Private Practice 4.14 “Home Again” Review – Stepford Addison

There were two pieces of Private Practice tonight. Because I found it distasteful, I’ll first deal with the execution story involving Violet and Sheldon. I really had hope for the story. That the husband, after 17 years, came clean and admitted he committed a murder he had denied until then gave me some hope. So many execution stories come down to the person being innocent and everybody gets to talk about how right they were and how horrible the system is to ever use execution under any circumstances.

But then it was in the open, and his wife was confronting the wife of the murdered man, and I was let down. I know what it is like to want to explain away someone’s crimes. I’ve made excuses that I cannot believe I have made when defending a guilty person. But to ask the wife of a murdered man to petition the governor for a stay of execution was just going too far. I can only think of the years of grief she had undergone, with just 48 hours left to what might be the final step in her grieving process (because as long as there is a chance the outcome can change, it is always on your mind), to be assaulted like she was just assaulted me.

Stepford Addison (even Sam noticed the similarity) was much more understandable. And agreeable. I hate her mother for putting her in the position to lie to everyone she loves, testing her one final time with her family loyalty. But Addison dealt with it. It bordered on humorous, at times, the way she greeted her friends when they showed up in Connecticut, the eulogy she delivered – it all worked. Addison was fighting back at her mother, the woman she doesn’t want to become, in the only way that made sense to her.

Just months after Addison inadvertently came to the rescue of Charlotte, Charlotte was facing the same fate with Addison. I can only hope that their blossoming friendship, based upon the worst of times, is something explored in the future. When Charlotte and Violet were hanging out, it didn’t seem they were equals. Not that one was less than the other, but that they were so incredibly different. Addison and Charlotte are both beautiful, strong and private women, seemingly kindred spirits. Naomi is leaving, so Addison will be in need of a new best friend. No matter how much in love you are with your significant other, you need someone else to share with your darkest and brightest moments, sometimes before they are shared elsewhere. The potential of this friendship would be ripe with possibilities, so I hope someone who cares gets my message.

If you read my review of “Blind Love” last week, you know I wasn’t pleased. In spite of my opening paragraph above and the assault on my sense of justice and redemption, “Home Again” felt like the Private Practice I have loved these three and a half years. Adults who face problems, share their love and friendship and experience life. Some of them have been in each others lives forever, and some are newer to the family, but each has his or her place and when it all comes together, it can hum like a finely tuned instrument.

My grade is B+. If they had left the execution for another episode, “Home Again” would have earned an A.