[soapbubbles511]

"A Little Bit Stronger" (5x06)
Episode Discussion Thread









Air Date: February 2nd, 2017 at 9 pm EST on CMT

Episode Description:

Rayna and Deacon beef up their home security after Rayna’s encounter with Carl Hockney. Juliette draws closer to her guardian angel Hallie. Avery leaps back into performing.

RULES:
1. Remember that people may be fans of certain characters/ships/actors, so take that into consideration when discussing!
2. We know you won't like everything about the episode, but try and be constructive when you are critiquing something.
3. No talk of illegal downloading. Please use PMs for links to live streams and such.
4. Remember, everything is a spoiler until the show airs on TV.
5. Thank you, and enjoy the episode!

[jbshmdfb]

Looking forward to this one. Looks like most if not all of the cast is in it.

[nashville fan]

TFTNT

Counting the days until this one airs. I need to see how J/A are interacting since the bed scene and also how Juliette gets Avery to church, if he willingly went or if she had to "encourage" him a bit. (He looks a little uncomfortable in the promo.) Hope we see S/G's video. And I want to know more about the Stalker story. (I'm liking that one a lot.) Want to know just a little more about Clay and Maddie...not a lot just a little more.... and I'm really looking forward to see how the writers are going to handle Luke and Wheelin' Dealin' Records.

^ Jb, you are right. Looks like the whole cast will be in this one.

[soup333]

Originally Posted by nashville fan (View Post) TFTNT Counting the days until this one airs. I need to see how J/A are interacting since the bed scene and also how Juliette gets Avery to church, if he willingly went or if she had to "encourage" him a bit. (He looks a little uncomfortable in the promo.) Hope we see S/G's video. And I want to know more about the Stalker story. (I'm liking that one a lot.) Want to know just a little more about Clay and Maddie...not a lot just a little more.... and I'm really looking forward to see how the writers are going to handle Luke and Wheelin' Dealin' Records. ^ Jb, you are right. Looks like the whole cast will be in this one.

I'm willing to bet that Juliette ain't twisting Avery's arm to get him to church.

[jbshmdfb]

Well I honestly thought I would love this episode.... I was wrong. Let me start with the positive :

D/R are again centric and well written. The Luke/Rayna and the Juliette/Rayna was really well written eventhough I would have love to know if Luke is with his ex wife or just happy happy. And an update on Colt and Sage would have been nice but helas.

Daphne and her love interest were cute but I don't need to see it more than this.

now off to the rest : The writers obviously don't know what to do with Juliette and Avery. They don't have them talk and when they do it makes little to no sense or is repetitive. I am at the point where I wonder why they just don't write them off. They never talk about past issues except for the same one over and over and Avery is reduce to being a compliment machine. And seeing how supportive Juliette was about him having a performance, it's stupid that he hides the manager stuff from her. It's not a mistress that he is hiding yet you would think it is.

The Scarlett seing herself thing is just stupid to me. And no Gunnar... of course they would have the plot contrive it be that she goes alone and not with him to see the video so that she has that moment of seeing herself with Damien.

Maddie and Clay... at this point I feel like these two have had in the last two episodes more issues talked about than J/A and they just met.... this is ridiculous.


So yes call me a negative Nancy if you want but this is not the show I feel in love with. It's not the crapfest that was season 4 but at least there was better balance then. Cause aside from no Layla and Luke, most of the problems are still there. Still randoms getting more songs still lack of great story except for one couple.

