'Private Practice': It's not a tumor!

Crossover episode! Yes, while you were watching Grey's Anatomy, it seamlessly became Private Practice. Did you even notice? Just in case you all forgot that it was a spin-off series or something.

First of all, thanks to Andrea for the last two weeks of coverage!

After yet another tryst with Naomi, Archer suffers a serious seizure, prompting Naomi to rush him to the ER and saying that on her advice, he needs to stay for more tests. He checks himself out, however, and pings her with doctor/patient confidentiality; she can't tell Addison. When she pushes Archer to get himself examined, he admits that he has an inoperable brain tumor. Naomi can't lie to Addison though, and tells her everything. Addison immediately goes into overdrive, stating that she's his sister, and a doctor, and there's always something that can be done.

Upon hearing the news, Sam, Violet and Pete all gather around while Addison downloads Archer's brain scans from his doctor in New York. They're all floored at the results. That's when Archer walks in, and the assembled intervention grills him. Sam notices that Archer doesn't have the ability to look up without tilting his head. Addison rushes him to get a new CT scan. In three weeks, the mass has doubled in size. Archer the neurologist realizes that it's not a tumor, but parasites he contracted overseas. Worms, in fact.

All together now... ewww.

Addison wants to call Derek to cut them out, but Archer decides to use drugs instead. Powerless to change his mind, and scared, Addison breaks down. She tells Archer all she wants to do is fix this for him, to which he replies, some things you can't fix.

Later that night, Archer has another seizure, this time with Addison. He ends up in the hospital, under sedation, but the seizures continue. Charlotte wants to put him into a coma to stop the seizure cycle. Sam agrees to be the doctor to do it, and administers the medication. After a few deep breaths, Addison overrides Archer's desire to try the drugs, and Sam and Naomi's protestations, and calls Derek (who, if you watch Grey's Anatomy, takes her call as he's setting up a romantic proposal for Meredith. Yet again, Addison's timing is impeccable.) Addison and Archer, along with Naomi, board a plane to Seattle. And we'll see what happens with that storyline next week.

Violet and Cooper are together all the time, and Sheldon and Charlotte aren't happy about it. No one knows about Violet's pregnancy still, so Cooper and Violet can't explain the whole story. I don't know how it will make a difference, but whatever. After some pains, though, Dell does an ultrasound on her, and the whole idea hits Violet hard. Hard enough to cause a panic attack. Dell tells her to start talking about the pregnancy, or the stress will only build.

So, she gathers Pete and Sheldon in a room, and drops the Pregnant Bomb on them both at the same time. She says that no matter who the father is, they won't be responsible for the child. Both of them are rightfully angry. Pete stops himself mid-sentence and asks her if she is indeed going to keep the child. Well, looks like it, Pete.

Later, Sheldon comes into Pete's office, and they talk about Sheldon's shock, and Pete's anger. They both admit that they wouldn't mind having a kid, no matter what they fear. 

Cooper's young patient Patty gets left at the clinic. She was in a hit-and-run accident as a toddler, and she's now due to have yet another expensive reconstructive surgery on her leg. Cooper believes that the parents are having money problems, which led them to leaving Patty. Violet talks to Patty to find out about her home life, and discovers nothing out of the ordinary. Before calling the police or talking to Patty directly, Cooper vows to find the parents and discover their motive. He heads to their house and finds it empty - no furntiture, nothing. When he returns to the clinic, he tries to find out about family from Patty, but she knows something is up. He goes to Patty's aunt's house, and finds Patty's parents. They're sullen and depressed, but strangely unemotionaly. They tell Cooper that Patty is just too much for them. They say they're "done." Cooper blows up at them, and tells them that he'd walk over broken glass for a child like Patty, and that they are indeed done.

He returns to Patty and tells her that her parents can't be there right now. Cooper wants to make sure that Patty gets the surgery though, because Child and Family Services won't pay for it, and asks Charlotte to look the other way while the surgery proceeds without the parental sign-in. After Patty wakes up, Violet introduces her a CFS worker.

Cooper, saddened by Patty's future, explains to Charlotte that all he wants his to be comforted by her, and that Violet is pregnant, and that's why he moved in with her. Charlotte asks what about her, and their first child. She says that the first moments that he'll experience with Violet were supposed to be with her instead.

Thoughts...

• The cross-over is interesting, and I'm looking forward to Addison's emotional return to Seattle Grace - returning hat in hand as it were - but it's hard not to be reminded that it's all a double-ratings ploy. It feels a little cheap and fast, and forced.

• Cooper is an idiot. Truly. He says he wants this real future with Charlotte, but doesn't act like it. Best friends or not, there's no need for him to move in with Violet now that she's pregnant. She's not debilitated.

• She may be emotional stunted though, and if Violet is actually going to go ahead with the mommy show, she's going to have to grow a backbone and stand on her own.

• Yet another pathetic half-story for Dell. It's not even worth recapping.

What about you? Pro or con cross-over? Can't we sign a petition somewhere to give Dell a real story?

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