TVSquad

(S04E13) "It's like I never left." - Addison

She's baaaaaack. The triumphant return of Addison. And yes I do mean triumphant - this was arguably the best episode of the season and it's funny if you think about it. Had the WGA Strike not happened, Private Practice wouldn't have gotten shelved until the fall season (only 9 season one eps aired), and Kate Walsh wouldn't have had all that free time to guest star. With her return came the Grey's Anatomy I remember. Snappy dialogue, good character development, and lots of laughs. Despite the annoying recurrence of all the cases eerily mirroring what's going on in their respective doctors' lives, I loved this episode.

Gallery: Grey's Anatomy: Pieces of My Heart

While the previews played up Addison's return, we'll come back to that - she wasn't the only story. Ava/Rebecca or Jane Doe. Whatever you want to call her. The poster-girl for the "oh not her again" guest star. She was back too. After her last naked encounter with Karev, she comes to tell him she's got a bun in the oven. Predictable. That wasn't the big deal though. After running a few tests, Izzie found out she wasn't preggers at all. So what the hell does Ava/Rebecca think she's doing? We know she's not in love with her husband, doesn't seem to care for her own kid too much, and she has an unhealthy obsession with Alex. Izzie made the best point and I can only hope that it's foreshadowing: she's like something out of Fatal Attraction.

She's obsessed with a guy who doesn't really care about her. Sure, the case du jour with the kid and the external heart moved him a little. But c'mon, Alex doesn't care. He might think he does, but he doesn't. The idea of bringing a kid into this world terrifies him. Fortunately, that won't be a problem. So what happens when he finds out the pregnancy is a lie? To me, the most satisfying ending to this story would be to see Ava/Rebecca snap. Go nuts. Maybe hold him hostage in a hospital room. I don't see how else you get rid of her unless she cracks.

OK, moving on. Addison is back at Seattle Grace, working on that baby with the heart outside of its chest. While she flits through the hospital hallways, preaching about the joys of LA and her new life, she seems oblivious to how much her old co-workers' lives have changed since her departure. She thinks it's all the same. I found her character to be a little odd only because I felt like it was the "new" Addison that got re-tooled for Private Practice. But by the end of the episode, any semblance of that was gone. She was the only one who hadn't changed. Walks on the beach and scented candles don't make you a different person.

But once she heard about all the changes - Meredith and Derek broke up, Callie's marriage, Weber's marriage, Bailey's marriage - Addison was back to her old self. It was classic Grey's when she told off Meredith at Joe's bar for letting Derek slip away. You stole him, you better make the effort to keep him. Of course, they're going to get back together. Meredith's brain tumor clinical trial is their new courtship. Notice how Rose (or should I say McRebound?) was only in this episode for two scenes? Did you miss her? Of course not. That elevator scene, when all 3 of Derek's women got in with him, was great. Sloan's comment about taking the stairs was perfect too.

Back to Mer and Der. This clinical research thing, it's sort of like their relationship. They both have high hopes, but they know it's going to fail as long as their patients (like Phillip) keep dying on the table. That is... until, one of their test subjects responds favorably. When that happens, Rose is officially out of the picture.

One of the things that did bug me was that all the awkwardness between George and Izzie is still there. Both are clearly still hung up on the other. He still misses her and she's desperately trying to fit in with him and the new interns. I can't stand iGeorge. There had better not be an encore performance and part of me doesn't think there will be. Seeing George as the popular guy (amongst the interns anyway) is a bit weird, especially since you know it's Lexie planning all these get-togethers. George is just always there for them.

Izzie finally stopped hiding in the clinic, doing simple work with her interns. I mentioned last week, that after all of her blunders (Denny, losing cardio, losing the contest, the deer), she had lost faith in herself. I think she's got it back. She didn't get cardio for a reason and I think it's because she's on track to receive Addison's old position. Did you notice how Addison told Weber he had to fill her position and they both immediately looked at Izzie? Could be foreshadowing again? At one point, I would have said Karev was a shoe-in for it, but as was the theme of the episode, things change.

Addison was perceptive to some degree. She had one of the best lines of the episode when she asked Callie if she was "speaking Vagina Monologues now?" To be honest, the thought never occurred to me. But then Callie got all flustered about her budding "friendship" with Erica. She was clearly caught off guard. Then at the bar she went dancing with Sloan and made sure that Addison and Hahn saw her. And Hahn thinks she's gorgeous. Wasn't her character supposedly going to be gay? Maybe this is it? I'm not sure Callie is though. I feel like this might be one of those "I'm not sure but I'll experiment anyway" stories. But as I said, she got flustered and even questioned Meredith and Cristina if they got mistaken for a couple. The response? More of that snappy writing I was talking about:

Meredith: No, because we screw boys like whores on tequila.
Cristina: Then we either try to marry them or drown ourselves.

Speaking of Yang, she got even more annoying if that's possible. All she does is bitch and complain and Hahn finally called her out on it. She told Yang she had talent, but she wasn't going to praise and coddle her. Hahn said she was reminded of herself. Now that qualifies as a compliment. I'll be interested to see how Yang reacts around her from now on, if she'll still seek that approval she'll never get.

More thoughts...

• How great was it when Addison first saw Meredith and gave her that hug? Went from awkward to funny when she made that "hey I gave you a hug even though you stole my husband" comment. Hilarious.
• Hearing Sloan say "I grow skin for babies" sounds terrifying. I don't know why, but it does. Add in "And God admired his amazing skin flap." Sounds like a line out of some biblical-themed porno.
• Random question, because I can't remember: did Derek and Addison ever officially end the marriage? Are they divorced? She still kept calling him her husband. Not ex-husband.
• While sad to watch, I'm glad Bailey broke down in front of Addison. It's about time she said something about what happened. Tucker moved out... can't say I blame him. Bailey isn't exactly the easiest person to deal with. But she does have a heart. The one line I loved was when she asked how a newborn could squeeze it's own heart until it died. As if she wished she could do that to herself.
• Rose and Derek have only been on six dates? And all they do is kiss and feel each other up? What is this, high school?
• Nobody wants to get drunk and play darts with their boss. So true.
• I tried to listen for it, but did anyone catch the name of the condition that the newborn with the exterior heart had?

And that's all she wrote. After Addison's verbal lashing on Meredith, she hopped a plane back for LA, Pete, Naomi, Dell, and the rest of the folks at the Oceanside Wellness Center. Here's to hoping she didn't take the revived Grey's mojo with her.