Episode Spotlight: Henry in Love

20 Comments

Every Monday, I spotlight a random episode of M*A*S*H, providing a brief review and asking readers to offer their thoughts.

“Henry in Love” (#40, 2×16)
Originally Broadcast: Saturday, January 5th, 1974
Written by Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks
Directed by Don Weis

Capsule Summary: Colonel Blake returns from more than a week in Tokyo madly in love with a beautiful 20-year-old civilian clerk typist.

This is the 126th entry in the Episode Spotlight series of reviews here at MASH4077TV.com, which is about as close to halfway through the series as you can get. The very first episode I reviewed was “Major Ego” back in January 2013. There are 125 episodes left to go and by my estimate that means the final episode won’t be reviewed until October 2017.

Anyway, “Henry in Love” is an episode with a plot both thin and weak. It’s thin because there’s really not much going on other than Henry announcing he’s in love with Nancy Sue Parker and everyone else reacting to his announcement and later reacting to Nancy Sue Parker herself when she visits. It’s weak because a) Henry’s infidelity was nothing new, and b) it’s hard to believe even a sometimes buffoon like Henry would seriously believe he had fallen in love with 20-year old.

The thin and weak plot don’t matter, though. This is a superb episode from start to finish. McLean Stevenson really gave it his all to sell the 44-year-old Henry first as head over heels in love and then as remorseful and thankful. Kathrine Baumann did a fantastic job as the perky Nancy Sue Parker, especially that cheerleading routine.

It’s interesting that at no point does anyone bring up Henry’s past infidelities. In fact, after he tells them about Nancy Sue Parker, Trapper and Hawkeye act like this is the first time Henry’s ever cheated on his wife. Or maybe they were just stunned at his proclamations of being in L-U-V. Maybe they meant this was just the first time he’d had a week-long fling in Tokyo.

The best parts of this episode are the reactions. Watch Margaret’s face during Frank’s speech. Her expressions are brilliant: adulation, confusion, approval, dismay, and shock. Then there’s Radar’s stupefied stare upon seeing Henry’s dyed hair and later his befuddlement at meeting Nancy Sue Parker. I’m particularly fond of the look on Nurse Sheila’s face while watching the cheerleading routine not to mention Trapper’s reaction.

Radar putting in a call to Lorianne may have reminded Henry that he loves his family (and kept him from learning about Nancy Sue Parker’s infatuation with Hawkeye) but it certainly didn’t make him any more faithful in the long run.

Henry’s in L-U-V

I can’t decide which is better, Henry’s “Well, goombye, people” or Hawkeye’s “Gloriosky, Henry.” Of course neither top Frank’s “It’s nice to be nice to the nice.” I’m sure I’m not the only M*A*S*H fan who’s managed to work that into conversations in real life.

It’s obvious that Nancy Sue Parker’s arrival and departure were filmed at the same time. She’s wearing the exact same outfit and the barrette in her hair hasn’t moved an inch.

While in command of the 4077th Frank apparently had most of the rocks laid out around the compound painted red, white, and blue.

In November 1980, Kathrine Baumann guest-starred in a two-part episode of Trapper John, M.D.

20 Replies to “Episode Spotlight: Henry in Love”

  1. Half-way through, already? It’s gonna stink once you (we) reach the end……

    This one is a “meh” episode for me. I can take it or leave it. I do know that it’s rather painful for me to watch the cheerleading routine, one of those “umm, yeah – okay. Moving on!” scenes. But, you are so right RJ about your “it’s nice to be nice to the nice” line. I’ve used it a number of times! It’s fun to watch the “huh?” reactions of those who aren’t familiar at least with this episode! My wife doesn’t care for this episode, but she does get a laugh from that scene.

  2. This is an amusing episode at best – not really great, but certainly not a bad episode.

    I will say that this episode is absolutely ruined in syndication: the scene where we see Henry actually dying his hair darker in his tent is completely cut, which makes the later remark by Hawkeye about Henry’s hair bleeding very confusing and a little disturbing too.

    One thing that I find odd is that Trapper even reacts to Henry’s infidelity when he himself was also unfaithful to Louise his entire time in Korea. A little hypocritical, don’t you think?

