‘Army Wives’ 2.18 Review: Departures, Arrivals
Original Air Date: October 26, 2008
“Departures, Arrivals,” the next to last episode of the second season of Army Wives, is a mixture of predictable and sweet. What’s missing is all of the angst-ridden buildup to the season closer, which is unusual for a dramatic series like this that often aims to pull heartstrings. But, perhaps that’s just how show runners plan to throw viewers with a gigantic, unexpected finale surprise. We’ll see.
The least interesting aspect of this episode is Emmalin’s steadily progressing relationship with young soldier Logan. It grows stronger to the point that they childishly declare they’ll find a way to keep Emmalin from moving to Brussels with her family after Michael receives a prestigious promotion to NATO as Deputy Commander of Operations.
Sorry, Army Wives: the “forbidden young love with disastrous consequences” is a boring and stereotypical plot that shows lack of imagination. Please, don’t go there.
Developing relationships that are good to see include Denise and Mac on post, Frank and his new colleague played by Kelly Hu in Iraq, and Roxy and her estranged mother Marda, whom the bar owner finally calls mom for the first time in ages at the end of the episode.
That’s a reward for Marda’s sincerity attempting to stay sober — with a little nudge from understanding Trevor and an AA meeting — as she gets over her jealousy of Betty, for whom Roxy holds a memorial service after her death from cancer. I was hoping Betty would survive that storyline; I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.
Another less captivating thread concerns Pamela’s daughter Katie. She gets into hot water at school with other army mothers after showing her “private parts” to classmates and then passing on Pamela’s description of sex to them. The entire issue seems fairly frivolous compared to the other mother-daughter segments involving Joan and Sarah Elizabeth, Claudia Joy and Emmalin, and Roxy and Marda, but I suppose some viewers could relate, and writers had to give Pamela something to do.
Finally, a big bravo to Joan, who reluctantly returns to active duty, only to quickly find that her sly temporary replacement Evan Connors has had Trevor removed from his unit, just when Trevor has received medical clearance to deploy with them.
There’s nothing Joan can do, but the upshot is that Trevor is promoted to a leadership position with his new and recently returned unit, although they won’t deploy again for some time. The whole sordid incident with Evan visibly angers Joan, however, and I hope Evan has a little payback coming to him, too.
Next up is the November 2nd, cliffhanger-filled (I’m sure, considering the funeral and tearful scenes in the preview) second-season finale “Last Minute Changes,” which Lifetime describes thus:
The Holdens face major changes. Pamela questions her decision to marry into the army. Roland is forced to help a former patient. Frank remains overseas, leaving Denise more time to question her marriage. Betty’s long-lost nephew Collin (Ivan Sergei) shows up unexpectedly at Betty’s Bar and Grill to talk to Roxy.
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POSTED IN: Army Wives, Recaps
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