Nashville (season 2)

Following the wreck Rayna is left in a medically induced coma and is hanging on to life. Deacon thinks he was the one driving so he pleads guilty for driving under the influence and goes to jail. Scarlett says no to Gunnar's proposal and moves out, Will moves in. Juliette comforts Maddie and Maddie tells her that Deacon is her father. Scarlett's childhood friend Zoey moves to town, Peggy suffers a miscarriage but lies to Teddy. Rayna regains consciousness and says that she was the one driving.

Rayna and Juliette meet the new CEO of Edgehill, Jeff, who is all about numbers. The two butt heads with him about what direction Juliette should take her music in and his taking Will from Rayna's label. Maddie is still not happy with her mother and doesn't know how to treat Deacon. Juliette meets her new rival Layla, Gunnar has writer's block, and Deacon is told that he may not be able to play guitar again.

Teddy and Rayna finalize their divorce. Liam returns to work with Rayna and they rekindle their relationship, but Rayna reveals some troubling news. Deacon starts attending his AA meetings again, revealing his turbulent childhood with his father, and is reluctant to make the same mistakes. Will, Scarlett and Layla make their stage debut for Jeff, but he's incensed when Rayna announces she's signed Scarlett to her new label 'Highway 65'. Meanwhile, Juliette stages a concert for a wealthy couple.

Rayna cancels the remainder of the tour to spend more time with her girls which leaves Juliette furious. Juliette has moved on from doing over produced numbers and refuses to play half houses. Teddy proposes to Peggy but tells her to keep it a secret. Everyone finds out when Maddie notices her wearing the ring around her neck. Mad at her parents, Maddie runs away. The more Tandy finds about her mother's death the more she becomes suspicious of her father. Desperate to keep playing full arenas, Juliette asks Layla to open for her. Gunnar refuses to let Will cut his song.

Edgehill throws a benefit concert for all of its best acts. Label CEO Jeff decides that all his new artists should sell themselves as sexy and hot looking people, which has been a struggle for Scarlett as Layla notices. When she tries to intervene, Will accuses Layla of trying to destroy Scarlett. Rayna is unsure she can still sing, but proves it when she takes to the stage at the benefit concert. Gunnar, Avery and Zoey decide to write songs together. Juliette is asked to join the Grand Ole Opry, which leaves her speechless.

Everybody comes out to the annual Belle Meade Polo tournament, where Juliette gets invited by Charlie Wentworth and Rayna tries to rub elbows with the rich to see if they want to invest in her label. Scarlett plays a show for the critics at the Bluebird and also reconnects with Avery. Juliette and Charlie spend the night with each other again but this time his wife walks in on them.

As Juliette's tour rolls into Houston she has made the decision that she no longer wants to butter up to a powerful DJ to get airplay and good reviews like in the past. This results in critics leaving her show before her set and bad reviews. Teddy and Peggy's wedding day approaches and Maddie is less than thrilled because she feels that her father will forget her once he marries Peggy. Rayna gets closer to Luke Wheeler, Deacon gets the courage to sing in front of people without playing his guitar and Juliette gets a surprise visitor.

When Scarlett opens up for Luke, she has stage fright and a bad reception in her in ear monitors. People boo and throw things at her, making Rayna come to the rescue. By the next night she feels more confident. After being hit on by Olivia Wentworth, Juliette finds out that Olivia and Charlie just wanted her to be a part of their threesome. Rayna is forced to give her masters to the label and Jeff threatens to release a Rayna Jaymes album against her will. When Teddy asks to go to the doctor with Peggy, she fears that he will find out that she really isn't pregnant and lied to him so she fakes a miscarriage.

Maddie begins taking guitar lessons with Deacon, and he and Teddy come to blows at her open mic performance after she and Deacon perform together. Rayna struggles to strike the right balance with the two dads and their fatherhood responsibilities. Meanwhile, Lamar makes a plea to Rayna to secure Tandy's support as a character witness, but Tandy fails to show up at his hearing and he's denied bail. Juliette is distracted by the fact that Layla's career is stealing some of her spotlight. She also learns that the Wentworths are to divorce. Zoey and Avery visit Scarlett on the road in an effort to boost her spirits. However, she catches Zoey and Gunnar together. Layla decides to get back at Juliette by contacting the press to announce that Juliette is the cause of the Wentworths marriage break-up.

