['Army Wives' - 'Command Presence']

This was quite an event-filled episode of 'Army Wives,' what with Joan's garrison command ceremony and Claudia Joy's law school graduation ... but by the time the show ended, it was the preview for next week that made you catch your breath.

Sometimes the previews are just a big tease, like last week's, which had me thinking that Molly was going to face a life-or-death crisis.



Well, before the first commercial break, the baby (who's so cute) was out of surgery and all was well with the Sherwoods. No drawn-out drama, just a quick procedure and that was it. All that remained was Denise making up with Tanya, which she did.

I know it's probably not appropriate to bring it up, but I can't help but feel that Tanya should know about the skeletons in Jeremy's closet. Of course, exactly how should Denise bring up the fact that Jeremy abused her in Season 1 without sending Tanya into a tailspin? Hmm ...

There was a lot of pomp and circumstance for Joan's garrison command ceremony, but not so much for Claudia Joy's law school graduation. I fully expected Roland to feel marginalized as Joan was getting all this glorification, but in a tender moment, Joan came through.

The way she singled out Roland's love and support for her success was like an Oscars speech ... without the music to play her off the stage. Later on, however, Roland was feeling his balls being squeezed while the commander was doing her commanding.

This is going to be a problem because Joan's extremely rigid, and Roland can only take so much emasculation.

Joan's sweetness didn't last very long. She turned into the Lord of Discipline with T.J. and Roxy. She claimed that she was just following post policy, but since she's only been on the job two minutes, Joan was extra tough.

T.J. deserved it, no doubt, but Joan seemed to be punishing Roxy just as much. Maybe that's the way it should be, but that $500 fine was harsh. It might not put a dent in the Burton family budget, but Roxy's living on a shoestring.

Couldn't Joan have made T.J. work off the fine by washing cars or gathering carts at the PX instead of expecting the family to pay it? He would have learned much more if the money came from his sweat.

Roxy was getting it from all sides. T.J. gave her lip, Roland gave her lip service, and then Trevor chewed her out over the phone. Remember last week, when I was impressed with the up-to-date technology that kept the characters "in theater" involved with the Fort Marshall regulars?

Well, Trevor was so well-informed that he had all the gossip from the neighbors about Roxy's visit with Whit. He knew more about his family's activities now from Afghanistan than he did when he was a recruitment officer in Charleston!

It would have been nice to see Trevor show an emotion other than anger. He blasted Roxy and T.J., but didn't remember to say that he loved them. That's not like Trevor. His time in Afghanistan is changing him ... and not in a good way.

Most of the time on 'Army Wives' is big on celebrations, complete with plenty of friends and family pouring on the attention. That was why Claudia Joy's graduation from law school seemed so sad. There she was with the cap and gown, but nobody to celebrate her accomplishment.

That opened the door for Harry Hamlin's Professor Chandler to step up. Based on their previous working together, Grant offered Claudia a position in his firm. Just like that. Only on TV, right? By the way, it's been a long time since Harry was "The Sexiest Man Alive". He's looking a little weather-beaten these days.

Finally, we had Pamela and her multiple decisions. Would she become an Atlanta police detective ... or take things to the next level with Boone ... or reconcile with Chase? I was ready to put money on Boone, but no.

Pamela bought Chase leaving Delta and she wanted him back. Actually, I think she wants to put her family back together.

But if you were Pamela, wouldn't you have tied down things with Chase before dropping Boone at the taco restaurant and rejecting the Atlanta job? I would have.

The way it stands now, Pamela has put all her eggs in the Chase basket ... and he's off on a Delta mission. He may have planned one last Delta mission or maybe not.

Of course, if the preview is to be believed, somebody is dying. One of the soldiers ... that means Frank, or Trevor, or Michael, or Chase. Or maybe not, we'll just have to wait until next week.

'Army Wives' airs Sundays, 9PM ET on Lifetime.