Deacon finally found a liver in “Nashville” Season 3, episode 19, but the lifesaving procedure wasn’t that simple. The country crooner (Charles Esten) went into the hospital and thought that he would finally be rid of his cancer. However, the hospital visit didn’t go so well.

Raina (Connie Britton) was going to perform with her daughters Maddie (Lennon Stella) and Daphne (Maisy Stella) as well as Deacon. They were at an event for Teddy’s (Eric Close) music education initiative, but her plans changed when Deacon got a call from the hospital. They found a liver for him. Raina and Deacon left with Maddie.

At the hospital, Deacon found out he had a fever. If he was sick, he might not be able to get the transplant. Scarlett (Clare Bowen) asked Caleb (Nick Jandl) to pull some strings to make sure Deacon got his liver, but the doctor explained that it was beyond his control. He seemed a little insulted that Scarlett asked, but she later apologized to her boyfriend for pushing.

Maddie was also freaking out. She ran off to the hospital’s chapel to pray. She asked Raina if Deacon was going to die, and Raina said she honestly didn’t know.

It seemed like everything was looking up when Caleb told Deacon that he had a sinus infection, but that wouldn’t stop a transplant. Raina was in tears after Deacon went into surgery. She certainly wasn’t doing any better when Caleb came out with an update. “We have a problem,” he said.

The surgery didn’t go as planned. The liver donor had cancerous lesions in his lungs. It wasn’t worth taking the chance, so Deacon didn’t get a liver. He would need to hope that another match came along soon.

Everyone was disappointed that Deacon didn’t get the liver, but they were mostly worried that he wouldn’t be alive by the time another liver came along. Maddie asked Deacon to promise that he wouldn’t die. He couldn’t make that promise.

Elsewhere, Jade St. John (Christina Aguilera) was causing a fuss. She was still spending plenty of time with Luke Wheeler (Will Chase). Jade wanted Luke to sing a duet with her, but he turned her down. He invited her to Teddy’s event instead. There the singer bonded with Layla (Aubrey Peeples), much to Juliette’s (Hayden Panettiere) dismay.

Juliette came home from L.A. to find Avery’s (Jonathan Jackson) mother Sandra (Francine Locke) at home with the baby. She didn’t even want to hold baby Cadence when she got home. She just wanted to get to the charity event, and Avery was concerned that she was so focused on her career and not the baby. Sandra told Avery that he needed to meet Juliette halfway.

Juliette was immediately jealous of both Layla and Jade once she got to the event. In a bathroom confrontation, Juliette told Layla not to get too comfortable. Juliette said she was back for good, and the focus at the label would be on her. Jade defended Layla and said she was “the real deal.”

Later, there was an auction for any of the musicians attending to sing live at the event. Juliette was planning to make her big comeback after people bid on her. However, Jade started bidding on a performance from Layla. Juliette forced her husband to bid for her. Once Jade bid $500,000, Avery wasn’t willing to go over that for his wife. Layla got to perform in front of everyone while Juliette had to watch.

Juliette tried to leave after Layla’s performance, but Jade made the mistake of trying to stop her. She asked Juliette to admit that Layla was amazing, but Juliette verbally attacked Jade instead. She said that Jade was trying to buy her way into country music. “This is Nashville and you don’t belong here,” Juliette told Jade in front of everyone.

After the event, Avery confronted Juliette. He told her that she was wrong to pick a fight with Jade, who was a total stranger. She was making a music education charity event all about herself, and Avery didn’t even know where her head was when it came to the baby.

“I just don’t really understand everything that’s going on with me,” Juliette admitted. She worried that her career was over, and Avery assured her that she was fine. However, her tears while she was lying in bed that night indicated that she was anything but fine.

Meanwhile, Luke brought Jade to the Bluebird Café to earn a little country credit. He pointed out that no one could say she bought her way into country if she sang there. She sang one of Luke’s songs, which impressed him. Jade admitted that she used to kiss her Luke Wheeler poster every night, and Luke decided to give her the real thing. The pop star pulled him into her hotel room.

Also at the charity event were Will (Chris Carmack) and Kevin (Kyle Dean Massey). The couple had spent the past several days together, and they were both going to Teddy’s event. Kevin warned Will that he was bringing a date, and Will claimed he didn’t care. However, he looked pretty upset when he saw them together, especially when he saw them leave together. Will went to Kevin’s house to declare his feelings. He asked to be an exclusive couple, and Kevin happily agreed.

Other noteworthy moments from “Nashville” Season 3, episode 19:

  • Daphne was feeling left out. After Raina and Maddie left for Deacon’s surgery, Teddy made sure she still got her moment on stage. He had Luke sing with her at the event. The little girl asked if she could move in with her father.
  • Jeff (Oliver Hudson) told Layla that she couldn’t be Jade’s opening act, despite the pop star’s offer. He claimed Jade used people, and Layla thought his feelings had more to do with Jade being his ex-fiancée. Layla told him that she’d go on tour with the massive pop star, but she assured Jeff that she wouldn’t throw him away as Jade did.
  • Scarlett didn’t like any of the potential replacements for Avery. She first wanted to dissolve the band, but then she decided she and Gunnar (Sam Palladio) could be a duo again, even though she still didn’t want to date him.

“Nashville” Season 3 airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EDT on ABC. Do you think Deacon will eventually find a liver? Sound off in the comments section below!

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