Nashville Recap: 'Can't Get Used to Losing You'

Bars owned by alcoholics.

Eating dinner in a restaurant. 

Haircuts.

Rooftop memories flooding back.

Family members who fly in from NY for one scene and disappear.

What's that spell? Nashville.

Immediately Post-Jeff

Juliette is suffering from one of the world's worst hangovers when she's greeted by a bunch of cops at her hotel door. "Guess who's dead? You get three tries. If you get it right we get to question you!" Layla's having an even worse morning than poor ol' busted Juliette, on account of she was in love with that hot piece of garbage (much like myself). The detective she's speaking to has already apparently got deets on Jeff's finances and says that he was in debt (student loans, man), that he was fired, and that making plans with Layla was just the false hope of the depressed. Well, that was needlessly harsh! We don't see how Luke and his Sexy Business Friend take the news, 'cause their segment of the opening was mostly about showing off how fun and cool and sexy and chill they are.

Jeff had a sister, apparently, a stone cold ice queen with sleek black hair pulled back off of her face, and she reminds me of a character named Lilith from a little show called Cheers, and I think I'm just going to watch Cheers any time she appears in a scene. I bet the show improves dramatically. But anyway, she is as amazing and terrible as Jeff and tells Layla to GTFO while she takes care of Jeff's things, and that she's not invited to his funeral. I really like the idea that he may have been the nice one in the family. 

Luke's son, another male character with a four-letter name that I struggle to remember (Colt? Bolt? Biff? Beef?), is being a big ol' crybaby about seeing one dude fall off a building one time. He was drunk when he saw Juliette up there and Jeff save her-slash-lose his footing and looked for his dad, but couldn't find him, so I guess he went to his hotel room and … waited? Instead of calling the cops? 

Luke, his kid, and his Sexy Business Friend have a heartless but necessary business conversation on how to keep his drunk kid safe, Luke's "lifestyle brand" in the black, and minimize any damage to them as far as Jeff's death is concerned. Just as soon as SBF says everyone associated with the tour needs to keep their freaking mouths shut, they see Juliette on TV wade through reporters and tell them Jeff's death was a suicide. 

On the private jet (a phrase I get to use a lot with this show) Luke and SBF confront Juliette about poppin' off at the mouth. Luke also tells her that "someone" saw her on the roof with Jeff, but she denies it, presumably because she literally cannot remember it happening. She also says that she's not going to miss a performance on account of just one dead Jeff. Luke's dumb kid (Cord? Ford? Finn? Ferb?) is mad that his dad isn't telling everyone that Juliette was up on the roof, but Luke threatens to take away his phone, basically, if he doesn't keep quiet. It's pretty devastating to lose one's phone privileges, so (Cole? Joel? Jett? I give up) acquiesces. 

Layla & Juliette 

Layla is real fucked up over Jeff's death, and because I guess she doesn't have any family or friends, she calls Rayna who puts her on Luke's flight back to Nashville. The only person she's got is her gay ex-husband, who takes her to her house filled with boxes that Jeff had packed for her while they were away. It's really upsetting! She asks Will to stay the night with her. Will isn't telling anyone he and Kevin broke up, and it's awkward. Handsome lovely Will is a good friend to Layla and puts all her stuff back just in time for surrogate mother Rayna to come by and take over. Layla tells Rayna that Jeff's family is full of evil assholes who won't even let her get a memento from his house or tell her where he's going to be buried. That is pretty harsh! 

Back in Nashville, Juliette is all messed up and still drinking. And asking her driver/security person/hired friend/hired goon to get some pills for her. She also advises Layla to forget Jeff ever existed, and her wardrobe person cops one of the best "disdainful and incredulous" faces I've ever seen on this show. Juliette denies ever being up with Jeff on the roof, until Luke's son busts into her dressing room before Jeff's memorial and accuses of her being a dirty liar. She flashes back, of course, to a woozy rooftop remembrance. And at Jeff's memorial second before the start of the concert, it all comes flooding back … right after she gives a short, terse speech about Jeff and tells Layla that he didn't think Juliette was worth a damn. Of COURSE he died saving her dumb life. She refuses to go on stage. 

So Layla takes over for her! It's her third big break, and she's more sympathetic than ever! 

And Juliette admits to Luke that she finally remembered and that Jeff died saving her from killing herself. That's probably a bad idea! Just go to rehab (good first move) and keep the terrible secret to yourself. 

