TVSquad

(S02E01) The season finale for Army Wives last summer was a cliffhanger. It was an explosive, shocking and dramatic conclusion to a season filled with the characters' ups and downs, the good times and the bad, the yin and the yang of the lives of military families on Fort Marshall in Charleston, South Carolina.

This season two opener is no less stunning. It was a powerful episode, as the tribe, as the Army spouses like to call themselves, deal with the aftermath of a suicide bomber walking into the Hump Bar determined to fulfill his mission and take all of them with him. The watering hole was filled with patrons, and the question fans wondered since then has been, who survived the blast?


The new show begins four days later, using Pamela's radio show, Have At It, as a framing device to reveal what happened. It was interesting to hear the story told from Pamela's point of view primarily because she wasn't in the Hump Bar that night. However, as we learn later on, just because she wasn't there doesn't mean she's not traumatized. Her comments about watching the TV for news of the tragedy was reminiscent of 9/11, watching the news with hopes that somehow it won't be as bad as you know it is.

The episode unfolded like an onion, layer by layer, creating suspense as we wonder who made it out of the bar alive. As we find out, there were casualties.

When Pamela explains that someone as close as family has slipped away, and Denise is in the hospital and starts to cry, I suspected that we were going to hear that Claudia Joy was the victim. It would have been a hell of a shock considering that Kim Delaney is the biggest star in the show. So when her character appeared with her daughter Amanda at the train station to take her to college, it was a relief. Aside from some scratches and bandages, Claudia Joy and Amanda seemed fine.

Sally Pressman really stood out in this show. She's looks like Kristin Chenoweth and Reese Witherspoon's little sister, and she's one of the best things about Army Wives. As Roxy, who's usually such a happy, vibrant character, this episode was a chance to show her dramatic side. She was a complete wreck and desperately needed to know that Trevor, who deployed before the explosion, was all right. She's in her pajamas for most of the episode, not bothering to dress. It was a good touch, better than if she were shown swigging from a bottle. Basically, Roxy's incapable of moving from the house till she knows her soldier is safe. She's also reacting to the fear that she faced death herself at the bar; staying at home in her jammies gives her the feeling that she's safe when she knows that she's not.

Ever the therapist, it's Roland who counsels Pamela about her guilt feelings regarding Marilyn. In flashbacks, she relates what she wished she'd done for Marilyn, then what she actually did, which was giving her the keys to her car so Marilyn could meet Eddie at the bar. You can really see Pamela's point of view, if she had intervened, George wouldn't have found Marilyn at the bar. If he didn't find her, George may not have blown up the bar. If only...

So the trigger didn't go off the first time. Marilyn's lover Eddie struggled with George and in those few moments, Roland saved Denise. Betty forced Roxy out the door. Amanda wouldn't go without her mother. The scenes at the college took on a hazy, dreamlike quality then. "Why did you go into that bar, Amanda?" Claudia Joy asks, and her daughter answers, "For you, Mom." She then adds pointedly, "Show me the mother and I'll show you the child," a tribute to the kind of parent Claudia Joy had been to her daughter.

The tears shed by Michael, the ultimate stoic solder, says it all. The patient could not be revived, and when Claudia Joy comes to in the hospital, it's clear that Amanda didn't make it. The pain of Amanda's death is palpable.

This was a really sad Army Wives episode, minus the levity and good humor that balances most of the others. But for sheer emotional impact, this season opener packed a wallop. It'll be interesting to see the fall out in the weeks ahead.

Other points of interest
-- Pamela's narration underscore the theme of Army Wives, the kinship among the soldier families, the connection and the support that is continually reinforced.

-- Roland showed why he's a stand up guy, apologizing to Joan for the affair he had while she was away. It looked like the first step towards a reconciliation...perhaps. She's still not saying what she's going to do about her pregnancy.

-- Roxy mistook the CID investigators for U.S. Army reps there to tell her that Trevor's dead. Knowing that Roxy is new to being an Army wife, this made a lot of sense. She always rails against the rules and regulations.

-- They gave Betty a last name. The bartender who's dying from breast cancer was one of the most severely injured in the blast. Ironically, she had no medical coverage and couldn't pay for treatment of her cancer. The explosion landed her in a hospital bed. If she survives, will the doctors treat her breast cancer or not?

-- When Denise and Pamela go to comfort Roxy with a bottle of wine, she opens the door and says, "It feels like I'm the wrong end of an intervention."

-- Wonderful moment with Claudia Joy and Amanda, when the mother admits she did regret leaving Harvard because she was pregnant with the daughter.

-- Joan isn't in uniform when Roxy confronts her, but she's wearing an Army tee-shirt, her hair is pulled back, and she swiftly takes charge reminding Roxy that she is a Lt. Colonel and Trevor's commanding officer. She then shows her Army Wives heart by assuring her that Trevor is still in transit to Iraq and that's why he hadn't contacted her.

-- Trevor is too damn perfect. That DVD Roxy finds from him was sweet and romantic -- and a complete fantasy fulfillment.

-- Actress Kim Allen as Amanda looks like a mini-version of Kim Delaney -- great casting.