Synopsis: Sidney helps Hawkeye work through some trauma at an institution in order to send him back to the 4077th in time for the end of the war, meanwhile BJ gets orders to go home that are later rescinded and Klinger realizes he’s too in love with Soon-Lee to let her go looking for her parents alone
Rating:
Jokes: 5/5
Seriousness: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Queer subtext: 5/5
Margaret's characterization: 5/5
My thoughts: there are way too many things that I want to say about this “episode” (which is really a movie), so I’ll be putting my real-time (aka unedited) reactions under a read more if anyone is interested. But suffice it to say that this is the best sendoff M*A*S*H could have even if it leaves us still wanting more. I suppose I’ll have to track down After M*A*S*H now, though I’ve heard it’s not as good
I love how you can tell everyone loves Hawkeye so much even though this phonecall is painful to listen to
A peace talks announcement this early in this episode is clearly a fakeout
Klinger is so adorable when he's in love
I forgot about Charles' musician friends!
Where did BJ get the motorcycle? Is it the one that the reporter broke? The story is unclear
Poor Sydney looks equally as tired as Hawkeye
Oh boy here we go
Wait, not there quite yet
BJ, honey, you're not going home yet
Father Mulcahy my beloved
I forgot that he damaged his hearing doing something heroic
Chickens… oh no. Now here we go
Why do they keep cutting away from Hawkeye?
Oh yeah I forgot BJ visits Hawkeye
He can't tell him he's going home...
Wait did Hawkeye just reference the movie where gaslighting gets its name from?
"There might be something we wanted to say to each other before we left" 😭😭😭
Oh fuck the chicken is back
This scene breaks me every time
Damn they sent Hawkeye back to work way too quickly
(And Sydney's explanation is BS)
"I've gotta leave a note for Hawkeye" 😭😭😭😭😭
Oh Charles just admit you care about BJ
Colonel Potter you wily, sentimental bastard
Is Charles actually trained in conducting or is he just a pretentious ass?
Why are they dragging up old arguments between Charles and Margaret?
Oh god oh fuck Hawkeye just found out BJ left him the same way Trapper did
There goes Klinger again, having one of the biggest character arcs in the entire show
Colonel Potter trying to explain to Sophie that he cant take her home is absolutely devastating
Oh shit yeah the wild fire, I forgot that's why they bug out
It's scenes like the bug out when I realize how much of the camp we never see
BJ MY BELOVED
Boys, kiss and make up already, the bitterness is killing me
Klinger and Soon-Lee really are a beautiful femme for femme couple (not my joke but it bears repeating)
Is that Margaret in a Hawaiian shirt? My gay heart can't take it
Oh Hawkeye...the reminder that BJ has a domestic life to go back to must be part of his fear of kids
The war is over! You know, the 3 year war that lasted 11 years
But it's not over for the doctors or the wounded
The return to the burned out camp is so sad
Sydney helping out in OR warms my heart though
"There's nothing here I'm gonna miss... except you" FELLAS
Oh fuck one of Charles' musician friends
Scratch that, all of his musician friends
"What good is a deaf priest?...Are you [god] deaf too?" Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa
And there it is, the ceasefire is official. But again, the doctors' work goes on for awhile longer
Nurse Kellye my beloved
Hawkeye indirectly calling Portland a big city is the most Maine thing I've ever heard and also hilarious
KLINGER YOU BEAUTIFUL HUMAN
I love how he went from trying anything and everything to get out of Korea to staying after everyone else goes home
Why are Colonel Potter's goodbyes always the hardest to watch?
I hate goodbyes so much and there's so many to sit through
The Hawkeye/Margaret kiss is comphet in action and they deserved a much better scene since they've been through so much together
Synopsis: BJ initiates a 24 hour prank spree to prove he's a better prankster than Trapper and Hawkeye is determined (to the point of paranoia) that he won't be one of BJ's victims
Rating:
Jokes: 3/5
Seriousness: 2/5
Plot: 3/5
Queer subtext: 5/5
Margaret's characterization: 3/5
My thoughts: BJ why are you so jealous of Trapper . . . unless?
Synopsis: Colonel Potter asks Sidney for help when he's feeling inadequate as a surgeon. Charles acts like a slob to force Hawkeye and BJ to finally clean up their mess
Rating:
Jokes: 4/5
Seriousness: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Queer subtext: 4/5
Margaret's characterization: 2/5
My thoughts: the scene where the three surgeons are destroying the Swamp is the best-choreographed scene in the entire show and filming it must've been a blast
Synopsis: Hawkeye writes his will while filling in for a dead surgeon at battalion aid and BJ worries about Hawkeye because he went in his place
Rating:
Jokes: 4/5
Seriousness: 5/5
Plot: 3/5
Queer subtext: 5/5
Margaret's characterization: 3/5
My thoughts: I'm not sure why "Hawkeye Pierce is alive and well and living at battalion aid . . . Who else but Hawkeye uses vertical mattress stitches with white cotton sutures" is my dad's favourite line in the whole show, but it does slap. Anyway I wanted to give this an even higher plot rating but a will is still arguably a letter-like framing device so I took a point off for it. It has some beautiful character moments, though
Synopsis: Hawkeye has 20 minutes to perform an arterial transplant or the patient will likely be paralyzed (or die), but BJ has to wait for a potential donor (a GI with a terminal head wound) to die before he can get an aorta graft
Rating:
Jokes: 3/5
Seriousness: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Queer subtext: 5/5
Margaret's characterization: 2/5
My thoughts: they gracefully handled some heavy topics in this one, and I think Father Mulcahy's conversation with the donor's friend should be required viewing when discussing organ donation
Synopsis: Father Mulcahy tries to impress a visiting cardinal despite the 4077th's faults while Hawkeye discovers that his patient, who wanted to donate blood to his apparently worse-off friend, has leukemia
Rating:
Jokes: 3/5
Seriousness: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Queer subtext: 4/5
Margaret's characterization: 1/5
My thoughts: Father Mulcahy's "sermon" was incredibly moving even as a non-Christian. Also, this is the Patrick Swayze episode for those who are interested
Synopsis: it's Christmas at the 4077th and everyone gives up their goodies from home to prepare a generous spread for visiting orphans, but Charles comes under fire for only giving a tin of oysters because he doesn't want anyone to know about his anonymous chocolate donation. Hawkeye, BJ, and Margaret try to keep a mortally wounded sniper alive until midnight so he doesn’t die on Christmas
Rating:
Jokes: 3/5
Seriousness: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Queer subtext: 2/5
Margaret's characterization: 3/5
My thoughts: I'm not crying, you're crying. Also, this is a masterful way to highlight that charity, even when truly given with the best of intentions, can often fail to do the most good simply because the donors think they know better than the people actually running the organizations (or needing the aid)