[KellieW]

Originally Posted by jbshmdfb (View Post) Well I honestly thought I would love this episode.... I was wrong. Let me start with the positive : D/R are again centric and well written. The Luke/Rayna and the Juliette/Rayna was really well written eventhough I would have love to know if Luke is with his ex wife or just happy happy. And an update on Colt and Sage would have been nice but helas. Daphne and her love interest were cute but I don't need to see it more than this. now off to the rest : The writers obviously don't know what to do with Juliette and Avery. They don't have them talk and when they do it makes little to no sense or is repetitive. I am at the point where I wonder why they just don't write them off. They never talk about past issues except for the same one over and over and Avery is reduce to being a compliment machine. And seeing how supportive Juliette was about him having a performance, it's stupid that he hides the manager stuff from her. It's not a mistress that he is hiding yet you would think it is. The Scarlett seing herself thing is just stupid to me. And no Gunnar... of course they would have the plot contrive it be that she goes alone and not with him to see the video so that she has that moment of seeing herself with Damien. Maddie and Clay... at this point I feel like these two have had in the last two episodes more issues talked about than J/A and they just met.... this is ridiculous. So yes call me a negative Nancy if you want but this is not the show I feel in love with. It's not the crapfest that was season 4 but at least there was better balance then. Cause aside from no Layla and Luke, most of the problems are still there. Still randoms getting more songs still lack of great story except for one couple.

Totally agree with you.

I thought perhaps we would finally get a Juliette/Javery centric episode. Wrong. Yet again it is D/R centric. Looks like next week is yet another one too. These guys do not know anything about balance because the airtime is so uneven it is not even funny. Time for Rayna and Deyna to get the Juliette and Javery treatment.

Bring back writers who can balance the airtime because after 6 episodes this is downright ridiculous.

Think I will just record next week because it is obvious from the promo & description J/A are once again an afterthought in it. Can't believe they are treating their best 2 actors on the show like this.

[jbshmdfb]

Originally Posted by KellieW (View Post) Totally agree with you. I thought perhaps we would finally get a Juliette/Javery centric episode. Wrong. Yet again it is D/R centric. Looks like next week is yet another one too. These guys do not know anything about balance because the airtime is so uneven it is not even funny. Time for Rayna and Deyna to get the Juliette and Javery treatment. Bring back writers who can balance the airtime because after 6 episodes this is downright ridiculous. Think I will just record next week because it is obvious from the promo & description J/A are once again an afterthought in it. Can't believe they are treating their best 2 actors on the show like this.

I don't even reconize these people anymore. I don't know who these Juliette and Avery are but they aren't the ones we had in the past 4 seasons. I thought the S/G rewritten history was bad but this is just unbelievable. No way would Layla not be brought up, no way would Avery think he should hide his success from Juliette, no way would he reduce to a compliment machine, no way would they not talk about having sex and the aftermath. These people who used to be best friend don't talk AT ALL and they are living together. It's so frustrating.

And the writers need to see that it's not working. I don't complain cause it gives me joy. I am extremely disapointed that after months of waiting for this show to come back it's barely what is use to be. The only lucky characters are Deacon and Rayna who are written perfectly. The rest... not so much.

[Clemgo3165]

I don't know, we saw a lot of Rayna but Deacon is basically her satellite and its driving me nuts. Wasn't he a sought after guitarist and band leader at one time? Didn't he have his own slot at the Bluebird? (Where is the Bluebird this season?)

Liked that Daphne had a bit of a storyline for once.

I liked the Javery stuff this week. Liked that she supported him and that in the end he was supporting her. I do think they've been avoiding the hard conversation, but I think that's because things aren't entirely normal yet.

Scarlett seeing herself for the first time in the creeps creepy video was just silly. She reminded me of her mother right there.

Nice to see Will. Is there something between him and the rich guy?

Overall I liked the ep, liked Hallie's singing, loved the banjo playing, but wish that the guys, aside from Avery, were getting some lives of their own.

[soup333]

I need to see this again before even addressing Javery. I can't even speak on it right now.

I thought Scarlett looked insane in the video and I'm over that entire song, Damien and her attitude. Was Gunnar was babysitting Cadence? Why would she have gone to see the video alone? Maybe I wasn't paying attention during that scene - if she even bothered explaining his absence at all. I do not care about this plot at all and actually don't even care about Scarlett anymore. I do want to see Gunnar again, hopefully happy. And single.

