'Nashville' series finale: Did it really just end like that? **Spoilers**

Photo Credit: ABC10(dot)com

'Nashville' fans were stunned earlier this month when the show was cancelled by ABC execs. Stars of the show joined forces with fans in order to #BringNashvilleBack. As of right now the show hasn't been picked up by another network, which makes last night's series finale extremely infuriating.

Usually in series finales, shows are able to tie up loose ends, and end the series with a sense of closure. In 'Nashville's' case, the series finale ended on a cliffhanger. Before I get into what happened, let's talk about the meat of the episode.

• We watched Will and Luke band together against conservative homophobes, and demand to be heard. Will made a great argument as he put his biggest nemesis in her place. Will's story ended with him reuniting with his ex Kevin.
• When it comes to Scarlett and Gunnar, these two were at each other's throats for most of the episode, due to the fact that Scarlett finally declared her love for Gunnar (we all know that these two have always been skittish about how to handle their feelings for one another). Their story ended with a perfect kiss onstage.
• Rayna and Deacon learned that Maddie was in New York working with a producer who has serious boundary issues. Rayna had a history with the producer, as he came onto her when she was around Maddie's age. Rayna wrote a heartfelt letter and published it in the Huffington Post. Deacon traveled to New York to rescue Maddie. Maddie read the letter and did not hesitate to go back to Nashville with Deacon. We watched the entire family reunite happily.
• We finally got to see Layla get the ending she deserved. After manipulating Avery to get back at Juliette, all of Layla's plans backfired, especially when Avery found out what Layla had been doing all along. It didn't take long for Avery to dump her a**. Layla was left despondent and alone (GOOD).

This brings me to Juliette's storyline. After she was ambushed by a reporter about the details surrounding Jeff Fordham's death, Juliette was determined to make it all go away. She tried to settle the legal issues with Fordham's sister, but that didn't help Juliette move forward in her life. She decided to sit down with a reporter at the awards show and tell the truth about what happened. Avery watched the interview from his home in Nashville and he was clearly very sad for her.

Juliette skipped the rest of the awards show to fly home to Nashville and be with her daughter. The last thing we, as viewers, saw was Avery waiting for Juliette at the airport. A somber-looking man in a suit came out and told Avery that they had just received a distress call, and that Juliette's plane disappeared about 90 miles away from Nashville. The show ended with unimaginable emotional pain radiating from Avery's being.

My Two Cents

I am extremely angered by the fact that a series finale was ended on a cliffhanger. It doesn't take Einstein to figure out that this is a TV show sin. 'Nashville' is an exceptionally popular show, and leaving everything as it was is just cruel.

This morning, I decided to do some investigating to figure out why things were left as they were. Turns out, 'Nashville' had TWO endings for the show: the one they showed last night, and one that showed Juliette and Avery reuniting at the airport, and leaving together as a family. Lionsgate chose to air last night's ending because they are so confident that the show will be picked up by another network.
That's all fine and dandy, but what if it isn't picked up by another network? You just angered millions of fans by providing them with the cruelest series finale in history.

Not cool, ABC and Lionsgate...not cool!