Army Wives – Now with war zone video chats

I can’t even begin to imagine how much technology has changed the life of the in-theater soldier — and their family — for the better. The beginning of last night’s episode of Army Wives was essentially a montage of e-mails between husbands and wives, and you have to wonder what veterans of World War II, or even Vietnam, would say about the ease of communication today, and how much it would have meant to be able to sit down and shoot off a quick note to their loved ones. Not to mention the video conference that Michael and Claudia Joy enjoyed before the episode was over. Life has definitely changed.

What haven’t changed are the rules and protocols that sustain our Armed Forces through the shifting sands of time. I won’t attempt to judge Amber, but AWOL is AWOL is AWOL, and it doesn’t matter why it was that she missed her deployment; she was absent without leave, and as such is deserving of the appropriate punishment.

What I didn’t understand was why Amber’s daughter might have been put up for adoption. I’m not saying this is better, but why wouldn’t she be shifted into the foster care system until her mother gets out of prison, like the child of any other convict serving a limited jail sentence? Or better yet, shouldn’t Amber have had the opportunity to place her daughter somewhere on her own first? It seemed strange to me that the Army would consider doing otherwise.

Of course, not as strange as Claudia Joy marching down to the holding cell to help. Her heart’s in the right place, but why in the world would Claudia Joy be under the delusion that she could do anything on Amber’s behalf? Whether she’s acting as the head of the FRG, or as General Holden’s wife, there are protocols in place that can’t be subverted. And she didn’t succeed in doing so anyway … all she did was maneuver the waters better than Professor Chandler (Harry Hamlin) knew how to. And I really don’t like him; he definitely has ulterior motives in going up against the Army, and my guess is they’re very dark. And of course he’ll suck Claudia Joy into whatever it is he’s up to.

Back in season one, Roland had these great relationships with Roxy, Pamela, and Denise. Well, last night he finally got back to that comfort zone, as Roxy — who I enjoyed for the first time in a long time — took on his “caregiver burnout” case, and provided him with a little TLC. It was funny to see them playing basketball together, as I know from some episode commentary or another that Sterling Brown (Roland) spends all of his downtime on the basketball court. Anyway, it was great to see Roxy and Roland like that again.

Pamela’s date with Bob could not have been a bigger disaster — he started crying about his ex-wife — but I’m glad that she’s back on the market. If she can’t be with Chase, who I think should still be on the show regardless, she should definitely start dating again (unless getting into a serious relationship is what’s going to catapult her off the show), because otherwise she’s going to be holed up and boring. She just needs a better screening process.

I have mixed feelings about our following a new plot line for Jeremy. It would be weird enough if he did find love in Afghanistan, but do I want him to find love in Afghanistan? Meanwhile, the doc did a pretty good job of foreshadowing … I think she’s going to see Jeremy on her operating table with a limb blown off before the season’s up. Will we fade to hiatus on that scene? We’ll know soon enough.

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jul 26, 2010 @ 11:00 EST5EDT