Today's brainrot is BJ and Hawkeye hearing Charles be a prick to Margaret and silently initiating a challenge to see how many times they can make her laugh in the span of three minutes

why did Hawkeye react that way when BJ says “breeding”

The Billfold Syndrome (s7 e6): Charles gives everyone the silent treatment, while Sidney is summoned to speak to a shell-shocked medic who has forgotten his own identity.

No Sweat (s9 e11): The 4077th deals with a sudden heat wave in their own personal ways: Klinger disassembles the P.A. system, Charles goes through all of his tax returns and bonds, B.J. stresses over a letter from Peg, Margaret develops a severe case of prickly heat, and Colonel Potter can't get a good night's sleep.

The Billfold Syndrome Part 2

☺️sidneys back☺️

I only wanted the audience to go through the experience of feeling what it’s like to be in that relationship with somebody where you caused their death. How does that make you feel? How does the audience feel identifying with that character?

Alan Alda said this about Hawkeye's storyline in the finale during All We Have Is Now, and I think it explains a lot about that episode. It had to be Hawkeye, and he had to do something bad. He couldn't just see something bad happen, like Jerry in The Billfold Syndrome--he had to be an active participant.

At its best, MASH asks the audience hard questions. That's what Alan Alda was trying to do in the finale. We're not just supposed to cry because Hawkeye is in pain, we're supposed to be uncomfortable with what he did. Maybe we can justify it, the same way Hawkeye does--everyone would have been killed if the baby's crying gave them away, he didn't mean for her to kill it, it was an accident--but the point is that we have to try to justify it.

Hawkeye is a victim, yes, but he's not entirely innocent. MASH has previously shown us soldiers in distress over the things they've done--remember the bomber pilot in Dear Sigmund? Even sweet, christlike Arnold Chandler probably didn't know any more about the people he dropped bombs on than that other pilot did. MASH has also reminded us that everyone in a war is a victim, even the people who gleefully participate, like Colonel Flagg. What happened to Hawkeye is bad, but what happened to the baby and its mother is undeniably worse. We don't see the mother (played by Lang Yun) again; of course this is because Hawkeye is the main character, he's our American doctor hero, but it's also because we aren't being asked to empathize with her, we're being asked to empathize with Hawkeye.

Hawkeye doesn't break because of something that's done to him or because of something he sees. He breaks because of something he does. Maybe something we can imagine ourselves doing. It's easy for the audience to say "I would never kill someone," but how certain can you be that you wouldn't hiss at a mother that she had to keep her baby quiet, if the circumstances were life and death?

In order to confront the audience with the reality of war in this way, it has to be Hawkeye. It has to be the character we love the most. We have to see someone we love, empathize with, maybe relate to, do something both unimaginably and mundanely awful. Hawkeye's always had a strong moral compass as far as human life is concerned, and he does this anyway. Why? Because the audience needs to know that I would never isn't true, isn't enough, won't protect you.

Alan Alda holds Hawkeye responsible for the baby's death, and I'm not sure the audience usually does. I think we like to see it as a tragic accident, and certainly he didn't do it on purpose, but that doesn't absolve him of responsibility. We do this because we struggle to accept the truth, to do what Alan Alda is asking us to do: empathize with someone who caused the death of an innocent. Maybe that's one reason Alan Alda is so critical of Hawkeye: he sees him more clearly than we do.

Watched The Billfold Syndrome. Generally a good episode but not much to say about it. Hawk and BJ are evil to Charles in this one lol and it's a pretty funny subplot in which Charles deserves his revenge. The main story is touching but the actual hypnosis scene is too silly for me to take seriously unfortunately. Love how empathetic Hawkeye is there though, and the way he reaches over to place a hand on dude's back while Sidney is hugging him, like he can't help himself but try to comfort him too <3

A few little details:

-- Love the lack of gendering in the Thompson twins joke lol, though this didn't feel quite as conspicuous as the similar RJ Hardlidge joke. Still, you got Hawkeye canonically eager to see a nude guy, with the open possibility that he thought they were both men. (Also idk if the Thompson twins are real people or an invented name for the show but ngl I'm kind of curious if anyone does know.)

