Warning: If you have not watched last night's episode of Private Practice do NOT read this article. If you haven't seen this episode, I highly recommend it. I think it can open the door to some great discussion about the Narcissistic Continuum. Here is a link for the episode,
Great writing, like great art, has the ability to elicit strong emotions and last night's episode definitely did that for me. Second Warning, do NOT watch this episode right before you got to bed! It took me quite while to get to sleep last night. All 3 story lines were very provocative & thought producing.
My personal alternative titles to last night's episode would be called either,
The Good Doctor or Healthy Narcissism.
Which doc was the Good Doctor/Friend and which was the Narcissist?
What do you think?
When my choice benefits myself, yet is a detriment to someone else is that healthy?
What if that someone else is not a stranger, but someone very close to you?
Or the child of someone who is very close to you like Betsy?
Is abuse only when we do or say something harmful?
When we neglect to do the right & honorable thing is that abuse?
This is what other viewers are saying,
*If you haven't been following this series it might be hard to fully grasp the impact of the decisions these characters each made.
The Back Story definitely would help. The Deceased Daddy Del was a character who made mistakes in his youth (addicted to drugs, turned his girlfriend, Betsy's deceased Mom onto drugs) and has worked hard to redeem himself. In fact he sacrificed his own life taking care of Sam & Naomi's pregnant D after the two of them were hit by a drunk driver while Del was driving the pregnant teen to the hospital. They could have lost both their D & grand D if it was not for Del. I am hoping that when Naomi returns she will redeem this story line or that Violet's conscious will get the best of her and she will change her mind. What I found disturbing was Violet's intentions, by doing right by Betsy was somehow going to make up for not bonding w/her new born child. Violet was going to do the right thing for the wrong reason. It was always hard for me to come up w/an example of doing The Right Thing For The Wrong Reason, now I have a perfect example. I would like to think that there is more to Violet then just being motivated to do right for Betsy for her son's sake. I think she really connected w/Betsy and who better to take care of a child who lost both her parents, Mom was a drug addicted, Aunt recently gave her to Del's friends, then a Foster Mom who is also a psychologist?
The extent to just how bad they failed her would come from knowing the back story. Many viewers, from some of the reviews I read are saying they are going to stop watching. I hope not. I personally love a story about redemption. 
so I am tuning in next week and hoping for the best.
so I am tuning in next week and hoping for the best.The only person who did the honorable thing was Aunt Monica. She realized her limitations and she did what was right by her Niece Betsy by searching for Del's friends (per his instructions) who were described & identified close as Family Members. These Good Doctors were suppose to be a Family of Friends to a person who laid down his very life for his Friends and one of their children. Violet's closing comments of "We did a bad thing. We did a very bad thing. Shame on us." -- or something like that (oh here it is, "“We did a bad thing. You all know it. We did a bad thing.”) further demonstrates that Narcissists are fully aware what they do is wrong -- they simply just don't care because they lack loyalty and honor. I don't believe the Good Doctors are Super-sized Ns like the Momster, but they definitely fall on the Narcissistic Continuum.
Here is the song as Violet was rejecting/betraying Betsy. It is appropriately titled Shame.
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