“Nashville” fans who live for the good songs and a heavy dose of “huggy-kissy” scenes will lap up Episode 5 of Season 6, “Where the Night Goes,” which holds lots of charm and some really good music while introducing a new character, Alannah (Rainee Blake), whose talent can hang “with the boys” just fine.
Deacon (Charles Esten) gives one of his most emotional and powerful performances since losing Rayna (Connie Britton) last season. Yearning and wanting to find lasting love again with Jessie (Kaitlin Doubleday), but still amidst the pain of loss, the actor's performance is vulnerable and very touching, and one to be remembered by “Nashville” faithful.
Darius (Josh Stamberg) makes a strong pitch to Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) to throw herself into a service project to help sexual assault and trauma victims in Bolivia as if there are no such people in need in Nashville. The signs are clearly more and more cultish, yet Juliette is caught up in her new sense of self-discovery. Ghosts of Jonestown seem to be calling.
Avery (Jonathan Jackson), Gunnar (Sam Palladio), and Will (Chris Carmack), are getting more and more buzz, not to mention gigs, in their incarnation as a trio, and opt to look for a female singer to relieve Gunnar from “singing all the high parts” and give shape to a signature sound.
Maddie (Lennon Stella) has to confront unwelcome limelight in her relationship with Jonah (Nic Luken), while he does all he can to prove his sincerity.
There are sweet and surprising turns to this night in “Nashville.”
The new girl
Avery, Gunnar, and Will make the rounds at clubs, listening to singers, but never hear the right one. About to give up, Avery hears a voice, and wonders who it is. Alannah is fronting an all-girl band and bringing not just the voice, but the creativity essential to any band.
She is ready for the stage, the road, and whatever comes ahead. A native of Sydney, Australia, Rainee Blake was picked for the part in Los Angeles, where she was doing a one-woman show retrospective of Joni Mitchell's “Take Me As I Am.” Blake brings her own chutzpah to the cast, and isn’t going to be a character willing to be a wallflower.
The lovely ballad, “Hold On (Not Leaving You Behind),” cements her as the right choice and proves the chemistry.
Deacon and Jessie are diving deeper and deeper into their new relationship, and can't keep their hands, lips, or much else away from each other. They plan a night of their own when the kids are away, and Deacon covers his purchase of “protection” at a drugstore with the obvious incidentals, including an inquiring fellow customer asking, “Do they work?” (Not spoiling the fun here.) The scene that could have been out of “American Pie” is all the more poignant and sweet because these lovers are seasoned.
Despite their willingness and passion, Deacon breaks down with Jessie, apologizing for not being able to make the night what they hoped.
He opens up about still grieving Rayna, and how his daughters seem to be handling the loss better than him. Jessie reminds him that these emotions can’t stay bottled up, and they indeed share a different kind of night together, opening up about the past, their dreams, and almond brittle ice cream. Talking over Jessie while she sleeps, Esten brings a beautiful sensitivity, saying he must be “broken inside.” Even new love can hurt at the start, let's hope these two hold on.
During a show at the Bluebird, Deacon performs a delicious ballad, “Looking for the Light” which Charles Esten treated audiences to on “Today” last month.
Maddie is still making her mind up about the price of loving someone famous when Daphne (Maisy Stella) shows her a video of Jonah’s ex-girlfriend performing a new song, “You Can't Have Him,” which targets her directly by name.
Jonah makes an early morning visit to talk with her, telling her how much she means to him, and that he doesn't feel “like a freak” in his own life when she is beside him. He asks her to an event for his new EP and makes it clear that she is the center of his attention. Deacon cautions his daughter about not letting her own identity be swallowed up in Jonah’s, but he leaves the decision to her. A very “normal” run to a doughnut shop gives Maddie more to love.
Gone again
Jessie is worried, and she wakes the next morning, confessing to Deacon that she can never survive or stay in the shadow of Rayna Jaymes. He comforts her and assures her that he is content with her, just as she is. Deacon and Maddie arrive home from their romantic nights at the same time, a telling sign of growing up, and the growing into new relationships occurring for both of them.
Daphne is home early from her sleepover, full of questions, but doughnuts help smooth things over.
Juliette comes to Avery in the night, and they share tender moments as a husband-and-wife on the couch, while she assures him that he is “more important than anyone in the world” to her. Avery is compassionate to his wife's recent revelations but doesn't trust Darius. Juliette agreed to give her husband “some time” to come to terms with the situation. The next morning, though, she is nowhere to be found in their home. He calls her on her phone, only to get voicemail. It is no mystery that Juliette is Bolivia-bound. Will her husband, daughter, or Nashville see her again?
