If Nashville fans thought they were going to get some sort of closure during the ABC drama’s fourth (and final) season finale on Wednesday, May 25, they were sorely mistaken. Because while there may have been some tearful reunions (Maddie with her family) and romantic reconciliations (Scarlett and Gunnar), the fate of Juliette remains up in the air (so to speak), leaving fans to ponder one very important question about the series’ last episode: What happened to that plane?!?!
But let’s not get ahead ourselves because there was a lot that went down during Nashville‘s final hour. Let’s talk about it! (And start at the bottom of the live blog if you don’t want to read the spoilers first.)
11:00 p.m. ET: The Shocking Cliffhanger!
This show wasn’t about to let its fans off the hook that easily because just when Juliette seemed to have redeemed herself, Avery received word that the airport lost contact with her plane 90 miles outside of Nashville. Did the plane crash? Is Juliette okay? Unless a streaming service picks up the series, we may never know.
10:55 p.m. ET: Juliette’s Redemption
Glenn is a smart guy and was able to put two-and-two together that Layla was to blame for the truth coming out about Jeff. He also knew that she was lying and trying to benefit from Juliette’s PR nightmare, so he called Layla and told her he was done being her manager. And that’s the thing about lying … it has a nasty way of catching up with you. So it didn’t take long for Avery to learn that Layla had known the truth about Jeff’s death right from the very beginning. Avery broke things off with her moments later.
But while Juliette’s PR team wanted to cover the whole thing up and pay Jeff’s sister to keep quiet, Juliette wanted to take responsibility for what happened and came clean to the press about everything: about how she had been trying to commit suicide, and how Jeff was a hero who had saved her life.
10:38 p.m. ET: Rayna Rights a Serious Wrong
After attempting to contact Maddie directly to no avail, Rayna decided that sexual harassment is something that gets so overlooked in the music industry, especially for women, who end up feeling vulnerable and ashamed even though they’ve done nothing wrong.
So to help prevent other future artists (Maddie included) from feeling that way in the future, Rayna submitted a powerful letter to the media to not only start a dialogue about an important topic, but also to warn Maddie of the kind of man she’s working with … but is it too late?
Thankfully, that did not turn out to be case. Deacon was able to show up just in time before anything could happen, but it was enough of a scare for Maddie to finally come to her senses and realize that her family truly does have her best interests at heart. Consider this girl officially un-emancipated and back where she belongs.
10:31 p.m. ET: Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way
Now this is the Will Lexington (Chris Carmack) viewers have been waiting for. In light of Cynthia Davis’ (Mandy June Turpin) constant derogatory remarks about his homosexuality, Will finally stood up for himself when she refused to have him on her show for fear of helping him to “spread his gay agenda.”
He even went so far as to organize a group of protesters to stand outside her broadcast studio, and they performed a concert, right then and there. It’s a great side of Will to see. It’s just a shame it took him so long to get to this point in his storyline.
10:24 p.m. ET: Layla’s Lies
Just when you thought Juliette would be able to move on and put the sins of her past behind her, she gets confronted by a cameraman who somehow knows that she was on the roof the night that Jeff Fordham (Oliver Hudson) was killed. Juliette explained to Glenn (Ed Amatrudo) exactly what happened, which prompted him to wonder who could’ve leaked the details to the press. Layla (Aubrey Peeples), of course!
Jealous of how impressed Avery is at this new and improved Juliette, Layla took it upon herself to make the information public. But being the good person Avery is, he wants proof before jumping to any conclusions, so Layla decided to take things one step further by calling Jeff’s sister, who’s looking into the case, and told her to talk to Luke’s son, Colt (Keean Johnson), who saw the whole thing.
10:14 p.m. ET: Maddie in Manhattan
Maddie (Lennon Stella) may be living the high life in New York City right now, but it turns out that the guy she’s going to be working with, Vince Pierce (Vincent Ventresca), is an A-list creeper. In fact, according to Rayna, he tried to force himself on her back when she was just starting out.
Luckily, Rayna managed to get out of there before anything could happen, but that doesn’t bode well for what he could try on Maddie. Of course, knowing Mama Jaymes, she’s not about to let that happen.
10:10 p.m. ET: Love Is in the Air
After finally coming to terms with her feelings for Gunnar, Scarlett made the leap and decided to tell him what fans have known all along — that she’s madly in love with him.
However, timing has never been this duo’s strong suit, so moments after dropping the L-bomb, Autumn Chase (Alicia Witt) walked in and made it clear that she and Gunnar are an item now. Can you say awkward?
Autumn, of course, used the declaration of love to her advantage, insisting to Gunnar that it was just Scarlett’s attempt to control him now that he’s gaining some traction as a solo artist. And while the sabotage worked initially, even going so far as to almost break up the band entirely, Scarlett and Gunnar were eventually able to talk and make him realize that her feelings were genuine. And judging from that kiss he laid on Scarlett during the final few moments on stage, it seems like the feeling is mutual.
Tell Us: What did you think of the finale?
9:55 p.m. ET: They say that “parting is such sweet sorrow,” and that certainly feels like a fitting sentiment in regards to Nashville‘s series finale on Wednesday, May 25.
Fans may not be ready to say goodbye to ABC’s beloved country drama, but let’s hope they can take some solace in seeing how everyone’s storylines wrap up as these singers take their final bow — unless a streaming service decides to pick it up, of course. (Please?)
Did Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) and Avery (Jonathan Jackson) get back together? Did Scarlett (Clare Bowen) tell Gunnar (Sam Palladio) how she really feels about him? Did Rayna (Connie Britton) and Deacon (Charles Esten) get the happy ending they deserve?
Find out how Nashville‘s fourth and final season came to a close below, and don’t forget to keep refreshing the page as the hour progresses for ongoing live updates! Let’s dig in, y’all — one last time!
Nashville‘s series finale airs on ABC Wednesday, May 25, at 10 p.m. ET.
