(S02E13) There was a lot of action is this penultimate episode of Army Wives. After the ripples created by all these stones in the water, I expect that next week's season finale will be a humdinger, although I don't think the finale can equal the punch of last year's suicide bomber at the Hump Bar.

It's clear that the writers like to keep us on our toes, surprising us, and I don't mind the unexpected. But the twist in tonight's show really came out of left field. I'll be frank; it was bad. I won't talk about it further until after the jump, but suffice to say I felt very manipulated, and not in a good way.

The Trevor/Roxy drug story has been building and it's definitely coming to a realistic boil. I feel for Roxy. She's doing her best to keep it together and Trevor has been like another person since returning from Iraq, guilt ridden and injured.

(S02E12) There were too many story lines in this episode, too many threads pulled from the fabric. It felt like they were setting up the show for the end of the season and building suspense. For that reason, it felt very disjointed to me.

Claudia Joy's parents, Randall and Charlotte -- nicely played by Len Cariou and Marsha Mason -- have settled in the Holden's house as they deal with their marital/financial issues. The kind of money problems most families are facing in this country right now are not like this, so it's hard to relate. It's also hard to buy that his gambling has never impacted on Claudia's life before. Her hero worship has blinded her to his flaws, but how can you keep money troubles that secret?

(S02E04) If there's one thing about Army Wives that bothers me, it's that life is rarely this tidy. With a few exceptions, this episode was about as neat and organized as Frank Sherwood's sock drawer. If you know that character, you know what I mean.

The really good part of the show dealt not with the wives, but with the husbands. Michael Holden, usually the Rock of Gibraltar, finally was shown to be in pain.

It was fitting that Michael wouldn't make it easy for Claudia Joy to find out what was bothering him. A general doesn't show his soft underbelly, not even to his wife.

The twist of having George's sister, Leah, appear was a good development. It was unexpected that the sister of the guy who bombed the Hump Bar would approach the Holdens, but it worked because it gave Claudia Joy a chance to counsel Michael.

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(S02E02) Army Wives is reminding me of some of my favorite TV dramas of all time, shows like thirtysomething and Party of Five. Especially this episode where there are more feelings and reactions to the bombing at the Hump Bar. How does life go back to normal after a tragedy? How do you cope?

Time has passed and life may appear to be getting back to normal at Fort Marshall, but things are still quite unsettled among the close knit coterie on Army Wives. Chief among them are the Holdens. Claudia Joy is simply not returning to normal and it become clear as the episode progressed that she's an emotional powder keg.
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