#sorry guys this was my theater kid alter ego with the character analysis again

[hawkeyeslaughter]

also the thing about trapper that i think is sort of interesting that i haven’t seen anyone really talk about is how he’s perceived . in ‘ the incubator ‘ , the colonel that trap and hawk go to barter with accuses trapper of having an “ annoying streak of morality “ but takes a shine to hawkeye . now , to the audience this would seem like sort of a bizarre assessment of trap , considering what we know about him he’s definitely not the moral character this guy sees him as , but not to the people of the canonical world they’re in . why ?

trapper objectively is more intimidating than hawkeye is . at a glance he’s beefier and not as stringy as hawkeye , his resting face is slightly bitchier than hawkeye’s is , so , yeah , at first glance or first impression , this is a guy who sticks close to an ethical code . hawkeye just looks , and carries himself , like the kind of guy who would do any sort of skimping he needed to to get what he wants , so even if hawkeye and trapper want the same thing , are righteously angry about the same thing , people are more likely to take a shine to hawkeye because they see hawkeye as someone more on their level , where as trap looking and holding himself even slightly more put together is automatically seen as a righteous , morality high - ground threat .

i also think there are sort of times where he uses that to his advantage — if you note the difference between how he and hawk introduce themselves , while hawkeye pretty much immediately starts making jokes or backhand remarks , trapper introduces himself as “ john mcintyre “ and keeps pretty quiet as though examining said person as though trying to figure out how he should act and adjusts his behavior accordingly . he’s very very short with some people ( usually the higher - ups ) , a product of the intimidating morality high - ground character aforementioned , or he decides it’s a person that can be somewhat trusted and piggybacks off of hawkeye’s jokes . i think it’s a very subtle code - switching thing but i think it’s incredibly clever , especially when you pair him with hawkeye , who ultimately has the same personality whoever you put him with .

it’s why they’re such a good duo . it’s why , ultimately , they get whatever they want — separately , why i don’t doubt they could get what they wanted , it would be harder . hawkeye’s too pushy and trapper seems too … “ moral “ — someone who doesn’t know him doesn’t see him as someone they can relate to , but put them together ?? holy shit , they’re unstoppable

#i think it also explains why margaret had a thing for trapper at least at first #sorry guys this was my theater kid alter ego with the character analysis again #mash #m*a*s*h #mashposting #mash 4077 #mashblr #trapper john #trapper john mcintyre #trapper mcintyre #john mcintyre #lgbt #lgbtq