Juliette is the main act at Teddy's first annual Music City Festival, but the media hounds her over her relationship with Charlie Wentworth. She tells Glenn to find out who leaked the news to the press but soon suspects Layla had something to do with it. Jeff corners Layla about the incident and tells her that if she had anything to do with it, he will drop her from Edgehill. Rayna is determined to buy herself out of her Edgehill contract, even though Tandy and Luke counsel otherwise. Deacon and Gunnar team up to put on an unauthorized show at the festival, while Scarlett freezes out Zoey and Gunnar but draws closer to Avery. Confused over his feelings for Brent, Will sleeps with him but later steps into the path of an oncoming train. An assassination attempt is made on Teddy, but Peggy ends up in the crossfire.

Peggy is revealed to have been killed by a disgruntled unemployed man, whose intended target was Teddy. Will is nowhere to be found, which concerns Brent and Layla, but Gunnar eventually locates him in the woods nearby. He tells Will to pull himself together, and that he's there for him if he needs a chat. Kelly Clarkson wishes to record a song that Gunnar and Scarlett wrote, but during their meeting Scarlett breaks down and leaves, apologizing that she thought she could work with Gunnar but can't. Juliette's reputation takes another blow as creative video editing shows her proclaiming there is no God, so she turns to Layla to help clear her name. Rayna's bought herself out of Edgehill, but the pressure to succeed is greater than ever. Deacon struggles to write during his sobriety and finds help from Maddie and Daphne.

Scarlett sings ‘Free’ in concert with Zac Brown, but the demands of fame are burning her out. Rayna asks Deacon to help write a much-needed hit for her new album, and it's like old times. At Edgehill's No.1s party, Scarlett gives Gunnar the cold shoulder and later tells Rayna how Deacon will follow her every command, so Rayna and Deacon agree to cool off their contact for the time being. Concert venues are dropping from Juliette's tour and Jeff is furious, so he tells Juliette to apologize for her blasphemous comment or she'll be dropped. After failing to get a response to his phone calls, Avery calls to see Juliette to find her passed out on her bed. He tries to cheer her up by taking her busking, and it seems to work as she later requests that they write a song together. Zoey is bruised by Gunnar's inattention when he gets an invitation to co-write from Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts. Teddy discovers that the man who killed Peggy was a former employee of a subsidiary of Wyatt Industries, and believes Lamar had something to do with her murder. Rayna and Luke decide to make their relationship official.

Jeff expects Juliette to formally apologize for her behavior during her Grand Ole Opry ceremony, but when she takes to the stage she ignores the teleprompter and performs "Don't Put Dirt on My Grave Just Yet", which angers him so he tells her she's no longer part of Edgehill. Luke introduces Rayna to a power player that could help her get her distribution deal off the ground, and then surprises her with a NASCAR car wrapped in Rayna Jaymes' graphics. However, she soon discovers that the distribution deal means that Juliette will no longer have a place on his shelves. Deacon discovers his record deal might not be what he expected and Scarlett's collaboration with Liam gets off to a rocky start, but she finally finds her creative side with the help of some prescription drugs. Layla decides to seek help with songwriting from Gunnar, but he ends up upsetting her, leading to a confrontation with Will, in which he advises Will to tell Layla the truth. Will and Layla discover they aren't all that different and find comfort in one another's company. Teddy will stop at nothing to reveal Lamar's connection to Peggy's death. Tandy is arrested for failing to testify at Lamar's hearing, but Teddy is not pleased when a news report announces that he is set to be released from prison.

Lamar arrives home from prison but gets the cold shoulder from Tandy. Teddy tells Rayna that Lamar was responsible for Peggy's death, and Tandy confesses that he was responsible for their mother's death. Rayna confronts him to demand the truth, and he reveals that her mother was having an affair with Watty and lost control of her car when she tried to leave. Rayna tells him he will never see Maddie and Daphne again. Meanwhile, having spent the night together, Juliette hides out at Avery's apartment but he tells her she will have to face the world sometime. Deacon finds out that Teddy is one of Megan's clients and feels she's only with him as she feels sorry for him. Will is not satisfied with the demos given to him and asks Jeff to sack Brent. Zoey is turned down for an audition, but refuses to give up and returns later with a demo. Scarlett's change in mood seems to baffle everyone. Deacon performs at the Bluebird and tells Avery and Juliette they look good together. Lamar confronts Teddy and suffers a fatal heart attack, as Teddy looks on.

