Nashville season 1, episodes 15-18

Man, are we behind on shows or what? Well, here's one we're caught up on. After a string of good episodes, this show went back to having a few snoozy plots. We didn't care about Gunnar's angst after his brother died and we didn't like how badly he treated Scarlett during those first few days.

It's understandable, but still lame. At least she had the balls to call him out on it and say it sucked. Another boring storyline? Deacon dating his veterinarian who lives in Nashville and doesn't like country music. Poor girl. Mercifully, that relationship probably ended last night...more on that later.

Nashville- Season 1, Episodes 10-14

You guys, this show is finally getting good and trimming the plots that aren't working. It's moving things along and bringing everything we like about it, There is no more Scarlett/Gunnar/Avery love triangle. Avery is out; Gunnar is in. They didn't even annoy us with Gunnar's brother for long! Jason dies quickly, and thank the Lord for that. We thought Gunnar and Scarlett might get arrested for aiding and abetting. Wouldn't that have been a stupid waste of time?

Nashville- Season 1, episode 9

Be Careful of Stones that You Throw- We're so close to the tour, we can smell it. Hopefully, the tour breathes new life into all of the plots. More good news: Teddy finally grew a pair. True, they are going to shrivel up and fall off next time Lamar changes tactics, but for now, we're glad to see him not be completely useless in every way.

Deacon, meanwhile, has gotten more interesting. He's not loving the rock-and-roll life, and he seems about two seconds from getting a drink. That music journalist he slept with/his ex is so beautiful. Unlike Rayna, she actually has a forehead. Yay! But neither his ex nor his picture on the cover of a magazine could quell his ennui. He needs to join Rayna's tour. Avery needs to have a humorous comeuppance at some point for all the betrayal.

We loved the song Twist of Barbed Wire. We've heard Scarlett do tons of old fashioned, quiet guitar pieces with Gunnar, so it's time she did something different. This rocked. It was way better than her last attempt to get grittier (the Johnny Cash cover that would have killed Cash if he were still alive). Scarlett should have joined that band. We guess some girls are just addicted to drama.

Should we tune into Nashville next year?

By Raven Underwood (Hayden Panettiere @ Grand Slam) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Lovesick Blues
Loved the lyrics to the duet between Juliette and Rayna. It really is a shame neither of them can sing that well. We love both Connie and Hayden as actresses, but it's too bad the show couldn't find some powerhouse vocalists who could also act. It kind of makes sense for Juliette to have a lightweight voice, since she's supposed to be a Taylor-Swift type only with more sex appeal. But Rayna should be able to rip it. It's also too bad that Scarlett is such a weak, wet blanket, mousey bore with a weird speaking voice like she's got a mouthful of nuts in the back of her cheeks that she's saving up for winter, because she can actually sing. We didn't love her Ring of Fire rendition in this episode though. You can't touch that song unless you're gonna really kill it. Scarlett's version was too airy and lacked grit. She could have been shot right after that, and we'd have been like, "Justified."

Where He Leads Me
Gunnar finally kissed Scarlett, but because she is Scarlett, she agonized over it and pushed him away. Juliette goes to church with Tim Tebow, and she looked gorgeous in that church scene. We love her hair up like that. We love emerald green and want that dress. It won't be as good on brunettes, but it will still be pretty. Mrs. Tebow is a jerk. Juliette needs a good mommy, not a snob. We are now solidly on Juliette's side in this show, just because we want her to succeed and stick it to Mrs. Tebow. Teddy comes clean to Rayna in this one. Finally. The trust is broken, and Rayna was meeting Deacon soon after. We like the idea of Rayna and Deacon, but it might not be interesting enough in the execution. It's best to build them up and save them for the end. Finally, finally, finally Rayna and Juliette will be touring together.

Other thoughts-So, we're wondering whether we want to catch the show when it next comes on. We enjoy it while we are watching it, but there's nothing that keeps us coming back except this blog and the need to give promising new shows a chance. We never immediately want the next episode. Also, we don't think this show is going to make it, and we want to spend our time on something that's not going to be cancelled soon. On the other hand, some of the music is so good that we've actually bought two songs, and one of us doesn't even normally like country music. We bought If I Didn't Know Better and Fade Into You.

