‘Nashville’ Recap: Maddie Rescues Jonah’s Pal, Brad’s Schooled by Son Jake

Nashville was definitely a crazy trip this week. Between Maddie’s loved-up journey to Miami with Jonah, the pop star’s pal Twig and his tripping-balls adventure on magic ‘shrooms, and Avery’s anxiety-riddled voyage to Bolivia to rescue Juliette from the clutches of the Movement, it’s no wonder Deacon is happy to just sit quietly at home, immersed in the same massive Teddy Roosevelt biography he started reading six episodes ago.

Maddie jets off to Miami for three days with Jonah Ford and his various hangers-on, including Twig, whose backstory is revealed throughout the hour, but whose true feelings remain frustratingly vague. Outside Jonah’s concert, his rabid fans crash the gates and surround the car like he’s one of the Beatles. Yoko, uh, Maddie, doesn’t know what to make of it all but doesn’t believe Jonah when he says he doesn’t notice it anymore. Onstage, Jonah invites Maddie to sing with him while Twig observes the scene, casting the first of many furtive glances their way. The next morning, he fixes Maddie a Denver omelet as Jonah breaks the news that he has to go to Austin to audition for a role in the next Richard Linklater film, leaving Maddie in the care of his mischievous merrymakers – and Twig. When the others pressure Twig into ingesting some psychedelic mushrooms, Maddie is annoyed and disappointed. Once he’s back from his less-than-magical trip, Twig opens up to Maddie about his mother’s depression and her uselessness as a parent, which left him to care for his brother and sister at a young age. When Jonah returns, Twig continues to observe them with caution and concern.

Jessie calls to tell Deacon that Brad and his new wife are going to be at the open house at Daphne and Jake’s school, where both students will be performing, although she remains completely clueless as to what her son has up his sleeve. While Daphne sings, Brad seems visibly moved. Either his shorts are too tight or he’s plotting something sinister. Brad is unprepared, however, for Jake’s act, which is a delicious bit of vitriolic slam poetry directly squarely at his dad, not to mention his cruel classmates, none of whom know what to make of it all. After the performances, Brad heaps praise on Daphne but takes obvious digs at Jessie and Jake before slithering back to his cage.

Daphne becomes interested in entering a competition to find America‘s next country star, but since Brad is behind it, Deacon doesn’t want her to have anything to do with it. Later, at Jessie’s, Deacon shocks Jake by telling him how much he enjoyed his performance and also opens up to him about his own abusive dad, which Jake appreciates, even reaching out to shake Deacon’s hand before catching an Uber ride to his dad’s snake pit.

Meanwhile Will, a.k.a “The Hulk,” Gunnar, Avery and their new bandmate Alannah are rehearsing when Bucky calls to tell them reporters want to talk to Alannah… after just two shows with them. “That’s got to be some of record,” Will says, gritting his pearly whites so tightly they’re about to turn to powder. She refuses to do the interview unless they all do. Later, Gunnar and Alannah are in bed eating frozen waffles (which sounds like a euphemism for some kinky sex thing. Sadly, no, they are actually eating frozen waffles). Gunnar is trying to get her to open up and talk but she’s having none of it. Her phone rings and it’s her ex, which unnerves him. He takes pizza and beer to Avery’s and they talk. When the band members sit down for the interview, all the questions are directed at Alannah. The reporter reveals that it was Brad who tipped him off about her being “the next big thing,” which, of course, pisses off Deacon. When the guys get home, Will grumbles yet again that their band, which was supposed to just be something fun, has turned into a showcase for Alannah, who soon gets a text from Brad saying they should talk. He ends it with the cryptic message: “Shiny New.” Even his texts are unbearably slimy.

Gunnar and Alannah’s sniping at each other about their relationship, which is already so tiresome we’re tempted to look for a copy of that Teddy Roosevelt book – to smack the hell out of both of them – has Avery and Will on edge as well. Onstage as the band performs, Will unleashes his anger and aggression on his poor, unsuspecting guitar, playing a fiery solo. After the gig, Will and Gunnar argue, with Will accusing Gunnar of being afraid that with Will in it, the group will become country’s answer to the Village People. (Fun fact: The Village People’s “Construction Worker,” David Hodo, grew up surrounded by country music and could do a “dead-on” impersonation of yodeling singer Slim Whitman as a kid.) Will works out his considerable, steroid-fueled aggression at the gym in a scene resembling a Darren Aronofsky remake of Pumping Iron.

Avery, who is frankly probably grateful for the distraction, tells Gunnar and Will that he’s flying to Bolivia to try to locate his missing wife, who didn’t come home when she was supposed to. When he arrives at the Movement’s Bolivian campus, he demands to see Juliette. When he does, however, she’s detached and distant, telling him she’s not going back to Nashville until…. Honestly we don’t know what the hell she was telling him because the whole stone-faced Jonestown-Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibe gave us a major case of the heebie-jeebies. Let’s face it, we miss the good old days when Juliette was stealing songs from her friends, throwing phones at their heads and watching Jeff Fordham plunge to his death from a hotel rooftop. Now, that was a trip!