Nashville is back, and for once is seems like Juliette Barnes will be bringing the least amount of drama. Everyone will be scrambling now that Deacon may have cancer and Rayna called off her wedding with Luke. On the other hand, now that Juliette and Avery are married on Nashville, what is life going to look like for them? After "Ruke" blew up so spectacularly, it was nice to see one couple have a happy ending. But has Avery really forgiven Juliette for cheating on him with Jeff Fordham? Even the way he proposed was brought with brooding angst. They're going to have to face that beast head-on if they want any chance of moving forward.
According to the official ABC press release for the midseason premiere, "Juliette and Avery adjust to married life with a few bumps along the way." What could those bumps be? It's not that I don't wish them well, but I also wish them more storylines. They've faded into the background on Nashville and that is not OK. Now that they're married, all of that conflict, both good and bad, can get pushed to the surface and we'll have our Juliette Barnes back. Here are my guesses as to what could be in store for the happy couple.
Regular Living Together Bumps
Look, having roommates is hard, and Juliette hasn't exactly had a typical young adult life. Suddenly sharing space with your new husband who you weren't on solid ground with until recently is not going to be smooth sailing all of the time. Maybe Avery is really bad about doing dishes or leaving the toilet seat down. Maybe Juliette ate all of Avery's food and didn't replace it. These are general, pretty stereotypical suggestions, but you know what I mean.
Baby Bumps
Avery hasn't been around pregnant Juliette for long stretches of time yet, and Nashville has already been willing to make her extra erratic. As her delivery date zooms forward, the pressure is going to build.
Work Bumps
I have a feeling that Sadie Stone's album, especially with her abusive ex-husband coming back into the picture, is going to be a bigger commitment for Avery than he bargained for. While we've already been down the road of Juliette being jealous, and Laura Benanti herself assured TVLine that nothing was going to happen between Sadie and Avery other than music-making, it could be a strain on their blossoming marriage in other ways.
On the other hand, the official ABC press release for the Feb. 11 episode, "I've Got Reason To Hate You," details that "Juliette’s pregnancy is starting to make her stir crazy and she’s eager to get her career back on track, but at what cost?" That could cause more than a little conflict as well, especially if Avery is not available to produce her. We saw what conflicting work schedules did to Luke and Rayna — let's not repeat that so soon with Avery and Juliette!
Media Bumps
We've already seen what the press has done to other relationships on this show. What's going to happen when people find out that superstar Juliette Barnes and Avery practically eloped? I'm sure there will be a lot of interviews to do and rumors to shoot down as this news gets out.
Images: Mark Levine/ABC; Giphy (4)
