‘Private Practice’ series finale review: It must have been love

For the final episode of “Private Practice,” Shonda Rhimes made some interesting choices when it came to the way in which she wanted to end her long-running show. Rather than have Addison’s wedding to Jake be the culmination, it was instead the beginning for a chain of events that set up the rest of the hour.

There were a number of stories that unfolded here, so we’re going to take a quick look at just where some of these characters went before the final curtain dropped. The irony here is that although she was the impetus behind the series to begin with, Addison mostly took a back seat to what many of her co-workers had going on in their lives.

Sam’s choice – Taye Diggs’ character had a chance to reunite with his ex Naomi (Audra McDonald), and we mean this in more ways than one.  The two slept together, and in a matter of time he learned that she was pregnant with his child.

Sam then flew to New York, had the most public conversation with her ever during a business meeting, and decided that he was going to stay in the Big Apple until she took him back. Luckily, it worked with a major assist from Addison (who orchestrated this to begin with).

Violet’s focus – There was no love interest; instead, she kept herself centered on her career, and helping out a longtime patient who was ready to graduate and move forward … even if she did not know it completely yet.

Jake stomachs it – After spending most of the episode poo-pooing the idea of his daughter going away with France with Eli, he admitted that it was the right move for her if she was happy.

Cooper learns to deal – Finally, Charlotte cut the man a break and decided to hire a nanny to help her man out.

Sheldon moves on – Sheldon chose love over work, even with his new girlfriend in Miranda is going to die any day now.

The episode culminated with the emotional wedding between Sam and Naomi, and it was a perfect way to end the series. Everyone had some sort of happy ending, Charlotte and Cooper made out in the audience, and Violet published another book. It was a happy, hopeful ending, and not something that you would expect from a woman who killed off Mark and Lexie on “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Overall, how did you grade the series finale? If you want to read some more thoughts about the future for some of these characters courtesy of Amy Brenneman, be sure to head on over to the link here.

Photo: ABC