Private Practice Season Premiere Review: "Take Two"
"Take Two." The title of last night's fourth season premiere of Private Practice says it all. We all want a do-over, a chance to make things right the second time around.
From the patients to the doctors themselves, everyone got it. The road won't be any easier this time, but perhaps with a fresh start, the end result will be more rewarding.
The opening of "Take Two" found the team mourning Dell's death. Pete and Violet are taking a HUGE step when it comes to second chances - they're getting married!
VIOLET BOLTS: Fortunately, she and Pete did tie the knot after she came back.
Like on Grey's Anatomy, we pick up in the aftermath of a shocking season finale last May and things are out of sorts. Sam and Addison don’t look very together, for one.
Naomi isn’t with Fife either, and Dink isn't with his kid. Which is, in part, Naomi's fault. She keeps pushing him away. Sam decided to teach him a lesson through sports.
Playing one-on-one basketball, Sam starts hacking the crap out of his sort-of son-in-law, and when Dink pushes back, Sam says to take that mentality with Naomi too.
Basketball. A metaphor for life.
The night's patients also reflected the blatantly obvious, vintage Shonda Rhimes symbolism of redemption. A kidney transplant patient, Ryan, begs his brother, whom he has wronged, for an organ - and a chance to make things right. Emotional stuff.
Ryan's body rejects the kidney, but his brother, Kevin, did not reject his pleas for forgiveness. He says he'll tell their parents what Kevin did in heaven. Is it dusty in here? Meanwhile, Naomi and Sheldon help a couple who want to have a child via surrogate.
The problem? Addison recognizes the prospective dad, who unintentionally left his first child in the car on a hot day, killing him. He wants to try again, and after much hesitation, Addison believes in second chances enough to help the couple give it a try.
On Pete and Violet’s wedding day, emotions are running high.
Then Violet is running, literally, in the other direction. Despite her fears, and Pete's own major insecurities about being a failure at marriage, he does what no words can - looks at her with reassurance and all the love and tenderness in the world. What a moment.
Cooper and Charlotte, whose ongoing drama took a back seat this week, decide to have both a pastor and a rabbi at their own wedding. Sheldon drinks his single woes away, while Addison wonders, aloud, if people do things better the second time around. Deep.
Sam says he hopes so. While in a bubble bath with her, BTW.
This premiere, while overly sappy at times, was definitely solid and set the stage for what could be a great fourth season. We look forward to seeing these stories fleshed out.
What did you think of the Private Practice season premiere? Do Addy and Sam have a shot? Will Pete and Violet last? What was your favorite scene? Discuss!
Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.
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September 30th, 2010 1:12 AM
@ella I am a AddiSam fan. I do not repeatedly tweet Shonda or Kate about Addisam. Yeah I have seen some AddiSam fans who tweet her a lot. They are all nice and respectful to her though. However, I have also seen all summer long the same Addek and Maddison fans spamming Shonda everyday all hiatus about their dead ship. I know a few Addek/Maddison fans got blocked because they were rude to Shonda. So how is what the AddiSam fans doing any different than what the Addek/Maddison fans have done? I frequent a lot of different boards and AddiSam DO have a fanbase. Yes, they have people who don't like them. Yes, they are a controversial pairing. Sadly, some the controversy is because they are a interracial couple. However, they sure do bring a discussion to this show which "love them or hate them" is something this show needs. As for the ratings, only people who live in the US and have a Nielsen box count in the ratings. People who live outside the US and watch the show online do not factor in
September 29th, 2010 5:50 PM
@MissKitten I was the same, Addex was my fave ship on grey's! I'm gonna look for you on twitter then :)
September 29th, 2010 4:45 PM
I am very good friends- with a couple who were married for 15 years, they had three sons. While they were together, they had another couple they were friends with. Both guys were best friends, both women were best friends- 4 years into knowing them, during different time and for very different reasons, both couples got divorced. Now- 5 years later, Guy A just proposed to Girl B. AND- here is the kicker, Girl A couldn't be happier for both her ex husband AND her friend/Girl B. She's excited that her kids with have someone who has always loved her kids, in one way or another. And she truly believes that her ex-husband is in love, and deserves happiness. I asked her if she was upset, and she told me not even in the slightest, in fact she thinks it's kind of cool. But, my friend has moved on and is in a happy, healthy relationship.
all i'm saying, is that i get it. it seems back-stabbing and awful. addi is her best friend, but they are also grown ups. sam and nay are divorced and have
Rank: Guest Star
September 27th, 2010 4:32 PM
@ella yeah, every day is majorly drastic (not to mention twenty times a day, like some people do...). I'd rather come off as an individual person with an opinion than a crazy fangirl. I mean, I obsess, but I don't want to nag. I want Addie to be happy, too, and as long as she stays away from Pete (he's Violet's man!!!), then it's not so majorly important to me who she finds happiness with.
Yeah, Addex was great, I remember screaming at the TV "kiss her, you idiot!" right before they kissed in the bar *sighs* (PS: if you'd rather continue the convo on twitter, I'm themisskitten there)
September 26th, 2010 6:42 PM
@MissKitten
I'm not a fan of this couple but I accepted the fact that they are end game. I just want Addie to be happy so if she's happy with him then so be it.
I LOVE Addex so much!! It's one of my favorite ship :)
They really are annoying, I too voice my mind and tell Shonda what I think of her show and I also tell Kate what I think about this couple but not everyday or so.
Rank: Guest Star
September 26th, 2010 6:33 PM
@ella lol, big oops, there... I decided to finally register so I can prevent future username mishaps ;)
I am not offended, I just wanted to point out that there is no way to determine what the majority truly thinks. I personally like AddiSam (tho I am still fond of the good ol' Addie/Alex days), but not to the degree that I'd tweet Shonda or Kate about them... I stick to tweeting Shonda and Amy about Violet/Pete, which is my main ship, lol. But I am nowhere as bad as these "annoying fangirls" you talk about. I don't believe in nagging at people, just in letting my voice be heard every now and then.
September 26th, 2010 4:15 PM
I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to type "misskiten" as my username, I wanted to reply to what misskitten replied me. I didn't pay attention, again SORRY...
September 26th, 2010 4:12 PM
I know, the only way for us to know are the ratings, and believe me when I say that I hope most private practice fans like this ship because even though I'm not a fan of Addie and Sam I don't want to see the show suffer from it, I want it to have a S5.
Sorry if I offended some of you but really I'm so tired of seeing these addisamlover, addisamarelove, crap like that, accounts on twitter tweeting Kate and Shonda daily about how much they love them and how perfect they are etc... It makes Kate and Shonda think we all think that which is far from true. A lot of people can't stand them and some even said they don't want to watch anymore because of this couple.
September 26th, 2010 3:53 PM
Boring episode.
I just hate the recent pairings:
- I love Addie but I hate her and Sam together!
- I love Charlotte, but the drama with her and Cooper is getting old.
- I love Violet, but I already fear the drama that is gonna come out of her marriage with "boring-as-ever-Pete"
- The only thing I really enjoyed in this episode was Amelia - especially with Addie. I hope there are more scenes with those two to come.
So please bring Addie back to Seattle where she belongs and let her take Amelia with her!
I'd kinda miss Charlotte and Violet, but they are ruined in their present storylines anyway, so I'd get over it...
September 26th, 2010 2:49 PM
Most boring episode ever. Medical dramas were lame and the characters were just pathetic. I've taken it off my DVD scheduled recordings.