Worried that he is not as "experienced" as he ought to be, Radar takes Hawkeye's advice and goes to Seoul to find a girl to sleep with. On the way he gets wounded, kicking off a wave of remorse in Hawkeye.
Attention, all personnel! The company clerk will file the following tropes after he recovers:
- Added Alliterative Appeal: After Potter makes a wisecrack during surgery:Charles: Well said, Colonel. Pertinent and pithy persiflage.Potter: (muttering) Oh, poo-poo-pa-doo.
- Beware the Nice Ones: This is the first time in the series where Father Mulcahy gets legitimately angry. He even kicks over the Swamp's stove.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Radar (and the others) are absolutely right that Hawkeye trying to operate while still having a full night's bingeing worth of alcohol in his system — which is what led to him abandoning an operation to go outside and throw up - was completely irresponsible. However, Hawkeye is equally correct (if needlessly cruel in his phrasing) that Radar's cold attitude towards him after learning of the incident is both hugely unfair and more than a little childish considering that by all accounts this is the first time Hawkeye has made such a screw-up and there was a legitimate reason for it to have occurred, as is the pressure that Radar has placed on him (intentionally or not) due to his hero-worship of Hawkeye — something that Hawkeye himself has never once asked for.
- Broken Pedestal: Radar loses his faith in Hawkeye during the episode. It's restored by the end of the episode.
- Continuity Snarl: The episode kicks off with Radar lamenting that he is still a virgin, but earlier episodes showed that he has had intercourse at least a couple of times.
- Deadpan Snarker: After Hawkeye has had a little too much razzing from Charles.Charles: In the meantime, try to learn a little self-discipline.
Hawkeye: I'm working on it right now. - Designated Villain: Hawkeye in this episode was seen as one, for everything he did and went through.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Hawkeye sets a new record for intoxication after Radar gets hurt. Admittedly he's got good reason to, but then he operates drunk.
- I Have This Friend: Radar claims that “some people” really look up to Hawkeye, and his conduct is a disappointment to them.
- Humiliation Conga: After getting chewed out by Hawkeye for getting drunk before an operation in Season 3's "The Consultant", Borelli warned Hawkeye his own alcoholism might eventualy get the best of him, and he was right. Only Hawkeye manages to get far lower than even Borelli did, and fucks up at nearly every turn until Radar yells at him.
- Moment of Weakness: Colonel Potter implies to Radar that this was the case with Hawkeye, whose guilt and self-loathing led him to speak cruelly.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Hawkeye immediately regrets yelling at Radar in post-op.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Hawkeye the moment he sees that Radar is among the wounded.
- Radar's reaction to Hawkeye telling him he's about to do something he's hardly ever done: Giving him a genuine salute.Radar: You're not gonna kiss me, are ya?
- One of Our Own: Radar gets caught in a mortar attack.
- Talk About the Weather: Potter suggests that simple small talk about the weather will help Radar see Hawkeye as the same man he’s always known. Radar later uses this to break the ice with Hawkeye at Rosie’s Bar.
- Third Wheel: Margaret barges into the Swamp to try and yell at Hawkeye while Potter is doing the same thing. She's then upset when Hawkeye leaves the tent before she can yell at him too.
- Virgin-Shaming: The plot of the episode gets kicked off by Radar lamenting his continued virginity. Hawkeye tells him to go to Seoul, find a prostitute, and get it over with.Radar: When my Uncle Ed came home from Europe his mother could tell by the look in his eye that he hadn't been a good boy in France. I just know my ma will take one look at me and chuckle for a week!
- What the Hell, Hero?: Hawkeye gets several from the main cast throughout the episode, including twice from Colonel Potter. Mainly, it's because he yelled at Radar. This is on top of the episode-long one he gives himself for his part in Radar getting wounded. Radar himself gives him one after Hawkeye comes back to apologize for his earlier rant.Radar: Oh, yeah? Well, you can just forget it. Just forget it! Hell with me, huh? The hell with you! How about that? And another thing, I wanna tell you something, anybody says anything about Iowa better be prepared to back it up, pal. I'll give you a fist-full of Iowa naivete right in the puss! How about that? You know I don't need you to tell me what's what. I know what's what just as well as you do. So why don't you just crawl back in your bottle of booze and pickle yourself? Ha ha!
