Season 6, Episode 11: The Grim Reaper
Special Guest Stars: Captain Entropy and Maj. Joe Price
Air Date: November 29, 1977
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The novel Potter is reading, Ride the Man Down, was written by Luke Short. It’s considered one of the greatest western novels ever written. It was first published in 1947, so it possible Potter could have been reading it during The Korean War. The edition he is reading however might not have been available. Rude the Man Down was also made into a film in 1952.
One thing I find interesting in MASH, and particularly in the later seasons, is that there are times when they let the hero characters be flawed human beings and actually be critical of them in some ways, especially with Hawkeye’s character. And in a way, that’s true for this episode.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen this, but I remembered not particularly caring for Hawkeye’s attitude in this one. Sure, Col. Bloodworth could be a bit callous with his attitude while speaking, but he was just doing his job, and it’s not like he was actually causing these casualties. On the contrary, he was trying to help the doctors get prepared for the numbers they could expect, so they could potentially do their jobs a bit better and not be overwhelmed by the unexpected number of casualties, so I honestly don’t think he deserved that kind of reaction by Hawkeye. What I didn’t really remember was the reactions of the others, with BJ saying he went too far, Potter trying to calm him down and stop him from going too far, and the random people stopping him when he was going too far, so I think that’s a nice counter-balance to Hawkeye’s attitude this episode.
And the same is true for the other stories this episode. Charles isn’t really a “hero” character, especially at this point, so it’s not unexpected when he’s selfish over the food and the jacket, but we also get to see BJ’s selfishness come into play with the jacket as well.
But I love the ending of the episode where we get these 3 flawed characters (and Klinger) coming together to share some food together. It’s a great cap to a generally enjoyable episode.
I think this was probably the last time the writers tried to pair up Charles and Margaret and thankfully they didn’t try again.
I’m glad Hawkeye gets called out once in a while. It shows he’s not perfect. That’s why Fallen Idol doesn’t bother me as it does with other M.A.S.H. fans.
I really enjoyed listening to this episode, the three of you had a very nice, calm energy together.
“The Grim reaper” is an okay episode for me. My favorite thing, and this will come as a surprise to absolutely no one who has seen my earlier comment on here, is the dining scene with Margaret and Charles. I am very happy the writers didn’t take that whole awkward flirting further, but I would have loved to see their relationship as friends/colleagues developed more, because Loretta Swit and David Ogden Stiers are simply amazing together. They are my favorite actors on the show, both of them are always 100% present in the moment, completely dedicated to their characters.
I like to watch the actors when they are not the focus of a scene, when they are just listening and reacting, and the two of them are just the best at this. Sometimes, with other actors, I get the feeling like they are just waiting to say their line, but not these two, they are just completely there. Again, 100% present and dedicated.
And their dedication is so visible in the dinner scene. Like you talk about – they are really eating the food, like it’s the most amazing thing. It’s so annoying when actors don’t eat, when a character goes “Wow, I could eat a horse” and then proceeds to push some salad around the plate. I get it, how you don’t want to stuff your face over and over again, but it’s still annoying.
But these two – they go for it.
I also think this is such a charming side of them, how excited they get over this food. They are both such controlled characters, very guarded about most of their emotions, so when they just let go, it’s a joy to watch. They are so giddy, I love how Margaret giggles about the last time she had caviar, and how excited Charles gets when she is about to read a poem, only for it to turn out to be i silly little rhyme. Charming.
That’s why Drunk Margaret and Drunk Charles are my favorites too, it’s just such a fun contrast to their regular selves.
One thing I meant to bring up in my first post but forgot about:
I wonder if Col. Bloodworth is a nod to Linda Bloodworth. Like, maybe they had an in-joke about it being a name you’d expect from this cold, intimidating person, rather than what I’m sure Linda Bloodworth was like, and they decided to put that in a script.
I presume that Bloodworth gave his projection reports to all of the M*A*S*H* units (how many were there in Korea, by the way?), and I have to think that there were at least a few other doctors who, like Hawkeye and B.J., gave him grief for being the ‘Grim Reaper’. I wonder if anyone else had ever roughed him up, and if so, if Bloodworth made sure they went to the stockade?
Then again, when we consider the fate of Frank (supposedly…I’m still not so sure he didn’t make all of that up when he spoke to Hawkeye), Hawk’s punishment may have been a promotion and rotation to running the V.A. hospital in Crab Apple Cove.
Great episode and great discussion.
As I say often in this box, I regard MASH very differently than I did as a kid since I work in the medical field.
Far too often in this show Hawkeye gets away with crossing the line because he is such a great surgeon. But I have seen phenomenal doctors who can’t get along with people get shown the door if their behavior is consistently bad. Hawkeye is lucky that he gets away with here because the truth is there are a bunch of capable surgeons in line behind him. Is his skill so much better than the next doc that he should be allowed to manhandle anyone??
