“Nashville” faithful will see the proof that true love really will go to the ends of the earth in this week's seventh episode of Season 6 “Can't Help but Wonder Where I'm Bound.” Even when a devoted heart commits to the journey, it doesn't always mean that the one sought will turn back and be true. Two weeks have gone by, and Avery (Jonathan Jackson) has a band catching fire, but no word from Juliette (Hayden Panettiere).
His repeated attempts to make contact only hit stone walls, so Deacon (Charles Esten) asks a simple question to help him resolve the situation.
Deacon and Jessie (Kaitlin Doubleday) keep drawing closer and build bridges of understanding between one another's children, while her ex-husband, Brad (Jeffrey Nordling) is being his typical snake-in-the-grass self in the shadows. Maddie (Lennon Stella) goes deeper into Jonah’s (Nic Luken) world and winds up helping his friend, Twig (Dylan Arnold) through a very bad trip.
Will (Chris Carmack) is headed for a crash himself, loading up on HGH and super doses of steroids, drowning his heartbreak in heavy workouts.
Alannah (Rainee Blake) seems completely a team player with the boys, but she also has a side hustle of her own going. Gunnar (Sam Palladio) can't quite handle a woman who doesn't just wilt over him yielding his heart.
Commanding performance
Maddie reminds her dad that she is an adult and will take care of herself as she departs to meet Jonah in Florida. Meanwhile, Deacon and Jessie are seated just a little in front of Brad and his current insignificant other at the school talent show, where both their children deliver individually jaw-dropping performances. Maisy Stella continues to develop and demonstrate her artistic talents in her own right, portraying Daphne as she beautifully delivers the song “Unravel” with her soulful and earthy tones.
Jake, portrayed by Myles Moore, gives a scorching indictment of his dad in rap rhythm, denouncing the name of “Maitland” right in the face of his father. Papa, of course, doesn't know how to respond, but both Jessie and Deacon offer enthusiastic support.
The band is still blazing for Will, Avery, Gunnar, and Alannah. Bucky (David Alford) calls with an offer of a major interview, but only with Alannah. She will only agree if the entire band participates. Only after the interview is it revealed that Brad Maitland orchestrated the publicity, and Alannah is taking his calls in her car. Gunnar feels himself falling deep for her, while she insists there are no ties between them. She casually bids farewell after a sizzling show, which usually means spending the night for him.
Tracking down truth
Since Avery confided his fears about Juliette and The Center for Coherent Philosophy to Deacon already, he goes to him again, especially when Juliette does not come off the airplane that is supposed to bring her home. Deacon asks, “You got a jet, right?” That question is all the confirmation that Avery needs to fly to Bolivia, and see his wife for himself, and convince her to come home with him.
Jonah gets a call for a movie part and leaves Maddie in the usually responsible care of his closest friend, Twig. Despite Maddie’s fervent warnings, Twig consumes an offering of “spice,”mushrooms or some related substance, and immediately feels the effects. Maddie takes him to safety in a bathroom and stays with him through the night, and the two find common ground from the cold floor.
Will has a near collapse at the gym, but it will probably take more of a catastrophe before he realizes the damage he is doing to himself. Alannah turns up at Gunnar's doorstep. Jessie and Deacon finally find intimacy on their own terms.
The same morning, Deacon has an earnest talk with Jake, telling him how much he respects the truth of his work, even if he is “too old” to critique it. He relates his childhood hurts with his own father, and the honesty of the conversation brings Jessie to tears as she listens from a bedroom.
Avery is crushed to discover that the stonewalling he gets from the repeated attempts to speak to his wife is not the only barrier he must scale. Finding her at last in a sparse room at the foreign compound, Juliette quotes straight Darius dialogue, without emotion, saying that she's “more myself” than she's ever been.
No matter the tears in her husband’s eyes, she refuses to leave, explaining that he was part of the problem, even if he didn't know what he was doing. She insists that she has to learn how to” fill the hole” in her heart. He declines to ever let Cadence come to the place, so her mother will “Facetime every day” in lieu of being present for her daughter. “I've already made my decision,” she tells Avery, turning away, and leaving him no choice but to walk away.
Next week, February 22, will be the “Nashville” midseason finale, and “Nashville” fans will have a long wait until the second half of the season resumes in the summer, so enjoy every last minute, even if favorite characters’ choices leave them crying.