9-1-1: Nashville's LeAnn Rimes Feels Vindicated After Don And Dixie's Flashback Episode — Did It Change Your Mind?

Fine, we'll say it first: We feel very differently about Don and Dixie's relationship after this week's "9-1-1: Nashville."

The February 26 episode took viewers back to the fire that killed Don's parents, revealing that his precocious neighbor Dixie (!) was the one who called 9-1-1 after seeing the flames. Yes, their relationship goes back that far. They reunited as young adults after both getting thrown in jail, naturally, at which point they began encouraging each other to pursue their goals; she promised to start singing her music in public if he was accepted into the firefighter academy.

They both got their wish, but this one came with serious strings. Don had to stop attending Dixie's late-night shows to make sure he got enough sleep to succeed at work, which severely limited the waking hours they got to spend together. Seeing the writing on the wall, Dixie accepted a job back-up singing on a five-month tour, leaving Don heartbroken in Nashville.

But he wasn't heartbroken for long! Don soon met Blythe while rescuing her horses from a barn fire, leading to a sweet little courtship. He never felt comfortable in her wealthy world, but she helped him adjust, learning about his painful past in the process. Dixie eventually returned ("Who's this sl*t?"), but by then, Don had already moved on with Blythe. She even helped him track down the man who started the fire!

In the present day, it came time for Don to speak at the man's parole hearing. Everyone tried to help him through it, but it was Dixie's advice that carried the most weight, giving him the courage to face his past, forgive the man for what he did, and reset his sights on his future — one that will probably include Dixie, if the universe continues to have its way.

Read on for TVLine's full Q&A with Rimes, including her thoughts on Don's past (and future?) with Dixie, the original song she wrote for the episode, and whether she can ever imagine a friendship between Dixie and Blythe:

TVLINE | Before we dive into the episode, I have to say that I'm obsessed with the "Can't Fight the Moonlight" video you filmed at Coyote Ugly with your co-stars. Whose idea was that?
That was ours. My team and I have been dying to do that since we all knew there was a Coyote Ugly in Nashville. Originally I was just going to ask [Jessica Capshaw] if she would go down with me, and she was like, "We should get everybody!" Because, honestly, we haven't had a moment this season where all of us have had time off at the same time. So now, at the very end of the season, we all had some time off at 11:00 a.m. on a random Wednesday to go down to Coyote Ugly. We had a group text going, and when I asked them it was the quickest text I've ever received back. They were like, "Absolutely, we've been wanting to dance on this bar forever!" They grew up with the movie, so they were gung-ho to do it. It was really fun.

TVLINE | That's the energy that I want every week on this show. Someone should always be dancing on a bar.
Yes! Somebody the other day was saying that Dixie needs to own her own bar, call it Dixie's Place, and have all the live music there. I think that actually could totally work, I'm feeling it. I think we need to bring that energy for sure.

TVLINE | Well, two people who definitely can't fight the moonlight are Don and Dixie. I have a completely different opinion about them after watching this episode. Do you feel a little vindicated after this?
Yeah, I do. As an actress, I love being able to see their backstory and how they were there for so many pivotal moments in each other's lives, encouraging each other towards these fields of work that they very much developed in their adulthood. And Dixie as a young child being there when he lost his whole family — there's just a connection there that Blythe and Don don't have. They have their own beautiful love story, but there's just this connection that Dixie and Don have that can never really be severed. When they watch this episode, I think people will be Team Dixie for a hot second... until I unravel that whole thing as the rest of the season goes on.

TVLINE | Are you personally hoping for Don and Dixie to get back together?
I don't know. I don't want her to break things up with Blythe and Don, but at the same time, I would love to see them together. That's the thing that people are going to have trouble with, and that I have trouble with. I feel like they should be together, but at the same time, there's this beautiful relationship between Blythe and Don. I don't know, maybe we all start a "Mormon Wives" situation and just go from there.

TVLINE | I was going to say, they've got a big house. A throuple is an option!
[Laughs] Exactly. There's room for Dixie in the house.

TVLINE | Let's talk about your new song, "Wild Things Run," which is featured in this episode. Did you write it with Don and Dixie in mind?
Absolutely, So, I wrote the song with Darryl Brown. When I first heard that they were looking for a song that kicked off Dixie's career, I went to [showrunner Rashad Raisani] and was like, "Hey, I would really love to take a stab at writing this." He said that they wanted tempo, but it didn't have to be up tempo, and that mid-tempo power battle is definitely my lane. I know that very well. I was on a massage table in Hawaii and the title "Wild Things Run" came to me. I think the song really captures that feeling of falling in love, then falling out of love, but still having this pull towards one another. So I definitely wrote it with them in mind, knowing that it also had to be sound like a hit because it's what she got discovered from.

TVLINE | Out of curiosity, because this show is set in the real world of country music, do you think LeAnn Rimes exists on "9-1-1: Nashville," as a person separate from Dixie?
Oh, that's so interesting. Like, has Dixie performed with LeAnn Rimes? I'm sure she probably has. If Dixie's been around for the last 30 years, she's for sure sung with LeAnn Rimes at some point. That's so weird to think about.

TVLINE | We definitely need Rashad [Raisani] to write in a line confirming the existence of LeAnn Rimes. Are you ready to play two roles?
I don't know if I could play two roles, but I think it would be really funny to somehow put Dixie in the background [of a LeAnn Rimes performance].

TVLINE | Lastly, you and Jessica Capshaw are so fun to watch as sparring partners, but every now and then we catch a glimpse of what they could be like as friends. Do you ever see a day where that happens?
I think so. I think friends... enough. Maybe one day. But for now, the sparring and the catfights are the best. She's such a pain point for Dixie, and you see in this episode, that it's hard for Dixie to even receive a thank-you from her. It's hard for Dixie to see them together when she's still in love with this man. Maybe if Dixie gets a love interest, they can all be friends.

OK, let's talk: Are you feeling some type of way about Don and Dixie after seeing the earliest days of their relationship? Watch the promo below for your first look at next week's "9-1-1" crossover event, then drop a comment with your thoughts on this week's revelations.