To share surgical experience among units, Hawkeye and Lieutenant Bigelow are temporarily assigned to the 8063rd MASH. Taking their place are Captain Roy Dupree, a brash and obnoxious surgeon, and Lieutenant Lorraine Anderson, a childhood friend of Margaret's. Dupree soon starts driving B.J. and Charles nuts, while Lorraine finds that Margaret isn't the fun-loving friend she used to know.
Attention, all personnel! The following tropes have been temporarily assigned to the 4077:
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: Charles is so happy to see Dupree gone, he yells out, "Yahoo, it's through!"
- Back Story: Apparently, when Margaret and Lorraine were teenage girls, Lorraine melted down her father's medals and turned them into earrings for the two of them (Lorraine proposes they do the same to Col. Potter's medals, which Margaret laughs at - Margaret isn't so amused when Lorraine tells the others how the two of them hid crib notes for their microbiology exam inside their bras). Lorraine realizes Margaret has changed because she's closed up her earlobes, which she later claims is a sign Margaret's closed herself off from everyone.
- Berserk Button:
- Do not imply Charles went to Yale.
- BJ and Charles exploit Potter's button of anyone else riding Sophie, much less someone like Dupree, to give him second thoughts about inviting him to the 4077th to stay.
- Continuity Nod: Margaret admits to Lorraine her marriage to Donald isn't going so well, which we've seen throughout the season.
- Crash-Into Hello: When Lorraine goes into the lab room to find Margaret, she goes through the door so quickly she hits Margaret with the door. Margaret gets irritated at first, until she recognizes Lorraine, at which point they hug each other.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Dupree comes across as an backwoods bumpkin, but his performance in the O.R. shows him to be at least as good as the other doctors.
- Enemy Mine: B.J. and Charles team together to make sure Col. Potter kicks Dupree out.
- "Eureka!" Moment: When Charles hears Dupree talking about how much he loves horses, that gives him the idea to tell him about Col. Potter's mare Sophie, and claim it's the camp's horse, knowing the colonel will not be happy.
- The Glomp: After Charles admits he missed Hawkeye (see O.O.C. Is Serious Business below), he and B.J. hug a startled Hawkeye.
- Never Gets Drunk: Dupree is the only visitor to the swamp who not only doesn't have an I Drank WHAT?! reaction to B.J. and Hawkeye's still, he also says that the alcohol in there is mild compared to what he drank at home. Subverted later when he comes back from Rosie's stinking drunk.
- Not Big Enough for the Two of Us: After Col. Potter sees Dupree riding Sophie:Col. Potter: Dupree, I don't ever want to see you around this horse or my camp again. In fact, this war ain't big enough for the two of us!
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Charles is so happy after Dupree is kicked out and Hawkeye is back, he says this:Charles: Pierce, I never thought the day would come when I'd admit this... but, God, I missed you!
- Also, B.J. and Charles are both puzzled when Margaret wants to have coffee with them in the mess tent.
- Charles is so happy after Dupree is kicked out and Hawkeye is back, he says this:
- Out of Focus: Hawkeye is absent save for the very beginning and ending of the episode.
- Southern-Fried Genius: Despite his coarse hillbilly demeanor, Dupree is a gifted surgeon capable of impressing Potter.
- Stealth Insult: When Lorraine, in saying goodbye to Charles, calls him "one of a kind", Charles isn't sure if she's using this trope or not.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: Dupree, at least according to B.J. and Charles. In The Tag, we learn that Hawkeye was this at the 8063rd.
- We Used to Be Friends: Lorraine feels this way about Margaret, until they make up near the end.
