I'm Not Falling for that (Nashville) Trap Again

 Many months ago, I realized how badly I wanted Nashville to stick around. ABC cancelled the show and it was picked up by CMT, with episodes to air the following day on by beloved Hulu. We have really been through the wringer with this last season. I really questioned myself why did I want this show to come back? I had given up watching live, restricting it to the DVR. These are some of the highlights:

The Ryman, the "Mother Church" of country
(C) PipPepPop

• An out-of-control, depressed starlet (Hayden Panettiere) drives away her husband (Jonathan Jackson), fails to take care of her newborn and causes her manager to fall off a roof.
• A teen pop star (Lennon Stella) rebels against her famous parents that finally are getting married after 15+ years. They are also hemhoraging money from their record label. 
• An out country star (Chris Carmack) continues to struggle with acceptance
• Exes on tour that still have feelings for each other (Clare Bowen & Sam Palladio)
• The woe that is singing TV show winner Layla Grant (Aubrey Peeples). 
• We can't forget the singer who shot her ex-husband in cold blood 
• The blip of a story about a talented homeless singer who goes missing...

     It's January and Nashville is finally back. The first episode of the two hour premiere was available in December and premiered on CMT's sister station TV Land. Last season, there too much high-scale drama. I felt overwhelmed. To put it lightly, I had to remember why I had fallen in love with the soapy show in season 1. It began as a rivalry between two famous songstresses.  Juliet Barnes, a young entitled diva had to perform and share a record label with  her should-be mentor Rayna James, a Reba-esque "old guard" country darling. Rayna desperately wanted to prevent Juliet from making the same mistakes she had, but Juliet was often too proud to accept that advice. There were artists struggling to make it, and a helluva lot of  government corruption and family drama. At some point, we lost sight of the simple drama of the show and  it went off the rails. There were too many story lines, too many characters, and there was too much at stake. I was emotionally numb at some points.

     What was my first impression of season 5? I cried like a baby watching the episode (which is quite unusual for me). It was clean and beautiful. I had the feels from these characters in a way I haven't felt for them in a long time. Rayna got her happy ending last season, marrying her longtime love and collaborator Deacon. He's finally sober, and their girls are fighting about songwriting, somewhat like normal teens. But Rayna is a singer with nothing to sing about. Her record label is not making any money. She first created the Highway 65 label to be in charge of her career but she sacrificed singing. She's lost on many levels at this point. She needs to find her voice again and remember her passion before all the crazy drama and stepping into the role of businesswoman. She begins a drive across the USA to clear her head and do some thinking, even singing with a blind man at a gas station while her husband anxiously awaits her return. Deacon's niece Scarlett has reconciled with her band mate/ex Gunnar. They got thrown off their tour because Gunnar ended things with the headliner, but they're one big happy family for now.

     Juliet is also going on a journey. I think she's long-overdue for a priority re-adjustment. Juliet was the only person to survive the season-ending plane crash as she was rushing home to reconcile with her husband, Avery. She is confined to a wheelchair and her survivor's guilt is eating at her. She was such a terrible mother, wife, and friend before the accident, but by some miracle, she was spared. She is focusing on a woman that comforted her after the crash, singing to her until the ambulance arrived. Perhaps this mystery woman is the key to Juliet once and for all getting over herself.

     The first hour was beautiful. The second hour was downright boring. It was conflict for the sake of conflict. Rayna comes home from her cross country trip (scared to fly after Juliet's accident) and proposes she and her hubby record a "concept" album together. He picks a fight about always having to agree with Rayna, even if he is against the idea. He's had a lot of pain, and he doesn't want to sing about it. Juliet is even more committed to forcing her husband to track down the woman that saved her. She still doesn't seem to be interested in her child, giving up after the baby won't eat from the spoon she is holding. It was great to see Juliet's long-suffering assistant/babysitter/paid friend Emily again. I hope that character is paid well because Juliet is one of the worst humans to work for, and time and again, Emily sticks by her. Gunnar and Scarlett begin fighting after their headliner Autumn invites only Gunnar to rejoin the tour. She continues to come unhinged when their next single appears to be a song Gunnar wrote about another woman. Lastly, Will gets hit on by a fashion designer? who offers to "dress him", right in front of his boyfriend. Will recently got back together with Kevin after a lot of  "gays don't belong in county" hate. With this poor guy, it either rains hate and beatings or it's come-ons by famous men. There is no in-between. Better luck for tonight's episode 3 on Hulu.