Just last week, a writer from Salon complained that Private Practice had been overtaken by what she called “parental nightmare porn,” with dramatizations of sick and dying kids. The latest episode, “‘Til Death Do Us Part,” was no exception to that trend.
Didn’t we just see this sick/dying kid thread prominently featured two weeks ago when a mom of twin girls — who both had leukemia — had a baby so that the cord blood could be used to treat the girls, but then there wound up being only enough blood to save one kid so the doctors forced the parents to choose which daughter to let die?
I was still feeling unnerved by that story when I sat down to watch last night’s episode, which brought viewers face-to-face with another heart-wrenching ordeal, this one in the form of a baby born at 25 weeks gestation — weighing barely two pounds — to parents who went through the hell of three rounds of in vitro fertilization just to get pregnant. The newborn had horrendous complications, and it seemed obvious that he was not long for this world. (*cue the tears*)
The whole point of the premature baby’s story — having his parents, in spite of a dire diagnosis, fiercely argue for more surgery even when the doctors said their son was suffering, and then have them finally agree to let him go — seemed to be to make an analogy to the ongoing saga of Naomi and Sam Bennett’s pregnant 15-year-old daughter Maya who was getting married to the baby daddy.
For weeks Naomi has been unable to let go of the notion that her daughter’s pregnancy and upcoming marriage were her own fault as a mother, and that this whole situation was about her. For the longest time — when Naomi wasn’t slapping Maya across the face, trying to force her into having an abortion, or saying, “No” to every suggestion offered by her ex-husband — Naomi insisted she wouldn’t attend Maya’s wedding to another 15-year-old named Dink. (Come on people; Dink? Really?)
And, as expected, at the last minute Naomi showed up at the wedding. Why do I say “expected?” Because her appearance was telegraphed by the previous scene where Naomi counseled the grief-stricken parents of the premature baby when they asked her what she’d do if she were in their position. “I’d hope that I had the strength to do what my child needed, no matter what the cost to me,” Naomi said. You could practically see the light bulb turning on above her head.
A few minutes later there she was, giving Maya the bracelet her mother had given her on her wedding day (which isn’t a very good omen, if you ask me, because Naomi and Sam are now divorced). Anyway … Naomi was there, the premature baby was dying, and Private Practice still managed to squeeze in a bit of nooky with Charlotte and Cooper gettin’ it on in the bathroom, and melodrama with Sam calling Addison on the carpet for sleeping with his close friend, their colleague Pete.
Did you like the way the Maya’s pregnant and getting married/Naomi’s losing it story played out? What do you think about all the dead/dying/sick kids?
Clacked by Meredith O'Brien 
on Feb 19, 2010 @ 11:30 EST5EDT
I don’t know how I feel about it. They briefly visited this issue 2 years ago when Maya’s friend had an STD. At the episode’s end, Maya confessed to her virginity. I liked that because I felt slightly tired of soap operas i.e. Desperate Housewives\BH 90210\etc. creating dramatic issues in the kid’s life to make him\her seem more interesting. So, I felt sad that they re-visited the issue especially considering if I witnessed my best friend deal with a bloody vagina in jr high that I’d take Fort Knox precautions in HS to avoid that same issue -
Remember when Grey’s used to startle us? Dr. Shepard is married?? Richard slept with Ellis??? Meredith’s father is alive??? I don’t know if Private Practice ever did this in the first season, but now it just seems so incredibly dark, themed, and heavy-handed. It’s like the writers choose a giant 2-worded central issue: “LETTING GO”–and then write every story in the episode around it. We viewers aren’t so stupid that we need it spoon-fed to us in each scene, which is how it feels right now. When Taye Diggs smiled at the end of his toast, I realized it’s probably been 3 episodes since he last smiled. Where’s the fun? (Note to writers: Cooper and Charlotte having non-surprise jealous sex in the bathroom during the toast is not fun, it’s just icky. And SO predictable.) Where’s the witty banter? How about treating the viewers as a little smarter and writing an episode that matches the sunny title card for once.