As last week's recap and an article from CMT reminds us, crushes turned to friends with benefits, dates were sabotaged, and friendships were made. This week, TV Line hints that more trouble's brewing when it comes to Juliette and Avery's relationship (as if we didn't see that coming). With that being said, let's get down to it:

Positive affirmations lead to a 'first time'

Jessie calls Deacon to inform him that her ex Brad will be at the school event tonight and to be prepared for anything. She tells Deacon to be on his best behavior. Daphne does a solo piece at school that night, and she does a wonderful job!

She's come a long way from having difficulty performing without Maddie by her side. Brad, in particular, seems to like Daphne's performance (will he try and recruit her into his label?). Up next is Jake, who gives an...interesting spoken word (if that's what you want to call it) that clearly disses his father. They awkwardly applaud him off the stage.

Brad downplays Jake's performance while singing Daphne's praises and informs her she's a star in the making. He got a chance to get under Deacon's skin, and he took it (and it worked). Deacon clearly is suspicious of his girlfriend's ex-husband's intentions.

Daphne wants to enter a talent show that Deacon tells her is run by Brad (so basically, no). She looks like she's going to enter anyway. This is a nice nod back to Maddie when she did something similar.

Deacon visits Jessie right when she tells Jake to get ready to stay with Brad. He hasn't packed, and Jessie goes to do it herself, leaving Deacon and Jake alone in the kitchen.

He talks to Jake about his own father and how he fell into his father's trap and inherited his worst qualities. He informs Jake not to do that and encourages him to keep doing what he's doing (all while Jessie listens in secret). It's a nice moment, and definitely the type of encouragement Jake needs. Jessie couldn't be prouder of her man, and it turns her on enough for them to finally make love (and Deacon doesn't break down this time!).

Is Juliette coming home?

Avery and Cadence are at the airport excitedly waiting for Juliette to come from Bolivia...except that she doesn't come off the plane at all. Avery gets an apology from the pilot for the mix-up. He got a call as soon as they arrived in Bolivia saying that Juliette wouldn't be coming home, and assumed Avery was already informed. He obviously has not been informed. Avery is concerned since Juliette isn't even picking up her phone. He decides to call Darius's cult, and they tell him that they can't give him any information. He threatens to call the police, but they assure her that Juliette can call whenever she wants to.

"So why hasn't she?" Avery snaps. It's the question of the hour, and so far, no one has the answer.

Avery talks to Deacon about his concerns, and he resolves she'll come back when she feels like it, as she does with everything else. After Gunnar continues to prove how bad he is at "friends with benefits," Avery voices his concerns about Juliette to his buddy. He's just not sure how things are going to go this time.

Deacon tells Avery that maybe he should take his jet to Bolivia to see his wife for himself. And just like that, the lightbulb goes off. After an awkward performance, Avery snaps on Gunnar and Will during their argument, saying that the band is the least of his worries right now due to his missing wife and the fact that he'll be leaving for Bolivia at six in the morning.

Just like that, Avery's on a plane, and in Bolivia! He arrives at the camp's front office, and after the receptionist tells him he needs to schedule an appointment, he snaps on her and demands to see his wife. She excuses herself. Is she going to go get Juliette or security? Thankfully, it's to Juliette...who looks less than enthusiastic to see her husband. Juliette tells Avery that she lived for everyone else and that she's no longer going to do that anymore. She's leaving her old life behind, but Avery isn't trying to hear it. He wants her to come home with her, but she refuses to do so. She says that Cadence can come live with her or that she can FaceTime her. She tells a tearful Avery that neither of them is the problem, but she is.

Despite his pleas for her to come home, Juliette kisses Avery goodbye and sends him on his way.

Maddie comes for Jonah but stays for Twigg

Maddie has packed for a three-day getaway with Jonah and immediately cuts off Deacon before he can even give her some (more than likely much needed) wise advice. She arrives at Jonah's house, and just before he can kiss Maddie, Twigg interrupts and drags his buddy inside. The love triangle is definitely confirmed. On their way to his concert, Maddie's taken in the scene. Tons and tons of fangirls surround his limo and even attack it (as in banging relentlessly on the windows in excitement).

Jonah brings Madie on stage and they perform a duet. We see them getting up and close and personal on stage while Twigg watches halfheartedly from the audience. In the morning, Twigg and Maddie talk over breakfast while Jonah's on the phone. When he gets off of it and returns to his friends, he's less than pleased to see Jonah whisk Maddie away. Turns out that's not the case. Jonah informs Maddie that some work-related things have come up and that he has to go. She's clearly bummed, but Twigg now has an opportunity to get to know her better, right?

Interestingly enough, Twigg doesn't seem to be all that close with the rest of Jonah's posse, and who can blame him? They're very annoying, something that Maddie picks up on fairly quickly as they pressure him into eating some "weird" food that he initially doesn't want to try. Twigg ends up tripping out, and his "friends" laugh and taunt him. Maddie takes him away from the annoying group to soothe him and calms him down. Twigg and Maddie talk about how he hates not being in control and talks about his own life. His mom became depressed after their father abandoned them, and he was always his siblings caretaker. He says he's interested in producing and has a few things on his laptop, and Maddie wants to see.

The next day, Twigg thanks Maddie for last night and before he can give her his number, Jonah arrives and they're back to being all lovey-dovey, much to Twigg's disappointment.

Alannah's star rises (as does Will's temper)

The band is playing together, and Alannah is now doing solo bits with the boys in the background. A sign that she's definitely getting more prominence. Bucky calls and Gunnar puts him on speaker phone (much to his chagrin), and he tells them that reporters want to interview...Alannah. Yikes. She tells Bucky that he needs to tell the reporters that it's all of them or none of them. How long will that last? Later that night, Gunnar and Alannah are having fun with their no strings attached adjustment, but Gunnar is already trying to get to know her better (that's not how this works, sir!).

Before they can really talk, Alannah gets a call from her ex, and quickly goes into another room to take it. As expected, Gunnar's not pleased.

The next day during the interview, Alannah keeps praising the group instead of answering questions that are directed solely towards her. Will tells the boys that they don't need Alannah, and should've stuck with their original group. Avery, being the neutral party he is, says that while Will has a point, Alannah is something special. Will, annoyed with the group, leaves in a huff. Meanwhile, Alannah gets a text from Brad Maitland telling her that these interviews are just the beginning for her. Brad's got his hands in just about every storyline tonight!

Personally, I'm not getting why our boys aren't telling Alannah to jump on this opportunity. Each of them are stars in their own right, so why not encourage Alannah to go down that same path? At their next gig, Will shows up late while Gunnar asks Alannah if she was sleeping with his ex. She tells him that it's none of his business. If Gunnar's jealousy is going to be an issue, then she will walk. Well, that was blunt but that's what our boy needed to hear. The performance goes pretty well...until Will's guitar playing overpowers their vocals. Our other three members aren't pleased with his antics but complete the song anyway.

Alannah wasn't pleased and Gunnar points out that Will hijacked Alannah's parts, while he replies that she hijacked their whole group. Could this be the steroids causing Will's behavior? More than likely. This is confirmed when Will ends up having some sort of attack at the gym after working himself like crazy. He nearly passes out right at the gym.

Nashville continues to kick their storylines into overdrive as it quickly approaches its mid-season finale. How will the show wrap things up before it goes on hiatus for a few months? Tune in next Thursday at nine on CMT to find out!
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