#nancy working to help kids going through the same thing she did and sidney working at a women's crisis center

[winged-cries]

[mash-notes]

Season 2 Episodes, Ranked

Here’s the list! As before, please feel free to dispute and cite your preferences! Something I noted doing this is that there are many “vignettes” shows in this season, all of them excellent. It’s hard to keep track of what happened in which show, but this is a testament to the high comedic density of the season. Out of 24 episodes, there is one that contains cringey moments. The 23 others, even those ranked low, are beautifully done.

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24. Operation Noselift

Stuart Margolin returns to the show, this time as a creep plastic surgeon called in to operate on an enlisted man with a prosthetic nose smaller than Klinger’s. For the second time, he assaults Margaret and it’s played for laughs. Get it together, MASH.

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23. Mail Call

A vignettes show: everyone receives various letters and shipments. The main drama is Pioneer Aviation, the made-up stock that the Swampmen convince Frank to buy. Radar switches his picture out for Hawk’s in a pen-pal letter and Margaret receives some seriously hot shoes.

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22. For Want of a Boot

Based on the success of “The Longjohn Flap” in s1, a show about trading commodities and services in the camp. Hawk promises many things to many people in order to replace his broken boot—resulting in chaos at Frank’s birthday party when the deals all fall through.

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21. Divided We Stand

The season premiere. A psychiatrist (Anthony Holland; NOT Sidney) is sent to observe the MASH and decide if they should be broken up and sent to other units. After a day there, the shrink becomes a degenerate himself.

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20. Henry in Love

Henry’s new girlfriend Nancy Sue (Kathrine Baumann), who is half his age, captivates Henry and irritates everyone else. She ends her visit by tackling Hawkeye in his tent, prompting the lecture: “one of us loves Henry Blake, and I think it’s me!”

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19. As You Were

A slow day turns busy. Hawk and Trap order gorilla suits in the mail and Frank arranges the condiment bottles so they’re perfectly aligned. Later, Frank’s hernia acts up and he’s prepped for surgery. +1 for Blake’s ineffective sex lecture with Figures A and B.

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18. The Chosen People

Henry finds a cow in his office, initiating a stalemate with a group of Korean villagers who settle at the MASH. Meanwhile, Radar pretends to be the father of a Korean woman’s baby. A lot of great quips from the dynamo Captain Sam Pak (Pat Morita), and snide remarks from Frank.

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17. Radar’s Report

Radar describes Hawk’s new intrigue with Erica, and, notably, Trapper’s anger when an enemy soldier attacks the OR and causes him to lose a patient. Notable also for the debut of Allan Arbus as Sidney Freedman (yaaaayyy!), and his landmark consultation with Klinger.

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16. Kim

Trapper adopts a little boy thought to be an orphan, who has won the hearts of the whole company. When the kid walks into a minefield, they must work together to maneuver him out. Sappy, but undeniably cute—and, when the boy’s real mother is found, also a little sad.

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15. L.I.P.

Hawkeye helps a G.I. marry a woman from the village to start their new family. This offends Hawk’s new girlfriend Regina (Corinne Camacho), and she is quickly put in her place. Serious and heartfelt; Regina’s shaming is very satisfying. The prank pulled on the mean lieutenant (Burt Young) to bring the marriage off is funny also.

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14. Officers Only

This episode creates the MASH Officers’ Club, scene of many brawls, heart-to-hearts, and dances in the nine seasons to come. When the surgeons operate on General Mitchell’s son, he gives them the bar—Hawk insists that everyone, not just officers, be welcome there.

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13. Dear Dad… Three

A letter-home show, this one is a favorite for its heavy involvement of Ginger, #1 Nurse We Wish We Saw More In The Series. We also see Henry’s goofy home movie, the first of many, in a sweet device that will recur for other characters.

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12. The Trial of Henry Blake

This vignettes show is held together with Henry’s court-martial—and it doesn’t look good for him until the end. Gurney races, a regiment of wingtips, and the hang-gliding Klinger endear it to us. Also Henry and Radar giggling during the trial, an A+ moment.

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11. Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde

Sleep-Deprived Hawkeye, away! His dedication makes him refuse to take a break, until his exhaustion makes him go off the rails even more than usual and question the war. Arguably the first of the “Alan Alda soapbox episodes,” a hallmark of the series, which are Hawk-centric and deeply moral.

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10. For the Good of the Outfit

A brilliant, brave, political show in which Hawk and Trap raise an investigation against the Army for bombing a village. In the end Frank, resentful of the attention they’re getting and bucking for praise, causes the complaint to go through.

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9. The Incubator

Another show about red tape: the doctors can’t get an incubator for the hospital without obscene amounts of bribery. The scene in Henry’s office where they discuss the pizza oven is iconic; Hawk and Trapper in their Class A’s is terrific.

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8. Carry On, Hawkeye

Hawk is the only surgeon available when everyone else at the MASH has the flu… except for Margaret. This episode shows us the first glimmer of friendship between the captain and the major, an association that will grow incrementally and, by the end of the series, become something really beautiful.

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7. A Smattering of Intelligence

In the season finale, two CIA men descend upon the MASH, flashily, ridiculously, and hilariously. Edward Winter brings the laughs as Colonel Flagg, hyper-serious enough to never be taken seriously. Nobody knows what to make of this situation; it perfectly embodies the show’s early approach to madcap comedy.

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6. George

Yes, this was in the same season. A queer soldier is battered and persecuted; Hawkeye and Trapper cleverly thwart Frank’s plan to discharge him. For its thoughtful treatment of homosexuality on TV, this show was decades ahead of its time. I will never stop being in awe of it.

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5. Hot Lips and Empty Arms

Who knew she had emotions, desires, and raging benders like a normal person? Just like that, in a watershed moment, Hot Lips turns into Margaret. Warm, feminist, and extremely funny—thanks to a staggering star performance by Loretta.

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4. Crisis

Why can’t these turkeys bunk together every night? If every episode of MASH featured this amount of cuddling, I would be fine with that. Also, Henry standing wrapped in a blanket, a cigar sticking out of his mouth, is one of my favorite images of all time. ALSO also, Father Mulcahy’s “bag of peanuts” prayer works on every conceivable level.

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3. Deal Me Out

A poker game is broken up—first by Frank’s CID-protocol problem, then by a hostage situation. More Sidney, more Sam Pak, a glimpse of Ed Winter, and a LOT of John Ritter in one of his first acting roles. This show is full of wonderful close-ups around the table as the boys gamble the “conference” away, and is a truly deserving fan fav.

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2.  Five O’Clock Charlie

Action, cosplay, aeronautic stunts, and a shower scene—what doesn’t this one have? It’s kind of the platonic ideal of a “funny” MASH episode, and nobody gets hurt except the Jeep. +1, as if it needed it, for the debut of Henry’s doll.

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1. The Sniper

The bullets landing all over the camp—how did they do that? In this incredible show (which also features Teri Garr and Radar’s ass), a lone gunman terrorizes the MASH, sending them into an unprecedented emergency, until he’s finally shot and has to be treated by Hawk himself. It has competition, but this is undeniably the jewel in season 2’s fancy crown; a gorgeous blend of danger, fun, and the blurred morality of war.