It gets Nashville, TN pretty well, as far as we know. Yeah, we've been there. It's not a bad show at all. There's nothing we really hate about it, and it could get good. We'd follow Connie Britton nearly anywhere. We loved the pilot. We wonder if Tim Tebow will marry Juliette (even though it was real dumb of her to ask him, not to mention CRAZY; way to cut his balls off). This show was smart to speed up all the storylines right before the break, bringing tension to the show where it wasn't present before. Nashville earned itself a pass for at least one more episode from us. We want to see the immediate developments right after this episode for sure. If we think we like where things are going after that, we'll stay tuned.

Are you guys watching?

Lovesick Blues grade: B
Where He Leads Me grade: B+

Modern Family makes a familiar joke, we can't look away from AHS, Arrow makes us snore. Supernatural brings back our sweet hottie, and Nashville picks up the pace

By Rubenstein  Uploaded by MyCanon (Ty Burrell) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Modern Family- Mystery Date
Phil's plot should have been gold, but we've already seen the same mix up situation on Frasier, and it was funnier on that show. The whole straight man on a date with a gay guy plotline is best left in the past. We think TV should move on from that joke. Gloria and Jay's new mural was a wonder to behold. It was so ugly! And hilarious. We enjoyed Jay and Mitchell's interactions. Alex and Claire had the least funny plot, but it had substance. Manny and Luke crashing Bar Mitzvahs could have been mined for more jokes. That felt like a wasted opportunity. Gloria and Cam probably shouldn't be paired. They are both cartoonish, and sometimes you need a straight man when you have two big, loud personalities. This episode was pleasant, but forgettable.
Episode grade: B-

Arrow- Legacy
After a good episode last week, this week's was a little boring and run-of-the-mill for this show. Oliver fought bank robbers, blah blah blah. Too bad Carter and Tommy look so much alike. We can't keep them straight. We have to say, Thea is prettier than Laurel. Tommy should give that a second thought. We don't like that Thea might be jealous of Laurel in subsequent episodes. Catty girl-fighting characters give us all a bad rep. We thought Tommy and Laurel had agreed to date. When did she go off him? We missed Laurel's cop dad.
Episode grade: C+

Supernatural- A Little Slice of Kevin
Clever title there, no? This was one of the most enjoyable episodes of this current season. We were surprised, since it was a Kevin episode. This just goes to show that Supernatural is always better when Dean and Castiel are together again. We liked the sinister heavenly office woman, Naomi,s and the possible wrenches it could throw in the brothers' paths. We've always thought that a really big Big Bad needs to come onto this show in order to top the Devil. If it's God, part of us will be thrilled and interested (the other half will still be Christian and Catholic, respectively, and will make us feel like the show is attacking a loved one). It kind of needs to be God though. Seriously, how else are you going to top the apocalypse and Satan? We love Mrs. Tran. She's one of the best female characters on this show in a long time. Kevin's a little whiner though.
Episode grade: B+

Nashville- You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)
Thank goodness Juliette has a new love interest who is age-appropriate, sweet, and not Deacon. He's a football player, he's not great, he's a quarterback, he's a goodie two-shoes, and he doesn't drink. Basically, she's dating Tim Tebow. We doubt Tebow can sing though (in fact, one of his teammates said Tebow has a bad singing voice, haha). It's nice to see Juliette be nice, not be dealing with her Crack Mom, not be all weepy and vulnerable, not be throwing her body at older men, and not be stealing. We like what's going on with Rayna, her new album, and her new producer. The election stuff is even starting to get interesting. We so hope that Teddy loses. Scarlett finally dumped Avery. Marilyn is gross. Overall, this episode moved a lot of things forward and didn't struggle creatively as much as previous weeks.
Episode grade: B+

American Horror Story- I Am Anne Frank part 2
Leeard and Ern were discussing how much better Ryan Murphy's shows have been lately. We like this season a lot better than last year. It's scarier, more creative, more fun, more disgusting, and less predictable. We really thought that was Anne Frank last week. We're glad it's not though. "Anne" should buck up. Her husband is hot. We knew she had come across Arden in her research even before the final shot. What we didn't predict was Thredson being Bloody Face, having Wendy in a cooler, and taking Lana to his nasty underground kill room. Nasty.

