The Grey’s Anatomy/Private Practice crossover continues with Archer’s seizures and brainworms, Addison’s insistence on making other people’s decisions for them, Violet’s babydaddy drama (which isn’t nearly as snappy as babymomma drama), and speculation on the familial relationship between Peter and Derek Shepherd.
On the other side of the phone call that Derek received at the end of Grey’s Anatomy, Addison is standing outside of a hospital room breathlessly demanding “Derek, I need you!”
Fourteen hours earlier, Audra and Archer (Addison’s brother, if you’re like me and haven’t been watching Private Practice) are getting freaky when Archer has a seizure. Audra calls an ambulance and gets Archer to a hospital but he refuses treatment once he comes out of the seizure and checks himself out of the hospital. When Audra later demands answers, he confides that he has an inoperable brain tumor but doesn’t want anyone, especially his sister, to know. He’d rather just live out the rest of his days happily. Presumably, this is why he moved to California to be closer to Addison.
Audra can’t keep the secret, though, and begins to tell everyone else in the practice including, finally, Addison. Addison tries to take control and pulls enough string to get Archer’s last CT scans, which reveal a brain tumor in the center of his brain, making it largely inoperable. When they confront him about the tumor, it’s revealed that he can’t look up, which apparently indicates that the tumor is growing faster than he believed. Another CT scan reveals that it’s growing too fast to be a tumor. Further tests reveal that he actually has brain worms and the eggs are in danger of bursting at any time. Addison wants to have Derek operate, but Archer is insistent on taking drugs to kill the parasites.
The two siblings argue about which treatment is the bigger risk until Addison finally accepts that it’s Archer’s decision to make. She goes to get some wine and Archer goes into another seizure, which the doctors cannot bring him out of. The decision is finally made to induce a coma to stop the seizures and Addison, as Archer’s next of kin, decides to have Derek operate rather than waiting ten days for the drugs to work, bringing us full circle. Addison, Audra, and Archer (still in a coma) leave to catch a plane to Seattle Grace, where we will see them in next week’s Grey’s Anatomy
In the only other major development (as far as I, an infrequent viewer, can tell), Violet finally tells Peter and Sheldon that she’s pregnant and doesn’t know who the father is.
Neither takes it particularly well, though Peter surprisingly comes down on the side of wanting to be in the child’s life and is upset that Violet essentially made the decision for him.
On a side note, Tim Daly – who plays Peter on here – is the brother of Tyne Daley – who played Derek’s mom on Grey’s. Does this make Peter Derek’s uncle? Haven’t Addison and Peter slept together? Cue the banjos, people!
