It occurred to me recently, that no one from Army Wives reads my posts on their show. I know; I was a bit thrown by that, too. I mean, aside from the occasionally unprintable attacks on their destructive tendencies, I’m all teddy-bear, right?
Seriously though, my point is that I’ve taken the opportunity in my reviews to highlight some of the areas that, in my opinion, need some fine-tuning. One of the major ones this season has been Emmalin’s storyline, and the subsequent supporting roles that Claudia Joy and Michael have been playing in it. I’ve long held, and still do, that the hammer needs to virulently fall on Emmalin’s head for her attitude, and for the upheaval she’s caused her family. And, considering who Michael is, I’d expect that to have happened long ago.
And yet … and yet. Not only has Emmalin been allowed to run free (I don’t count her being forced to dye her hair back as being reigned in), but she’s also, it would seem, being given a pass for all her past behavior. That’s right; play the Amanda (Kim Allen) card, and get out of jail free.
What bothers me most about this turn is that, clearly, it was preordained. This is no Brandi on In Plain Sight, whose story was rushed to a close because the writers seemed to have forgotten to end it. All along, it would appear, Emmalin has been struggling because … no one apologized to her for Amanda’s death. Am I simplifying a most assuredly complex, emotional situation? Sure. Does Emmalin deserve the benefit of the doubt. No.
A major problem with going in this direction, amongst many others, is the fact that Claudia Joy and Michael, two wonderful people who have had to endure a tremendous amount of pain already, are going to be left feeling as if they neglected their younger daughter emotionally. The storyline will rewrite the past season plus into a picture of a drowning girl whose parents couldn’t see for the emotional fog that clouded their own sight.
But, if we’re honest with the show, the plots, the storylines, and our own feelings, the truth is that Emmalin has been a rebellious brat since before Amanda died, since before she was played by Katelyn Pippy, and instead was played by Caroline Pires. I’m not making the argument that the loss of her sister didn’t screw with her at all, but, come on; the show didn’t write her that way until just now. No way am I going to let a completely disparate, unsupported idea change the way I’ve seen her, and her actions, these last many episodes. Emmalin deserves the hammer.
Keeping Emmalin in mind, if it’s in any way possible, I feel as if Army Wives has gotten slowly better this season, while the storylines have gotten worse. Frank and Denise’s struggle is the emotional core of the show right now, but Frank’s willingness to try again is a controversial one, to say the least. The fact that he doesn’t even want to try and rebuild what was broken, or figure out what went wrong, means he’s only thinking with his heart, and not with his head. A beautiful thing, but not what the practical Major Frank Sherwood would ever really do. I’m not sure where I’ll eventually fall out on that, but, for now, I’m still on the side of “she doesn’t deserve him.”
Claudia Joy (and Emmalin) are getting Amanda back in the form of Haneen (Aleene Khoury), but it’s not a story that’s of particular interest to me, especially considering the fact that it was engineered for Emmalin’s sake. Pamela’s struggles with the football coach seem very petty for a woman who was the voice of the frustrated army wife last season. And Trevor, Roxy, Lucky, and the boys? Gag me with a spoon. And, I’m a dog person.
What is interesting, and this surprised me because I’ve never liked her character, is Joan leading the offensive in the war-games. But, I feel frustrated every time we see Connors (Matthew Glave) again, because I can’t believe that Joan hasn’t exposed him for the insane fraud that he is, or that Michael hasn’t seen through his ridiculously transparent exterior. What’s sickening to have seen is that he has a spy in Joan’s war-room; unfortunately, I don’t think I can express how or why that bothers me, but be sure that it’s a mixture of lack of respect, perspective, maniacal ambition, sliminess, and a whole bunch of other things, on Connors part.
The fact that this guy is still Joan’s baggage makes me think a lot less of her Lt. Colonel Burton, as well as Michael’s Brigadier General Holden … shouldn’t they be better than letting this guy stick around?
That, like with Emmalin, is all about the construction of the arc at concept. Hopefully, like with Emmalin’s, Connors’ ends up in the garbage can, and we can all move on from them both. Fingers crossed!
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jul 21, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT
Yes, Connor is a slimeball, but obviously a very well connected slimeball. He has to have a very powerful godfather to be in his position without ever having been deployed. Michael has done little things to counter Connor, but since he’s still there, Connor’s mentor must be very powerful. I think Michael set this wargames thing up to prove how unworthy Connor is, but with this spy, I’m afraid that it will backfire.
And no, I’m not surprised that there is a spy. There are still plenty of high ranked soldiers that will resent a woman being in charge and in the position that Joan is in.
*POST AUTHOR*
You have a point. It’s just a shame that he has to be so detestable. Joan could still have been fighting for her job against someone more likable, but just as driven, as she.