We have to know what that schoolteacher did about the Shelley situation. We love Demon Eunice for dropping her off at an elementary school. We hope that's not the last we see of Shelley. Or Tio Salamanca. YES, the Nazi hunter was our favorite bell ringer from Breaking Bad. He just needs to give the Nazis one of his hateful looks, and they'll surrender. Sister Jude is back to her old ways?! Intriguing and surprising. It seems that she's more into that asylum than Catholicism. Poor Kit. And Alma's alive? Maybe that will spell a happy ending for Kit.
Episode grade: A-

Supernatural brings back DJ Quarth (ugh), Nashville keeps Scarlett annoying, AHS stays crazy, Modern Family wins, and Arrow can't manage to be believable even for a second

By Josh Hallett  Uploaded by MyCanon (Sarah Hyland) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Supernatural- Southern Comfort
We like Garth about as much as Dean does. We hate when people don't have their own identites, so they start dressing and tlaking like just one other person. At least merge a couple of people together, yeesh. We know a girl who Single White Females another girl we know like crazy. Every time Girl #1 changes her hair, Girl #2 copies it. She wants to go to the same school as Girl #1, she has the same dreams and aspirations, and she buys the same clothes and shoes. It's hilarious, but sad. Garth was already annoying, but now he's doing stuff like this. We dislike him even more than Sam. Sam deserved to get screamed at, and if he attacks Benny, we hope Benny wins and kills Sam. Sam should have died at the end of season five when he went to hell with Satan.

Dean should have then found a way to get Sam transferred to heaven, teamed up with Castiel and Bobby, and continued the show with that gang instead. Sam could have guest starred when they needed a heavenly visit or ghost or something. Because Sam IS a traitor, and he HAS done the stupidest things. We keep forgiving him, and so has Dean, but not us. His girlfriend? Not better than Dean and not worth quitting the business for. She's just a woman who knew how to play hard to get. This show has the worst female characters (except for the blonde incarnation of Ruby and the Harvelle women). We liked the case, but the people on the screen need to shape up.
Episode grade: B-

Nashville-Movie It on Over
After a great pilot, this show kept meandering, tensionless and in a rut. Scarlett's storyline still isn't going anywhere. She's fighting with her insecure, putz boyfriend over the same darn thing. She should have dumped him at the end of the episode. Everyone else eked forward a little this week though. We found out what was up with Teddy and Peggy. That'll lead to nowhere good. Our fingers are crossed for a divorce. We like Juliette and Deacon as just friends, even if they are a little co-dependent. It's weird when he has sex with her, because she's so young. We're sure their relationship will go back to a romantic one, but we're enjoying the break from the skeeviness for now. We also like seeing Deacon's demons come back a little and Rayna hanging the phone up on him for good. It's cool to see her writing songs. We're also glad the addict mom went to rehab. No good songs this week.
Episode grade: B

American Horror Story- I Am Anne Frank (part 1)
Sigh. On the one hand, the last thing poor Anne Frank's memory needed was to be associated with this show. Did it have to be Anne Frank? Couldn't it have been any other Auschwitz inmate? On the other hand, the show kind of got away with it. The way Anne lived made sense. It's remotely possible. Maybe we'll soon find out that she's just crazy. Also, we thought we could trust Ryan Murphy to remember that Anne was probably bisexual (due to a few words her father edited out of her diary before publication). We guess Murphy thought they already covered the lesbian angle with Lana, so he gave Anne a dead husband. Anne is played by Franka Potente of Run Lola Run, a good, but overrated, movie.

So, Arden is actually a scary Holocaust doctor who experimented on Jews. We love that Sister Jude believes Anne. Who else laughed at the chronic masturbating guy? Lana's diversion therapy scenes were hard for us to watch. That would be a hard experience for a straight woman, let alone a gay one. Grace's imaginary flashback was disgusting. We like that she's guilty though. Shelley is being turned into one of those monsters, we think. One of the interesting things about this episode is the commentary that "it all starts with jokes." That's kind of true. Anti-Semetic jokes were being told and written in Germany decades before the Holocaust. By the time Hitler came on the scene, the groundwork was set. Yet jokes about Jews like we see on South Park are funny and actually seem to have an opposite effect.

Maybe it's the tone of the joke: whether it's satire on racists, or whether it's actually racist. Whether it's told in a judgmental way, or whether it's told good-naturedly to a Jewish friend who also jokes about your heritage. Maybe it's too dangerous, and we should scrap them altogether. Especially if Anne Frank is waiting in your local bar to attack you for telling them. This episode was completely over-the-top, with every storyline being far-fetched and absolutely disgusting. But that's this show, and we guess it's time we accepted that. Were we entertained? Yes. Were we scared? Naw.
Episode grade: B

