On Thursday, November 17, Private Practice is stepping into territory not many others have dared to go when the doctors of Seaside band together for an intervention to send Amelia to rehab. In what is arguably the series’ best episode to date, tension will run high for an hour so gripping and so harrowing that you’ll be left wondering when Private Practice got so good.

In a rare opportunity, ABC made the first hour of Private Practice‘s two-hour event airing November 17 available for viewing to the press. The episode, “Who We Are,” takes place during the actual intervention for Amelia, and, as penned by series creator Shonda Rhimes, throws in quite a few surprises. Let’s take a look at some questions readers have…

_alwayswithyou_ asks: I know the episode is mainly about Amelia, but does it include any good Addison/Sam moments we can look forward to?

Not exactly. But don’t confuse that answer as saying Addison and Sam spend the entire episode separated, because that’s not the case. They’re together, and it’s quite obvious that they are, and their relationship is talked about, but this isn’t an episode used to progress their relationship storyline any. It would have felt out of place and silly if it had been.

TGomez14 asks: I would like to know if the episodes has any Addison/Jake interaction in it that we can look forward to.

Sure does. It’s not much, but it’s there. Look for it close to the beginning of the episode. There’s actually much more Jake in this episode that I would have ever anticipated. However, in typical Shonda Rhimes fashion, she uses episodes that people think will be centered around just one character to throw in a curveball and use it to let us learn about other characters. And that character, for this episode, is Jake. It makes me wonder at what could be in store for his character, whom I’ve found to be a welcome addition to the cast this year.

8Anna22 asks: Is it everything about Amelia? Or does the Addison/baby storyline get some screen time?

It’s almost all about Amelia, but not quite. In a way, the episode is just as much about all of the doctors of Seaside Health & Wellness as it is about Amelia. It’s very lovely. Addison and her baby don’t really get screentime within the first hour, but they do get discussed, albeit briefly, and probably not how you’d expect.

kenziemacattack asks: In the 2nd hour episode description (see: “The Breaking Point”), it says Addison collapses because of her fertility treatments. Any signs in the first hour that something is wrong with her?

No, not really. But it remains unclear just as to how or where the second hour, “The Breaking Point,” will pick up from, though my assumption is that it picks up not long after the end of “Who We Are,” just based on how that hour ends. However, I don’t really think that Addison’s medical issues will come out of nowhere, and you’ll see why when you see just how much stress and emotional trauma she is under within the first hour.

fabinpink asks: Is there any good Addison/Amelia interaction?

This episode is CHOCK FULL of Addison and Amelia interaction. There was actually more Addison/Amelia and less Charlotte/Amelia than I had anticipated there being, and yet it works wonderfully. It felt right, given the characters’ backstories. But there is most definitely tons of Addison and Amelia interaction to look forward to – though it’s going to be hard to watch.

come_il_mare asks: Are there any flashbacks of Amelia & Addison back when Addie was her sister in law and Amelia had overdosed?

No flashbacks to those particular stories, but there will be flashbacks to a very important event I hadn’t ever been expecting to actually see, and it’s used numerous times throughout the episode – yet it never feels repetitive, which is important.

Inevitably, this episode is going to draw comparisons to last season’s harrowing “Did You Hear What Happened to Charlotte King?,” which featured the rape of Charlotte King. I’m not quite sure just how fair those comparisons will be. Both episodes are fantastic, and both are just as difficult to watch; just as difficult to stomach. In a way, however, it was almost more difficult to watch “Who We Are” because of the jaw-dropping verbal attacks Amelia launches against her fellow doctors. And as difficult as it is to watch Amelia, it’s just as difficult to watch the people around her – namely Addison and Charlotte. There were numerous times while watching the episode that I actually screamed out profanities out of sheer shock at what was taking place on screen.

The episode, however, was much different than I would have ever expected. Series creator and episode writer Shonda Rhimes wasn’t lying when she stated that “Who We Are” was very outside of the typical Private Practice format. We’ve got flashbacks, we’ve got voiceovers, we’ve got monologues, and there’s even a scene in the episode in which nothing happens. And, yet, it all just works. And what makes it work is not only the writing, but the Emmy-worthy performances of the entire cast, specifically Caterina Scorsone and Kate Walsh. They are really the standouts in this hour.

I was beginning to get a little weary of the episode as it reached the end, because it looked like Amelia’s story was heading in a direction that just wasn’t enough. It was too easy. A cop-out, I guess you could say. Why I ever doubted Shonda Rhimes, I’ll never know, because not but minutes later had everything I had feared been completely erased, but the episode packed a huge punch I never saw coming. If there’s one complaint I have about the episode, it’s that I didn’t quite like how the final scene played out. The style of it was odd and it felt like it went too quickly – which, more than likely, it probably did because it had to get cut down for time. But other than that, I hold no gripes.

Without a doubt, this is the best episode that Private Practice has ever produced. As I watched, I was in awe of how fantastic it was, and it made me wonder just when Private Practice got so good. So far, the fifth season has been utterly gripping, and this episode is yet another milestone for a series that continues to prove that it doesn’t need to rely on the shoulders of its older sister, Grey’s Anatomy, to be successful.

Be sure not to miss “Who We Are,” and the episode that follows, “The Breaking Point,” when they air as a two-hour Private Practice special on Thursday, November 17. They are not to be missed. By anyone. It’s a masterpiece of an episode.

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