I'm typically pretty good about relating the titles of episodes with their message, but this season on Army Wives I cannot seem to put the two together. "Tough Love" was about a lot of different kinds of love, but the tough variety didn't come to mind.

First up was an examination of the effects of what happened to Denise and Claudia Joy last week. As luck would have it, they didn't just catch the hat of any old crazy beach psycho, but a genuine serial killer. By offing him, they probably saved the lives of many others that could have come after.

It was interesting seeing how the two women dealt with the situation. Normally the stronger of the two, it was Denise who found herself struggling with the fact she took another human life. I'm sure her profession and pursuit of saving lives played a large part in her inability to come to terms with what she had done, but I was surprised that it hit her so hard.

She found solace in the words of the chaplain, that sometimes you have to take a life to save others, something he tells the soldiers in his church all too often.

On the other hand, Claudia Joy felt as if she had no control over her life, particularly after that incident. Really, who could blame her with as many curve balls that were thrown her way? You have to put your life into the hands of others when it comes to medical situations, but she realized if she had been alone with that man and the gun, she wouldn't have been able to protect herself. The fighter inside her wanted out. Luckily, she had hard-nosed Jackie at her side, who uses shooting as catharsis.

The scene of them at the range was great, and I could see them becoming very good friends as time goes by. Their personalities are very similar.

Elsewhere, David's secret meetings with Marcus finally caught up with him and almost got Marcus thrown back in prison. I never thought Marcus was a bad guy, and I was right. He just didn't have all the skills he needed to be the best father figure. Joan was hard as nails, as usual, but if you look back at how the entire situation came together, if she had been more accepting and less judgmental, more willing to help him get to know his son under the supervision of the Burtons, the story could have played out much differently. 

Marcus decided to leave town, and the door was left open for his return. He left with words of respect to Joan, and with Joan acknowledging there may be hope for him yet.

Speaking of children, Roxy is past her first trimester with twins and isn't even showing yet. It's not her first pregnancy, so isn't that odd? What happened to TJ? He wasn't playing cards with the family, and wasn't there to greet Cody when he arrived later. They aren't doing a "the child disappears" television moment, are they? If I've missed where he made off to, please let me know.

The story of Trevor's friend Cody was so sad, but I'm sure it goes on every day. Even if the couple weren't having marital issues before an injury of that magnitude, the changes in him and his personality and his wife's feelings of despair must be difficult to ride out. It seems they would constantly be blaming each other for things they couldn't change. I'm not sure why the LeBlancs took Cody into their home, though. How long will he be staying? Might this be the eligible bachelor I was looking for who was deserving of Gloria?

It's pretty darn obvious that Hector will not make the cut either as a husband or a soldier. How many times has Trevor told him to keep his personal life off of the training field? Certainly they wouldn't be able to trust him in a combat situation because his mind is elsewhere. Even when they showed him hesitantly speaking to Gloria as though he might come clean about cheating, I knew he never would. He's a coward. That bit with the necklace and I love yous was just embarrassing. Typical cheating behavior.

It would be interesting to see her and Cody enter into a friendship. Her genuine kindness and honestly would be appealing to a man who didn't want to be lied or catered to, who just needed the truth about his circumstances. What do you think about that idea? This felt like a great cleansing of the palate for the more negative stories we've been burdened with lately. I'm looking forward to what next week brings. 

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.