#soon lee klinger

[tiredandoptimistic]

Thinking about how perfect it was for Klinger to stay in Korea after the war with Soon-Lee. He made it very clear the entire show how desperate he was to go home to Toledo and often waxed poetic about Pakko's or the Mudhens, but that wasn't what he really wanted. I mean, yes he definitely did want those things, but the core of the issue was the war itself. He couldn't stand to be involved in all that killing and he didn't want to be separated from his loved ones. Korea was never actually a problem, it was the military. Being there with someone his loves while committing himself to helping her find her family is perfectly Klinger and falls in line with his motivation to help people wherever he can.

Soon-Lee is a great contrast with Klinger's first wife, Laverne. Klinger and Laverne were childhood sweethearts and he's got a million stories about the two of them together in Toledo, but she left him after what couldn't be more than a couple months. Arguably it's because the distance put a strain on their relationship, but she clearly knew what she was getting into when she agreed to marry him over the radio. Plus, she then left her second husband for a third guy, so I think she just can't commit to relationships. Klinger on the other hand is someone who dedicates his all to the people he cares about. Laverne was everything he wanted to return to, and she'd only ever be perfect in his memories.

With Soon-Lee though he has a relationship that actually appreciates and reciprocates his dedication. He doesn't need to keep clinging to the past, he can pursue a future with someone who makes him happy, regardless of what that looks like.

[klingers-outfits]

Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen Part 1

[mash4077confessions]

[majorbaby]

so is Private Habib in on Klinger's i-only-speak-Arabic-now scheme or did Klinger dupe him too? he seems kinda earnestly concerned for Klinger but you know... not unlike how Trapper was "earnestly concerned" for Hawkeye in Bananas, Crackers and Nuts like........

I know I've said society if Klinger replaced Trapper as Hawkeye's improv partner but what if Klinger-Habib replaced the Trapper-Hawkeye duo and together they just dunked on the army brass in two languages for the rest of the show. And what if they were also clearly in love with each other while they did all of that.

[variousqueerthings]

post-canon klinger still makes and wears clothes and soon-lee is supportive + maybe discovers some elements within herself related to sexuality and gender through their journey together... (I wanna see rosalind chao in a nice suit)

[cotton-glass]

It's a travesty that there's basically no klinger/mulcahy content

[redhatmeg]

Keiko O'Brien: Miles is always proud of his Irish roots but see, I have Japanese, Korean and Lebanese DNA! My ancestor met a man named Klinger at the end of Korean War and they got hitched.

[cuddleswinchester]

Thinking about how Liv is such a late addition to the extended 4077 family like Erin and Becky and Kathy are all teens+ and have this little toddler to play with and fuss over. God.

[thebreakfastgenie]

@a-star-that-fell me when I found out Rosalind Chao was in M*A*S*H to begin with

[cassianwren]

i'm watching aftermash right now and yeah it has a lot a lot or problems but i enjoy it so much!! i'm just happy to see more of my favourite character

[raedroid]

One of my favourite things from the finale of MASH was the fact that Soon-Lee wanted to see Klinger in a dress. We stan a supportive wife in this household lol

[mashhistorian]

On this day, 41 years ago, the M*A*S*H spin-off series AfterMASH debuted on CBS! The hour-long pilot episode followed Col. Potter, Father Mulcahy, Klinger, and Soon-Lee after they returned to the United States from Korea. By the end of the episode, they were reunited in Missouri at a veterans’ hospital.

[klingers-outfits]

Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen Part 4

[shiveringsoldier]

mash and/or becket for the fandom meme

I'll do M*A*S*H. Thank you!

My favorite female character

Margaret by default. I wish there had been more than one woman in the main cast, but Margaret has some very satisfying character growth. As a bonus, my favorite minor/one-off female characters are Soon-Lee, Kyung-Soon, and Helen

My favorite male character

Hawkeye. I have nothing to say about him that hasn't been said already; he's just a wonderful character

My favorite book/season/etc

I go back and forth between season 3 and season 5. Season 3 is when the show really finds its footing. It has some landmarks with the first episode of the show to not feature a laugh track and the first episode of any sitcom to kill off a main character. It also has a great comfort episode in "Springtime" and the criminally underrated "Bulletin Board." Season 5 has just the right blend of comedy and drama. It has one of the best Sidney episodes with "Dear Sigmund," and it really hones in on Margaret's development. Season 5 is a turning point for both her and Hawkeye; as Margaret starts to grow and improve, Hawkeye (or more specifically his mental health) starts to take a turn for the worse.

My favorite episode (if it's a TV show)

I'm cheating and saying two. I adore "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde" for the same reasons you highlighted here, and I love "Dear Sis." When Mulcahy's anger issues are brought up in the show, it's mostly played for laughs, but "Dear Sis" takes it seriously. He assaults a patient, and that has personal repercussions. Also, the scene when the 4077th sings Dona Nobis Pacem in the mess tent makes me cry almost every time.

My favorite cast member

Alan Alda by default. I don't know most of the cast members' lives outside of the show, but Alan Alda has had such an interesting and eclectic career. I like his podcast, although I haven't listened to it in a good while, and I like his memoir Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned. It has a killer opening sentence.

My favorite ship

Hawkeye and Trapper maybe, although I don't have any serious ships. I love their yes/and comedy dynamic, and I love how much they clearly care about each other

A character I’d die defending

Klinger - not from the fandom but from the show. He is subjected to more and more racism as the show progresses, whether it's jokes about his nose or the abhorrent "Goodbye, Cruel World." His pivot from a man desperate to escape the Army to a moneygrubber makes absolutely no sense to me, and that feels rooted in racism as well. And it sucks that he is subjected to so much cruelty when he is perhaps the most consistently kind and selfless character in the show.

A character I just can’t sympathize with

Flagg. I don't even enjoy him as a comedic character some of the time. Some of his episodes I like ("The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan" makes me laugh very hard every time), but other episodes I can't stand.

A character I grew to love

Charles. I still don't love him as much as some of the fandom loves him - I think his bigotry is much deeper and more insidious than Frank's, and it seems like neither the fandom nor the show is willing to call him out - but man does he have a good arc. I didn't like him at first, but I eventually warmed up to him. David Ogden Stiers is just so good in the part. Also, his plot in the series finale is my favorite and the one that left the biggest impact on me, although that could be because I didn't know anything about his plot while other plots had been spoiled for me. I don't think I'll ever recover from the "He wasn't even a soldier. He was a musician" scene.

My anti OTP

I'm glad the show had the sense to not make Margaret and Hawkeye a couple; they're much better as friends and wouldn't be suitable romantic partners. In terms of ships I've seen in the fandom, I can't get behind Charles/Klinger at all. I know they have some moments of connection in the show (I love their last scene in "Death Takes a Holiday"), but I don't understand why people are shipping Klinger, a Lebanese, working-class man, with someone as egregiously racist and classist as Charles.

[majorbaby]

Would love to read some MASH genfic if anyone has some recs please please please

[variousqueerthings]

assuming everyone in mash is autistic, where would they fall on the autistic swag-to-fail scale?

i mean... we know frank lol