Say it ain’t so, Denise!
Now, I’m not spreading or supporting any rumors here, just working off of plot, but is Denise leaving? And, I don’t necessarily mean the show; I imagine that, technically, Army Wives can develop a way in which to keep her on as a cast member without her still being on-base, as a traveling nurse. But, what does that do for the dynamics?
Denise is an integral part of our ragtag group of five. While they may have been keeping their distance from her this season (more on that later), she was still a plot point for Claudia Joy, Pamela, Roxy, and Roland. Sure, if their relationships are mended, they can stay in touch while she’s gone, but come on … is that really the same thing?
And, what about Frank? I know that a lot of fans are probably upset with him over the way that he treated his wife of twenty years, Sonja included, but putting that aside, Frank and Denise are one of the foundations upon which Army Wives is built. For there is no “wives” without the “army” … or something to that effect. We may not lose either one of them, but Frank will essentially spiral off the show without his anchor to the central theme. That would be a real shame.
While the Denise/Frank thing is definitely melodrama, I think it hews a lot closer to the Army Wives of old than many things that we’ve seen happen over the course of the last season plus. Not staying so close is the saga of Roxy and Viola (Tonya Pinkins). Is anyone finding any fulfillment in this exploration? Somehow, the Hump Bar has become Roxy’s only vehicle on the show, and the territory in which she’s now trolling is just not really worth our time.
All of a sudden her business is failing miserably? She spends a couple of hours in a real Southern bar, and turns her entire place around overnight? Viola is hired in the morning, and it’s reasonable for her to think that she can change the direction of someone else’s business while the owner is out for the afternoon? Does any of this make any sense? I’m not saying this wouldn’t have all been digestible if done differently; but, either the writers have so many things that they want to do with Roxy that each week is a mini-season for her, or they have no idea what they’re doing with her so just hitting her with everything that they can think of. Either way, it’s not working for me.
On the other end of the “why won’t this just end already” spectrum, Claudia Joy continues to battle things out with her daughter, Emmalin. The funniest line of the night, which is completely contextual, was uttered when Emmalin came downstairs in a new shirt that her mother had just bought her, destroyed beyond recognition. After giving in, again, and telling her to just get in the car, Claudia Joy says to Emmalin, “I’m tired of fighting you over everything.” … It would be nice if she started to! Since not going to Brussels with Michael, Claudia Joy has yet to call Emmalin on any of her crap. While Roxy’s storyline is getting the works thrown at it, the writers forgot all the “B” through “Y” in Claudia Joy’s. Whoops.
In mini-saga news, Chase (Jeremy Davidson) returned to find Pamela and their kids settled into their new home. I thought the battle over the furniture was stupid, but I kind of understand it. I’m curious, though: is it because Chase feels as if he isn’t involved in his family’s life anymore, or because he feels like he’s no longer the center of their world? I wasn’t sure if it was a “making decisions” thing, or a “his armchair should be central” thing.
I was glad, however, that he was back, although the writers didn’t need to neglect Michael and Trevor just to include Chase with Frank and Joan. I was also happy to see that Chase was back to being season one Chase. I know that that sounds crazy, because he’s not the nicest of people, but I feel like there’s a lot more authenticity in petty and mean Chase, than there is in loving and doting Chase. As I’ve said before, the guy is off God-knows-where doing who-knows-what; that wouldn’t just roll off his back when he got home. At this point in his career, Chase has got to be pretty screwed up psychologically, and it should bleed through.
Along the same authenticity vein, while it’s upsetting to see how Claudia Joy, Roxy, and Pamela, have been treating Denise, I appreciate the fact that it seems a lot more real than if they were there to support her. I don’t know anything about the code that comes with being a member of the greater Army family, versus not, but I have to think that the following is what comes in to play for the aforementioned three: their feelings about Denise’s affair stem from the support that they’ve learned to give their husbands while they are in theater.
Whatever might be happening personally between husband and wife, while the soldier in the family is actively risking their life in a war zone, there is a feeling of responsibility on the part of the Army “wife” to not make their job harder, by saddling them with baggage from home. We were supposed to get that impression when Frank led that mission a few weeks back, although I don’t think that the point was made clearly. I do not endeavor to speak for anyone who has ever been in this situation; I imagine it is gut wrenching. But my instincts tell me that a lot of the anger being felt towards Denise involves her crossing some line that is sacred to military spouses.
At the same time, I understand the argument about, what is she supposed to do if he’s away more than he’s home? When is the right time to address these issues? I don’t know, and I’m making no attempt at answering those questions. All I’m saying is, I can understand where the group is coming from. And I can understand why Roland feels differently, aside from his own affair. The natural inclinations of men and women differ, so Roland and Claudia Joy, for instance, view supporting their fighting spouses differently, and they do so in different ways. What is a line for one, may not be for the other. Not to say that cheating is okay on anyone’s end, just that Roland may not agree with the women of his clique that what Denise did crossed that holy line. If that makes any sense.
I’d love to hear what people have to say about this. Not in terms of who’s right and who’s wrong … rather, how do you feel about the way Roland reacted to Denise’s affair? How about Claudia Joy, Pamela, and Roxy’s reactions? Or Frank’s? Any military perspective on the incident?
Discuss.
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jul 07, 2009 @ 16:00 EST5EDT
Put me on Frank’s side. If she had to do dirt, which I condemn her for, she should have kept it out of the military house. She worked in a military hospital and had inappropriate contact with a patient. A returning soldier who has enough issues without her. She should have been fired. Frank should be majorly po’d. They are trying to make us feel sorry for her and put Frank in the bad guy spot, but it’s not happening for me. She knew what she was doing. She knows that the military is a big family, especially at the rank that Frank is. Of course he’d find out. His wife was dismissed from a post job. Yes, she’s ‘finding herself’. Her job, her motorcycle and her 2 affairs (yes, I consider her relationship with that doctor an affair, emotional at the very least). She misbehaved on an army post, with her husband being deployed. Why should anyone, especially military affiliated, feel sorry for her?
*POST AUTHOR*
I’m definitely right there with you. My problem is how much I enjoy Frank and Denise as a couple. But, I absolutely do not see Frank in a negative light. When it was clear that they had problems to work through last season, he was there in therapy with her, because Denise is his life. How in the world could she have done that to him?
And, I think the show has decided to quietly forget the fact that this wasn’t just a fling for Denise: she really cared about what’s-his-name, and was crushed when HE ended things with HER. Why has that never been addressed?