Modern Family- Arrested
Well, we have Haley back. We're glad. She's funny. It's pretty harsh for her to get expelled completely though. It as a surprise. But this was one of the funniest episodes of the season. This year is starting to prove that there are more good one-liners in this show. Cam and Mitchell were apart, so they could only fight in the first couple of minutes. Phil stepped up, and so did Haley. We even liked Gloria and Jay's storyline. It was time to bury the hatchet between Gloria and DeDe. The flashbacks weren't kind to DeDe, who has been physically transformed for the worst in just a few short years. That's age though. It will happen to all of us. Loved the Legally Blonde reference (and that movie).
Episode grade: A

Arrow-Damaged
Deathstroke (the guy who tortured Oliver on the island) looks awesome! It's hard to pull off scary and intimidating in a supervillain costume, but he did it. That was the most interesting island flashback yet. It was good to see island enemies. Okay, it was dumb for Oliver to get himself arrested just so he'll never be suspected again, because now he has his name associated with the vigilante where it really wasn't before. He should have saved that trick for when he was being suspected. When newspapers were starting to associate his re-appearance with Arrow. Also, no one questions that rich Oliver couldn't just hire someone to pose as Arrow? Because he DID, except Dig didn't get paid. Moira is upset that someone tried to kill Oliver...even though she tried to kill Oliver on the yacht. For us, Detective Lance carried the episode. He brings some emotion to things. Oliver is a little stiff. Entertaining episode though. Easy to watch.
Episode grade: B

Yesterday's, Today (Supernatural, Arrow, Nashville, American Horror Story )

By Ewen Roberts from San Diego, CA, United States [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Supernatural- Blood Brother
If we were to describe the contents of this episode to you -- Benny's backstory, Dean creatively killing vampires, flashback to Castiel, Dean ditching Sammy for the case-of-the-week, Sam finding out about Benny, Dean being an awesome friend, betrayal, and allusions to Hemingway -- you might be fooled into thinking this was a good week. Not so. Aside from the completely unoriginal episode title, this episode was extremely boring, especially in the first half. It took Benny way to long to tell Dean his story in the car. By the time they got to Benny's maker's house, the episode was more than 20 minutes in. That's right, a phone call and a drive took that long. At least the look on Sam's face right before the credits was hilarious.
Episode grade: C

Arrow- An Innocent Man
Finally, we have an episode that was as fun as the pilot. The last two episodes had us bored and worried, but this one was serviceable entertainment, mostly thanks to its surprising ending. What an idiot! He needs to change BEFORE he goes on illegal killing sprees. Duh. We like Laurel's cop dad. We're starting to root for him. The truth is, in this show, Oliver doesn't seem that necessary. We don't get the sense that the police are incompetent or corrupt, like in Gotham. They've already caught Arrow, right? They can't be that bad, and Detective Lance doesn't seem corrupt. He keeps making us with the next book of The Dresden Files was out already...

We cringe whenever this show deals with legal matters. Having Laurel be an attorney was a poor choice for a show that already walks the line between believable and ridiculous. That judge would have stayed the execution with evidence like that. We finally realized where we'd seen Oliver's sister before. She's Agnes from Gossip Girl, the model who burned Jenny's dress collection. She's so pretty. Those cheekbones. We watch her and then fondle our own cheekbones (okay, fat cheeks) in the mirror, cursing the Lord (not really, we love him). We also saw a familiar face from Doctor Who.
Episode grade: B

Nashville- We Live in Two Different Worlds
Gunnar and Scarlett's music is so impressive that Ern, the blogger who doesn't like country music, has downloaded two of their songs. Rayna and Juliette's songs suck a bag of d***s though. This week was heavy on the drama, but at least it split Rayna and Deacon up for good. Our main complaint with this show right now is that there's no tension for the viewer and little direction. Where are we going with this? What are the stakes? Peggy and Teddy are either boning or involved in bad business together. We hope it has to do with his financial troubles because an affair would be an easy out for Rayna, and the show needs to conflict. We're having trouble tolerating Scarlett's speaking voice. She just seems like such a doormat, wet-blanket, girly-girl, twit. Nut up and dump Avery. He's a douche.
Episode grade: B

American Horror Story- Nor'easter
So, that ending ruined our lives. Ern is rarely scared by entertainment and can count the times fiction scared her on Mickey Mouse's hand. However, Ern must admit that mutilation is a good way to at least disturb. That was horrifying. Still, we've been desensitized by previous mutilation on the screen (The Last King of Scotland). Poor, poor Shelly. We blame that demon in Sister Eunice. Dr. Arden is the most messed-up person in the whole joint, bar none. Talk about Madonna/Whore issues. Talk about issues with women. What we wouldn't give to have a flashback where we meet his mother. Kit, Grace, and Lana should have kept running past the nasties. Sure, there was a storm, but Briarcliff is hell. We'd take hurricane Sandy over that place.
Episode grade: A-

Here are Nashville and AHS. The other posts and tomorrow's posts might be late....it's Halloween weekend!!

