The (Lack of) Evolution of Trapper and Henry

[Big Daddy O'Reilly]

Last night, I got to thinking more about the possibilities of Trapper and Henry, and I think although I do prefer B.J. and Potter as characters, had Trapper and Henry remained, there may have possibly been some room for them to evolve into more than they were by the time they left... moreso with Henry:

Henry, in fact, it almost seemed like he started evolving more as a character during his final year: he wasn't womanizing as much as he used to (guess learning that Lorraine had been cheating on him as well was a wake-up call for him), and not only that, he actually really exercized his ability to command a bit more too; "Aid Station" (3x19) is a great example of this, save for his little bit at the end of having already drank all of his booze, he didn't have a bumbling moment throughout, as he usually does, and especially when he was relaying the news about the aid station to everyone in the beginning, he was really serious the whole time, and really showed some backbone as a commanding officer. As a matter of fact, he started having a lot more moments like this that season... I really think if they continued in that direction, and Mac Stevenson chose to stay, maybe, just maybe, Henry really could have grown and have become a little more competent as a commanding office, and maybe even eventually earn Margaret's respect (I doubt he could ever earn Frank's though, Frank hated everybody except Margaret).

Trapper, on the other hand, when you get down to it, he actually was something of a two-dimensional character, but the problem is the writers seemed to only focus on that one dimension of his, which is the source of a lot of problems. Trapper really only had like three episodes where he was mostly the focus, and when that happened, those were really the only times we saw his other dimension, and we saw that when push comes to shove, he really can be a serious character, especially when it comes to his work as a surgeon, he was just as dedicated and skillful as the others, and I know Larry Gelbart is fond of the moment from "Radar's Report" (2x03), where he almost kills the POW because he was essentially responsible for his patient dying. Again, the main problem was basically him and Hawkeye together... it was like bringing two frat boys together and letting them run amuck, it actually started getting a little annoying after a while how they just could never be serious, even whenever they got in real trouble, they still had to crack jokes about it... and as far as Trapper being reduced to "Hawkeye's Sidekick", that actually doesn't seem to happen until the progression of Season Three, or it's just a lot more evident then, and he really became a lot more one-dimensional then. I think if the writers could have focused just a little more on his serious, hard-working side, he could have grown just a little more as well, it's just hard to imagine it because again, so much of the writing was focused on his and Hawkeye's silly antics.

Frank could never have evolved. He was doomed as a character entirely, even the very rare occasions where he had "moments" (ala "O.R." (3x06)), he'd just go right back to being a twerp... he could never change, he was that deranged.

[Dear Sigmund]

It's weird to think about characters like Trapper, Henry and Frank, in the sense of "what if they stuck around for all 11 seasons?" Once Trapper and Henry left MASH, you could almost instantly sense change throughout the entire cast. One cant help but think that those three characters could possibly stay around for that long, under the conditions that soon developed after (those being that MASH turned more serious very quickly once those two left).

Trapper was by far my favorite character in MASH, followed by Sidney and Charles. Trapper was laid back, and when you really think about it, he had become somewhat of a sidekick to Hawkeye. It wasn't blatantly obvious, but the show did focus more on Hawkeye, especially during season three. The storylines, while they included Trapper, were mostly about Hawkeye and sometimes about Henry. I would have loved to see Trapper, at least for a few more seasons. When Trapper was there, I feel like everything in the storylines were more laid back and easy, primarily focusing on what the doctors did outside of their time in surgery as opposed to the later seasons, where many of the episodes focused on surgery, the post op, and medical problems arising etc... I believe that's what makes episodes like "Deal Me Out" and "Dear Dad(s)" so fun to watch. I think they could have easily developed Trapper for at least a couple more seasons.

Henry, I feel like there wasn't any way to develope him further without doing what was done to Frank, which was "throwing him into an episode and making him do the same stuff over and over". Frank unfortunately grew out of his role by the middle of season four, and from then on, seemed to just be taking up space. I feel like Henry would have been doing much of the same come the end of season 4 or 5 had he stayed. Big Daddy makes a good point about Margaret not having respect for him. Had Henry stayed for at least 2 more seasons, it would have been more of the same. Hot Lips, in those early seasons, was in a way, a one trick pony. Before season 7, it seemed like Margaret was just a stickler for military protocol and only saw the war in one perspective. One of the few reasons why I enjoy seasons 7-11 is because you get to see her realize things along the way. One that instantly springs to mind is "Hey, Look Me Over" when she realizes that her nurses dont see her being any better than Col. Bucholz. Anyways, ahha, I feel like Henry would have been a stretch had he been there for another few seasons. Dont get me wrong, I could easily watch Henry, as well as Trapper, in 7 more seasons in their same roles. I dont think Hotlips and Frank would have been any different had Henry stuck around though. It was a "We have no respect for you and we want discipline" type thing for Frank and Margaret.

Honestly, I would have loved to see Hawkeye and Trapper, paired up with Potter. That would have been great. I do not under any circumstances dislike BJ's character, I just felt like he left a little something to be desired.