On his way to leave in Seoul, Hawkeye is forced at gunpoint by a North Korean soldier (Mako) to take care of a wounded soldier. Back at the camp, Col. Potter and Winchester square against each other in a bridge game.
Attention all personnel! Father Mulcahy is willing to bet the following tropes will be included in the episode:
- Bait-and-Switch: After Hawkeye is unable to save the wounded soldier's life, the other soldier picks up his rifle, and Hawkeye is afraid the soldier will shoot him. Instead, the soldier uses the rifle to start digging a grave for his fallen comrade. After taking this in, Hawkeye takes off his helmet and starts to dig himself.
- Berserk Button: Do not insult Mildred in front of Col. Potter, especially when it concerns her accomplishments at bridge.
- Breakfast in Bed: One of the conditions B.J. gives to Winchester in agreeing to be his bridge partner is that Winchester will serve him breakfast in bed. In The Tag, Winchester basically dumps the tray onto B.J.'s bed, and sneers, "I hope you gag on every bite."
- Break the Haughty: Done to both Winchester and Col. Potter when they lose the bridge game to B.J. and Margaret. What's especially satisfying for B.J. and Margaret is the other two had each written them off as The Load when they were partners earlier.
- Determinator: The North Korean soldier may be the one with the rifle, but he picked THE most determined surgeon in the war to help his comrade. Hawkeye even yanks said rifle out of his hands to force him to help with a tracheotomy; that the soldier survives any length of time at all is a testament to Hawk's unwillingness to quit.
- Dramatic Irony: During The Tag, B.J. and Winchester assume Hawkeye is passed out and disheveled because of his time in Seoul, not knowing he's really like this after failing to save a wounded soldier's life and having to help bury him.
- Footsie Under the Table: Margaret thinks this is what Winchester is trying to do to her when they're partnered against Col. Potter and B.J., but Winchester says he was only trying to signal her not to play a particular card.
- Foregone Conclusion: Because of the soldier's head wound, and because Hawkeye can't communicate to the soldier's friend they need to get to a hospital to use the right equipment, the wounded soldier dies.
- Genre Savvy: Once again, Father Mulcahy - he's the only one who bets on B.J. and Margaret to beat Col. Potter and Winchester (even B.J. didn't think he had a chance). As he explains, Father Mulcahy knew the colonel and Winchester's egos would cancel each other out.
- I Have a Family: Though they can't understand each other (see Language Barrier below), Hawkeye and the North Korean soldier show each other pictures of their families - Hawkeye of his father, the soldier of the wounded soldier - to show the humanity of both.
- Instant Drama, Just Add Tracheotomy: When the North Korean soldier chokes, Hawkeye is forced to use his pen for a tracheotomy, in a procedure similar to the one he had helped Father Mulcahy do over the radio. Unfortunately for Hawkeye, this time, it only helps temporarily.
- Language Barrier: The ultimate tragedy of the episode is if Hawkeye knew any Korean, or the soldier understood any English, Hawkeye might have been able to explain that he could treat the wounded soldier if only he could get him to the 4077th, where they'd have the necessary equipment to take care of the soldier.
- Mood Whiplash: Between the comedy of the bridge tournament (thanks to Col. Potter and Winchester's dueling egos) and the drama and ultimate heartbreak of Hawkeye being held and gunpoint while trying, and failing, to save the life of the wounded North Korean soldier.
- Running Gag: Over the next couple of seasons, B.J. will complain about others in the camp disturbing his sleep, starting here when he's irritated by Hawkeye singing in anticipation of going to Seoul. It's why one of his conditions for partnering with Winchester in bridge (see Breakfast in Bed above) is Winchester makes sure B.J. gets 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Both B.J. and Margaret decide they've had enough of each being treated as The Load by Col. Potter and Winchester and threaten to leave the game - until Winchester asks if there's any way they can work this out, at which point they Take a Third Option and team up themselves.
- Tempting Fate: Once again, an officer who is not Col. Potter or Col. Blake bragging about the great time they're going to have on leave instead ends up having to deal with a medical emergency instead.