I did love everything Daphne as usual. She's adorable. Actually like the Deyna scenes but this stalker storyline is just a time consuming downer.

If I never see Maddie and Clay again it'll be too soon. I've been over her and now I'm over him and his passive aggressive phone message. And for the life of me, I can't understand why people are praising Rayna's talk with Maddie. No way would Maddie have talked to me like that but whatever. Par for the course with her and her parents. Also, hate to say, but based on this episode I think all rumors are true. Y'all know the one I'm talking about.

Loved seeing Luke and thought it was hilarious that his second song was If I Drink this Beer and Rayna was there to hear it. I thought they had a really nice conversation.

I hated the bluegrass song of Hallie's when I previewed it on iTunes, but I thought it fit the scene well. Seemed like something kids would get into singing.

ETA: I hate the video. HATE it.

And I thought this episode was very choppy. Not even like some of the better stuff from previous seasons. And why even mention Juliette's PT is trans? What purpose does it serve to the story? None. Oh, just wanted to make sure the audience knows. Pointless. I thought it would tie into Juliette's story but I guess they couldn't be bothered with that.

[jbshmdfb]

Originally Posted by soup333 (View Post) I need to see this again before even addressing Javery. I can't even speak on it right now. I thought Scarlett looked insane in the video and I'm over that entire song, Damien and her attitude. Was Gunnar was babysitting Cadence? Why would she have gone to see the video alone? Maybe I wasn't paying attention during that scene - if she even bothered explaining his absence at all. I do not care about this plot at all and actually don't even care about Scarlett anymore. I do want to see Gunnar again, hopefully happy. And single. I did love everything Daphne as usual. She's adorable. Actually like the Deyna scenes but this stalker storyline is just a time consuming downer. If I never see Maddie and Clay again it'll be too soon. I've been over her and now I'm over him and his passive aggressive phone message. And for the life of me, I can't understand why people are praising Rayna's talk with Maddie. No way would Maddie have talked to me like that but whatever. Par for the course with her and her parents. Also, hate to say, but based on this episode I think all rumors are true. Y'all know the one I'm talking about. Loved seeing Luke and thought it was hilarious that his second song was If I Drink this Beer and Rayna was there to hear it. I thought they had a really nice conversation. I hated the bluegrass song of Hallie's when I previewed it on iTunes, but I thought it fit the scene well. Seemed like something kids would get into singing. ETA: I hate the video. HATE it. And I thought this episode was very choppy. Not even like some of the better stuff from previous seasons. And why even mention Juliette's PT is trans? What purpose does it serve to the story? None. Oh, just wanted to make sure the audience knows. Pointless. I thought it would tie into Juliette's story but I guess they couldn't be bothered with that.

Funny you mention that about Gunnar because my first thought when Avery was performing while Emily and Juliette were at church was who is watching Cadence? Glenn, Gunnar, Will?

As for the video, how is that even a video, it's Scarlett making faces in a mirror. Sucks to be Gunnar.

[kittycats]

Originally Posted by jbshmdfb (View Post) Funny you mention that about Gunnar because my first thought when Avery was performing while Emily and Juliette were at church was who is watching Cadence? Glenn, Gunnar, Will? As for the video, how is that even a video, it's Scarlett making faces in a mirror. Sucks to be Gunnar.

I don't have anything, particular, to comment on storyline wise. But, did anyone else think that everybody Looked great in this episode? Not that they usually look bad, but, they all looked fresh, rested, Connie looked Fabulous. Lighter make up, flawless. Hayden also just looked beautiful. The guys😈😈😈Yeah!

Different make up artist, lighting? Did they get a nice restful breaks between episodes?
Or did I just do an extra fine job of cleaning my TV screen 🙃

[jbshmdfb]

Originally Posted by kittycats (View Post) I don't have anything, particular, to comment on storyline wise. But, did anyone else think that everybody Looked great in this episode? Not that they usually look bad, but, they all looked fresh, rested, Connie looked Fabulous. Lighter make up, flawless. Hayden also just looked beautiful. The guys😈😈😈Yeah! Different make up artist, lighting? Did they get a nice restful breaks between episodes? Or did I just do an extra fine job of cleaning my TV screen 🙃

nope not just your tv. Everyone looked amazing. I even surprised myself thinking Luke looked really hot. And the ladies were beautiful. Oh and JJ in that last scene with the paps.

