Monday, June 15, 2009

'Army Wives' Monday: About Face

Roland's unhappy about being an at-home dad and harbors regrets about abandoning his prestigious career. Claudia Joy's adrift, rudderless. While Denise is unemployed and unsure where she fits in anywhere. Three Army spouses, all feeling, to one degree or another, lost in Army Wives' season three's second episode, "About Face."

Roland Burton:

Set off by seeing a former colleague lauded in a professional magazine for his work, Roland started feeling restless. Then, when surrounded by Army wives, he felt even more like the odd man out. True, he always knew that being an Army husband made him usual on an Army base filled with Army wives, but this episode amplified Roland feeling out of place, even though he's the one who advocated becoming an at-home parent instead of putting his baby into daycare.

I seem to recall that, at the end of last season, he was offered some kind of part-time, evening work so he could keep current, but somehow that seems to have been overlooked, or simply not mentioned this year. Am I missing something here? Regardless, something needs to change before Lt. Col. Joan Burton is deployed to Iraq or else there'll be some big daddy track issues with which to contend.

Claudia Joy:

I used to be annoyed by Claudia Joy's Wisteria Lane perfect life as she gleefully served as the hub of Fort Marshall life. But seeing her on the base -- homeless, without the title of "post commander's wife," with her husband on another continent, and with a daughter who's recalcitrant -- was fairly depressing. Here's a woman who gave up a promising career (hmm, spotting an Army Wives trend?) in order to freely follow her husband's fast-climbing military career. As he rose, so did her social stature among the Army spouses. But now with him in Brussels working for NATO, and her at home with an angry daughter but not really having a home or an official position, it's just damned sad.

Denise:

Poor Denise. She was tarred and feathered by her so-called "friends" on the post, even though the affair in question happened when she and her husband Frank were separated. This little fact didn't seem to matter to the Army spouses who don't seem inclined to give her the time of day, don't even want to hear her side of the story (except for Roland who had a fling when he was still married). So much for friendship.

So, whaddya think of the way the Fort Marshall gals are treating Denise? Of Claudia Joy's unmoored life? Of Roland's daddy/career issues?

Image credit: Lifetime.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oddly enough, even though Denise is in the wrong to a certain degree (but not a cheater IMO, since she and Frank are separated), I find she's the only army wife I like. CJ is a little too perfect and self-righteous. Pamela is a bit of a flake and apparently unreliable. And Roxy is just trailer park trash (someone should tell her not to make moral judgments when she's working on her 3rd baby daddy and walking around looking like a teenage hooker/barfly).

I like Roland though and I can relate to his feelings. I wanted to tell Joan to go get her own crap and shut it. But that's just me. I don't think any spouse should be ordered around and taken for granted regardless of position or gender.

In short, with the exception of Roland (who knows better then to be so judgmental), I think Denise's so-called friends SUCK. No one says they have to like what she did, but at least hear her out before you cast her off.

And on one final note, I don't think CJ's daughter is selfish. Yes she is behaving badly, but she's a teenager who is about to have her life uprooted - again. That's not an easy thing to deal with, especially when you're a teenager. Frankly, I think parents who put their careers ahead of their families are the selfish ones. Unless parents have to move for reasons beyond their control, I think they should consider how a move might affect their kids and make a more balanced decision.

Meredith said...

Thanks for the input. I too thought Denise's friends seriously let her down. You're supposed to be there for the good AND the bad. Isn't that the code?

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