-- Hawkeye's little "I played Hamlet" is one of his typical jokes that follows a 'surprising (false) statement -> punchline pattern' and not a random lie or a truth he wants to downplay afterwards, because he follows it with the punchline, "I was the only one with access to a skull." His "I didn't really play Hamlet" is a jokey way of saying he regrets volunteering lol, because Sidney already knows he didn't play Hamlet, because of the aforementioned punchline.

-- Hawk says "or Rita Hayworth with a moustache," with a backwards glance at BJ so therefore I'm saying it's canon that Hawkeye thinks BJ is hot aside from the moustache but the moustache isn't a deal breaker.

-- There's a background moment in the O-Club scene where Klinger is eavesdropping on Hawk and BJ's conversation with Charles, and he realizes they wrote the telegram and are about to admit it, and runs lmao.

I love how upbeat Klinger is while Charles is grumpy in Billfold Syndrome.

1, 4, 6

thanks!

answered

4. An episode that makes you cry?

i'm a sensitive soul lol...

Sometimes you hear the bullet (still gets me every single time) The Billfold Syndrome - I'd started up already when it's clear something very bad has happened to (soon-to-be) Sidney's patient Bless you Hawkeye Dear Uncle Abdul... the scene where Hank and Buddy say their goodbyes The More I see You, the first time I watched it when Hawk starts losing it and trying to convince her to stay together, leading into their goodbye Check-up at traphawk's goodbye In Love and War when Kyungsoon's mother dies and again when Hawk says goodbye to Kyungsoon (are you sensing a theme??) and they got me a third time with Hawk and Margaret drinking together at the end Peace on Us - when Hawk and Margaret are standing in the compound and Margaret specifically saying "look at the place I picked to have a marriage" Comrades in Arms pt 1 - when Margaret is reading the letter and that bit where she starts asking Hawkeye 'do you have any idea what it's like to give your heart to someone?' Goodbye Farewell and Amen - I get a lump in my throat even thinking about Hawkeye looking into the distance as we hear the chopper and Suicide is Painless for the last time

and I cannot remember the episode name but there's an early-seasons episode where Margaret tells Frank she'll be fine without him when he goes back to his wife. and then not 30 seconds later she's talking about sticking her head in an oven and then she's begging him to take her home and she and Louise will be sister-wives or something. i can't remember tearing up the first time i saw that but recently i rewatched and :( margaret

6. Hawkeye, O.R., Deal Me Out

ask game

Sidney shows remarkable grace for a man who knows that BJ stole that mustache idea from him.

Something about s7

I talked about this in a few other posts, but I really felt how many episodes this season seemed to centre on the idea of trying to fix, to protect, to change, just one little part of an uncontrollable and traumatic situation and failing over and over, as well as the fallout of things being even worse than previously thought: peace on us, the billfold syndrome, bj papa song, the price, hot lips is back in town, preventative medicine, (a tad in relation to a night at rosie’s too, although I don’t think anybody believed they could help Scully all that much)

the other thing I saw a lot of was mistakes and (occasionally) making up for them: commander pierce, major ego, out of gas, an eye for a tooth, dear sis, inga, the young and the restless (a bit), ain’t love grand

and lastly -- and this was something I didn’t fully take in until the last episode hammered it home -- the little things that can be changed, and the family that’s been created at the unit, starting fittingly with commander potter acting like a single dad in commander pierce (as well as the second episode peace on us) and ending with the party

little miracles like BJ’s patients pulling through when he thought they wouldn’t -- twice (ain’t love grand and the party), saving people who you wouldn’t assume could be saved in the freezing cold or in the middle of a shelling

also things like BJ and Potter looking out for Margaret when men wanted to come onto her (not patronisingly, just familial) and generally the support around her divorce, Margaret and Hawkeye bonding over their fears, everyone coming out to cheer up Mulcahy, the prank war initiated by Charles, as well as moments where Charles genuinely impressed Hawkeye (major ego and rally round the flagg, boys), the burgeoning friendship between Klinger and Charles, etc. I literally have a whole set of pictures of Margaret, Bj, and Hawkeye being comfortable around one another

