Private Practice – Everybody hurts, especially at Oceanside Wellness

After learning about Charlotte’s attack, Violet last week pondered whether everyone who worked at Oceanside Wellness was somehow cursed. You’ve got to admit, they’ve had a pretty crappy run of it during the four seasons of Private Practice:

Violet had her baby violently removed from her body by a psychotic patient and was left to bleed out, then had a breakdown and not only left her baby with Pete, but disappeared for a while. Sam and Naomi’s young teen daughter got pregnant, got married (against Naomi’s wishes) and nearly died in a car accident en route to the hospital to give birth. Their colleague Dell did die, not very long after his wife succumbed to injuries sustained in a drug-related fire, leaving their daughter an orphan. Pete started off the series as a widower and we recently learned that his mother is in jail for murder. Naomi’s latest boyfriend just died. These are not shiny, happy people leading idyllic lives.

So to learn that, on top of all of that, Violet had also been the victim of a violent sexual assault in college, it was almost too much darkness for me. And I like darkness in a show. Sure, seeing that a character like Violet can resurrect herself from tragedy, find a true life partner, get married, be a loving mother and a respected professional provides hope to those who’ve been victimized and who are struggling to regain their footing. But good grief, her horrific rape story was not at all what I expected to hear, not after hearing Charlotte’s last week.

However, before Violet shared her story, the bruised, open wound that is Charlotte (who’s still hiding the extend of her wounds from Cooper) used her words to slice and dice the earnest people at Oceanside who were treating her in a fashion which she despised: Like a physically and emotionally fragile victim.

Rebuffing all attention, sympathy and attempts to chat, Charlotte blunted Addison’s attempt to offer her a chance to talk by telling her they are not friends and informed her colleagues to stay out of her way. She also admonished Cooper not to touch her. But it was upon Violet which Charlotte unleashed the cruelest of commentary. Prior to learning that Violet was a fellow rape victim, Charlotte said there was no way Violet could comprehend what she was experiencing: “All you got’s a nasty scar and a horror story. You’re damaged goods, Violet. You. Not me.” Damn powerful stuff. I admire that they’re not fundamentally changing who this character is, refusing to dull her sharp edges.

Meanwhile, Addison finally cracking and telling Sam about Charlotte’s rape wasn’t unexpected, I was just surprised it didn’t happen sooner. Addison’s not one to keep her feelings inside for long, although it did surprise me to learn that she’d created a rape kit against Charlotte’s express wishes not to do so, just in case Charlotte changed her mind. The scene where Addison told Sam that Charlotte had been raped was a bit off-putting because she did so while they were in bed together, just after he’d been trying to make moves on her, but perhaps the awkward juxtaposition was the point.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens if Charlotte is forced or pressured to go public about her rape. I don’t think it’ll go well. I’d be disappointed if she just *poof* saw the light and told everyone about it because it wouldn’t seem consistent with Charlotte’s character as she tries to regain sovereignty over her life and her body.

I hope that Shonda Rhimes & Co. will be able to sustain their sharp edges and won’t give in to cheap, melodramatic solutions to Charlotte’s complex, emotional issues the way they usually do with their patients of the week stories, about which I’m not particularly fond.

Clacked by Meredith O'Brien
on Nov 12, 2010 @ 14:00 EST5EDT