Tonight on ABC Nashville starring Hayden Panettiere continues with an all new Wednesday May 4, season 4 episode 18 called, “The Trouble With the Truth.” and we have your weekly recap below for you. On tonight’s episode, regaining Maddie’s (Lennon Stella) trust proves harder than expected for Rayna (Connie Britton) and Deacon, (Charles Esten) especially when a supposed ally hinders their efforts.
On the last episode Rayna reached out to Teddy to help bring Maddie home and avoided escalating things in court. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed it, we have a full and detailed recap right here for you.
On tonight’s episode as per the ABC synopsis, “Regaining Maddie’s trust proves harder than expected for Rayna and Deacon, especially when a supposed ally hinders their efforts. Meanwhile, Scarlett and Gunnar clash over their past in a press interview; and Luke’s good intentions backfire.”
Tonight’s episode looks like it is going to be great and you won’t want to miss it, so be sure to tune in for our live coverage of ABC’s Nashville at 10:00 PM EST!
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
#Nashville starts with Rayna getting ready for the court hearing. Deacon is up and in a suit and tie. He tells her she’s a good mother but she says why are we facing our daughter in court. He blames Cash and says a judge won’t rule in favor of a 16-year old runaway.
Emily and Juliette talk and then Glenn runs in to listen to the Academy Award nominations and they’re thrilled that she was nominated. Her phones start ringing immediately. Scarlett wakes to pounding on her door and is told she’s late for Rolling Stone.
She yells at Gunnar to wake up and he curses. Will is in the shower and the radio plays one of his songs. He’s thrilled and steps out to listen even though the deejay said he’s not sure how management will feel about it. Scarlett and Gunnar shower fast and run for the interview.
Gunnar asks if she wants to talk about what happened or if it was just the scotch. She says it’s not just the scotch. They make it downstairs. Rayna and Deacon talk to their lawyer and he says no outbursts from any of them. Deacon says no problem.
Frankie is there and they wonder why. He says Cash asked him to come and Deacon says what Cash is doing is wrong and Frankie says kids don’t listen. Maddie, Cash and the lawyer come into the room. The judge comes into the room.
Avery wakes to a call from Juliette early and she tells him about her Oscar nomination. She asks who it is when she hears Layla. He says he does not have to explain himself to her then says he has to go and hangs up on her. Emily says the talk shows are calling.
She says J looking down and she says Avery’s with Layla. Juliette is furious. J rants to Emily who says she didn’t think Avery was with her. She says she had no idea. Juliette says she asked him for another chance and he said he loved her.
Juliette says Layla is manipulating everyone. She says she’s stealing my life. Emily asks why would she do that and light dawns in J’s eyes. She knows this is about Jeff. Layla asks why Juliette called and he tells her about the Oscar nom. He says he has to go pick up Cadence.
Avery says he had a great time then kisses her and leaves. Scarlett and Gunnar meet with Stephanie the reporter. They talk about how their music started. In court, Maddie says she’s working on her GED and has record label offers.
Rayna says she wants her to be a teen and doesn’t want her worrying about money and a career. She says she and Teddy agree on this and says Cash has exercised poor judgment. Cash says Deacon and Rayna brought her in and says her parents are trying to keep her down.
Rayna says Cash cannot care more about her daughter’s future than her and says she’s exploiting her and is asking at her manager. Maddie says her mother kept her from signing with Sony and won’t include her in any decisions. Rayna says it’s not about control but guidance.
Rayna says she wishes she had someone to guide her. Rayna says please don’t push me away. Emily comes to see Avery and says you’re sleeping with Layla then asks how long it’s been going on. He says last night. Emily says Juliette tells you that she loves you and you sleep with her.
Avery says he just wants a fresh start but Juliette won’t let him go. She says it’s your life then says she hopes he didn’t sleep with Layla to keep himself from being with Juliette. J calls Luke and asks if Layla knows what happened.
He says why are you asking and she says she’s sleeping with my husband and Luke says ex-husband then says you’re paranoid. He says sometimes people just fall for each other. J says Avery would never choose her and she’s got an agenda.
Ken calls Luke and says Will’s single is being played in the top markets and says turn on a TV. We see a woman talking about Luke’s agenda and says they don’t have to be told these lifestyles are normal and calls Will an “avowed homosexual.”
