"Nashville" is filled with dysfunctional relationships, and they were all in full effect in the episode "Move It on Over." Teddy's campaign is headed down a dangerous path, Rayna and Deacon are still struggling to get over the past, and Juliette is running out of answers for dealing with her self-destructive mother.
In their latest political debate, Coleman's assertion that his opponent has only ever "inherited money and lost it" hits Teddy hard. Then another secret meeting with a very rattled Peggy reveals that their creative "borrowing" in Teddy's former business would likely be revealed by a government audit. Desperate times call for a visit to his father-in-law, and Lamar promises Teddy that he will take care of it and "reassure" Peggy. Cue ominous music.
Meanwhile, Rayna is off shooting a soul-sucking commercial because she needs the money, but work stops when Deacon refuses to release the song because of the lyrics change. Rayna confronts him in person, but it doesn't go well with Deacon insisting that his music is all he has and he doesn't want to sell out. He tells her it's not his fault she canceled the potentially lucrative tour. Rayna is surprised and disappointed that it seems they're going to end their relationship on bitter terms.
Gunnar and Scarlett are excited when they get their first opportunity to perform for someone who might buy one of their songs. The record exec suggests adding another guitarist to fill out the sound, and Avery, of course, talks his girlfriend into giving him the job. His own ambitions and jealousy get the best of him, however, and he adds his own harmonies and guitar riffs during the performance. Gunnar angrily confronts him afterward, but Avery acts as if his awesomeness will get them the gig.
At home, Scarlett arrives to let Avery know that she and Gunnar didn't sell their song, and the only thing the buyer remembered was "that number the guitarist hijacked." She tells him she's tired of fighting and having to constantly prove her loyalty to him. He longs for the way things used to be, which Scarlett sadly realizes means "when I wrote poems and kept them to myself."
Over in the studio, Juliette works her musicians to the bone searching for the "perfect take" when really it's just that she doesn't want to go home. Deacon offers to help with her mother, but she insists on handling it alone. That is until she finds her mother passed out drunk in her house next to some strange guy. As a former addict, Deacon is able to get through to Jolene in a way her daughter can't.
She agrees to one more rehab visit, but freaks out at the door and slaps Juliette, cursing her for "forcing" her to go in. Realization of what she's just done seems to snap Jolene out of her hysteria and she forces herself inside. Deacon picks up a bottle of pills she's dropped, and the next day he's meeting with his sponsor Coleman and handing them over, explaining how being in that environment made it tough to not have a relapse of his own.
Deacon's still feeling edgy during his performance night, and it doesn't help when a drunk calls out that he prefers it when Rayna's singing up there. "Most people do," the eternal second banana replies being going on to his next number. Outside the bar, however, he runs into the same guy, and Deacon lets his fists fly. He calls Rayna from prison, but she refuses the call.
Juliette bails him out instead, and the two have a nice heart-to-heart about friendship on his front steps. Deacon suggests she might need to be alone for awhile, to get away from all the people that have disappointed her. Next thing we know, she's selling her house, telling her assistant to just leave the brand new furniture because "everything she touched, I hate."
"Nashville" fans might have been expecting Peggy to meet some tragic end, but thankfully Lamar only threatens her with the mere read-between-the-lines suggestion that she'd better keep her mouth shut. Peggy is smart enough to agree, and late in "Move It on Over," she lets Teddy know that her part in the audit was canceled, and she never got asked a thing. The two are happy, but it won't last, as there's a photographer lurking and taking pictures that make simple affectionate gestures like a hand clasp look extremely suggestive.
In other news, Teddy has agreed with his father-in-law to use any dirt they have on Coleman to win the election. Since the former family friend is Deacon's sponsor, we're guessing he has some less-than-flattering background in addiction. Deacon takes his own advice and lets the song go to Rayna's commercial. Gunnar decides to go for the real thing with Hailey, and she doesn't need a lot of convincing. When Rayna can't get a decent songwriter to help her out, she decides to write her own music for once, and it just might be the hit song she's looking for.
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