M*A*S*H (TV Series) The Grim Reaper (1977) User Reviews

Bloodworth Returns

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 30 March 2015]

Winchester is his usual selfish self. He has a care package from home that is filled with gourmet treats. Of course, he refuses to give any of it to his bunkmates. Instead, he takes it to Margaret's tent and they end up with food poisoning. The chief plot, however, involves the return of Colonel Bloodworth, whose job it is to predict casualties from various encounters. He seems to delight in his expertise. This completely offends Pierce as he sees him as a bringer of death. Eventually, the two of them have an encounter at the officer's club and Pierce faces a court martial. Charles again turns jerk when B.J. is given a pilot's coat. Charles had fainted in the OR so B.J. finished. Charles was the surgeon of record and insisted on getting the coat. This whole episode is about selfishness, how petty it is under certain circumstances.

Humility, humbleness and hot dogs

[safenoe · 7/10 · 7 August 2020]

One important development is Charles becoming a bit more human, especially after his selfishness in not sharing his food care package to Hawkeye and BJ. Turns out for the good for Hawkeye and BJ because Charles got his comeuppance after he and Margaret got ill eating canned bird. Anyway, at the end Pierce and BJ decide to teach Charles a lesson, but relent and share the hot dogs with him, giving him an element of humanity. No way this could have happened with Frank Burns. That's why I prefer the Hawkeye/BJ/Potter/Winchester quartet.

One inconsistency in this episode is the way Potter dealt with Hawkeye's subordination to Colonel Bloodworth. Potter was very respectful of Bloodworth's rank, unlike a couple of seasons earlier when Hawkeye arranged for a pile of garbage to be dropped on Colonel Coner in the episode Some 38th Parallels. In that episode, Potter turnd a blind eye to Hawkeye's humiliation of Colonel Coner.

Pierce at his jerkiest

[smitjef · 4/10 · 1 June 2018]

I won't recap this episode again but I have to say that Pierce's treatment of Colonel Bloodworth is the perfect example of the whole god complex he has. The Colonel is basically an accountant who gives the hospital accurate numbers of the wounded they can expect. He's not doing dumb things. He doesn't even seem to be in charge of actual troops. I love Mash but think it often tries too hard to shove Pierce down our throats.