Scarlett talks about her stage fright that took her off tour and how she was lucky to get back with Avery and Gunnar. Then the reporter asks about Gunnar and Zoe being in a relationship. Scarlett says she didn’t know about it for a while. They are told it’s time for sound check and they leave. Awkward…
The lawyer says the judge will likely rule for them. The lawyer tells Maddie they need to use their alternate strategy. Maddie doesn’t want to but Cash asks how bad do you want your freedom. Maddie’s lawyer puts her back on the stand.
She asks about Deacon and Maddie says he’s my biological father. The lawyer asks if she’s been scared by his behavior. Maddie says yes and then says he pulled her off stage while she was performing and shoved a photographer.
Then she talks about him destroying a room at his house. The lawyer asks if she’s feared for her personal safety around him. Deacon stares at his daughter. Cash stares too. Maddie sighs and says yes. The judge looks affected. Maddie says she doesn’t feel safe living with him.
Luke tells Will they can push back but Will says they shouldn’t respond to Cynthia Davis. Luke says maybe Ellen or The View. Will says he doesn’t want to talk at all about this. He says the music is all that should matter. Luke says they can’t ignore it.
He asks if he can go on Cynthia’s show and Will agrees. Scarlett and Gunnar come back to the reporter after sound check and she asks about their first date. Scarlett says Gunnar’s brother has just passed away and it brought them together.
The reporter goes to take a call and Gunnar asks if she gave him pity sex and she says no. He says that’s something else they see differently. Juliette goes looking for Layla and Avery is in her dressing room. J lurks outside listening.
Avery tells Layla this is difficult. Layla says last night was wonderful but she knows there are a lot of mixed feelings and she doesn’t want things to be hard on him or complicate his life. Layla says she cares about him and says they can go back to being friends.
Avery says he doesn’t know where he is right now but knows she’s a great friend and says she’s not complicated and that’s a beautiful thing. He says if it doesn’t scare her too much even though his life is a mess, he thinks they should give it a shot if she’s interested.
Layla says yes. They kiss and Juliette peeks and sees that and then storms off. Rayna’s lawyer asks if Maddie has ever been injured by Deacon and she says no. Maddie runs crying to Cash who hugs her. Then Maddie’s lawyer calls Deacon to the stand.
The lawyer asks about an altercation that Deacon got into with Teddy and then a member of another band. The lawyer keeps going and asks about Luke Wheeler. Deacon tries to defend him. The lawyer asks about a black eye that he gave Rayna in the 90s.
He says he’s an alcoholic and was blacked out. Rayna and her lawyer wonder how she knows this. It’s Frankie who told her all of his past misdeeds. The judge makes him answer. Frankie smirks then runs out. They ask about his DUI that took his friend’s life and then another with Rayna.
Deacon tears up and has to say yes to everything she asks because it’s all true. Deacon tells Rayna that Frankie told Cash and the lawyer all of that. The lawyer says they explained everything and says they played the card out of desperation and they hope the judge sees that. Luke is doing a remote with Cynthia Davis. He doesn’t have a monitor.
Will watches the show. Luke says he’s a label head and says Will makes good music and his being gay has nothing to do with it. Cynthia says it has everything to do with it and asks if he approves of his lifestyle. Luke says being gay is not an issue.
Cynthia asks what if his son came home with a boyfriend, would he be happy. He says he loves his son. Then the feed is cut and she says it’s a technical difficulty. They got him to say that and Cynthia says he’s conflicted and they know right from wrong.
Will rants at the TV and Cynthia says politics and music don’t mix and she doesn’t want to listen to the radio and think about what gay men do. Rayna tells Deacon that Maddie has been manipulated and they just have to hope the judge is reasonable.
Rayna goes upstairs and Deacon says he’ll be up soon. Rayna goes to Maddie’s room and lays down on her bed to cry. The reporter keeps prodding Scarlett and Gunnar about their past. She asks why they pursued separate careers. Scarlett says she didn’t want to go solo.
She says Gunnar was very supportive and they were intended to audition together. Then the reporter asks about why Scarlett turned down his proposal and says Autumn told her that. Scarlett says they had already parted ways.
She says a marriage proposal is a huge decision and she wanted to do what was best. Gunnar says they need to go get ready for the show. He walks off and Scarlett follows. Rayna comes down looking for Deacon. He’s at the Beverly and sees Frankie introducing Kelsei Ballerini.
