Episode Report Card Sara M: F | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Another Episode About Dead Soldiers
By Sara M | Season 9 | Episode 7 | Aired on 10.24.2004
Ruthie's putting dishes in the dishwasher when she sees her father getting his car keys. "Martin. You're going to find Martin," she says without any feeling in her voice whatsoever. RevCam says Martin's friend got some bad news, and that she needs him. And Martin needs RevCam. Awwww yeah. Bam chicka bam bam. Ruthie watches RevCam go, then resumes her dish-placing activities. She puts a glass in the dishwasher. Why are we still watching this scene?
Ah, there we go. The Treehouse of Lurv. Kevin comes home and kicks Ben out. Kevin asks Lucy what she wants him to say. It shouldn't surprise anyone that she's ready with an answer, and it's totally pathetic and clingy. She wants him to say that the rumors about Martha aren't true, that he'll never leave her or their daughter, and that he'll love her forever. Kevin says all of those things, but it's still not good enough for Lucy, who wants to know if he's telling the truth. With the patience of a goddamn saint, Kevin says that it's true. He explains that the Martha rumor started because he was trying to reach her late last night. Lucy accuses Kevin's cop friends of gossiping "more than old ladies." She asks if she has to go to the station and tell all of the officers that she trusts her husband. Kevin's like, "No. Please don't. Please, God, don't." They peck on the lips, and all is well in the Treehouse of Lurv once again.
Capt. Michaels calls the house, probably hoping he's just late enough to have interrupted any hanky-panky because that's what turns Capt. Michaels on these days, and asks Lucy if everything's been cleared up. She says it has. He asks if Kevin apologized for him, since he made everything worse even though he was just trying to help. Ah, but isn't that always the Camden way? Capt. Michaels apologizes in person and bids Lucy good night. "Good night," says Lucy, forgetting to thank Capt. Michaels for filling ten minutes of screen time.
RevCam and Martin hang out against his car. Brilliant decision, writers, to have the scene where RevCam drives up and Martin tearfully runs over to him and cries on his shoulder take place off-camera, because that kind of scene, when written and performed well, could have actually been moving. Guess we'll have to settle for a monologue from Martin about how tough it is to be a soldier's kid. RevCam interrupts to talk about himself, and how The Colonel is a "casualty assistance officer," and I was waiting for RevCam to mention how he, too, had a military father so he knows how Martin feels. Except he doesn't, he just says that his dad had to knock on a lot of doors, and that RevCam, too, sometimes has to deliver bad news as part of his job. "It's an awful job," RevCam says, like, boo freaking hoo. RevCam tells Martin that he is an adult in a lot of respects, so he can go comfort Martha without RevCam's help. Only RevCam could twist Martin's previous statement about being an adult around to get himself out of difficult work. But Martin says he can do it, and thanks RevCam for stopping by. The Bad News Officers leave the house. Martin tells RevCam his cell phone number, and you know that inside, RevCam's all "oh my GAWD! I got his PHONE NUMBER!!!" RevCam tells Martin that they won't be waiting up for him tonight, and he can spend however long he needs to with Martha. Then he pats the back of Martin's neck and leaves. It's a sweet gesture until you realize that whenever Martin does return to the CamPound, there's going to be a note waiting for him informing him of his new rent rates that he should be able to afford with his dead mom's money.