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The Best Episodes of Private Practice Season 3

Every episode of Private Practice Season 3 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Private Practice Season 3!

Binge this in 16h 6m•Peaking at 8.7/10

Having left behind Seattle Grace Hospital, renowned surgeon Addison Forbes Montgomery moves to Los Angeles for sunnier weather and happier possibilities. She reunites with her friends from medical school, joining them at their chic, co-op,

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Private Practice Season 3 Episode 1 - A Death in the Family
    8.5/10(346 votes)

    #1 - A Death in the Family

    S3:E1

    When Pete discovers Violet clinging to live following a violent attack from a patient, he rushes her to the hospital where Addison and Naomi work together to save her life. Meanwhile, the location of Violet's baby are still unknown.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Shonda Rhimes

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  2. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 2 - The Way We Were
    7.7/10(250 votes)

    #2 - The Way We Were

    S3:E2

    Violet is physically recovering from her violent attack at home, but the emotional trauma she suffers from isn't going away, despite the best efforts of Pete and her other friends to help. Meanwhile, Addison and Naomi try to mend their tension-filled relationship, as Sam and Cooper treat a father, who has allegedly attacked his family, after he is stabbed by his wife.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 3 - Right Here, Right Now
    8.1/10(258 votes)

    #3 - Right Here, Right Now

    S3:E3

    Miranda Bailey brings a kidney transplant patient to Los Angeles, and Addison and especially Sam is pleased to see her. Addison's consequences of her emotional affair with Noah catch up with her. Sheldon and Pete finally discover who the father of Violet's baby.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 4 - Pushing the Limits
    7.8/10(243 votes)

    #4 - Pushing the Limits

    S3:E4

    Addison, Sam and Cooper treat the sick child of a homeless teen mother they met while volunteering. Meanwhile Violet has trouble relating to her baby when her feelings about her attack resurface during counseling of a rape victim who is now pregnant, and Cooper's financial woes catch up with him when he's asked to help buy out Naomi's share of the practice.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 5 - Strange Bedfellows
    8.0/10(240 votes)

    #5 - Strange Bedfellows

    S3:E5

    Katie Kent is apprehended and on trial. Violet is asked to testify against her attacker, but she struggles with whether or not she can face her attacker in court. Meanwhile a serious complication threatens the fetuses of two of Naomi's former patients and Charlotte is determined to convince Addison, Sam and Cooper to let her join Oceanside Wellness Group.

    Director:Steve Gomer
    Writer:Kathy McCormick

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  6. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 6 - Slip Slidin' Away
    7.6/10(236 votes)

    #6 - Slip Slidin' Away

    S3:E6

    The doctors venture into controversial territory when an unexpected new hire at Pacific Wellcare causes Naomi to struggle with the idea of genetically designing babies and Violet makes a sudden decision to try electric shock therapy on a patient. Meanwhile Addison somehow finds herself alone and with a cat.

    Director:Helen Shaver
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 7 - The Hard Part
    8.6/10(293 votes)

    #7 - The Hard Part

    S3:E7

    Addison and Sam go for a hike in Malibu, they come across an expecting couple trapped in their car after an accident, they then perform urgent field care. Charlotte, Cooper and Violet treat a newlywed who, on his wedding night has taken too much Viagra. Pete and Sheldon go out to a bar together and end up falling for the same girl.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Steve Blackman

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  8. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 8 - Sins of the Father
    7.8/10(243 votes)

    #8 - Sins of the Father

    S3:E8

    While Addison deals with the unwelcome arrival of her father, Cooper is arrested because he refused to cooperate in a case involving a longtime patient. Meanwhile, Pete will stop at nothing to keep a terminally ill patient alive for as long as it takes for him to meet his new daughter.

    Director:Tom Verica
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 9 - The Parent Trap
    7.6/10(238 votes)

    #9 - The Parent Trap

    S3:E9

    Addison performs a complex utero surgery, proving not only her talents to her father but giving them some common ground. Sam and Naomi deal with have a family crisis when they discover Maya is growing up way too fast. Violet does the unthinkable.

    Director:Donna Deitch
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 10 - Blowups
    8.2/10(248 votes)

    #10 - Blowups

    S3:E10

    An explosion at Dell's house lands Betsey and Heather in the hospital. everyone is pushed to the limit in trying to save their lives. The tensions between Addison and The Captain rise even more when her mother, Bizzy, shows up and a shocking family secret is revealed.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 11 - Another Second Chance
    7.8/10(238 votes)

    #11 - Another Second Chance

    S3:E11

    Desperate to help his pregnant daughter, Mark (Eric Dane) follows Addison back to Oceanside Wellness, Dell and Naomi struggle to raise their children under the same roof, and Violet and Cooper heatedly disagree on how to treat a patient on.

    Director:Michael Zinberg
    Writers:Kathy McCormick, Krista Vernoff

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  12. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 12 - Best Laid Plans
    7.7/10(234 votes)

    #12 - Best Laid Plans

    S3:E12

    Maya shocks Sam and Naomi, while Pete and Fife disagree on patient care.

    Director:Bethany Rooney
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 13 - Shotgun
    7.7/10(233 votes)

    #13 - Shotgun

    S3:E13

    Addison and Cooper are counseling a couple who must pick a child to save with their newborn's cord blood. Meanwhile Dink wants to marry Maya.