As for ‘the Grim Reaper’, I think he cares about the troops he commands. I don’t think he is sending them into a futile battle. I think he is doing the hospital a favor by estimating the losses. After all, we have seen this place be without blood, morphine, antibiotics … you name it. Better they know what is coming in than be caught by surprise which is more often the case.
Perhaps I am being too hard on Hawkeye. Perhaps the point is ‘the hill’ is meaningless so all this could be avoided. And I don’t think we heard how many of the wounded died or were irrevocable impaired by the battle.
Anyways, it is a great episode. I love Potter in this. I love Margaret in this. I even love Winchester in this.
Great discussion with great guests.
Anj, thank you very much for weighing in. I think you see things most of us wouldn’t see, and you can say things others might think, but wouldn’t feel qualified to say.
Regarding whether the hill was a worthwhile objective, I think every time they bring up a battle over a hill on MASH, they’re really referring to the two battles over Pork Chop Hill (Hill 255). There was a big debate, even at the time, over whether the terrain was worth the casualties. I don’t know enough to weigh in, but I do know that cognitive biases are real. When you hold a piece of dirt, and the enemy attacks to take it, the natural thing is to defend it and even try to take it back if they take control.
Constant rewatching of the series makes your mind go in strange areas. Maybe your guests or another commenter can help me understand something that has confused me about this episode as well as a score of other episodes.
Observations –-
– A helicopter can carry two wounded soldiers in the “rumble seats” and one inside the bubble
— The bus ambulance appears to hold between twelve and sixteen wounded soldiers
— There are usually four surgeons in the OR and sometimes five tables
— Previous episodes have mentioned that a meatball surgical procedure takes between 20 minutes and four hours
— Post-op appears to have between twelve and fourteen beds
Please explain –
— Wouldn’t 200+ casualties cause one whale of a traffic jam in the compound and on the helicopter pad? If all came in by bus ambulance there would be more than thirteen buses there at once.
— And conversely if only fourteen can go to post-op wouldn’t there be another log jam of 180+ soldiers trying to get out after they were worked on?
— How can they handle 200+ casualties with the limited OR tables and post-op beds?
— Even averaging only a half hour per surgical procedure, 200+ casualties with four surgeons would equal over 25 straight hours of surgery per surgeon. I know some episodes have said they work from twelve to sixteen hours straight but 25+?
Thanks for any information on this matter.
Randall, great analysis. Here are the only thoughts/excuses I can offer:
1) From my limited experience, many wounds, even in combat, would be “treated and released,” — i.e., requiring medical care, but not surgery or recuperation in bed. Of course, the battalion aid station would take a lot of those, but not necessarily all, and they might all still count in the casualty numbers.
2) They would not all show up at once. They would be spread out across hours. Of course, I think that would still create the traffic jam you’re talking about (just not as quickly). Probably some people would receive treatment in the compound.
3) Maybe some patients who were stable enough for transfer would go straight from the 4077th to 121st Evac?
My excuses aside, I think what we’re really seeing is that they’re using a realistic number of casualties but not showing us a realistically sized hospital camp or hospital staff.
Anyone else want to tag in? Major Joe? Doctors Lewis or Anj?
While not as common in the States canned bird meat is still seen. Here in Denmark it’s not that hard do find Duck Confit or Goose Confit.
The reason for not eating caviar on most metals is because the salt content will react with the spoon and affect the flavour. Therefore the most common caviar spoons are mother of pearl and wood. There is one metal that is considered ok and that would be gold.
I’ve made it to Toledo and Tony Packo’s and seen the MASH wall and signed buns. But helps that I grew up in Ohio and that my brother lived in Toledo for a bit. Also went to the Jamie Farr Park. It’s just a city park but was named in his honour.
On the other hand this is probably sacrilegious but if I have my choice of Hot dog in Ohio sorry Klinger but I’m going Cincinnati style.
As one of the guests on this episode, I apologize for not thanking you all for your comments before. Thank you very much! I am WAAAYYY behind on Fire & Water comments, and I’m starting here. These are thoughts that arose after the recording stopped:
1. Today, we would refer to the whole discussion with Colonel Bloodworth as a meeting that could have been a (secure) email. Even back then, if I were Bloodworth, I’d have written a report and sent it by messenger.
2. In the run up to the battle, do we really think Bloodworth had time or opportunity to find a JAG and file formal charges? I don’t. I think when he says that the charges are dropped, he really means, “I’m taking ‘filing charges against Pierce’ off my long list of things to do.”
3. At the risk of repeating previous comments, here are more thoughts on why I like Charles as a character:
a) He has redeeming qualities, making him both more realistic and a more effective foil than Frank. Sometimes you even root for him.
b) He actually has a pretty good sense of humor. It was on a recent rewatch a year or so ago that I first noticed how often Charles laughs at other people’s jokes, even jokes at his expense. Like Rob, I love seeing it.
c) He has an arc. The Charles that leaves is a vastly better man than the one who arrives, I would love to have seen his family’s reactions to the changes. I think it would have been mostly positive, but not 100%.