Arts: Nashville, Season 1

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Tv Club Nashville, Season 1 What if Rayna hadn't recovered from her onstage panic attack?  By Katy Waldman Posted Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013, at 03:08 PM ET We were promised a public nervous breakdown! Two weeks ago, the "next week on Nashville" teaser featured a shot of Rayna, frozen on stage in front of all her fans, in what looked like a still from a non-singer's anxiety dream. But in the actual episode, Rayna barely faltered under the hot lights. No one but Deacon and her staff seemed to notice when she missed her cue, and then she flashed a winning smile and launched into song. Phew, sighed all the nice viewers who want TV show characters to have happy, uninteresting lives. Boo, I booed. It's not that I want Rayna to be miserable. For that matter, it's not that the episode stinted on showing us an unraveled, messy Rayna: She goes from drunkenly dancing with Liam to kissing him to crying in his hotel bathroom. But the anticlimactic quality of that early concert scene felt like a hurdle the rest of the hour had to overcome. We were teased with the prospect of total crisis and then reassured: When it counts, Rayna will do what she's always done. Pick herself back up. Sing. A conspicuous crackup could have plunged Rayna's character into vertiginous new territory last Wednesday. Everyone takes her crystalline finish for granted, but what would happen if it broke? Yes, it is strange and captivating to watch Nashville's country queen lose control in private, since she's normally so composed, but her "vacation from life" with Liam also ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate FBI Files Unlock History Behind Clandestine Cellphone Tracking Tool Keanu Reeves Is Right About the Future of Cinema Are Oysters Doomed?	Advertisement
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