Nashville followed up its excitement-filled Season 5 premiere with an equally dramatic new episode on Thursday (Jan. 12).

Maddie (Maisy Stella) heads back to the recording studio in the new episode, though not as an artist, but an intern, after she gets hired for an internship at the studio where Avery (Jonathan Jackson) works. She’s sent out to do what all interns do best -- fetch coffee -- when she’s charmed by a young singer-songwriter performing outside a local coffee shop, introducing a new love interest for the young teen. But with this new romantic spark comes a dark past as her new crush reveals that his mother recently passed away from a drug addiction, leaving him to be raised by his grandparents.

We also get a first look at new character Ashley Willerman, a popular YouTube star who’s in the process of making her first country album, with Avery assuming the producer role and Deacon (Charles Esten) as a session musician. But her diva behavior and lack of desire to be a genuine artist cause Avery to quit on the first day. Her bad attitude is not lost on the rest of the team, including Maddie, who snaps at the YouTube star, a move that leads to her getting fired.

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Maddie herself throws a tantrum when Deacon tries to tell her that her own behavior was out of line and that if she wants her job back, she’ll have to apologize to Ashley. After tearfully apologizing to her father for the hurtful things she said about him in court while fighting for her emancipation in Season 4, she makes things right with Ashley and returns to the internship.

Meanwhile, Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) finally meets the woman who saved her life, Hallie, and thanks her for being her “angel.” But her over-the-top gesture of buying her a car as a token of gratitude makes Hallie uncomfortable. This doesn’t stop her from helping the troubled star, who shows up again at her doorstep to tell her that she’s regained feeling in her legs and broken-heartedly questions why she survived the crash in spite of her past wrongdoings. Juliette receives even better news when the doctor tells her she’ll be able to walk again sooner than they expected.

The eerie shot that ended episode one may have something to do with Rayna’s (Connie Britton) new social media guru, Randall, who’s not only a big fan of the star but also suspiciously steals a box with Maddie’s picture on it from Rayna’s office before leaving for the night. Are the two instances linked? Only time will tell.

Catch all-new episodes of Nashville every Thursday night on CMT at 9PM EST.

Cast of Nashville Perform in New York City

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