The best thing about “When You’re Tired of Breaking Other Hearts” was Deacon and his rowdy new puppy soon-to-be-named Sue! That’s not to say it wasn’t a good episode, just that puppies are really, really adorable. And confuddled, curmudgeonly bachelors trying to tame them are even cuter!
First things first, I have a confession to make: I don’t like Rayna James very much. I want to love her, but I find her self-involved and unrelatable. It’s strange because Juliette Barnes is the definition of self-involved … and yet I adore her! I think it’s because Juliette was introduced a selfish brat and she had nowhere to go but up. Her layers are slowly being peeled back as she redefines her image and re-examines her lifestyle and relationships. She embraces her inner bitch, but she’s evolving as well. Rayna was practically depicted as a saint – a true artist and family woman, who refused to compromise her vision or her integrity for anyone. She was saddled with a ruthless family, drowning in an unforgiving industry and stuck in a mediocre marriage. But she always plays the victim and it’s getting on my nerves.
I hate how she pushes Deacon away then tries to tell him what he can and can’t do. It frustrates me how she dismisses and belittles Juliette as an artist even when they’re supposed to be working together. And I’m even starting to take Teddy’s side in their divorce! This episode she called Juliette to scream at her for holding a poorly organized concert where Maddie was injured. Granted Juliette made some mistakes but it’s not her fault that Rayna’s teenage daughter lied about a history project so she could break her grounding and watch a concert. Rayna accused Juliette of not caring how her actions affect other people. Wow – glass houses Rayna, glass houses. Then she gave Teddy a hard time for buying Maddie’s lies and not watching her like a hawk. Rayna acted like he wasn’t capable of taking care of the girls when he’s practically been a stay-at-home dad while she was on tour. I just get the feeling that I’m supposed to think she’s hard done by … but I don’t.
This episode must have pushed a lot of buttons for me, because I was also frustrated by Jolene and her addiction counselor, Dante. During one of their heart to hearts with Juliette, Jolene tried to call her daughter on ignoring her at one of her first big shows. Juliette pretended she hadn’t seen her and somehow she was declared uncooperative. Juliette’s mother is a drug addict who barely parented her at all and used her for money when she became famous. And yet Juliette swallowed her pain, paid for rehab, invited Jolene to live with her and agreed to be poked and prodded emotionally to help her mother heal. Juliette is the injured party in this situation so cut her some slack if she doesn’t want to drudge up painful memories right now! Then later Juliette actually admitted to Jolene that she did see her at the concert years ago and chose to ignore her because she was embarrassed. Yeah, because she had a lot to be embarrassed about! Juliette apologizes. Hmpf. I’m sorry, but ignoring your drug addled mother (briefly sober or not) at one of the first moments you’ve been able to rise above the hell she created for you seems pretty reasonable to me. Jolene should be the only one apologizing … for pretty much Juliette’s whole life.
Sidenote: the one person who does have a valid case for yelling at Juliette? Her poor frazzled assistant who is on the verge of breakdown. Poor girl just recently graduated from mall employee and she’s now handling all of Juliette’s affairs. Time to get a new manager!
Also acting like a jerk this episode? Gunnar. But in his case it was warranted. He was still mourning Jason’s death and he pushed Scarlett away and spiraled into dangerous territory. He skipped the showcase with Rayna and Marshall Evans and almost got himself killed trying to avenge Jason’s death at a shady bar. But he’s still my sweet Gunnar … and he managed to see past the black clouds pretty quickly. He let Deacon talk him down off the ledge and back into Scarlett’s warm embrace. The pretty massive downside of Gunnar’s brief trip to dark side is that Scarlett performed the showcase alone and Rayna wants to sign her as a solo artist. Noooooo! After she gave Avery a hard time for bailing on his band, Scarlett better not ditch Gunnar for a ride to the top.
Speaking of Avery – he still exists, he’s still a first class idiot and he’s back in Nashville after literally torching his big record deal in Atlanta. So … that’s annoying.
Back to the cute and fuzzy of it all! Deacon’s unnamed puppy was peeing, whining and causing a fuss so he took him to an animal hospital. The helpful hot vet informed Deacon that he had a very serious case of “it’s a puppy” on his hands. She implored him to name his dog and aroused his interest with her confounding disinterest in country music. Deacon asked her out on a lunch date, but took her to bed instead. When Coleman learned of Deacon’s tryst, he shook his head and encouraged Deacon to actually date women for realsies. Like with his pants on. It’s like he’s still sitting around waiting for Rayna (duh!) and he’s purposely making himself unavailable. Deacon returned to the vet and offered to escort her on a proper outing.
To sum up the episode:
– Rayna stopped playing the blame game and is properly co-parenting with Teddy
– Juliette is embracing responsibility
– Gunnar and Scarlett are finally on the same page personally … but in a professional tough spot
-Deacon’s dog is now named Sue and he’s (temporarily) off the path of self-destruction in the dating world. YAY!
Photo Courtesy of ABC
