Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Eeny Meeny Miney Moe
By Cindy McLennan | Season 2 | Episode 12 | Aired on 01.15.2009
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.As soon as Sheldon finally manages to achieve an erection, Violet relieves him of it. Sheeeesh Vi, hasty much? I think he wanted to have it bronzed. Meanwhile, she's still sleeping with Pete, too. She confesses her dirty secrets to Cooper who's all "Yay sex, boo relationships!" But when Vi gets a UTI, Addison and Naomi have a serious talk with her lady parts. Face to…er…face. Violet eventually comes clean to both men, at the SAME DAMN TIME, and loses Pete, because he's much better looking, but manages to keep Sheldon, because he's sort of creepy. Elsewhere, Naomi learns Sam is dating Sonia and that Maya has met and likes her; Charlotte's father, "Big Daddy," is dying of cancer; and Cooper's social skills need some spit and polish.
Dell introduces us to our first case of the week -- the CF Family -- made up of single Dad Daron, daughter Gracie (age 9) and son Julian (age 2). Even though Daron seems the sickest, little Gracie has tested positive for Burkholderia Cepacia. Not only is her prognosis grim, but Daron and Julian have to stay away from her, completely. They can't touch her, or be with her, or they'll die. Addison, Cooper, and Pete make plans to whisk her off to the hospital. I throw my shoe at the TV. Kevin is back at Addison's, by the way, but things are tense between them, and her attraction to Wyatt grows, particularly when he takes an interest in Gracie's case and comes up with a long-shot treatment plan that's worked on some of his cancer patients who had opportunistic pulmonary infections. When it doesn't work for Gracie, it seems like Wyatt's lost his shot with Addison, but has he?
Our second case of the week involves Cynthia, a widow who is recovering from a stroke. Her adult son, Seth, wants her to move to Florida with him, but she's refusing both to move and to disclose her reasons. I wouldn't fight with her, since Mama is Patty "The Original Bad Seed" McCormack. Give her her way, and nobody gets hurt. Sam can't hear me, he's starting take Seth's side. Cynthia confesses to Violet why she won't move, but swears her to secrecy – she won't even let her tell Sam, because if Seth finds out, he'll hate her. They leave us in the dark, so clearly, Cynthia is a lesbian who was involved with her partner Annette, even while her husband was alive. Vi vouches for Cynthia's mental state to Sam, but cites privilege when she refuses to reveal Cynthia's reason for remaining in California. Vi, Sam and Cynthia meet with Seth, and do not tell him about her relationship, but he's set on her moving back to Florida with him. He becomes so agitated that Cynthia has a T.I.A. from all the stress. Eventually Cynthia and Annette come clean to Seth -- who immediately and thoroughly rejects his mother. He gets over it pretty quickly though, because this is only a one hour show.
When Cooper fails to muster any sympathy for Charlotte's plight, Addison convicts him with one sentence and a look, because she's magical. He flies down to Alabama and shows up at her door to be by her side while Big Daddy expires. Her whole family is useless, so Charlotte knows she has to pull the plug, but she can't make herself do it. Eventually, Cooper does it for her. She can't and won't cry at the family homestead, but on the flight back, she dissolves into tears and ends up in Cooper's lap.
Meanwhile Nai talks to Sam and then to Maya, trying to come to terms with the fact that Sam has a girlfriend and she's going to be part of Maya's life. She spies on them all from Addison's patio, which doesn't help, but the wine seems to. Naomi later talks to Sonia, and then Sam (again), takes a deep breath, and decides to get used to it all.
When Wyatt's plan won't work for Gracie, Daron hands Dell his keys and Addison his son, and walks into his infected daughter's room, and to his doom, but no matter what choice he made, he would be right and he would be wrong, and I can't think about this story line because it makes me cry.
The episode ends with Addison in a fantastic red dress. She walks into Wyatt's office. She throws her hands up and says, "I don't know what I'm doing here." Wyatt rises and walks to her. She puts her hands on his face, and they kiss, while Rachael Cantu sings us home as we all go down with the Devil's Thunder.
See the reasons patients should steer clear of Oceanside Wellness. Come back on Monday for our full weecap.
Want more? The full recap starts right below! Hi, everyone. I'm your substitute recapper this week, and want to confess right off the bat that this is the first episode of Private Practice I've ever watched. To make matters worse, I've never watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy, either. In my defense, I am a recovering soap opera addict, so I'm pretty sure I can still ride the bike.We open in on the famous HOLLYWOOD sign and pan to a Spanish influenced condo complex reminds me of the one Laverne and Shirley moved to when they left Milwaukee for California and completely ruined the show. A wet-haired Violet, wearing a colorful floral robe and her glasses opens to the door to find a smiling Sheldon, who shushes her and tells her not to scare the erection. Violet - here's what you do - say, "Okay," and gently shut the door, lock the door, and call the police. Sheldon brags, "It's up, Violet. Full mast." Okay. I was expecting a soap, not Soap.
Inexplicably, Violet leaves the door open and actually talks to him. "I thought you just wanted to be friends."
Sheldon says, "I did. But a week of friendship - and it looks like I'm over my issue. Heh. Heh. Heh....Is this okay?" NO! Not okay. Er...to me. Violet apparently feels differently.
When he starts blathering on about how this is embarrassing and he shouldn't have, I nod vigorously while Violet moves in for a kiss. So...Judging Amy stars and Judgment-free Violet, then? Okay. I pause on the kiss only to realize Amy Brenneman needs a facial, stat. Amy, I get that they wanted to show you fresh from the shower, but talk to the DP about some more flattering light, or something.
Charlotte stands alone in the elevator at Oceanside Wellness - looking down, looking grim, looking hot. Cooper (in shades) hustles for the door, asking her to hold it, and slips in before the doors shut. When the black cloud over her head obscures his view of the elevator buttons, he says she looks like someone died. Charlotte corrects him. "Dying. Big Daddy." Cooper makes great hay with this, assuming Charlotte has a Sugar Daddy with one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel, but Charlotte's Southern, y'all, so she talks like she's straight out of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (which Cooper also references, but I swear I said it aloud in my living room, first). Anyhow, Big Daddy is Charlotte's father - her father who is dying of cancer. As a soap opera fan who's been through the trenches, I recognize the need to disconnect from real people with real cancer so I'm taking a moment. And? (I loathe medical shows) I'm done. Okay. Now. So Cooper feels like ass and he should. Charlotte exits the elevator which allows Coop some cringe time.