Rayna & Deacon

Deacon, an alcoholic, has purchased a bar (formerly 3rd and Church — the real 3rd and Church features two parking lots, some kind of medical office, and a corner shop with Western Union … underneath more parking) that he will rename The Beverly in honor of his poor dead sister. We may scoff at the alcoholic opening a bar, but let me remind you all of a little show called Cheers, and how good that was. I'm going to just watch Cheers any time there's a segment in Deacon's bar, I bet the show improves dramatically. Bidness is tough with all the new "hipster joints" popping up, says the other bar guy who used to be Deacon's AA sponsor, but Deacon's going to turn it all around! 

His buddy gets no love for his music set at his own bar, but Deacon says he's going to make sure people come there for the music, not the booze. Well, this actually raises an interesting question! Is it a bar with a stage, or a music venue that serves alcohol? Because the two are not the same. His friend also asks why he didn't tell Rayna that he bought a damn bar. Because he's stupid? Because they're all stupid? Because there's no such thing as a "smart" person on this show, but "savvy" people who are heartless and cold? Anyway, I don't care. What's Norm up to? Now there's a four-letter name I remember.

Rayna is like "Maybe it was a stupid thing for an alcoholic to buy a bar," and Deacon is very hurt at this! Doesn't she understand he bought the alcoholic-enabling business to honor his sister who died giving him organs for those he destroyed with alcohol? This makes way more sense than (this is just off the top of my head) setting up a music scholarship for poor kids in their hometown, donating or volunteering at a homeless shelter which would be full of alcoholics who don't have sisters to pry organs from, writing a song in her honor, writing an autobiography dedicated to her, mourning and moving on with life, planting a memorial tree, etc. I could go on, but Rayna just refuses to go to his dumb bar. 

Rayna tells Bucky her concerns about Deacon owning a bar. But Bucky thinks it will be fine. Like, why? Deacon's fallen off the wagon like six times in this show's history. But Rayna finally agrees and goes to support her idiot boyfriend and his dangerous dreams. 

Scarlett & Gunnar

Scarlett, a bottle of hand soap labeled "gluten free" for no reason, finally got around to watching Rosemary's Baby and chopped off all her hair into a pixie cut, and it looks real good. She tells Dr. Boyfriend that she's decided to go on tour (with her ex) and that she'll be real busy with rehearsals (with her ex) so this relationship is going to come to an end soon. She meets Gunnar and their manager and the manager is annoyed with her new haircut since they just spent a ton of money on merch (with their faces on it, which is stupid) and she's like "Tell the poor sick babies that I donated my hair to that you want it more," and haha, I LOVE MEAN SCARLETT. This is the best she's ever been! 

She goes out to dinner with Dr. Boyfriend and he's upset because she's late and texting at the table in the fancy restaurant and talking about signing important band papers so he gets testy and they bail. Wow, who could have seen that coming? (Anyone who has lived in the world and seen how little respect a busy woman gets. HE'S A DOCTOR, you telling me he's not constantly distracted by work? ANYWAY.)

Gunnar, a moron, wants to hire the sound girl with a nose ring that he's occasionally banging. Scarlett interviews her with Gunnar, and the chick has a modicum of ethics and says that she and Gunnar are "super chill" and won't be a problem on tour. False, but nice of her to try anyway. Scarlett, who was apparently holding all her annoying traits in her hair, lays down the law on Gunnar like "You need to concentrate on work and not be a fucking little baby while your secret girlfriend is on tour with us," and Gunnar is like "IT WAS MY DREAM FIRST" and ugh I hate Gunnar now and like Scarlett, it's a topsy-turvy world out there guys.

Dr. Boyfriend feels bad about being mean, and gives her apology flowers and offers to fly out and visit her often on tour. He's being nice! (For now.) Good for him! (For now.) But Gunnar is so mad at Scarlett for being normal for once! He stomps home in a huff and weeps for his woes like a big dumb baby, and Will throws some REAL TALK at him about everyone else having real problems (death, abandonment) and also that Kevin dumped him. He tells Gunnar that maybe he should think for like just one second before he starts pulling people into orbit around him. But Gunnar doesn't take that advice and decides for sure to bring her along.

Avery

Avery has decided to move out of Gunnar's house, which is also Will's house, I think, to find a place for him and Baby Cadence, The Baby Who Exists. Seeing as he's got a successful career as a producer or whatever and he's divorcing a millionaire, he should have no trouble finding any place in town in THIS market!!! (