    I think Nancy’s infatuation with Hawkeye was a nice and subtle way of showing that she hadn’t really matured in terms of relationships: she may be 20, but she clearly still has a lot of growing up to do, and it seemed her youthful hormones were still raging – I bet up until that point, any relationships she may have been in were brief and none too serious, so she may not have even been in love with Henry the same way he was with her. Hawkeye’s younger, tall, and handsome, and probably would make any horny young woman’s heart thump.

    What I find interesting is when you compare this episode to “Lil” from Season Seven, Radar’s reaction is totally different in terms of the respective Colonel’s situation. Here, he almost kind of turns the other cheek, yet as pointed out, he does place a call to Lorraine as a subtle way of bringing Henry back to his senses in terms of his marriage. In “Lil” on the other hand, Radar is furious at just the idea of Potter possibly cheating on Mildred and takes it a lot more personally.

    Finally, my last comment is this: while Radar bringing Henry back to reality with the phone call to Lorraine may not have done much for Henry’s infidelity afterwards, I believe it was the events of “Life with Father” that finally did it: Henry finally got a taste of his own medicine upon learning Lorraine had a fling with an orthodontist back home, and his was devastated about it. That seemed to be the moment where Henry changed his own cheating ways, because I don’t recall him trying to have his way with any of the nurses anymore since then.

  3. Oh, and BTW, thanks RJ for informing us about how far we are in weekly episode spotlights, because I was actually beginning to wonder how many we’ve reviewed so far and how many we have left.

  4. I like the early scene where Radar knocks on Margaret’s tent door to inform Frank that Henry will be a “few more days” in Tokyo. Therefore Frank and Margaret should “keep carrying on”.

    I also chuckle at Hawkeye’s “Goodnight tonsillectomy” line (along with the “thank you from the bottom of my mouth”… etc)

    Like others here I have used the ‘nice to be nice to the nice’ line a number of times.

  5. I’ve always had a thing for Nancy. I am ok admitting that!
    The “Nice to be nice to the nice” line is a classic, but I love Margret’s reaction to the line.
    I’ve always had a soft spot for this episode…not my favorite, but it’s probably in my top 10.

  6. Aside from the perky presence of Nancy Sue Parker, this episode is uneventful. Incidentally, Kathrine Baumann is from the same hometown as her character. My late father once met her many years ago. Other than that, I don’t have a lot to say about this episode.

  7. Beneath the humor is this: Nancy had given Henry the impression that she shared his attraction. Then she tried to seduce Pierce. So typical of a woman…of any age. They shuffle guys like a card deck…but God forbid that a guy would step out on them. I think a stronger conclusion would have been Henry SEEING FOR HIMSELF Nancy showing her true character. Then, Henry—his mind now clear—could have said something to her like, “…lady, did I ever overestimate you! That, unfortunately, is a mistake I keep making with people of you gender. Eventually, I’ll learn my lesson.” Then he could walk away…seemingly deaf to her attempts to explain.

  8. I’ll have to remember that line, “It’s nice to be nice to the nice.” My fav line is by Radar, “Ahhh Bach”. Being a musician, I like to add that in when I get a chance.

    1. You might know it but Radar saying “Ah,Bach” is from the season 1 episode Love Story. Was just saying just in case though.

  9. Re: the handling of infidelity on the show, it always struck me as being seen as a matter of degrees. Trapper and Henry kept their infidelity to casual flings that didn’t promise any kind of long-term relationship; there seemed to be a mutual understanding between them and the nurses they got off with that this was simply a matter of them being away from home and…well, horny men gotta do what horny men gotta do (which, to my knowledge, 1950s attitudes would have been in line with). The more an affair was treated as a serious relationship by either party involved, the bigger a target of condemnation it was. People’s shock with Henry in this episode always struck me as being because of Henry for the first time treating what was clear to everyone else as just another casual fling as though it could ever be something actually serious; if you notice, neither Hawkeye nor Trapper express any real concern over Henry having met a girl in Tokyo until he claims to be in L-U-V with her and the concern only grows once they actually meet her and see how Henry’s acting around her (plus the revelation that Nancy really doesn’t feel the same way about Henry) which culminates in their clear panic when Trapper mentions that Henry’s on the phone to his wife.

