M*A*S*H: Comrades in Arms, Part 1

M*A*S*H: Comrades in Arms, Part 1
CBS
December 6, 1977
Dramedy
DVD
B+

Alda wrote and co-directed (with Metcalfe) this two-parter that comes smack dab in the middle of the series run, although no one could've known that at the time of course.  Potter "volunteers" Hawkeye to go to the 8063rd to demonstrate an operation, and Margaret volunteers herself as the nurse.  But while they're on their way in a jeep, the 8063rd bugs out under enemy fire.  Hawkeye and Margaret find themselves on foot as shells fall, until they seek shelter in an abandoned hut.  They're again under attack, and they seek comfort in each other's arms.  Before that happens though, she removes a large chunk of wood from his leg, and she tells him of Donald mixing up envelopes when writing to her and his girlfriend Darlene.  What hurts Margaret most is not even that he's cheated on her but that he sees her as sturdy and responsible.  Hawkeye is sympathetic.  (Perhaps having recently fallen in love with the Korean woman he couldn't stay with has made him empathetic.)  I like that the episode itself, as well as the past five and a half years, have built up to this, although I am puzzled by the Charles/Margaret in recent episodes, unless that was a red herring.  I also like that we're shown how worried everyone back at the 4077th is, except for self-centered Charles.


James Saito makes his first M*A*S*H, appearance, as a South Korean, while Johnny Yune returns as a North Korean.  Radar remains absent, which is a shame because it would've been nice to see his reaction to Hawkeye and Margaret going missing.