‘Nashville’ Recap: Let’s Hear It for the Boy

Chris Carmack (Credit: Mark Levine/CMT)
Chris Carmack (Credit: Mark Levine/CMT)

Warning: This recap for the “Leap of Faith” episode of Nashville contains spoilers.

Will Lexington (and Chris Carmack) has been the unsung hero of Nashville going way back to Season 1. Introduced towards the end of the show’s freshman year, Will started off as an amiable cowboy, whose rugged good looks masked a pronounced dark street. In only his second episode, for example, he was seen playing chicken with a speeding train. And by his third appearance, we learned the reason for his torment: He’s a closeted gay man, unable and unwilling to come out over fear of how it might impact his career.

It’s taken five years — and one sham marriage — but Will is finally living his truth out loud. While his path out of the closet has sometimes been a strange, strained one, it’s also been handled with far more sensitivity and honesty, by both the writers and Carmack, than some of Nashville’s more histrionic storylines. And as sad as it is to see his long-suffering boyfriend Kevin finally cut loose at the end of this Will-centric hour, “Leap of Faith,” the thought of an openly gay, and newly single, Will Lexington is a great place to begin Nashville’s rebuilding year. Here’s to new loves, new songs, and new cowboy hats.

Related: Catch Up on ‘Nashville’ With Our Recaps

Best Storyline: Love can survive many things, but real estate isn’t always one of ‘em. The final death knell for Will and Kevin’s off-again, on-again romance comes when Kevin encourages Will to start apartment-hunting for their own love nest outside of Gunnar’s house. Kevin’s so eager to secure a move-in date, he’s even willing to redefine their relationship status as “just friends” lest they cross paths with a homophobic superintendent. Instead, Will ends up experiencing the opposite problem: The guy who shows him the apartment he and Kevin have their eye on makes it all too clear that he has his eye on Will. In the end, the singer throws their application in the trash, where it’s fished out by Kevin and offered as definitive proof that Will’s not ready to be in a committed relationship. Carmack and Kyle Dean Massey do some of their series-best work throughout this storyline, making their every last moment together as an onscreen couple count.

Jonathan Jackson and Hayden Panettiere (Credit: Mark Levine/CMT)
Jonathan Jackson and Hayden Panettiere (Credit: Mark Levine/CMT)

Worst Storyline: Guys, what are we going to do about Juliette? Granted, we shouldn’t expect her to be all smiles and sunshine after surviving a plane crash that left her in a wheelchair. And magically speeding up her recovery wouldn’t be right either, bringing back memories of how quickly Rayna lost and regained her singing voice. But we’re three episodes in, and Juliette’s constant self-pity is starting to become a major drag on all of her scenes. That said, it was nice to see her smile after Avery swept her off her feet Officer and a Gentleman-style at the end of the hour. More of that, please.

Related: ‘Nashville’ Stars Charles Esten and Hayden Panettiere Talk Juliette’s Recovery and Deacon’s Sex Scenes

Best Bit of #RealTalk: Admit it: You’re curious about the “penguin kiss” thing that Kevin tries out on Will during their make-out sessions. Guess the specifics of that are going to have to remain a mystery forever after.

Maddie Watch: No sign of the eldest James daughter in this episode; she’s either back manning the front desk at Tracks Studios or making music in the streets with her busker pal, Clay.

Cameron Scoggins, Connie Britton, and Charles Esten (Credit: Mark Levine/CMT)
Cameron Scoggins, Megan Barry, Connie Britton, and Charles Esten (Credit: Mark Levine/CMT)

Most Promising New Character: Zach Wells flew into Nashville with a business offer that Rayna couldn’t refuse. Though, to be fair, she also didn’t accept it right away! Like Rayna, I’m looking for reasons to distrust this tech billionaire, because his desire to fund Highway 65 out of the goodness of his country music-loving heart (and for a modest cut of the profits) certainly sounds too good to be true on paper. But Zach’s charm — and country fanboy geekiness — is continuing to make him an awfully likable presence… for now, at least.

Most Worrisome New Character: It can’t be a coincidence that Rayna is starting to receive stalker mash notes again at the same time that creepy Randall infiltrated Highway 65, right? On second thought, maybe it can; the writers are certainly encouraging us to think along those lines in what could be a classic case of misdirection. Even if Randall isn’t the stalker, he worries us anyway.

Standout Song: In a Will-centric episode, it’s only fair to give Mr. Lexington the last word — and the last song. “I’ll Quit Missing You” is a moving break-up anthem and a fitting coda to this part of his life.

Nashville airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on CMT.