For Deacon Claybourne, it’s finally time to face the music on the second season premiere of Nashville. Sitting in jail after driving drunk — and causing his passenger, Connie Britton‘s Rayna Jaymes, to fall into a coma — Deacon is struggling to come to terms not only with his alcoholism, but the shocking bombshell revelation revealed on the season 1 finale that Rayna’s oldest daughter, Maddie, is his.
During a jailhouse visit with his niece Scarlett (Clare Bowen) shortly after being arrested, Deacon (Charles Esten) begins to resign himself to a life behind bars. “Listen to me: I am a drunk, that’s what I am,” an emotional Deacon tells Scarlett in a preview from Nashville‘s Sept. 25 premiere. “I’m a damn drunk and I’m no good to you or anyone else. Sell my house, burn the whole place down, because if Rayna doesn’t pull through, this is where I’m going to be — for a long time.”
Ever the optimist, Scarlett tries to convince her uncle of all that he has to live for, but angers him when she likens him to a father figure. “You slipped,” she tells him, referring to the drunken, violent escapade that resulted in Rayna’s emergency hospitalization — shortly after he found out Maddie was his daughter. “You are so talented, so wonderful. You’ve been like a father to me, the closest thing . . . “
Deacon’s blood boils when hearing Scarlett’s last words and he angrily cuts her off. “What did you say to me?!” he shoots back to Scarlett. “I’m not your father, you understand me? I’m nobody’s damn father!”
As their angry confrontation shows, Deacon will clearly wrestle with quite a few demons as Nashville’s new season progresses. “There’s no bigger of a wake up call than what he’ll wake up when the season starts,” producer Dee Johnson tells Us Weekly. “He’ll always struggle with his addiction — his part in the crash is very sobering.” Johnson also says fans will be intrigued by just how his status as Maddie’s father will impact his relationship with Rayna. After all, as parents, “they are tied together forever,” says Johnson.
Nashville‘s second season premieres Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 10 p.m. (EST) on ABC.
