PRIVATE PRACTICE: You've Heard What Happened to Charlotte King but Have You Seen What’s Happened Since?

 

Writing convincing, slow-building character development is a difficult task. Anyone who writes – for a living or for fun – will admit to this. It’s a challenge that we all face but one that we enjoy struggling with, nonetheless. But these days, it seems like fully realized characters are becoming harder and harder to find. In fact, if someone asked me to name some of the best developed ones on TV today, I would be hard-pressed to list more than ten. However, the number one spot on my list, for the character who has never stopped growing, will always be reserved for one woman in particular: Charlotte King of “Private Practice.”

NOTE: This article discusses recently aired episodes of "Private Practice" but there are no spoilers for future episodes within this article.

Effortlessly played by KaDee Strickland (who I will never be able to stop gushing about – fair warning), Charlotte was a late addition to the “Private Practice” cast. She didn’t appear in the backdoor pilot at the end of the third season of “Grey’s Anatomy” but was introduced as a possible antagonist for Addison Montgomery and her friends at Oceanside Wellness. As the Chief of Staff at St. Ambrose Hospital and a strong-willed woman from the Deep South, could anyone really expect her to buy into their New Age practices and forum-like methods for diagnoses?

I must admit that I wasn’t Charlotte’s biggest fan. I found her snarky attitude to be entertaining but her antagonism grew frustrating and she was so guarded that it was difficult for me to really connect with her. That is, of course, until episode 1.06 when we learn of Charlotte’s insomnia and, suddenly, she softened just a little bit - but enough for me to start caring. Over the course of the show’s first season, Charlotte went from being a total witch-with-a-B to someone who’s more human.

The biggest cause for Charlotte’s progression is undeniably Cooper Freedman, their relationship being a catalyst. They started off having secret, kinky sex – the only thing that Charlotte had the time and patience for – and ended up in a true relationship at Cooper’s insistence because he wanted something more while she preferred the easier option. But the proof of how far Charlotte had come in terms of opening herself up comes with the death of her father, when she leans on him for a shoulder to cry on. This is the most human that we’ve ever seen her be. There are some set-backs, like when Charlotte cheats on Cooper because she’s scared of being in a committed relationship, but she overcomes them. She learns from them and learns how to open herself up.

But Charlotte doesn’t change for Cooper; she changes because of Cooper and there is a big difference. One suggests dependence, that she needs to be someone else in order to keep Cooper in her life because she can’t go on without him (think Bella Swan). The other means that her relationship with Cooper is a constant series of life lessons that she learns from, growing to be less closed off to the people around her. It’s a much more independent situation. Charlotte could live without Cooper, given how far she’s come, and probably enter into another relationship that would be much healthier from the start because of all that she’s been through - although I hope Shonda Rhimes and her league of writers don’t go down this rabbit hole for my own sake.

This brings us to that episode: “Did You Hear What Happened to Charlotte King?” Charlotte King, up until this point, has been a woman who has a great amount of control over her life. She has learned to let people in, to make friends, but she is still a strong, independent woman. The brutalization that befalls her in season four serves as an extremely powerful way of promoting awareness of rape and of portraying the horrific crime in an emotional but grounded way that is rarely seen on TV today. When Charlotte is attacked in her office, beaten and raped by a mentally unstable patient, I literally felt sick to my stomach. Of course, even if I hadn’t become so emotionally invested in the character over the past three seasons, the episode would have chilled me to the bone. But what’s important to note is that this isn’t a story about victimization; it’s a story of survival.

What’s so important about the rape of Charlotte King is that it brings everything from her character arc together. Everything built towards this. After the attack, Charlotte walls herself off from everyone – even Cooper – but she gradually accepts that she can’t do this, that she needs to let people in or else she’ll never survive. As she heals, she struggles with being able to make love to Cooper without having flashbacks and she finally finds herself able to talk about what happened to her in the fourth season finale while helping another young woman who was raped. The growth within this season alone is outstanding in its subtlety and I credit this almost exclusively to the phenomenal KaDee Strickland for taking even the smallest scenes, the ones that had nothing to do with the rape, and keeping Charlotte consistent in her recovery, loading every moment with subtext that reminds the audience that she’s no longer the same woman. I get chills just at the thought of it.

Now, in season five, Charlotte is doing something that she was so adamantly against from the very beginning: she’s becoming a mother. I don’t think anyone could have predicted that this would happen. It’s unprecedented but it also makes total sense. Once again, this story emphasizes the lessons she’s learned and the obstacles she’s overcome. She’s a strong woman but she’s no longer guarded and cold. She knows how to talk about emotions and how to deal with practical matters by rational but sensitive.

I’ll be honest and say that I don’t know if Charlotte would’ve been as willing to take in her husband’s illegitimate son if she had been with someone other than Cooper. I don’t think she did it specifically for him but, once again, she did it because of him. Her connection with Cooper is no longer just about the sex. He supports her. It seems like she knows that she can be a good mother because she has Cooper to help her – and she never would’ve accepted this kind of relationship five years ago. After everything she’s gone through – the loss of her father, her changes in occupation, her brutal rape – she’s learned to love.

Once again, I need to applaud the underappreciated KaDee Strickland for her flawless performances in every episode. It’s rare that I can say this so confidently but I am one hundred percent positive that no one else could play Charlotte King but Strickland. It just wouldn’t have worked. I believe that it’s because of her that Shonda Rhimes and the writers put Charlotte through the ringer so many times and have allowed her to develop into the woman she is today because they knew that Strickland could play the part perfectly. And, of course, the writers should be given credit for creating the character and writing these stories in the first place – and they deserve all the recognition they can get. At the end of the day, watching Charlotte King every week inspires me to not only be a better person but to develop strong characters like her in my own writing and for that I am eternally grateful.

Be sure to catch “Private Practice” on Tuesday’s at 10:00 PM on ABC!