Primetime Nashville: "Don't Open That Door"
Season 2, Episode 5: “Don’t Open That Door”
Rayna (Connie Britton)’s voice gets tested, and someone gets arrested on last night (Wednesday, Oct. 23)’s episode of Nashville.
A Family Up In Flames
Tandy (Judith Hoag) gave information to the police that could ruin Lamar (Powers Boothe) during the last episode, after she discovered he was involved in her mother’s death. However, to receive immunity, she is forced to not talk about the situation with anyone, including sister Rayna. That decision comes back to bite her later in the episode. She discovers that after a blowup with label chief Jeff (Oliver Hudson), Rayna had told Jeff that she was going to buy out her contract with Edgehill and fully fund her boutique label Highway 65. She would need $20 million to make it work, and persuaded Lamar to give her the funds to complete the buyout.
After the meeting with Jeff, Lamar is arrested for racketeering, extortion and conspiracy. Lamar, meanwhile, thinks Teddy is behind his arrest.
Moving On
Juliette (Hayden Panettiere), ready to move on with her career, holds a press conference about her tour; astute viewers will notice a few of Music City’s own in the audience of reporters.
None too pleased with opening act Layla, she devises a plan to shorten Layla’s performance time on the tour by inviting Will (Chris Carmack) to audition for an opening slot on the tour. He successfully completes the audition, signing on for the tour.
Of course, she needs a guitar player in order to tour. She first turns to Deacon (Charles Esten), who reveals that due to his injury, he is out of commission. Juliette also lets it slip about Rayna’s injured singing voice.
She then turns to Avery (Jonathan Jackson), offering him an apology; when he still turns down the guitarist offer, she gives him the keys to her top-shelf studio as a goodwill gesture.
Fear Factor
One of the episode’s most dramatic moments comes after Juliette lets it slip about Rayna’s voice to Deacon. Deacon, still convinced that his own music days are over, confronts Rayna about her voice. He repeatedly asks her, “Can you sing?” until she finally replies, “I don’t know! Everything is different now.”
Later in the episode she faces her fear that her musical gift is gone. Rayna surprises Juliette at a charity event by asking her to become part of the Grand Ole Opry. Superstar singer Luke Wheeler is also at the event; an impromptu onstage performance request from superstar Luke forces Rayna to test out her voice in front of an audience of fans. She performs the entirely appropriate “Best Songs Come From Broken Hearts” (penned by Bonnie Bishop and Ronnie Rogers). After a shaky start, she proves that her voice is indeed in fine shape, delivering an emotional performance and drawing a standing ovation from the crowd.
Friends of Friends
Avery, Gunnar (Sam Palladio), and Zoe collaborate on a song called “Be My Girl” in this episode; Zoe and Gunnar’s relationship later turns physical.
Meanwhile, Layla (Ashley Peeples) uses Scarlett’s trusting nature against her at a red carpet event; earlier in the episode a media trainer tries to prepare Scarlett for working a red carpet and speaking to media. Later in the dressing room while preparing for the show, Layla notices Scarlett trying to memorize her talking points; Layla rips up the notes and tells Scarlett to be herself. That advice proves disastrous after a reporter asks Scarlett about her uncle Deacon’s carwreck.
The episode ends with Scarlett O’Connor (Clare Bowen) stomping through Deacon’s front door, clearly upset about her first turn on the red carpet. She and Deacon sing “This Town”; the song was co-written by Jaida Dreyer, Cory Mayo and Andrew Rollins.
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