Liam and Scarlett play 'Black Roses' for Rayna, and she loves it. She receives numerous phone calls from Teddy but they go unanswered. Teddy visits Rayna to tell her that Lamar died, and Maddie and Daphne are devastated. Maddie contacts Deacon, and he visits Rayna, who reassures him she's fine. Teddy holds a press conference to announce Lamar's death, but later reveals to Megan that he did nothing to help while Lamar had his heart attack. Avery plays his tweaked version of "Don't Put Dirt on My Grave Just Yet" for Juliette, and shows her a positive review from the New Yorker. The song catches the ear of high-powered, hit-making producer Howie V, and her brings her to LA to record it with a live orchestra and do a photoshoot with Rolling Stone magazine. However, Glenn feels sidelined and decides to return to Nashville. Deacon asks Avery, Gunnar and Zoey to be his backup at a gig, which proves to be a success. After performing with him at the Bluebird, Avery, Gunnar and Zoey decide to form a trio. Scarlett feels alone and shares a kiss with Liam. Juliette tells Glenn that she doesn't want to move away from being a country singer, and can't do it without him. Following Lamar's memorial service, Rayna finally comes to terms with everything that's happened and breaks down, as Tandy and Teddy look on.

After performing "Don't Put Dirt on My Grave Just Yet", major pop labels are vying to sign Juliette, overwhelming Avery. They go to a fancy restaurant to celebrate and receive an expensive bottle of champagne from Jeff. Juliette storms over to his table and slams the bottle down, telling him where to go. However, he offers her a new deal with Edgehill with Avery as her writer, but after much deliberation she turns it down. Rayna discovers Tandy's been bouncing checks for Highway 65, which affects Rayna's ability to sign new artists. Will tries to boost Layla's career but only makes matters worse between him and Jeff. Deacon runs into an old friend, Ruth Bennett at an AA meeting, but rejects her advances as he's with Megan. While clearing out Peggy's belongings, Teddy discovers medication that she took for her miscarriage, and confesses to Megan that he thought he knew Peggy but was wrong. They end up sleeping together. Rayna catches Scarlett and Liam together and advises him to end their relationship, so he tells her he's leaving for Tokyo. Tensions between Gunnar and Avery arise ahead of their first gig with Zoey. Juliette asks Rayna if she will sign her to 'Highway 65' as a means of resurrecting her career and Rayna agrees.

As she prepares to join 'Highway 65', Juliette tells Rayna that she wants to release 'Don't Put Dirt on My Grave Just Yet' as a digital download, but Rayna has other ideas. Will learns that Juliette is dropping him from her tour, and also discovers that Brent is now Layla's manager. Scarlett tells Rayna that she wants Avery to produce her new album, which causes tension between him and Juliette. At the 'Highway 65' label party, Juliette starts to feel that she is being upstaged by Rayna’s up-and-coming talent, and sabotages the event by taking to the stage to announce that she is now on the label. Luke offers Deacon a supporting slot on his upcoming tour alongside Will. However, Deacon is more concerned with Megan's behavior and she tells Teddy to leave her alone. Meanwhile, Maddie becomes fixated on her music, ignoring her studies, and when she tells Teddy she wants to live with Deacon he grounds her. Layla believes Will is not reciprocating her feelings, but he ends up proposing to her and she says 'yes'. Gunnar feels like he is the only one truly interested in the band, and Zoey is turned down as a backup singer.

Rayna plays a mini-set on Luke's tour, and her girls meet his teenage son, Colt, who has a big social media following. They find they don't share musical tastes but Colt is impressed when they do a duet and records a video. However, Luke orders him to take the video off his website. Rayna discovers Maddie's video and tells her to take it down as she only wants to protect her. Teddy forbids Maddie from attending Deacon's concert, but later changes his mind when Rayna says she wants her there. During the concert, he comes to blows with Deacon when Deacon discovers the truth about him and Megan. He then breaks up with her. Juliette is angered when Avery misses her set as he's busy helping Scarlett and takes it out on her. While they attend the aftershow party, she becomes suspicious of Scarlett's behavior, saying it's similar to how her mother was. Jeff questions Will about why he's marrying Layla and later asks Gunnar if Will is gay. Will and Layla decide to have a shotgun wedding and it goes ahead without a hitch, in spite of Gunnar's refusal to be his best man. Luke discovers that Deacon is Maddie's biological father, but tells Rayna he will support her.

