Private Practice: Season 3 Episode 23 'The End of a Beautiful Friendship' Review

Who knew the end of a beautiful friendship would be through death? I believe that even through death, friendships live on in our hearts, because we remember the love we had for them, and amidst all the hurt and pain, Dell was loved. I felt compassion for Betsy, she now has to face the death of both parents at such a young age. Her reaction to Dell's death was solid and no child should have to hear such sorrow.

I was honestly not surprised at Shonda Rhimes' choice to let Chris Lowell (Dell) off from the series. He was given less and less roles from the beginning of the second season, and after the drug storyline came to an end, he was hardly ever screened. In an interview with TV Guide, Lowell revealed the insight into Dell's elimination from the plot. Rhimes suggested that there was not much room for a midwife on the series, at least she could not place anymore story-lines that would embrace or enhance Dell's character given his profession. It was a risky bet given the many ways they could have let him leave the show, Dell had been accepted into medical school, so he could have been sent off with the hope of a return as a guest star.

Lowell, on the other hand appreciated the way Dell was let go according to TV Guide, he always wanted a challenge with his character and Dell gave him that opportunity. In the past, I was known to criticize Dell for his poor use of screen time and his inability to hold a decent storyline without seeming out of place, but his character will be missed. It was almost heartbreaking and unexpected that the after effects of a crash was what took his life. He was trying to bring Maya safely to the hospital, but not everything went as planned. Even Maya's plan took a turn for the worst. Naomi mentioned that had she been in Maya's life a lot more, the outcome could have been different, as Maya would have called her instead of Dell. That's impossible to know for sure, the pregnancy carried its weight on everyone. The past cannot be changed, no matter how much it is willed to do so.

Just when there was an appreciation that Addison and Amelia saved Maya and her child, Dell didn't have the same fate. Amelia's silence alone was enough words to deliver the bad news. Amelia herself had been a character that joined the cast at the latter end of the season. It causes me to inquire whether or not she was ever revealed in Grey's Anatomy and whether or not there would be another crossover. Although there have been word of a possible cross over for next season, it hasn't been confirmed, and already i am curious as to where Private Practice would take us next. Rhimes has managed to create a beautiful series, especially if we analyze how each character has grown each season.

Dell changed from he shirtless surfer boy, to a responsible father. In fact each and every character has changed from the first day we met them as a cast. This change has impacted well on the series; from the torn friendships, to the heartbreaking reunions and realization of the reality of it all. Even Maya has grown from the child to the young adult. I appreciate the family we as a fan-base have grown to love ourselves and we in fact wait in anticipation for the next season.

If we look closer into Charlotte and Cooper's relationship, that proposal came as a huge shocker. I am not convinced that the relationship would last though, Charlotte still doesn't know what went wrong with their relationship in the beginning and Cooper hasn't gotten past his issues long enough to commit himself into a long-term relationship. Cooper was jealous and afraid of losing Charlotte to another man, and although he may truly love er, I would not like it if their marriage turned out to be the same arguing and bashing. Surprisingly, I found Sheldon to be a turn around for Charlotte, the better man; but she was not in love with him. Charlotte and Cooper have so much history that it's very hard to compete with. The good man and husband routine gets old, but I was loving the way Sheldon reacted to Cooper and Charlotte's engagement. I didn't believe it when Cooper announced it. I kept looking at Charlotte's wedding finger to see if it had a ring on to confirm my suspicions that Cooper announced it to irritate Sheldon.

I also expected a Sheldon and Charlotte confrontation after the fact, but that could be left up to next season. Seeing as the engaged couple didn't get hitched right away and preferred to return the rings and try again another day, Sheldon's chances of winning Charlotte's heart became a slim possibility again. Rhimes would not have scripted Sheldon in the plot if he didn't have some impact over Charlotte. Cooper needs to prove himself not only to Charlotte again, butt to the audience for his despicable behavior over the past few weeks, which earned him quite a few punches.

Speaking of punches, how about the one to Pete's face by Sam, after having lied to him that the guy he was operating on, was not the one responsible for Maya's accident. I kept wondering why they were having Sam doing operations in his mentally disoriented state of mind. The staff didn't have a doctor waiting in line to prepare for surgery, they had to wait for a surgeon to come and replace Sam? It's funny how most of the cast find their way doing operations all the time at the hospital, the only one that stays in the practice is Violet. Still Pete should not have lied, convincingly at that. Sam was wrong to use his anger to make his decisions for him, an that man could have died on the table had Pete told Sam the truth. The truth on the other hand comes with acceptance and Sam should have made his personal decision so we could see as an audience the type of person Sam was. The type to operate on a patient even though he hated his guts, or the type to walk away and leave the patient for dead? It's all a puzzle, and we cannot say for sure what Sam would have done, even after he steeped away from the table, his guilty conscience would have stepped in at the last minute, or he could have purposefully not close up a wound fr the sake of his anger.

Altogether Sam has proven to be a very angry person. He could not even handle rejection, but more or so rationality on Addison's part. Even if Naomi gave Addison an apology for her resentment against the Sam and Addison notion, it still felt wrong of Addison to strip naked in front of Sam and have her way with him. I believe that it was easy for Addison to let Pete go, because she knew she held Sam's heart, but how long would it last. After the mild depressed state of everyone, would it sink in that Addison and Sam's relationship is really not that great after all. Naomi still considers him her husband.

After all the other events are settled and questions remain evident as to what next season would bring us, Maya's story would become a tale and Dell's own epic. I actually wondered how the writers would take care of Betsy, I guess leaving her with an aunt would be best, I still appreciated her connection to Maya, and she would have been welcomed by the viewers of the series. Who knows, maybe we would see her again, her story is not over yet. So Rhimes, what's next for Private Practice after this tear moving production?

Lexa

___________

Five Stars

Grade A+
___________