About midway through the latest Private Practice episode, “Fear of Flying,” Pete was struggling to figure out what to do about this fortysomething patient who, after spending her adult life searching for her soul mate, finally found him, the man of her dreams. But the problem was, the woman was seriously allergic to his, um, well, fluid shall we say. Her body literally rejected him and this couple, who thought they were perfect for one another, was flabbergasted.
This established the thematic question for this episode: Should you “settle” for someone and allow the “right” person to leave, especially when that “right” person may make your life difficult?
The question, obviously, was first and foremost put to Addison and Sam. Addison recently informed Sam that she couldn’t date him because he is her best friend’s ex-husband, even though Addison believes that they are a great fit for one another. Hurt, Sam decided to date another attractive ob/gyn/neonatologist, which, of course, made Addison insanely jealous.
When Addison accused Sam of trying to incite her, Sam replied, “Do I think about you when I’m with her? Yeah. But I can’t wait around for something I can’t have. I won’t. And you shouldn’t expect me to.”
At the end of the episode, when Sam had his new doc in his condo on a date and Addison was spying on them from her patio, she glumly said to Pete, “He’s moved on.”
“So has she,” Pete said, referring to the unseen Violet who was AWOL in this episode, off in Costa Rica someplace. Another “perfect” match who had slipped away. Meanwhile, the ill-matched Addison and Pete — who had an uncomfortable black panties scene in the beginning of the episode which reminded me of the black panties scene from Grey’s Anatomy after Meredith slept with Derek during the “prom” — settled into one another’s arms, lamenting the fact that the “right” person was with someone else.
This theme was played out with nearly all the characters in the episode. Charlotte mourning losing the “right” person in Cooper led to yet another odd romantic pairing between Private Practice colleagues, this time with Sheldon sleeping with Charlotte, who’d slept with Cooper at the end of the last episode before Cooper took off with Violet to Costa Rica and came back all Zen.
The most humorous moment occurred after Cooper had walked into Charlotte’s apartment to find Charlotte and Sheldon naked on her sofa. Sheldon gleefully announced, “Charlotte made martinis,” to which Cooper had no response, turned on his heels and left. “I think he’s lost his Zen,” Sheldon said.
When you couple the Sheldon/Charlotte thing with the Naomi/William/Gabriel triangle (Gabriel uncharacteristically calling Naomi the love of his life and pulling a Jerry Maguire by saying she makes him want to be a better man), and I’m starting to lose my Zen too.
At the end of the episode, Pete found the answer for the fortysomething biologically challenged couple so they could be together. Will the other “right” couples on this show find similar solutions? I seriously doubt it.
Clacked by Meredith O'Brien 
on Mar 05, 2010 @ 12:22 EST5EDT
While PP features a continuously rotating bed charter, due to the talents of its acting cast and their chemistry, I always find investment in each new pairing. However, I’m frustrated they never let any pairing (save the Charlotte-Cooper one) play out past the attraction stage. S1 gave us Pete and Addison, Sam and Naomi (although I saw glimpses of Addison-Sam) as well as Dell-Naomi. S2 gave us Sam and Violette, and now S3 we’re back to Sam&Addison and Addison&Pete. However, S2 just dropped Dell’s feelings from S1, S3 dropped Violette’s relationship with Pete (using her attack as an excuse), and S2 left the Pete-Addison relationship alone until now.
I guess they do the rotating relationships to keep us invested, but sometimes I wish they’d let at least one of them fully play out. I figured that Gabriel’d remain Naomi’s Dell for this season, and while Willem is clearly Archer, I’m glad that Gabriel finally spoke. Although PP is slowly returning to a show I enjoy watching, because they keep presenting us with so many viable couples, I just wish they’d let some of the relationships/feelings last past the 5-date rule, but perhaps that’s why I continue to watch :)
Sadly, I am so over this show and all its random pairings. I get attached to what I want to see and it annoys me that they rotate them with absurdities. I like Sam with Naomi, and Pete with Addison, and most of all Cooper with Violet. Charlotte is toxic for him. I’d be fine with seeing her be with Pete, actually, and finding someone new for Addison (and of course, get rid of Sheldon altogether). Then again, there’s Addison and Sam, or maybe Addison and Noah if they’d made him single and kept him for good, and maybe Dell and Naomi since he was oh so in love with her, and I’m already exhausted and can’t remember what this show is really supposed to be about.