What's it about?
The arrival of Dell's young orphaned daughter, Betsey, stirs up the emotions of everyone in the practice; and Pete and Amelia disagree over a risky surgery to treat a woman who has been experiencing chronic and insufferable pain throughout her pregnancy.
Review
It's a tearjerker of an episode this week when the ghost of Dell returns in the form of Betsy and it serves to emphasize the family dynamic that runs beneath the storylines and the medical jargon of 'Private Practice'.
This is one of those episodes which makes you realise that although this show is always good it can be great, I mean really great. When the core group of characters are not being ripped apart but are brought together over a common purpose of event then this show shines in a way that other ensemble cast shows fail.
This year 'PP' has proven that it doesn't just have to all be about Addison which you know I could complain about as she is the most kick ass double board certified surgeon in TV land but you can't help but respect the amount of talent that exists between these actors.
I fear that we are seeing the end of the character of Naomi whether it be through poor treatment of the character or by wish of the actress Audra McDonald to take a back seat to other members of the cast. Either way she is once again written out of the show for the next few weeks whilst she is 'away on foundation business'. Naomi was part of the original driving force of the show and in early days it was the dynamic between herself, Addison and Sam which was at the core of the group. To take her out of the equation now would leave a large gap in the family and unlike 'Grey's Anatomy' this isn't a show which can exist with a revolving door of secondary cast members.
There are a couple of things which have irked me about both this season and this episode:
1. After the major story arc of last year with the marriage and teenage pregnancy of Maya she has been talking about so often in the first episodes of this season yet we haven't seen her once. She is supposedly recuperating from the accident in last seasons finale yet we've not seen her. Strangely though we have seen her husband.
2. So Pete decided last week that he was going back to emergency medicine. This week he's in scrubs (which have quite randomly changed colour from previous seasons) working at the hospital. Good to see things move fast here.
Tugging at the heart strings constantly through this episode are Violet struggling to discern between her emotions and her professional opinion when it comes to caring for Betsy and Addision's desire to 'have the option' to have children with Sam.
Even the lighter moments of the episode (Cooper discussing his childhood love of magic for instance) give way to some much more downbeat scenes but as usual there is a seamless flow through the episode that gives the feeling of a roller coaster of emotions.
This season seems darker, in colour pallet and lighting, that previous seasons. I'm not sure if that is a conscious decision on behalf of the creative team to move away from the lighter pallet of early episodes when the show had a more upbeat and whimsical tone in comparison to more recent episodes. That is by no means a complaint because I like things dark and twisty so I can deal and enjoy with a broader colour spectrum, some of those early episodes can be a bit painful on the eyes.
There's also some very poignant dialogue in this episode which continues to allude to potential troubles or triumphs between the various couples on the show and now that we are several seasons in the voices of each character are beginning to assert themselves nicely and further prove that this is a truly well written ensemble piece and not a vehicle to further the careers of jobbing actors.
If only all ensemble shows were this good!
Next week...
Much to her displeasure, Addison is teamed with a new oncologist, Dr. Rodriguez, to treat a newborn baby with a malignant tumor; when Violet and Sheldon visit a prison in order to interview inmates who are up for parole, Pete is highly uncomfortable as Violet tries to help a parolee; and Addison and Violet suggest Sheldon could be the solution for Amelia's needs.
Overall
Story 4.0
Character 4.5
Medical content 3.0
Overall 4.0
No comments:
Post a Comment