American Horror Story- Tricks and Treats
Well, it's safe to say we can never watch Babe again and look at James Cromwell the same way. The guy is seriously cracked, and we're grateful the prostitute escaped. Adam Levine is gone, after all the buzz about having him on the show. That was quick. Clea DuVall was also murdered by Bloody Face, who clearly isn't Kit, since he was locked up. We are sad to see both of them go, but happy the show isn't opposed to taking important lives in the second episode. We are fans of fast pacing. We rolled our eyes at the episode's kinky ending though. Oh Ryan Murphy, you would.

That exorcism was one of the most unsettling we've ever seen, so bravo. Also, it was great to see that Sister Jude backstory. It definitely sheds light on the way she is and makes her more interesting. Now the demon is in sister Eunice. We finally met Zachary Quinto's human psychologist. We suspect he's in for a dark fate. He's right about most things, but not the exorcism. That possession was legit. We want more background on the nympho, Shelly. Chloe is doing a good job, but when she talks, she reminds us of Velma Kelly in the Chicago musical movie. Not as scary this week, but still entertaining.
Episode grade: B+

Nashville- Someday You'll Call My Name
We want to reiterate: You don't have to be interested in country music to enjoy this show. Singing in a studio can be hard if you're not used to it. Singing live, you focus on power and hitting the notes right the first time. In the studio, it's more about tone and emotion. You don't have to be loud at all. Habit tells you to hit big notes though. Scarlett's problems seemed to be more mental thought. Ugh, we know that Juliette was going through emotional turmoil, but we hate that she stole something from a store. That's the dumbest thing privileged girls do. Just when she gets sympathetic, the show makes her unintelligent again. We have to give this show props for its original music, which is a lot better than the original music on smash. Everything Scarlett and Gunnar sing is pure gold.

We're surprised that Juliette opened up so much to Deacon. While competing with Rayna and admiring his talent seemed to draw her in, we think she has real feelings for him now. She turned off the vixen charm and got vulnerable. We kind of wish he had said yes to her tour. We welcome the return of the drug-addled mom. It could bring some good drama, and Hayden can sure cry well. Even when she does her "ugly cry face," she doesn't look ugly. Lamar needs to learn to be nicer to people. There's nothing worse than a guy who is bitter toward women (the other way around sucks too). Rayna's little girls are such adorable little singers. We liked their harmony-laden version better than the original. Avery posing as a good boyfriend just to meet Mr. White is going to backfire.
Episode grade: B+

Supernatural, Modern Family, Arrow, and Nashville

By Gage Skidmore (Flickr) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Modern Family- The Butler's Escape
Any episode with a heavy focus on Luke is usually good, but the kid seemed off his game last night. The kid's acting needs to improve. Even Lily delivered her lines more convincingly this week. Cam and Mitchell only fought a little! Jay, Gloria, and Manny's story wasn't as forgettable as usual this week. We hope Alex's meanness doesn't resurface. We like that character as she was. Hayley had a good joke. ("Where did you get that? Forever 1921?") Retro is back in, Hayley. The funniest scene was when Cameron was teaching music at the middle school. We need to see more of that. We laughed aloud when the goth girl slow clapped at the end. Those were the sole big laughs, but this episode wasn't annoying or anything.
Episode grade: B-

Arrow- Honor Thy Father
First half? Snore. It was annoying when Laurel ran into Oliver's arms after they were attacked. Total damsel behavior. Please let this show NOT become a procedural where Oliver threatens a different rich guy every week and uses his stupid Arrow technology to bring the DA's office down on them. Yawn. It's so stupid that anyone would want Oliver in charge of a company, because his two sides are 1) crazy, damaged island boy and 2) drunken party animal with no honor. But yeah, give him authority! The good news is that the show is continuing to show us things that happened on the island. Eventually, we're gonna need the full story to believe it. Also, the yacht was sabotaged. Dun dun dunnnn. The show is still fun, but this episode wasn't as good as last week's. Also, we hate Oliver's little sister.
Episode grade: B

