M*A*S*H (TV Series) Sticky Wicket (1973) User Reviews

Hawkeye and His Ego Over the Top

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 23 February 2015]

This episode begins with a scene in the OR where Frank is vilified by Hawkeye. It continues in public as the browbeating continues. Pierce is basking in the glow of his own self-importance but is really going beyond what is acceptable. Henry orders him to apologize to Frank but nothing doing. After removing shrapnel from a young soldier and showing off, the kid begins to go sour. Hawkeye is devastated that he could have made a mistake. Frank razzes him and they get into a fight. Hawkeye becomes obsessed with what happened and puzzles over it day and night. Eventually, he will have to recognize that he can't continue to think he is God on earth. He begins to alienate everyone and seems incapable of taking advice from anyone. Even when I first watched this show, there were times when Alan Alda's portrayal of Pierce was hard to take. For a compassionate man, he could be incredibly cruel if it was in his self interest.

Comeuppance

[safenoe · 8/10 · 10 March 2024]

I'm enjoying very much reflecting on M*A*S*H and how it progressed through its 11 years on air, especially after becoming a fan of the M*A*S*H Matters podcast hosted by superfan Ryan Patrick and Jeff Maxwell, of course very famous for playing Igor in later seasons. This episode kind of balances things out between Hawkeye and Burns init. Sadly we see a few supporting characters phased out such as Ginger, Ho Jon, and others who didn't make the cut into season two. Still I guess this episode is worth watching at least for Ugly John, but even he's phased out after season one unfortunately but init.

The one where Hawkeye's skill as a surgeon is questioned

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 22 March 2023]

This is an interesting episode that explore Hawkeye's character a bit more in-depth. At the beginning of the story, he's insufferable. Not only does he trade insults with Frank and Margaret at every turn, he also underestimates Henry, saying he thought the colonel was dumb. He even takes a jab at Radar, complaining about Radar's height. And at one point, he refuses to play poker with Trapper, Radar and Ugly John and temporarily moves out of the swamp.

It isn't that Hawkeye is going through an identity crisis so much as he is grappling with his ego. A patient has bullet fragments lodged in his spine, but Hawkeye thinks he has successfully removed all the fragments. But the patient spikes a temperature after the operation and doesn't seem to be getting better. Eventually Hawkeye realizes another fragment may have splintered off into another area, so he has to take the guy back into the operating room to finish the job correctly.

What makes the episode work for me is that before Hawkeye's skill as a surgeon is called into question, he has gone off on a tirade about Frank's skill. Basically, he accuses Frank of being incompetent. His argument with Frank seems to be ongoing, and this draws fire from Margaret who considers filing an official complaint with General Clayton.

There's a great scene where Hawkeye and Frank get into a physical altercation while eating lunch in the mess hall. It involves the whole cast, and there is an amusing moment where Radar is shoved into a plateful of mashed potatoes, twice.

Speaking of Radar, we have another great scene where he wins over $800 in the poker game and takes it to Henry for safekeeping. Episodes like this show how main characters like Radar, Hawkeye, Frank and Margaret start to evolve and grow as individuals.