Now that’s we’ve seen the new Nashville Season 4 Promo we have two options. The first is watch it on loop until September 23 when Nashville returns for season 4. The second is still watching it on loop but share with you our thoughts. We chose the second option and here are the top 5 things we learned from Nashville Season 4 promo.

About Nashville Forever 

1. Rayna carries the weight of the world on her shoulders and Deacon’s condition is unclear

The only time we see Deacon in the promo is in old scenes from Nashville season 3 finale. To make things worse (breathe people, breathe) we see Rayna say “I had a lot of letting go to do lately” and then, in another scene, her lay in bed, sad and alone and by the looks of things, really miss Deacon. 

Say it isn’t so Nashville!!

Related: More thoughts about Rayna Jaymes 

But, as we all know, the one thing promos do best is confuse the hell out of people and tease. Considering that, it’s obvious why they chose not to share the tiny little detail of Deacon’s pulse status with us.

Our assessment, as we already shared with you on our ‘10 Hopes for Nashville Season 4‘ list, is Deacon will live on. We’re sure he’ll come back into Rayna’s bed very soon and keep moping, singing and be freakin’ amazing for a long time.

As for what Rayna said, we speculate it’s related to her label in the post-Juliette era and not Deacon. We think what Rayna meant by saying she had a lot of letting go to do lately is she had to fire a lot of people since Juliette’s departure hurt the label financially.

2. Juliette is back on top but at what price?

Speaking of our beloved manic-depressive PPD Diva, the promo suggests she went ahead with her career plans and regained her star status. We see her on stage and on the red carpet (guess the Patsy Cline movie is coming out). Hey, she even hangs out with Steven Tyler. To her testimony she’s “on top of the world”.

But then we see her in another scene sobbing on the bathroom floor with no one to hold her hair! Oh Jules…

If that’s not enough we also see we’re probably not the only ones reminiscing about Rayna and Juliette’s bathroom days because she calls Nashville’s fixer Rayna and really scares her. So much so, that Rayna, the queen of cool says “something is really wrong”. No kidding, Ray!
It’s possible of course Rayna’s statement refers to something or someone else, but it seems likely it’s about Juliette.

Related: More Thoughts on Juliette Barnes 

If we’re correct, it also hints on a very interesting development in the relationship between Rayna and Juliette. A one in which Juliette’s unstable mental health puts both her and Rayna in a very difficult but interesting position.

On one hand, Juliette did just leave Highway 65, fire her team, hire Jeff Fordham, sign up with Luke Wheeler and betray everyone’s trust starting with Rayna. Calling Rayna for help under these circumstances is a little inappropriate to say the least.
On the other hand, Rayna and Juliette already have a relationship. They bonded and became friends against all odds. They’ve been there for one another in their most difficult moments and at least when Juliette is concerned,  there’s no one she trusts (and possibly needs) more than Rayna. And yes, there’s something really wrong and she needs help.
That’s….complicated.

In our 10 Hopes list we expressed our wish for a Rayna and Juliette showdown exactly for this reason – because it really is complicated and complex. How can both of them act like it’s all business when it’s also so personal and there’s an obvious cry for help? How can Rayna and Juliette hate and resent each other when they also love and care for each other? Yes, looks like we have lots to look forward too.

Related: 10 Hopes for Nashville Season 4 

3. Avery is a Single Father

Let’s start with the really good news: Cadence is not a wooden doll anymore, she’s a real baby! Hooray! Second, you really think Juliette is doing better without you? We wouldn’t bet on it, unless, of course, having a mental breakdown is your definition of “better”.
From what we can tell Avery looks exhausted but also like someone who started to adjust to his new status. The promo doesn’t hint on any Juliette and Avery direct interaction so far, but when there’s a child involved, we’re positive this will come too.

Related: Avery Barkely Character Defense – First You Fall, Then You Fly

4. Scarlett and Gunnar are making more than music together

With all the flatlines and PPD it’s easy to forget Scarlett and Gunnar almost kissed at the Nashville season 3 finale. We already know the show picks up about a month after the events in the finale, so according to the promo, even if they didn’t kiss then and even if Gunnar went to Texas and Scarlett moved in with the Doc, they sure are making up for lost time now while Scarlett is still dating the doctor (who is probably very busy in saving your mother and uncle’s life girl!!!)

It’s not our job to judge and even if it was, all we can say is HOT!

Related: Scarlett Oconnor Character Defense – The Artist that Prefers to Whisper
Related: Gunnar Scott Character Defense – Can’t Get it Right 

5. The music and rhinestones are back!

Nashville always had great music but in the second half of Nashville Season 3 it looked like all the characters were more focused on business, hospitals and other personal problems than singing and going on tour. According to the promo (if it’s not just our wishful thinking based on our 10 hops list) it’s all about to change and we’re about to get a lot more of this sexy energetic tour vibe we love (when they’re not crying of course).

Related: More Thought about Nashville Music 

Open questions (except for, well, everything):

• Where is Will Lexington and what happened after he finally came out? Did Luke have a stroke?
• Did Maddie and Daphne turn their heads at some point to find out their Dad has been arrested?
• Did someone who isn’t Jeff managed to talk to Layla and maybe explain to her why staying with Jeff is a very bad idea?
• Did the narrator actually say in the promo: “Last season dramatic finale was straight outta Nashville?” Has Nashville turned into a code name for things ABC can’t understand or even bother to describe? Fine, won’t even try to answer that.
• Yes, who died?

We’re getting closer people. Sign up to get notifications from this website (we never spam) and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We’re gonna be with you every step of the way this season for richer or poor, in sickness, health and flatline.