Supernatural- Heartache
It was time for a monster-of-the-week episode, because it's not like the main plot with the prophet and Crowley were as gripping as, say, the apocalypse. We haven't had a procedural week yet this season, so it was welcome. The case turned out interesting, and the interaction with the brothers was good. It was also funny that Dean bought an app. Randa was a decently cool villain and pretty in a different sort of way than we're used to seeing on TV. We like when this show brings up ancient gods. We love that Sam is the sports fan and Dean is the soapy shows fan. We got bored toward the middle of the episode (but that's usual with this show). We wouldn't mind if Sam settled down to have a normal life, occasionally guest starring, leaving Dean to team up with Castiel as a replacement. That would be a much funnier, sexier show. Start writing letters.
Episode grade: B-

Nashville- I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)
Scarlett's little Minnie Mouse voice is making us root against her a little. Is that bad? After much mooning and whining, Scarlett and Gunner are a team. It's hard to get invested in the Deacon/Rayna romance, since she's married (to a weak wet blanket, but still) and Deacon bones fetuses. Eleven years is a long time to date someone though. Maybe the show would be better if so much of the plot for the two women wasn't focused on Deacon. This episode wasn't as good as last week's. Not much happened that didn't essentially happen in the pilot. We liked seeing Rayna and Deacon jam at the Bluebird, even if she's only an okay singer and the song wasn't as good as some of the other songs on the show. It's weird to see Juliette doing her stuff and not think of Taylor Swift, even though Swift seems a lot happier than Juliette.  
Episode grade: B

Nashville- Pilot

gdcgraphics [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

What happened: Rayna James is having trouble selling her album, so her record company gives her an ultimatum- open for the talentless Juliette Barnes or they will stop promoting her album. Rayna tells them where to stick it. She's having more trouble with her father, a rich man who managed to keep Rayna's sister on his side, but not his oldest daughter. Rayna's father is getting her husband to run for Mayor. Rayna doesn't like that. Juliette has trouble with her drug addict mother who is always calling for money. Juliette also seduces one of Rayna's guitarists, Deacon.

Meanwhile, Deacon's niece, a perky little blonde named Scarlett just got discovered in the Blue Bird cafe singing with her new male friend, a guitarist named Gunnar. Gunnar is determined to steal Scarlett away from her boyfriend, the songwriting Avery. If Gunnar is going to be the second half of Scarlett's duo, that might mean problems for her current relationship. We don't really care about this subplot yet, but Rayna's producer thinks this duo might save her career.

What we thought: Whoa, now there's the kind of drama we've been missing in dramas. For not being a singer, Connie isn't bad. She's convincing. I believe it. Her southern accent is more believable than Hayden's too. But Hayden is chewing up the scenery with her role of manipulative, damaged mean girl. She doesn't sound very country, but that's probably why she's referred to on the show as a "crossover artist."

We expected to be solidly on Rayna's side, but the character is surprisingly judgmental, proud, jealous, and unwisely living beyond her means. We liked when she apologized for her "diva dip" though. It's Juliette we're understanding more right now. Who's the protagonist here? Both of them? This is what Smash would have been had the Ivy/Karen rivalry been done right. We sympathize with Rayna wanting that threatening, powerful father out of her life. We like Rayna's balls and her line, "Well you can kiss my decision as it's walking out the door."

Rayna's husband, Teddy, is sweet and supportive, but he lost all their money and caves too easily to Rayna's evil father. Teddy won't be a mayor. He'll be a puppet. Deacon might be a better love interest for Rayna, but now that Juliette's got him, that can't work. We can't wait to see Rayna's reaction when she finds out.

In this show, the songs serve the scenes and story. The story isn't written around songs. We don't want to download any of them. Maybe the protagonist is Scarlett, the poet with the soft voice working as a waitress. She's more Karen than Juliette is. That's not necessarily a good thing. It's annoying that she never thought of turning her poems into songs, even though she lives in Nashville, works at the Bluebird Cafe, and has a nice singing voice. Come on. What a drip. Let's hope she was lying to Gunnar to be demure.

Scarlett's song fit the tone of the episode's ending so well. If we download any, it will be that one. It's haunting and hasn't been out of our heads since we watched the pilot last week (this post has been in draft form for a while. This episode was released on hulu early.)

Bottom line, this episode was entertaining the whole way through, and the blogger writing both this sentence and the initial draft of this post isn't interested in Nashville or country music. This pilot set a LOT up. This was a smooth hour of TV with drama that's not over-the-top. We can see why it's being called a must-see. We'll keep watching for now.

Episode grade: A-