If you watched Army Wives this week, you know that some of our predictions for lesbian couple Nicole and Charlie turned out to be correct. I’m glad to report, however, that even the predictable story turns ended up in a very happy place.
First, a few corrections from what I wrote last week. As some of you noted, Charlie’s Youth Activities Center seemed to be unconnected with the merger of Fort Marshall and Fort Hope. In fact, Charlie is a civilian. She met Roland when he brought son David to play at the center and asked for help with an outreach program she runs on base. Charlie and Roland bonded further when Charlie helped manage the situation when some parents learned that David is HIV+ and started an online campaign to keep other kids away from him. (Examiner.com has a good summary of that episode.)
Last episode we learned that Charlie is in a relationship with Army intelligence officer Captain Nicole Galassini, who is on the mission to protect Americans during tribal unrest in Africa. As the episode ended last week, Nicole was on her way to mediate a dispute between one of the tribes and an American doctor they wanted to kill.
The captain diffused the situation quickly with her understanding that the matriarchal tribe – and overcame the macho biases of some of the other soldiers in the process. Even I’m-too-sexy-for-my-gun Trevor was suitably impressed – with good reason. Who knew Kellie Martin could be so studly?
On the way back to camp, however, the convoy encountered armed rebels trying to take over the roads. The only serious injury was, naturally, Nicole, who was shot in the leg and lost a lot of blood. Although the doctor was able to get the bullet out, she was moved to Germany for a CT scan to check for fragments. Since the Army didn’t know about Charlie, nobody officially contacted her. For a professional counselor, Roland sure handled telling Charlie poorly. But at least he got her the information she needed to call Nicole. And we understand a bit more about why Nicole prefers to stay in the closet, even post DADT.
But Charlie has to decide whether to meet the bus when the troops come home. She’s never done it before, but DADT gave her good reason to stay away. Even though she fears that Nicole won’t like it, Charlie wants to be there to greet her wounded soldier along with the straight spouses. I’ve watched that scene at least a dozen times and it still makes me cry.
You can watch the full episode at hulu.com. How did you like this week’s Army Wives? Are you happy with how the show is handling the relationship?