Deacon glares at him. Frankie is acting like a big shot. He’s working the crowd and seems to be on top of the world. Deacon goes to stand beside him and says they need to talk. He walks away and Frankie follows.
Deacon is outside waiting and Frankie comes out back. Deacon asks how he could do that to him when he’s his sponsor. Frankie says Rayna decided to ruin Cash’s career. He says the queen of country thinks she runs all of Nashville.
Deacon says this has nothing to do with Rayna it’s about Cash sinking her fangs into Maddie because she has no career of her own. Frankie punches him and then Deacon knocks him back. Frankie says you lost your mind and you’re the damned leach.
He says you stole my bar like you stole your dead sister’s liver. Someone pulls Deacon off him and Frankie says he tried to kill me. There’s a crowd and someone calls the cops. An ambulance come and then Deacon is arrested.
Rayna gets his voice mail and begs him to answer his phone. Luke calls Will and he’s upset that Luke made things worse. He says Cynthia cut him off and says he had to say something because will wouldn’t. Then Luke says these people won’t go away because we ignore them.
Will says he appreciates what he did. Luke says this will get worse before it gets better but says they’re in this fight together. Luke comes to see Juliette before her set and finds her crying. He asks if this is about Layla. She says she heard them talking.
She says Layla doesn’t have motives and even gave Avery an out but he didn’t take it. Luke says at least there’s no foul play. She says it’s worse because Avery chose her. Luke asks why she hates her so much. She says it’s easier to hate her than acknowledge the pain I caused her.
Luke says it was an accident but Juliette says they know it was more than that. Scarlett and Gunnar talk and he bickers. She says she told the truth and he says it was her interpretation. He says he proposed because he loves her and he’s sick of her not giving him credit.
He says she’s judgmental and afraid of being hurt. Then they take the stage. Gunnar ignores her on stage and the reporter takes note. Juliette comes to see Layla and asks if they can heart. Juliette tells her that Jeff had a big heart and he died saving her life.
Layla asks why she’s telling her and Juliette cries and says she’s sorry for taking the man she loved and she’s probably surprised to hear this from her but says she hopes it gives her comfort and closure. Layla cries. Juliette asks if she’s okay.
Layla says she appreciates her coming clean then says it changes nothing between them. Juliette says she knows. Rayna visits Deacon at the jail and he says it was all him but she says you never should have gone there and says Frankie and Cash are filing restraining orders.
She says Frankie has a broken nose and cracked rib. He says he went to talk and she says he went there anyway and says just once in your life you couldn’t have held back then says that’s why you went without telling me.
He says sorry and she hangs up the phone and leaves the visitor’s area. Juliette asks to speak to Avery before she goes onstage and asks if he’s happy. He says yeah. She says good, you deserve it.
She smiles and he says have a good show. Luke comes over and asks if she’s all right. She says she had to let him go. Luke says that can’t be easy. She says it’s not and says she told Layla the truth and it was the right thing.
He puts his arm around her and says the right thing sucks for a long time. He asks if he can make things better. The reporter finds them backstage and Scarlett thanks her for the article. The reporter says one last question then asks why is it working now. Scarlett says it only works because we’re the Exes and he agrees.
Scarlett says it only works because we’re the Exes and he agrees. She calls Luke out on stage to sing with her. Layla watches them together glaring when Avery joins her. She asks if you wanted to hear something from someone for so long then you do and it doesn’t mean anything. He says he doesn’t know what she means.
He says he doesn’t know what she means. Layla says never mind then asks if he wants to get out of there. They leave hand in hand. Extra reports on Luke vs Cynthia Davis about the country music gay debate. Will
Will hears shouts and noises outside and goes out to find his car has been tagged with homophobic slurs and beaten up. In the courtroom, the lawyer asks Rayna if she’s okay. The judge says it was a difficult decision but after last night’s events, she’s granting an emancipation and voiding Maddie’s contract with Highway 65 and issuing a restraining order against Deacon on Maddie’s behalf.
The judge says it was a difficult decision but after last night’s events, she’s granting an emancipation and voiding Maddie’s contract with Highway 65 and issuing a restraining order against Deacon on Maddie’s behalf.
She tells Rayna to refrain from talking to Maddie for the next 15 days. Cash hugs Maddie and says you did it. Rayna is bawling and looks over at Maddie. The lawyer says don’t go over there. Maddie tells her mother she’ll be okay. She walks out and Rayna starts bawling.
THE END!