[soapbubbles511]

Overall I really liked a lot of things about this episode

Really happy that H65 is buying Wheelin Dealin. I've wanted both Will and Juliette back on H65 for a long time. Will initially chose Edgehill over H65 because he was afraid of being honest about himself on H65. So now that he's ready to be honest about himself I'm glad he's back on H65. And Juliette left H65 because she was cutting herself off from the people who cared about her so I'm glad now that she's better it's coming back to H65. Luke ended up being better to them than I think either of them were expecting but he's gone so I want both Will and Juliette connected to things at H65. Loved the Rayna/Juliette scene. Hopefully more of that coming now. And liked the Rayna/Luke scene too.

Loved the DR family stuff. I think the Maddie stuff plays better if I ignore S4. This is much more the kind of thing I wanted for DR/Maddie so I'm just ignoring last season. Maddie is such a naive bratty child but at least in a way that makes much more sense than taking her parents to court. I really liked the Maddie scenes with both Rayna and Deacon. And a couple points I was really happy to see brought up, that Rayna was with Deacon when she was Maddie's age, and also when she was Maddie's age her mom was dead and so she never had these kinds of fights (with her mom at least... plenty of fighting with Lamar). But so ready to shift away from parenting and stalkers for a minute and for them to finally work on their album

Daphne is such a precious little cupcake. She can have a story any day over Maddie.

I hope they continue with Avery and his band. He deserves some career success besides half finished albums and being a buffer for SG. I'm liking the Juliette/Hallie stuff. Liked that Avery went with Juliette to church at the end. Wish they'd had more conversation

Whatever about Scarlett and that video. Don't even care anymore if she ends up in bed with the director.

[DebBlue]

This show has lost its way. It's become too political and has done so in a year in which many of us are sick to death of political issues and "correctness".

But now the show seems to be determined to make it all about "issues". Can't the show just be about the music, about Nashville's uniqueness, about the countless places to see and hear artists, the countryside, the food and so much more? They are, as far as I know, the only scripted show on TV right now that is about country music and a southern city. So... writers, take advantage of that.

And where are the country music guest stars? I would love to see Darius Rucker, The Band Perry, and so many others guest star.

As for the JAvery storyline, I'd like to see Avery do far more musically. The Julia Gets Religion story line is a bore. The Claddie story line is annoying. I like seeing Rayna as a woman at the top of her company but Deacon has been reduced to being her houseboy and babysitter. And Scarlett, the actress is beautiful but I've had it with her facial "emoting". It's become bizarre.

I hope I like Sun Records better.

[FAB47]

Oh Nashville I despair. I'm literally hanging in by a thread here.

Javery conversation was just weird they have a shed load of interesting issues to talk through but they just repeat the same theme every single time. Loved Avery performing but I'm over the church stuff already - could they just move it along.

Scarlett . The video . I just can't. What the heck was that all about ?? I want to see more Gunnar with his own story. Get him a new love interest preferably one that CAN SMILE.

Get Deacon something to do other than hang around the house. Just get the man on stage with a guitar please I miss that SO much.

Please a break from Maddie just please please I would literally rip my right arm off right now for an episode without her. Daphne is the coolest as always.

Loved Luke's return and I was never even a big fan of his !!

Why did they bother with the PT being trans it had NO POINT . I thought it would play into Juliette's story but what was the point of just mentioning it like that ? Was it an issue they needed to tick off the list ??

I feel as if the only person they are writing well is Rayna. I'm seriously worried about the show if these rumours are true about Connie. I always felt that the show could survive without her but now I'm not sure. They are writing everyone else so badly what fans will be left to stick around ??