Synopsis:

Juliette finds a letter from her mother; Deacon confronts Rayna about a secret; Brad Paisley performs with Rayna and Deacon; Gunnar tries to win Scarlett's heart back.

(From ABC)
A shadow has been cast over country music's biggest night: Juliette discovers a letter from Jolene revealing her mother's true feelings; Rayna and Deacon's fairytale evening at the CMA Awards, even performing with Brad Paisley - who guest stars as himself -- may not end in a happily-ever-after; and Gunnar will do whatever it takes to win Scarlett's heart back -- but is it too late? Meanwhile the U.S. Attorney's office is closing in on Teddy, and Peggy returns with a secret of her own.

(Recap From ABC)
Juliette is dealing with the death of her mom. She’s hurt, but is still planning on attending the Country Music Awards. She slams the door in Deacon’s face when he tries to convince her that she doesn’t need to do this. Juliette goes off on Glenn and Marshall in her dressing room. She screams that she should be celebrating the fact that the nightmare with her mother is finally over. The harsh reality of what she said sinks in fast. Juliette won’t be attending the CMA show after all. Glenn offers to drive her home, but Juliette claims she’s fine on her own. She visits her mom’s body at the funeral home offering to sing for her. Jolene used to like that.

Rayna tells her girls that she’s going to the CMA Awards with Deacon as her date. Maddie lets her little sister know that the two of them used to be an item before their folks married each other. She later shows up at Deacon’s place to say that she thinks he might be her real dad. This shocking newsflash has Deacon reeling. He shows up late for the CMAs, but arrives in time to join Rayna on stage with Brad Paisley. The crowd goes wild. After the performance, Deacon confronts Rayna about Maddie. He wants to know if she’s been lying to him for the past 13 years. Deacon storms out when he confirms that she has. Maddie is his daughter.

Rayna and Teddy try to explain the situation to their daughter, but Maddie is having a rough time with it. She wants to move in with her dad. Teddy asks Rayna to trust him that he won’t take away her relationship with their daughter. Elsewhere, Deacon is also having a rough time dealing with all that’s been revealed, too. He sits in a bar staring at a drink. He downs the whiskey and asks for another. Deacon gets hammered. He tackles Teddy outside the mayor’s office claiming he stole his life. It’s an ugly scene. As for Maddie, she has a nice moment with her mom. These two still love each other very much.\

Glenn shows up at Juliette’s place with a CMA award. He accepted it on her behalf. Juliette takes the award and asks if there’s anything else. Glenn actually does have one more thing for her. It’s a comforting hug for a grieving daughter who just lost her mom. Rayna had a heart-to-heart with Juliette just before Jolene’s funeral. It’s a very small ceremony. Juliette wonders if Deacon is coming and is pleasantly surprised that Avery is there. She asks him to help her out with something.

Avery invites Scarlett to come see him at a small venue after she meets him for lunch. He’s shocked to hear that things aren’t all that great at home. Elsewhere, Gunnar comes clean about ripping off his dead brother’s tunes to fake a bad boy image. He brings Scarlett some nice flowers, but it’s not enough. Gunnar has been crashing with Will, who knows that he needs to be a hit with the ladies if he’s going to be a star. It’s all about image even if that means denying who he is inside. Will spills the news that Scarlett had lunch with her ex. This catches Gunnar completely off guard.

Gunnar catches Avery’s show. He’s having trouble watching Scarlett sing with him up on the stage. Gunnar seeks advice from Deacon, who is in no condition help him. Coleman and Scarlett arrive at the house. Deacon is out of control. He pins Coleman to the wall blaming him for telling Rayna to cut him loose all those years ago. Gunnar shuffles a frightened Scarlett away from the disturbing scene. He later gets down on one knee asking for her hand in marriage. As for Deacon, he promises Coleman to start over at an AA meeting. He washes up in the bathroom while drinking from the bottle of booze he has stashed in there.

Dashell Brinks is an old pal of Teddy’s who happens to be with the U.S. Attorney’s office. He’s investigating a federal audit for the Cumberland Plaza project. Teddy fears the fact that he embezzled money from a credit union is about to come out. He suspects Lamar tipped off the feds. They’ll probably try to link the smoking gun to him through Peggy, who lets Teddy know that she’s pregnant. In other news, Tandy quits her father’s company when he demotes her. She’s later approached by the feds who have some questions about Lamar.

Juliette learns that her mother was trying to protect her when she died. She asks a few friends to join her at the Bluebird. Jolene had always dreamed of hearing her daughter sing there. With Avery backing her on guitar, Juliette gives a heartfelt tribute to her mom. When Rayna sees Deacon in the back, she chases him out the door. She takes his keys when she sees that he’s drunk. Rayna takes the wheel. The heated argument they have causes her to lose control of the car. The vehicle flips over and over in a violent crash. It’s bad. Really bad.