while now. No matter how hard Rayna tries to keep her locked up, Maddie has talent and ambition, and keeping her off the stage was never going to work. She was born to perform. Literally.
On the other hand, strutting around with Juliette -- who is clearly not a great role model at the moment -- might not have been her best choice.
Don't go trying to play cool mom with somebody else's kid just because you've abandoned your own.
Luke
Having sex with Colt on his dad's tour bus? Also maybe not the greatest.
I will say that Juliette's advice to Maddie was solid, and she did a good thing, trying to be there for a girl who looks up to her. Colt, too, has been an excellent and supportive boyfriend, rather than the bad influence I was afraid he'd be. Let's just hope that Maddie keeps a cool head on her shoulders after all this change!
Speaking of change, Gunnar sure changed his tune with that roadie!
For months now, he's been all about Scarlett and trying to win her back. After her stubborn refusal and his mini-song writing session with Caleb, could Gunnar have truly decided to move on? Probably not, but there's no reason to deny him a hot hook-up in the meantime.
Back in Natchez, Scarlett and Deacon pulled out a lot of their own emotional baggage, while packing up Beverly's house.
You're selfish, Deacon! You are a selfish, selfish person!
Scarlett
Needless to say, their talk about Beverly's death was long overdue. They had both been internalizing so much guilt and shame over their respective relationships with Beverly, not just over her death. They both felt like they'd abandoned her at one point or another, which was made even more clear to them by sorting through her things.
Their reconciliation felt earned and organic, even if their feud only last a few episodes. Scarlett and Deacon were never meant to be at odds for very long, especially when they need each other so much.
Finally, let's talk about Layla and Rayna's girl's night in.
After spending so much time begging for Rayna's attention, the minute Layla gets it, she's snippy and confrontational. Not good, girl! This is the queen of country you're talking to!
All in all, I think that Layla's feelings for Jeff needed clarifying, and her argument with Rayna was exactly the right forum for that.
Everything you said about Jeff is true. He can be a total jerk. He's too old for me. There are times when I really don't like him. But he's also really kind to me. And he challenges me and inspires me, and no matter how many times I think about all the bad things, the truth is I love him. Even when my head tells me to stop, my heart just won't let go.
Layla
Layla and Jeff have such an interesting relationship, and it's one we don't see on TV very often. They are clearly not great together, and I'd even go so far as to say that they're a pretty toxic couple. Jeff puts his own interests before Layla's feelings, and Layla constantly sacrifices what she wants or thinks to make Jeff happy. That is a recipe for disaster.
On the other side of things, however, we get moments like Layla's confession, or Jeff's big romantic gesture at The Opry. Television typically tends to show destructive relationships in one of two ways. Gross and terrible and falling apart, or beautifully romantic and perfect despite their flaws. There's no in between. Layla and Jeff aren't taking either of those roads though. They're showing us a troubling romance, with many bad elements, that still has good qualities and genuine emotion backing it.
It's a realistic take on a real life issue that I find incredibly refreshing.
Other Thoughts:
- Markus Keene is a douchebag. I have decided.
- Will needs to sign with Rayna already. Songwriting was never his dream!
- Juliette slowly realizing that her buddy is a nitwit was the BEST.
- Maddie's dress was ten kinds of crazy awesome.
- Jeff still feels slimy to me. I can't help it.
Juliette is headed for a break down next week, so be sure to watch Nashville online via TV Fanatic, so you can be all caught up when the sparks start to fly!