    The show definitely seemed to treat the nature of long-distance marriages more seriously as it went on with B.J. and Potter both being more family-orientated than their previous counterparts, as well as plotlines like the rise and fall of Margaret’s relationship with Donald, and the idea of even casual infidelity gradually became seen as much more distasteful, but there is something of an (albeit very skewed) code of ethics in this regard pretty much from the beginning which basically appears to amount to “cheating is bad but it’s sort of inevitable if you’re separated from your family for years; just don’t let it ruin or impose on the relationship you’re already in”.

    1. I agree, this time Henry wasn’t treating it as a causal fling, he was in L-U-V (the real thing). I like your description of the code of ethics they seem to have about cheating; skewed indeed, “it’s okay, just don’t let it ruin or impose on the relationship you’re already in”.

  10. The scene Radar lets Frank (and so also Margaret) know Henry is going to be gone longer in fun. “Just slip the message under the door.” “It’s verbal. I’ll get my mouth dirty.”, it’s always fun when Radar gets the opportunity to say “yes sirs” to Frank and Margaret. Several great lines in this scene.

    The scene with Henry telling Trapper and Hawkeye he’s in love is hilarious with so many great lines, a few:
    “She’ll be 21 in August.” “Henry, you’ve got a corn that’s 21.” …
    “Our eyes met and it was as though we’d known each other all our lives.” “Except you’re one life up on her.”

    Margaret and Frank’s back and forth about how wrong it is “A married man fooling around with another woman.”

    Henry’s phone call with his wife is great, and to Hawkeye and Trapper after “Listen. Remember I said I found a girl who was the real thing? Well, she’s $68 overdrawn.”

    Delivery is better than reading but a couple more of my favorite from this episode:
    “To the return of Henry Blake. Able to leap tall bar stools at a single bound. Faster than a speeding nurse. It’s Super Colonel! Ta-da!”

    [Hawkeye after Nancy kissed him] “In the first place, I wanna thank you from the bottom of my mouth. Secondly, we’re not in the parking lot at the prom. And lastly, one of us loves Henry Blake, and I think it’s me.”

    RJ, I agree, their reactions are great (something the M*A*S*H actors are great at throughout the series).

    Another episode I think is great (I think that about most of them).

  11. HENRY IN LOVE is my all time favorite MASH episode. I’m a MASH purist and only watch episodes from the pilot until Albysenia, Henry. I don’t actually watch that one since Henry dies.

    The wit, cleverness and consistency of the writing was pitch perfect with those episodes. Juvenile and sophomoric at times, yes, but that’s what the movie portrayed. After that time, once B.J. and Potter were brought in, the show should have been renamed something like MASH -The Later Years,

    Anyway, in that context, this episode has SO many one liners that it reminds me of sitting around with my hilarious older brother and his friends wise cracking and cracking everybody up !
    A favorite line, “Teenager at 2 o’clock.”

  12. One of the interesting things about the casual adultery in the early years of MASH (season 1 to 3) for some of the married characters is the difference between it occurring amongst persons at the 4077th who all share that away from home stress and the hospital conditions, and this episode, in which case the affair involve an outsider to the MASH and is described by Henry as being more serious (i.e. not a fling of convince, but more serious).

    The episode doesn’t make really clear exactly what Nancy Sue Parker is doing in Tokyo in the first place for Henry to meet her (is she a nurse? with the Army? She doesn’t behave like one!).

    Remember, the character is only 21, what is an unaccompanied 21 year old female doing in 1951 Tokyo? What is her role in the US Army? There is no evidence that she is dressed in fatigues like she would be if she was a nurse or otherwise in the army.

    And if she is not military, how does she manage get a jeep ride into the MASH? Henry could have arranged it, but my point is that none of the MASH characters comment on it, even those opposed to Henry such as Frank or Margaret. Margaret could have certainly gone into a rage about NSP arriving and threatened to put it into a report etc. None of these things are explained, and I can’t help but wonder about them when I watch the episode.

    MASH appears to have a very relaxed attitude about civilians going to a war zone (assuming Nancy Sue Parker is a civilian, just like the adulterous Bob from season 11 (Potter’s son-in-law)).

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