Private Practice – Recap & Review – Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough

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Private Practice
Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough

Original Air Date: Nov 10, 2011

Karen Belgrad – Senior Editor
karenbelgrad@
thetwocentscorp.com

Medical dramas on television always get a lot of mileage out of the slippery slope. They flirt with the line between personal feelings and patient care. And they always bring their personal baggage to work.

So why should Private Practice be any different? Most episode’s, it’s not. But tonight one doctor chose not to bring their own issues to the forefront over patient care. And shockingly enough that doctor was Addison!

There were two patients of the week, but their storylines were completely intertwined. Jake’s patient was Shannon, a brain dead woman with a 16-week old fetus. Sam’s was Leanne, a mother of two, who needed a new heart. Both advocated for their patient, but the moral edge (in my opinion) definitely went to Jake. All Jake wanted to do was give the woman’s estranged (but still married) husband, Doug, the opportunity to decide if Shannon should be kept alive in order to allow the fetus more time to become viable. Sam was fixated on her organ donor card and was determined to get her heart for Leanne. I completely agree with waiting for the husband to arrive the next day.

But what really irked me was when Sam interceded and spoke to the husband about organ donation before Shannon’s doctors could speak to him. I thought Sam was highly unethical, but I was greatly, greatly impressed when Addison stepped up to remind the doctors that a) they could be heard through the glass windows and b) they needed to let Doug make the decision. Jake laid out the facts for him, explaining that the best they could hope for was a premature birth, which could entail a lot of complications. In the end, Doug opted to let Shannon go and Leanne got her new heart.

The story dovetailed nicely with Addison’s embryo implantation. After the weeks of shots and the days of avoiding sex, she finally got the chance to see if she will get pregnant. She was empathetic to Jake’s rough day (in hopes of advancing her own good juju), and the two shared a moment which could be construed as chemistry by some. But Addison’s joy in realizing that she wouldn’t just have a baby, but a whole person was truly palpable. Do you think she’ll end up pregnant?

Before we get to the big story of Amelia, let’s cover the others first. Coop and Mason continued to bond, and he met Charlotte despite Erica’s objections. But Erica had a swift change of heart and realized she has to trust that Coop didn’t marry a monster. She was even able to see that despite Charlotte’s poor form of offering money, she was actually just looking out for Coop. In the end, she allowed a sleepover, complete with Wii and blanket forts.

Violet returned to work, but with the condition that Sheldon oversaw her patient appointments. I was abhorred when Violet kept interrupting her high strung lawyer patient with her own personal anecdotes and apparently Sheldon’s (clicking) pen agreed with me. He told her to keep the personal stories at bay, and she stood her ground on how she relates to patients. She vented to Pete that Sheldon was being overbearing, and Pete shockingly stood up for her to Sheldon. Even Sheldon was surprised by his defense of the wife he seems to hate. Sheldon relented and admitted it was really retribution for her micromanaging him during his overseeing of her patients and the two made peace. And when Violet came home, Pete turned off sports to watch American Bake Off with her. But did you notice the ocean of space between them on the couch?

Finally, we have Amelia. Amelia who is bitter with everyone that dares ask if she’s OK. Amelia who nearly gets arrested after tripping a silent alarm in the office while trying to retrieve her prescription pads. Amelia who flaunts her pads in a worried Charlotte’s face. And Amelia who is off on a bender with her boy-toy Ryan… and even he is concerned about what she’s throwing away. I thought she hit her bottom when she woke up, hung over and naked, in a hotel room surrounded by Ryan’s druggie friends. But instead she opted to smoke the crushed up pills for a euphoric high. But even that wasn’t low enough, as she ended the hour with a needle in her arm. Needless to say, Ryan is not a good influence.

She also managed to insult Coop in regards to Mason’s conception and blow off Charlotte and Addison’s concerns about her well-being. Charlotte finally tells the practice that she believes Amelia to be using again, and most react that there isn’t much she can do unless she wants help. Sheldon is near breaking point as he frantically calls police friends and the morgue trying to locate her. Amelia is in dire need of help, but nobody can find her.

The only light moment was when Coop and Addison tried to talk in code using tacos (pills) and sodas/margueritas (alcohol) as substitute words, but Mason just noted that Amelia seemed like a druggie.

So what were your thoughts on this episode? Are you looking forward to next week’s TWO HOUR EVENT!?!?

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