#if not everyone -- klinger himself is also just (imo) the most romantic character both in terms of how he views romance

[variousqueerthings]

i will simply by virtue of who i am read aromanticism into things, but mash really does make it astonishingly easy for me

#MASH #if we're looking at the romantic relationships id say klinger and soon-lee #have most everyone else beat #if not everyone -- klinger himself is also just (imo) the most romantic character both in terms of how he views romance #and how the narrative offers him to embody romance-as-theme #potter and mildred is very sweet and has that *we've been together for so long we simply know the beats of one another* thing #but is also a relationship in which one of the parties spent several years going to different wars and practising army medicine #(this is subjective but the *I cheated on mildred confession* -- I choose to ignore it... I simply don't think it works/does anything) #(and without that there's already so much to unpack in their relationship to one another) #next in line id say bj and peg and that is... interesting........ he cheats on her once and considers leaving her another time #this could be read many ways but i choose to believe that those situations wouldnt have happened if he hadn't been drafted #but they did happen + the jealousy plots + some of the overbearing ways he treated hawkeye #(again last of those can choose to relate or not to relate to his marriage i choose to relate them) + general lashing out #but i do currently fall in the place of reading that relationship as coming out of love and them trying their best #then we've got henry and trapper who I think like their wives (but to varying degrees also bad-mouth them + cheat on them) #and will also say there that apart from the one scene with flagg there don't seem to be indications that they cheated outside the war either #(i say this -- i could be misremembering -- it seemed like the three-night-stand with trapper lady was before his marriage?) #(anyway we're newish fans here there could be things ive forgotten) #then we've got frank burns and... *i happen to believe in the sanctity of marriage no matter how ugly or disgusting it gets* #(paraphrased but you get the picture) #now for the ones who don't end the narrative with romantic partners: mulcahy charles hawkeye margaret radar #mulcahy is never given a *what if romance were to make you doubt yourself as a priest* narrative and am pretty glad of that #his tension gets to be more complicated without that imo #charles has a couple of romance-ish arcs that are snuffed out (the un-wedding is... very interesting very aromantic vibes) #+ him and his Responsibilities which is about the most unromantic way of looking at it as you can get (also strong ace vibes) #radar is slightly trickier in that he's in that odd space of being considered adolescent but then also not and loses his virginity 100 times #he seems to want a partner but although the conversation with the nurse in his last outing is sweet he's noticeably on that front #not fully *allowed* to just... grow up -- recognises that as a problematic phrasing on purpose because i feel like with radar #sex and romance is often tied to the idea of adulthood... i like seeing him as aroace and the space is there for it for sure! #(redefining adulthood for himself?)

[mash-notes]

Season 3 Episodes, Ranked

So… ALL of these are good. Really. You can start at the “worst” one and just have an amazing time all the way through. As always, feel free to reply with your own rankings if you like!

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24. A Full Rich Day

The Luxembourg colonel riseth from the dead! A murderous Turk must be sedated! And Frank is a dick, little less of a shock there.

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23. Bulletin Board

Trapper’s letter-home show. The muddy tug-of-war at the end is too erotic for my taste.

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22. There Is Nothing Like a Nurse

How DARE they take our nurses away and leave us to mope and sing in the Officers’ Club for an excessive amount of time.

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21. Adam’s Ribs

Did Hawkeye really have to throw the tray?

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20. Payday

OMG Trapper steals from Hawk, I am aghast, but I still can’t resist shows about gambling.

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19. House Arrest

The stuff with ball-busting cougar Colonel Reese is a little misogynistic and gets uncomfortable. However, nothing but respect for Hawkeye belting Frank in the face.

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18. Officer of the Day

Hawk looks terrific in his sheriff outfit. The drama of Col. Flagg trying to execute the patient feels too serious for Flagg’s character.

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17. Iron Guts Kelly

Always here for military stupidity, which is very starkly on display when Colonel Wortman insists on moving Kelly’s body around. If Margaret hadn’t done the same this whole mess could’ve been avoided, AMIRITE?

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16. Big Mac

Radar cosplaying General MacArthur will be a resounding yes from me.

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15. Alcoholics Unanimous

Minus a couple of points since Henry doesn’t appear, this is still great, the booze klatch between Hawk, Trapper and Margaret being a standout moment. Let’s hear it for one of this series’ most beloved, enduring themes: clownish drunkenness.

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14. Springtime

Light fare in a heavy season—sweet, charming. Klinger at his romantic best, looking like a D.H. Lawrence heroine (better than the wedding dress IMO). Even Radar gets a roll in the hay.

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13. The General Flipped at Dawn

The season premiere boasts a funny plot and a good sneak preview of li’l Harry Morgan, vaguely elfin in his gloves and giant helmet.

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12. Life With Father

We waited for a Mulcahy show and we got one! A big +1 for the flamboyant gayness of Piercintyre on the horse.

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11. White Gold

Flagg is back to being cartoonish, and penicillin theft is the name of the game. Hilly Hicks is super as the beleaguered medic. Also features Flagg’s notable “glasses” disguise.

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10. Mad Dogs and Servicemen

Radar isn’t rabid, but it was a nervous couple of days. Love the kindness shown to him here, as well as the languid scene where he and Henry walk the countryside looking for the dog.

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09. Check-Up

Trapper won’t get a proper chance to sign off for good, so it’s here that I have to say bye, Trap. I worship your dropped R’s and your crooked smile and your fairly Olympian body and I’ll miss you, my darling.

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08. Rainbow Bridge

Ooooohhhhh Tokyo. Another time, guys--we have to do a bunch of surgery and then pick POWs up from behind Chinese lines real quick. The folk music here (more than elsewhere) is affecting and informs the atmosphere very well.

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07. Love and Marriage

Hawkeye helps Kwon and his wife form a domestic tableau, while an American G.I. participates in a marriage scam. Nice symmetry in the two stories, both of them engaging and believable.

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06. Private Charles Lamb

Lavish, celebratory, and indulgent. This visually stunning show, teeming with cute animals, is one of MASH’s most joyous, still balanced by the sadness of the boy who shot himself in the leg.

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05. The Consultant

A plum role for Alan’s father, and a bittersweet “student has become the master”-type plot. Also, you know, a pool party.

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04. Bombed

Stunning, terrifying effects and true panic—we’re in a war, everyone. Also the car-crash fascination that is Trap and Margaret in the shed, the love that dare not speak its name.

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03. Aid Station

Even worse and scarier conditions. The first big, open show of tenderness between Margaret and Hawk, platonic of course, the result being effing top-notch teary-eyed feels.

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02. O.R.

So much surgery. Not all of it successful. This and all the attendant emotions are just a day in the life of our brave doctors, here in Korea at the 4077th MASH.

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01. Abyssinia, Henry

Shitfaced bonhomie at the restaurant, Klinger’s Carmen Miranda outfit, the nifty grey suit, and hearts full of love. All for nothing. The last scene may be rough to sit through—it appalled a nation of viewers when it first aired—but that’s only because they did Henry so right.

#m*a*s*h #mash 4077 #mash season 3 #abyssinia henry #henry blake appreciation posts #trapper john mcintyre #hawkeye pierce #margaret houlihan #the general flipped at dawn #frank burns #max klinger #radar o'reilly