TV Review: Master of None, Episode 6: “Nashville”

By Tyler Hodg

“Nashville” is everything television should be. The sixth episode of Master of None is charming, intelligent, heartbreaking, and humorous—more so than any of the other episodes so far.

The plot of “Nashville” is nothing too spectacular, but somehow feels familiar in a way that doesn’t seem reused. In need of a memorable first date, Dev (Aziz Ansari) suggests to Rachel (Noel Wells) that they should take a trip from New York to Nashville for the night. To his surprise, she agrees, but on the condition that they make it back in time for her niece’s recital the next day.

The sporadic trip to music city could have ended in one of two ways: a wonderful bonding experience or a complete disaster. More than anything, it was the former. An issue arises when Dev causes the two to miss their flight—and subsequently the recital—but his quick wit and ability to make anyone laugh dispels any frustration that Rachel has.

Memorable scenes of Dev and Rachel in their hotel room (not that, get your mind out of the gutter), and later hitting the town bring genuine laugh out loud moments. While their trip seemed like it would be a blast, it’s even more fun watching it all play out.

“Nashville” features some genius character development. We learn more about Rachel in this episode than we have in the entire series so far, and a new, softer side of Dev is shown. The two together are completely adorable, and finally adds an arc to look forward to.

If there was one episode out of the first six to show someone, “Nashville” would be it. The only hope is that this is not some rare one-off, as the series needs more episodes like this. From top to bottom, there is nothing negative to say about “Nashville.”