Well, I’d have to say this was a Private Practice with more twists and turns then a roller coaster. It stills amazes me that after all these years I never know the direction that Shonda is going with things. This episode started slow and steady enough, however had I known the ending I would have said it was just one big build up. Talk about a cliffhanger of emotions. This episode was definitely more about the endings to all the stories than the beginnings.

First off, I think we can all breath a welcoming sigh of relief that Naomi is back. I can’t be the only one that has missed her presence. It just doesn’t quite feel complete without the entire practice present. And somehow I just knew that she was going to play a bigger part in this episode then any of us expected.

Let’s start off with the patients for a change, because I think that everything really stems off from there, which is usual for Private Practice. First off you have Emily, who is relatively famous around the Oceanside group. Addison is shellshocked when she learns why, the fact that Emily is constantly being paid for her baby. I have to admit I was shellshocked as well, not by the fact that this issue was being discussed but by the cavalier attitude of Pete and Violet. We come to find out that Emily is a serious drug addict who, every ten months or so, returns to St. Ambrose with a baby. The most heartbreaking part of this storyline for me was the connection Addison had to Emily. Addison always has an overwhelming personal connection to mothers, and we all know why, but this episode was heartbreaking. Addison wants a baby so bad and I was glad she could finally see the negatives in Emily by the end of the episode. I was proud of her for sticking to her guns but sometimes bad people are just bad people, which we saw when Emily decided to accept the money instead of her baby.

Speaking of babies, we got a look into a little more of Addison and Sam tonight. At the end of the last episode Addison made a statement that she wanted a baby, and not just any baby, Sam’s baby. And apparently that was where the discussion ended because the tension between Addison and Sam tonight was unbearable right up until the end. I was glad they finally talked about this baby issue instead of letting if fester for several episodes. Sam simply told Addison that he needed time, that they couldn’t judge their relationship on Addison’s biological clock, and for once I agree with Sam. I think Addison is appeased for now but that this issue is far from over.

And we can’t forget about the most surprising patient of all, Cooper’s patient, Justin. Justin, one of Cooper’s old patients returns to Oceanside a new boy, an obese boy. It turns out he had gained 282 pounds since the last time Cooper had seen the patient. We later find out why. In a not so shocking turn of events we discover that Justin was eating for protection because he was being sexually abused by one of his parents. Cooper, after finding this out, launches an attack at Justin’s father, which we later find out is the wrong parent. Justin was being sexually abused by his mother, not his father.

This patient, though shocking, was really a tie in for the problems going on between Cooper and Charlotte. Charlotte and Cooper find out that the DA will not prosecute Lee for the rape of Charlotte because of the circumstances that regard her rape, such as the lateness of the rape kit, the lie that Charlotte told, etc. Cooper is furious with this and Charlotte is unfazed and begins speaking in cliches and putting on fake smiles. All you see is the festering of anger that is developing inside Cooper. You begin to see it in his eyes and that all comes out after a poker game with the boys and is directed at Charlotte. This episode was pretty powerful for Cooper. Paul Adelstein acted to perfection tonight. RIght down to every facial cue and hand gesture. Cooper feels frustrated and lost and finally opens up to that with Sheldon. (I’m going to refuse to acknowledge the Cooper and Amelia kiss just as she did because I think it ultimately forced Cooper into opening up.) Cooper tells Sheldon he feels like a good man in the storm but that he doesn’t know how to deal with the loss of the person he loves, the loss of the real Charlotte that he fell in love with. Little does he know that Charlotte is feeling somewhat the same way, which we saw early with the scene between Naomi and Charlotte.

Naomi coming back was probably the best thing about this episode. She finally breaks through the shell that Charlotte has had up and finally gets Charlotte to show some emotion and admit to what is really plaguing her. Charlotte feels that Cooper will no longer want her after all that has happened. I hope eventually that Charlotte and Cooper will be able to talk to each other about these issues but until then we’ll wait.

And finally the biggest surprise of the night is the shocking return of Bizzy, Addison’s mother. When last we saw her she admitted to Addison that she was a lesbian and the reason for father traipsing all over New York with the woman he cheated with was not his fault and basically that Addison entire childhood had been a lie. She shows up tonight with the need of Addison’s help.

I believe what lies ahead for everyone at Oceanside is going to be one crazy ride. There is no doubt in my mind that big thing lie waiting for our doctors and I personally can’t wait.

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Private Practice will return with new episodes in January 2011.

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