I’m so glad it ended on the party -- it created a tone for the season which carried back on how I look at the other episodes (where before my main Stuck In My Head Episode was preventative medicine... which is tonewise.... very different)

the party was a beautiful episode and ended the season in a wonderful way

The Billfold Syndrome Part 3

the wonderful @fieryphrazes tagged me to post a list of my wips and answer questions/post a snippet of any that you want to know more about! (these are all beejhawk don’t worry)

1940s summer love affair (a la call me by your name but legal)

angst! at the 4077th five year reunion

billfold syndrome where they give charles the silent treatment and are forced to reckon with their feelings for each other

post-red party

tagging whoever wants to! too brain dead atm

Complete Guide to M*A*S*H Episodes Written and Directed by Cast Members

Some of these episodes feature co-writers or co-directors. I also did not make the distinction between written by, story by, and teleplay by credits, because the purpose of this list is to find episodes cast members were involved in behind the scenes. I may later update this post to include that information, but it is all available on imdb.

Written by Mike Farrell The Yalu Brick Road Run for the Money

Directed by Mike Farrell Ain't Love Grand Heal Thyself Strange Bedfellows

Written and Directed by Mike Farrell Death Takes a Holiday War Co-Respondent

Directed by Harry Morgan The Novocaine Mutiny End Run Patent 4077 Rally 'Round the Flagg, Boys Stars and Stripes Tell It to the Marines Blood Brothers Who Knew? U.N., the Night and the Music

Directed by David Ogden StiersThat Darn Kid Identity Crisis

Directed by Jamie Farr Friends and Enemies

Written by McLean Stevenson The Army-Navy Game The Trial of Henry Blake

Alan Alda's episodes are under the cut, because his section is longer than the rest of the post. Also available in Venn diagram form here.

Written by Alan Alda The Longjohn Flap Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde The Party Hey, Look Me Over

Directed by Alan Alda Mail Call Bulletin Board The Late Captain Pierce Dear Mildred The Kids Dear Ma Margaret's Engagement Exorcism The Billfold Syndrome Major Ego Guerilla My Dreams Yessir, That's Our Baby Father's Day Depressing News Bottoms Up Communication Breakdown Where There's a Will, There's a War

Written and Directed by Alan Alda Dear Sigmund Hepatitis Fallen Idol War of Nerves In Love and War Comrades in Arms Part 1 Comrades in Arms Part 2 Dear Sis Inga Life Time Lend a Hand Dreams The Life You Save Follies of the Living--Concerns of the Dead Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen

do you remember what eps the last post in your domestic bliss tag are from?

Hi anon! Sorry if I am getting back to you late. Embarrassingly, I run on GMT.

The first gif is from S4 Dear Ma, the second is from S5 Lt Radar O'Reilly and the third is from S7 The Billfold Syndrome.

If you didn't know, in all three they are looking at Hawkeye's nudist magazines, but not only do we have a nice visual representation of BJ being corrupted, we also get this incredible bit of dialogue in The Billfold Syndrome to accompany it which is very important to me:

Hawkeye: Oh, wow! The Thompson twins in the buff. They don't look very much alike.

BJ: Of course not. They're brother and sister.

Hawkeye: They are? Oh, yeah.

I always forget that “The Billfold Syndrome” has Charles telling Hawkeye that he’s sick of his shit and BJ being like “me too? 🥺👉👈”