Monday, July 20, 2009

'Army Wives' Monday: Onward Christian Soldiers


*Warning, spoilers ahead from the recent episode of Army Wives.*

Emmalin and Haneen bonded. Denise and Frank started to date. Roxy didn't feel Lucky. Pamela coached football and prayed. Joan threatened to kick some weasel behind.

Emmalin and Haneen Bonded

We saw this one coming a mile away: The two teenaged girls, who each lost at least one family member in a bomb blast and are plagued by survivor's guilt, found solace in one another. Haneen -- the Iraqi girl who lost her family and was severely injured -- was overwhelmed by the Holden's house, the size of her room (she, ironically, is staying in Amanda's old room), by the amount of food they serve at meals and by Emmalin's thoughtfulness (she bought Haneen a prayer mat and taped a piece of paper to the floor pointing East).

Emmalin appeared to be slowly processing her grief by helping a lost girl like her . . . until Haneen had second thoughts about getting the surgery she needed to repair her wounds. "I do not want [to get] better," a tearful Haneen said the night before her operation. ". . . Why am I alive when my family is dead? Why am I here when they are not?"

This prompted Emmalin's own flood of tears as she fled to the privacy of her own room. "It should have been me, Mom, not Amanda," Emmalin said of her sister who died in a bomb blast at the end of season one, as Claudia Joy tried to comfort her daughter. "I wish it had been me."

But the two girls must've talked later that evening, proved to be a source of strength for one another, because by the next morning they were a team and together were ready to head off to the hospital. I'm just waiting for Claudia Joy to file the adoption papers. You so know that it's gonna happen.

Denise and Frank Started to Date

"I just don't know how to get this thing back up and runnin' again," Frank told Denise in a coffee shop, the day after they decided to call off the divorce and try to work through their problems. It was very heartening to hear Frank tell Denise that she didn't have to play the role of the martyr in their relationship. When she apologized again for her fling, he said, "D, I know that. I don't want you to think you have to keep apologizing to me . . . The most important thing is that we never let this happen again."

They returned to a marriage counselor who suggested that they try dating again, something at which Frank initially scoffed, thinking it silly, but once he spotted Denise in a sensuous dress ready to join him for dinner out, he seemed to begin to re-evaluate this whole dating business.

Roxy Didn't Feel Lucky

Maybe it's just me, but I think the writing for Roxy and Trevor this season has stunk. It's either been incomplete (like what happened to all the radical changes with Betty's/The Hump Bar and Roxy's brand new best friend who was suddenly given keys and access to the bar's cash?) or it's been boring. The thing with the dog Lucky, who Trevor didn't have the heart to hand over to a shelter, was a total yawner.

Have the writers had some sort of tiff with Sally Pressman, who plays Roxy? Why else would they have written her character as being unlikably harsh and abusive toward the dog? Complaining about a $20 microchip charge at the vet's office? Although Roxy eventually (and predictably) warmed up to Lucky by the end of the episode, her pouting and whining got old very quickly.

Pamela Coached Football and Prayed

I've also been finding Pamela's character -- once a strong, interesting personality -- irritating as of late. In this episode, she was acting childishly about the pee wee football head coach's pre- and post-game prayers, while the head coach was a grade-A jerk to publicly chastise Pamela for celebrating her grade school-aged son's touchdown reception in the end zone. The two of them together: One giant irritation. Hated this storyline. Just hated it. It did not go where I'd hoped it'd go, which was demonstrating that women can understand, coach and love football as much as men and can prove to be role models for their sons on the field.

Joan Threatened to Kick Some Weasel Behind

In a stark contrast to Pamela getting verbally dressed down in front of a bunch of 8-year-old boys, Joan was getting taunted by a colleague who'd been favored by the previous base commander, but now that Michael's back, is worred he'll find himself on the back burner. With both Joan and Evan heading up opposing sides during an upcoming Fort Marshall war game exercise (in which Evan's already cheating by having a mole on Joan's staff leaking strategy), the smack-talk has been increasing.

After calling her weak for seeing a counselor after her last Iraq deployment ("I guess we're really going to find out who the better man is," he sneered.), Joan dished it right back to the guy who's never been in a war zone. "I know what it takes to lead in combat and believe me, you don't have it," she said. "And I'm gonna kick your ass."

What was your impression of the latest Army Wives installment?

Image credit: Lifetime.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

thanks for the post...I had a question about something you mentioned about Haneen. What makes you think the Holdens will adopt her? Did you read a spoiler about this on a website etc...? According to IMDB Haneen is only scheduled to appear in 4 episodes...Please share your thoughts

Thanks Suzanne (sjw114@gmail.com)

Meredith said...

Suzanne,

I did NOT read a spoiler or have any insider info at all. I'm just getting the feeling that Claudia Joy has this emotional void and that a motherless, familyless child could fill that void.

Just pure speculation on my part.

Meredith said...

I could be totally wrong Suzanne . . . especially if you've checked Imdb. . .

Unknown said...

Meredith
I actually thought the same thing that CJ would adopt this child who has clearly connected with Emmalin...I guess we will have to wait to see how it unfolds...certainly Haneen has enabled Emmalin to open up and hopefully her relationship with her mom and dad will improve...THanks for the reply...cant wait to see how it ends