Nashville - The Wayfaring Stranger/Back In Baby’s Arms - Review

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  SEASON GUIDE
  
  5.01 "The Wayfaring Stranger"
  5.02 "Back In Baby’s Arms"
  5.03 "Let’s Put It Back Together Again"
  5.04 "Leap of Faith"
  5.05 "Love Hurts"
  
  

Rather than a review, this will be more a list of my ramblings & some short thoughts on the episodes.

— Can we just give Juliette a break, pretty please? Throughout the show, she has been all kinds of broken and now she can add physically broken to that list. It was good that they revealed early on that she survived the plane crash. Not that there was ever any doubt that she wouldn't but I guess I was just worried that the reveal would be saved until the end of the first episode, so I’m glad my worries were for naught.
And while the plane crash left her temporarily bound to a wheelchair, she has remained mostly the same: A little defeated but still petulant and stubborn. She still cares too much about her public image and tries to do everything on her own, pushing Avery away thinking he is only by her side because he pities her.

— It’s gonna be interesting to see when/if Juliette is going to walk again. Although she hasn’t made a lot of progress and her diagnosis is pretty grim, I’m leaning more towards "when" rather than "if". I don’t believe Juliette’s paralysis is meant to be permanent and I’m almost certain that Juliette regaining her ability to walk is going to be a huge part of the potential religious storyline the new showrunners have mapped out for her.

— I’m so, so disappointed in Will. I know, I know. Nothing happened. But Will let things go on for way too long. He should have shut things down back in the restaurant. Instead, he came thisclose to making out with creepy and icky Jakob when he should have made it crystal-clear he is in a relationship instead of mumbling he is seeing someone. And then he goes on and lies to Kevin about what happened. Sigh. I don’t like where this is headed. The fact that Will couldn’t be completely honest with Kevin, coupled with his sudden proposal to move in together to convince himself he is committed to Kevin are bad omens for this relationship.

— I like what they did with Rayna in the first episode. Her doing some soul-searching and trying to get in touch with the artist she used to be is something I can get into but I didn’t enjoy her pestering Deacon into making a concept album with her. Deacon did state, very clearly for that matter, that he wasn’t in the right mindset to relive one of the worst years of his life and Rayna refused to accept that and pressured him into thinking about it. I’m glad that the show addressed it and that Rayna/Deacon came out stronger on the other side.

— This Zack guy smells like trouble and is probably the guy stalking Rayna. Although, I was getting strange vibes from the new social media guy as well. Maybe they’re in cahoots? Who knows. Anyway, I hope they wrap this storyline up quickly and that Rayna makes it out relatively unscathed.

— Scarlett. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN DOING?! Can we just stop trying to make Scarlett and Gunnar happen? It just seems like every time they get back together, they fall apart even more as a couple. I cannot deal with their drama anymore. We’ve been through it more than enough times.

— So Maddie is still the same little brat. I couldn't stand her last season and it’s frustrating seeing her so patronizing, dismissive and hostile towards Daphne and I just don’t get why since she hasn’t done anything that warrants such behavior. She eventually listens to what Daphne came up with and then promptly wonders how she knows the words. Well, she’s a better sister than you, that’s why. Also, Scarlett having to explain to Maddie that working with others is the bread and butter of being a music artist is further proof how ill-advised Maddie’s attempt to embark on a solo career was.

— I do hope that Daphne gets her own storyline this season, rather than being a side-character to Maddie’s. I think I made it pretty clear I find her to be a better character and I would love for her to receive increased screentime and become a more fleshed out character.

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The Season 5 premiere was kind of a mixed bag. "The Wayfaring Stranger" was a solid episode that focused on the show’s two leading ladies, resulting in a good hour of television whereas "Back In Baby’s Arms" was an underwhelming episode that was dragged down by most of the characters doing things they shouldn’t be doing.

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