Maddie's news goes viral and stirs a media frenzy including being a "Hot Topic" on The View. Luke thinks a friend of Colt's may have put the video online. When the press show up outside Deacon's house, Rayna gets worried he has returned to his old ways as he isn't returning her calls. She and Luke locate him at the house that she and Deacon had bought before she discovered she was pregnant with Maddie. Deacon refuses to have anything to do with Teddy since he slept with Megan, but Rayna tries to manage the fallout by going on Good Morning America where Deacon admits that she and Teddy have done a good job raising her. Gunnar is shocked when he receives a large royalty check and wants to treat Zoey, so he arranges a recording session. A gig promoter phones but only wants to see Gunnar if he gets the band back together. When Juliette faces more empty seats on her tour, she reaches out to Charlie Wentworth for a favor, but he sees it as a means of getting back with her, so Avery tells him to back off. Scarlett's mother, Beverly, surprises her daughter in San Francisco. However, she soon shows her true colors, becoming abusive after Scarlett sings 'Black Roses' to her, and things take their toll when Scarlett has a meltdown on stage.

After Scarlett's meltdown on stage, Avery comes to the rescue. Juliette says to get the jet ready to fly Scarlett back home so the media won't find out or show up. The next day in Nashville Rayna, Deacon and Buckley are all waiting for the at the airport. Even though Rayna is not blaming Juliette, Rayna says that it wasn't the best idea to send Scarlett on tour with Juliette. Deacon responds to her and says "I told you so", knowing all of this would be too much for her as it was Rayna's responsibility to figure this out. When the plane arrives they check on Scarlett and send her to a clinic to help get everything out of her system. While Gunnar shows Zoey the house that he bought Avery calls Zoey to tell her about Scarlett. At Will's rehearsal Layla shows up with a reality TV producer saying that they should do a reality TV together. Later on Gunnar meets with Jeff who is starting a publishing division at the label and offers him to come to the company. Gunnar tells Jeff that word around town is that Edgehill is struggling after losing Rayna and Juliette. Jeff fires back and tells him that he'll have access to even more royalties and not to blow more opportunities with A-list talent like Kelly Clarkson. Gunnar replies that he wasn't the one who blew it, Jeff says that it was his looney ex-partner (Scarlett) who did. Not liking Jeff calling Scarlett looney, Gunnar defends her and walks off. Scarlett comes to the decision that she doesn't want this and Rayna says that she will release her from her contract. That night at the BMI party Gunnar catches Jeff and Juliette emerging from their hookup.

While Luke is in Afghanistan visiting the troops, the convoy he is in is hit by an IED. Rayna flies to New York so she can be there for him when he arrives. Luke is beating himself up that he wasn't able to give the troops a show because of the accident so Rayna suggests that they should do a show live from Fort Campbell and simulcast it to all of the troops. Meanwhile Juliette feels guilty for sleeping with Jeff, Deacon and Maddie spend time together, and production starts on Will and Layla's reality show which Gunnar refuses to be a part of. Avery apologizes to Juliette for being focused on Scarlett's recovery and reassures her that she is the one who he loves. When Luke hears that Juliette will be performing at the show he is not happy. Juliette hears him say this to Rayna and says that she will not sing though it will not stop her from meeting the troops. Luke overhears her saying to a soldier that she is there because her father was a Blackhawk pilot who died when she was four, and he asks her to sing. The two end up singing together. The show starts with First Lady Michelle Obama thanking the troops via satellite and Kellie Pickler also performs.

Before Rayna heads out to New York to do her album promo on GMA, Bucky informs that she has been bumped for Will who is also releasing an album the same day as her thanks to Jeff. Desperately needing her album and label to be successful, Teddy is able to book LP Field for her to do a show. Juliette comes to Rayna asking out of her contract, saying it was a mistake signing with her but Rayna tells her no and that she will performing at the show at LP too. Deacon puts on a show for the Sober House and Maddie wants her mom to sign her. Afraid that Jeff will be the one telling Avery that he and Juliette slept together, Zoey and Gunnar are the ones after Avery senses something going on with them. Avery goes to breaks up with her and Juliette pleads him to not to. When Rayna and Luke get done singing "Ball and Chain", Luke asks Rayna to marry him, she accepts. Scarlett says goodbye to Gunnar before leaving town but he tells her not to. Will comes home and pulls Layla into a private room so that he can tell her he is gay (although a hidden camera captures the confession anyway). Deacon goes to see Rayna and tells her not to marry Luke because he knows how to love her now, gives her a ring and kisses her before leaving.