BWW Recap: CMAs and Crazy Confrontations Keep NASHVILLE in Chaos

Another year, another round of Country Music Awards, and a pretty accurate standing of how our favorite NASHVILLE characters are doing 6 episodes in. 6 inevitable nominations for superstar Rayna James- even more of a milestone since the launch of Highway 65. 5 nominations for her country icon Luke Wheeler- expected. The notion that the combined eleven nominations are only the result of the world-famous engagement sending Rayna into the doubt and turmoil we've seen for the past few episodes? Also expected. A nomination for the emerging Sadie Stone (ahem, otherwise known as our favorite Broadway star turned country queen Laura Benanti), who just signed to Highway 65 and has the most adorable gal-pal friendship with Rayna, a nomination for Will Lexington, whose not-so-stoked wife Layla Grant watches in (obvious) envy, and not a one nominations for the infamous Juliette Barnes. Sounds about right, no?

The writers are throwing every possible love interest at Gunnar at full speed ahead, and while I appreciated the drama and intrigue it brought to the show, it's not a tad annoying. With Zoe on the road, and the ex-girlfriend/ mother of his child about to skip town, Scarlett once again because the confidant. Of course, I have always loved these two together, but the constant back and forth, will-they/ won't-they of three potential couples gets a bit old after a while. Gunnar just had a huge bomb dropped on him- how about you stay away from the girls and maybe take a second to enjoy your CMA, alright?

The Jeff and Teddy bromance continues to grow, as the Will and Layla "fauxmance" spirals out of control. Teddy is blowing off his daughters to have dinner with the enemy (albeit some women are involved), and Layla has surrendered to the alcohol. These are the two relationships I am having a hard time predicting, I'm interested to see where they both end up. Clearly Layla and Will have entered dangerous territory (technically Teddy has, too, he's just blissfully unaware), but there are so many factors involved and invested in their marriage- however much of a sham it is- that the last thing they can do is divorce. Neither being the finest of actors (did you see Will's reaction to Layla showing up at the CMAs? Hers, too, for that matter), exposure is right around the corner, which keeps me interested despite the Gunnar story arc.

I've said it before and I'll say it again- the NASHVILLE writers need to seriously consolidate a bit. What was once a show of interconnecting storylines and characters is now pretty much a ton of separate shows, with the common link of...well...Nashville pretty much. Rayna and Luke are across the country, Deacon has his own, detached story going on with the unimportant character Pam, Juliette and Avery have less screen time together than I (obviously) would prefer...and there's some awkward, forced romance trying to form between her and Derek Hough's character, Noah. And that's not even all of it. For an avid watcher of the show and a fan since the pilot, it's exhausting. I miss the days where everyone was connected in some way or another, and all of the characters had screen time with one another at least every few episodes. There is just too much happening, and too much action being squeezed into each episode, that character development and story arcs get lost in translation.

Something else confusing? Juliette's incredible mood swings. She begs for his forgiveness, then completely blows him off. She then comes back, seconds after rudely firing Zoe for pretty much saving her ass, and confesses her love to Avery once again. I get it- she's pregnant, and she is in love, and everything gets a bit crazy, but Avery does not deserve this. He is in turmoil too, and if they could both discuss their feelings and realize they are pretty much perfect for each other albeit their tempers and stubbornness, we could skip to the happily ever after that comes with this baby. It's not that hard...really.

Country music fans got their silver lining with real-life star Sara Evan's appearance, both onstage and onscreen. From announcing to CMA nominations at the start of the episode, to performing alongside Luke Wheeler live in concert, we were treated to yet another country star amongst our favorite fictional ones.

Despite my dislike for Pam's complete unnecessary presence and somewhat obnoxious demeanor, it was a breath of fresh air to see her reunite Deacon with his love for music. Something had to pull him out of depressed funk, and it was a revelation to see that saving grace be his guitar, and not necessarily Rayna. Moments like these are why I absolutely love Deacon Claybourne (and why I wish more than anything he could be the father Maddie deserves during this teenage angst she's currently going thru...while Teddy is making out with random women (ahem...prostitutes) alongside Jeff Fordham).

Alright, Nashies, I'm taking it to you...who do we dislike most right now? Take your pick: Jeff Fordham (crazy manipulator), Teddy (far from Father of the Year) or Luke Wheeler (making it obvious he is far from Deacon's #1 fan). We love them, we hate them, and we love to hate them. Who is churning up the most trouble in good ole' NASHVILLE? Let me know in the comments or tweet me @WendiReichstein.

I would like to end with the fact that the official @Nashville twitter account used the purple devil emoji when referencing Jeff Fordham.

Yeah, that happened.

Check out a sneak peek at the next episode of NASHVILLE featuring an appearance on Dancing With the Stars!:

Photo credit: ABC