Nashville Review: Nobody Knows But Me (Season 3 Episode 18) NASHVILLE - "Nobody Knows But Me" - With the arrival of his former fiancée in Nashville, Jeff finds himself face-to-face with Jade St. John (played by Christina Aguilera). A powerhouse pop-star in Nashville on tour, Jeff is forced to revisit his past and work with the woman who once played a large role in both his personal and professional lives. Meanwhile, Deacon continues to cope with his cancer diagnosis - a secret that weighs heavily on his family -- especially Maddie, who struggles with the news herself. While Juliette is eager to get back to work following the birth of her daughter, she quickly finds balancing motherhood and a music career challenging to say the least, while Avery struggles with his own responsibilities and his Triple Exes bandmates, on "Nashville," airing WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Mark Levine) CHRISTINA AGUILERA

Nashville Review: Nobody Knows But Me (Season 3 Episode 18)

Amanda Coyne Nashville, Reviews

Lots of things were wrapped up this week on Nashville, “Nobody Knows But Me” and Juliette is bringing the drama. I kinda feel like they’ve been reading my reviews…

The good:

  • Doctor Dork – This is what Gunnar has nicknamed Hot Doctor, and I like it way better than “Hot Doctor” because, let’s be honest, he is pretty much a big dork.
  • Deacon and Maddie – After lots of silent treatment, Maddie admits to Deacon that she has a hard time being around him because he makes her sad. She also calls him out on being ‘embarrassed’ about having cancer, which he seems to take to heart. Deacon is shaping up to be a really sweet guy underneath all that cowboy attitude.
  • The most hilarious dialogue of the season – happens while Teddy is dropping off the 400k (in cash, in a duffel bag) to the hooker. As he leaves, she tells him that he is “a good man” to which he responds “maybe now I can be.” I mean. While he is dropping off 400k in cash to a hooker in a seedy hotel room. Self-awareness does not seem to be Teddy’s strength.
  • Oh and Teddy is going down – turns out our dear hooker is wearing a wire. So after all that, Teddy is back to having successfully blackmailed exactly zero people. Maybe he will get carted off to jail, and we won’t have to deal with him for a while.
  • The coming drama stars Juliette – with the drama between Deacon and the girls and the Teddy situation beginning to get wrapped up, I was excited to see that the drama that is simmering up is all about Juliette. After giving birth, she’s struggling with balancing life and itching to get back to recording. Unfortunately, Avery has been busy with the band, so she’s been with the baby quite a bit. Behaving like the old Juliette that I love, she up and hires a live-in nanny and gets on a private jet to go record a song… without telling Avery. I feel for Avery, especially since he feels so guilty about not being around baby Cadence that he quits the band, but I’m pretty pumped to see Juliette getting up to her old tricks (as long as that’s what this is).

HAYDEN PANETTIEREThe bad:

  • Jade St. John – what is that name? Played by a pink-haired Christina Aguilera, pop star Jade St. John turns out to be Jeff’s ex-fiancé. He convinces her to let Layla open for her, and then introduces her to her idol Luke. As much as I love Christina, the whole “Jade St. John” character is cheesy. Couldn’t we have had Christina play Christina? She is already a pop star.
  • Layla’s continued adoration for Jeff – is really starting to get to me. Doesn’t she see how slimy he is?
  • Deacon and Luke – make up, and I’m bummed. I wonder how Rayna will feel about her men now that they aren’t fighting over her. I mean, I guess it’s noble that Luke puts his feelings aside when he learns that Deacon has cancer, but still. I’m hoping this truce doesn’t last.
  • Maddie and Colt – speaking of things I hope don’t last, Maddie and Colt have been sneaking around together, and it’s just weird. I get that they still like each other even though their parents broke up, but I feel like that would be so weird for Maddie. Girl needs to find some normal people to hang out with. Also, I don’t love that she ends up being allowed to go to the Jade St. John concert after telling her mom that she doesn’t respect her. That punishment needed to last longer.
  • Gunnar’s stalker tendencies – at this point, Gunnar’s obsession with Scarlett is getting inappropriate. He’s crossed the line from hoping to win her back to being mad at her because she isn’t into him. That’s not okay.

And the part I’m most on the fence about? Back to Juliette. It’s clear that Juliette is struggling with motherhood. This is one hundred, thousand percent understandable. I’m just a little worried about how this storyline is going to be handled. I’m hoping that her meltdown is treated carefully. It seems to me that we are dancing pretty close to the topic of postpartum depression. That’s great if the writers handle it with compassion and honesty. Not so great if it is framed as the behavior of a crazy famous person. Maybe I’m reading into this, but the look on Juliette’s face when she was watching Cadence in her crib made me very, very nervous. I love the drama, but I hope it is handled appropriately.

I’m cautiously optimistic for the next episode.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Nashville? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to add your rating!

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Nashville airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on ABC.

 

Amanda is an associate editor for Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer, teacher, and pop culture enthusiast with a love for 30 Rock and The Mindy Project. She is also the proud mother of two orange cats. Follow @amandarcoyne