re: the clairvoyant corporal
first and foremost it’s a running gag that henry and radar, as a seamless comedic duo, get a ton of mileage out of. i know that, but whatever:
radar isn’t psychic, he’s just got his finger on the pulse of the war. his finger was nailed into place there by the united states army. he’s knows the ins and the outs of the 4077th, its various schedules, its needs, strengths and weaknesses. he could run it with his eyes closed. he’s not psychic, but he can read the war’s mind, like you and your best friend can communicate telepathically.
he adjusts well to the 4077th because he’s good at adjusting. he’s a farm boy, so he’s accustomed to being in an environment that needs to run on a strict schedule. he’s from a rural america, so he’s accustomed to being stepped on and underestimated by enlightened middle class urbanites. sometimes he follows their example, falling into the trap of mistreating others he perceives as being beneath him.
he’s versatile. he’s scrappy. he’s a good kid. sometimes he’s a bad kid. he’s a kid.
he’s susceptible to being taken advantage of by people he cares about or looks up to. sometimes he has to trust that they won’t take it too far. he’s not stupid. he’s not a doctor, but he can do a lot of things the doctors can’t. administrative personnel are pillars of our society to this day. he’s a kid.
he organizes the enlisted men. he knows the fastest way to get under hawkeye’s skin is to treat him and trapper like officers. hawkeye disagrees in theory that the o-club should be closed to enlisted men, but radar forces his hand and makes hawkeye put it into practice. he knows the people in his unit. he knows the war.
he puts too much weight on hawkeye’s shoulders. he’s not alone in that, he’s just the only one with an episode about it. he’s too old for hero-worship, but he’s younger than the rest. they all could stand to do better by hawkeye.
maybe he is a little psychic, in the fantastical sense of the word. maybe he stills when he senses approaching choppers the way bugs and animals still when they sense approaching storms. when they (bugs, animals, people) realize what comes after the stillness, everyone scrambles into place.