    Director:Karen Gaviola
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 14 - Love Bites
    7.4/10(229 votes)

    #14 - Love Bites

    S3:E14

    When Naomi refuses to help plan Maya's wedding, Sam convinces Violet to help her. Meanwhile the tension between Addison and Sam deepens when they treat a suicidal patient and Cooper and Pete treat a girl with a questionable bite mark.

    Director:Matthew Penn
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 15 - 'Til Death Do Us Part
    7.5/10(246 votes)

    #15 - 'Til Death Do Us Part

    S3:E15

    It's Maya's wedding day and while Violet helps Sam prepare, a furious Naomi still refuses to take part as she works with Addison and Pete to save a premature baby. Meanwhile, Cooper becomes suspicious of Charlotte's new boyfriend and thinks that he may be abusing drugs.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 16 - Fear of Flying
    7.6/10(231 votes)

    #16 - Fear of Flying

    S3:E16

    Things get too close for comfort when Addison, Pete and Sam must come together on a complicated case involving a dad-to-be who comes down with tuberculosis and threatens the future of his new family. Meanwhile, with Violet still gone on her Costa Rican escape, Sheldon takes over helping one of her patients, Natasha, to get over her crippling fear of flying, and Naomi finds herself in a bit of a love triangle of her own.

    Director:Mark Tinker
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 17 - Triangles
    7.7/10(232 votes)

    #17 - Triangles

    S3:E17

    When Addison's patient and the life of the three unborn babies she is carrying as a surrogate hang in the balance, Sam's new girlfriend, Vanessa, and Addison are sharply divided on the course of treatment. Meanwhile Cooper seeks Sheldon's help with a young patient, but their personal quarrels over Charlotte get in the way, and Naomi has a dilemma of her own between William and an unexpectedly charming Dr. Fife.

    Director:Tom Verica
    Writer:Steve Blackman

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  18. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 18 - Pulling the Plug
    8.0/10(231 votes)

    #18 - Pulling the Plug

    S3:E18

    A husband's decision to pull the plug on his pregnant wife is overruled by a judge, forcing the hospital to keep her on life support until the fetuses she is carrying as a surrogate are able to survive. Meanwhile, Naomi feels betrayed after learning of Sam and Addison's feelings for one another, and she turns to Dr. Fife for support while William is away on business. And unable to cope with the tension, Addison takes the day off with Pete and Lucas.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Kathy McCormick

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  19. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 19 - Eyes Wide Open
    8.0/10(247 votes)

    #19 - Eyes Wide Open

    S3:E19

    When famed neurosurgeon Dr. Ginsberg and her team pay a visit to St. Ambrose to save the life of Kayla, Addison is shocked to see Amelia Shepherd - Derek's younger sister on the team. But Amelia's presence causes strife between Addison, Sam and Pete when she claims she can save Kayla's life after Dr. Ginsberg declares nothing can be done. Meanwhile Charlotte seeks from Cooper's with a sex education seminar for the elderly that only leads to more tension between the two, as they try to figure out how to work together.

    Director:Eric Stoltz
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 20 - Second Choices
    7.7/10(234 votes)

    #20 - Second Choices

    S3:E20

    After her open-ended escape to Costa Rica, Violet has finally returned home and to the practice. Everyone treads a little lightly around her, especially Pete and Addison who have mixed feelings about Violet's desire to reconnect with Lucas. Meanwhile Amelia butts into Sam's personal life, pointing out that he can mend hearts in the OR but can't seem to do that for himself; and Sheldon encourages Charlotte to reconcile with Cooper, while Cooper deals with a young patient who eats everything in sight.

    Director:Jeff Bleckner
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 21 - War
    8.2/10(249 votes)

    #21 - War

    S3:E21

    After Violet files for joint custody of Lucas, an embittered Pete voraciously fights back by hiring a tough attorney for the trial, forcing their fellow friends and co-workers to choose sides and have their personal lives dragged onto the stand and into the public eye.

    Director:Eric Stoltz
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 22 - In the Name of Love
    7.9/10(275 votes)

    #22 - In the Name of Love

    S3:E22

    Naomi begs Fife to use his still experimental treatment to help William's advanced ALS. Violet and Amelia treat a woman with a brain tumor, while Sheldon decides to vie for Charlotte's affections.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Private Practice Season 3 Episode 23 - The End of a Beautiful Friendship
    8.7/10(303 votes)

    #23 - The End of a Beautiful Friendship

    S3:E23

    Maya and her unborn baby are fighting for their lives on the operating table, and Addison, Amelia and Fife try everything humanly possible to save them. Meanwhile, Sam operates on an incoming crash victim and later makes a grim discovery; Cooper makes an ill-timed but valiant effort with Charlotte, and the staff’s world gets rocked by an unexpected death.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 3 Ratings Summary

"A Death in the Family" is the best rated episode of "Private Practice" season 3. It scored 8.5/10 based on 346 votes. Directed by Mark Tinker and written by Shonda Rhimes, it aired on 10/1/2009. This episode is rated 0.8 points higher than the second-best, "The Way We Were".