Rayna and Luke have gone public with their relationship, and Luke is really bonding with Maddie and Daphne, especially Daphne, who is enjoying the father figure with a lack of Teddy in the picture. Luke has casually bought Rayna a freaking NASCAR ad on the actual car and invited her to perform her new single and announce her album drop date at a private sponsor showcase he’s playing. Rayna spies Sam Boone, who is basically Mr. Walmart, and decides to woo him for shelf space, offering to show him round the Opry etc. It’s all going well until he tells her that shelf space is decided over a year in advance so she won’t be able to get any. However, growing public outcry against Juliette means Sam decides to stop stocking her albums and he tells Rayna her albums can replace them; one withering look from Maddie and she declines, not wanting to do business the Edge Hill way (girl there’s this thing called iTunes, you’ll be fine). It’s clear also that Luke is pro-Rayna despite being signed to Edge Hill and Jeff is furious, attempting to block off her release with those from Edge Hill.
Scarlett is getting into the studio to record her debut album, and Rayna has paired her with Liam. Initially they begin to record ‘Crazy Tonight’, that she’s been performing on tour, but Liam stops everything and tells her he’s not interested unless she wants to record something personal, that means something. He steals her journal, much to her freak-out, and locks her in the studio while he reads it. He accuses her of being a screwed up soul on the inside, and she resists his attempts to dig into her, but ultimately his questioning wears her down, and she admits that her mother was in and out of psychiatric wards during her youth, and they begin to delve into a poem called ‘Black Roses’, turning it into a song. They’ve been working all night, and Scarlett falls asleep, but wants to bring in a piano player so they can put it down on tape right there, so Liam gives her one of his prescribed amphetamines to wake her up. As Scarlett carries on working with little sleep, she begins to take more, with a new storyline opening up.
Juliette is being forced to read a teleprompter apology by Jeff at her induction into the Grand Ole Opry, and it’s a sad sight to see. Maddie goes to see her idol before her performance and something seems to change in Juliette, prompting her to ignore the pre-planned apology and firmly hold her ground in her own little speech, launching into a performance of a new song, ‘Don’t Put Dirt In My Grave Just Yet’. Awkwardness ensues, and it’s clear that she’s made a mistake, retaining her pride or not. Jeff tells her they’re dropping her, but Juliette reminds him he’s lost two of his biggest-grossing artists within a few weeks. Oops Jeff! Either way, things have come to a halt for her and she decides to take a break, making some interesting-looking food for Avery and going over to “seal the deal” with him.
Juliette’s tour is pretty much over with venues cancelling all the time, and Will and Layla’s press tour has come to an end because of it so they’re back staying at Will & Gunnar’s place (why is Layla homeless? Where did she live before?). Layla wants to learn how to write songs so she ask Gunnar to teach her, but she doesn’t like the fact she has to write from a personal place and actually say something (ha, like that is actually a requirement in the real world), and she storms off. Yet, when Will finds her hours later, she’s tried and tried to prove Gunnar wrong, but she can’t come up with anything, complaining that she’s always tried to live up to what her parents expected of her, and that she’s not herself anymore. Will says he understands how she feels, and there’s a little moment of truth in his eyes when he realizes he cannot lie forever. Gunnar talks to Layla again, and tells her to start keeping a journal, like Scarlett did.
Deacon has been told to release a duets album as his first record with Bellecourt, not something that he’s keen on doing despite the fact it’ll give him some profile in the marketplace. He asks Juliette but she declines given her current reputation, and he decides instead to release a live album from The Bluebird. Yet, he seems to question himself again, when Avery asks him why he needs fame now, all of a sudden. Meanwhile Teddy is trying to push through the Lamar murderer theory, but is getting blocked because he has no proof. Tandy is out hiding because she is the star witness in her father’s case and she doesn’t want to testify. The feds take her in but she and her lawyer drop the bombshell that she illegally obtained the incriminating documents because she no longer worked at Wyatt Industries, so she cannot be star witness. Lamar is then released, and Megan begins to be convinced by Teddy’s theory on him, that he’s untouchable.
That’s it for this recap of episode 13, but tune into ABC tonight at 10/9c for more jam-packed action from Nashville!
