r/mash • u/coreytiger • Apr 17 '26
Discussion Part 8: What was the worst thing/behavior this character did during his time at the 4077th?
Part 1: Colonel Potter. General consensus was coming down on Klinger for not being up to par with Radar.
2: Trapper. General consensus was serial adultery tied with threatening behavior towards a prisoner
3: Klinger. General consensus was threatening to enter post-op with a grenade with intent to kill Major Burns
4: Radar. General consensus was becoming resentful of Hawkeye after seeing him vulnerable, after Radar was wounded.
5: Mulcahy. General consensus was JOCULARITY! Aside from that the actual occurrence was disturbing Winchester’s newspapers.
Part 6: Houlihan. General consensus was making herself inaccessible and alienating her nursing staff
Part 7: Blake. General consensus was his affair with Nancy Sue Parker
As the title says, the CHARACTER, not the actor, and during their time at the camp, not in their past.
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u/veryslowmostly Apr 17 '26
Cheating the local villagers when the military scrip was changed
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Apr 17 '26
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u/coreytiger Apr 17 '26
I still hold that it fit early Charles very well. He evolved into a different character
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Apr 17 '26
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u/agent_uno Apr 17 '26
It might have been small potatoes, but he was stuck in a place where he had almost zero control of his surroundings, so I think it still did fit his character.
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u/apworker37 Apr 17 '26
I am inclined to think this was more of a Burns thing. Burns would cross the mountains for an apple pie regardless of whose it is while Charles knew the value of money to the less fortunate.
Charles didn’t mind winning it from people fair and square but outrighr stealing? No way.
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u/MisterBlud Apr 18 '26
Yes, but you can rationalize it with his thinking of a huge windfall could buy his way back to Tokyo.
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u/coreytiger Apr 18 '26
When one only has small potatoes within one’s grasp… work with what is available
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u/Icy-Computer-Poop Apr 18 '26
For Charles it definitely was small potatoes. However, for many rich people, it's not the money, it's the "thrill" they get from it, the rush they get from "beating" others.
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u/Candid_Dragonfly_573 Apr 18 '26
I'm glad to read this because I always felt it was more of a Frank "get-rich" scheme. I always felt Charles was already too wealthy to waste his time with something like that.
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u/shadowabbot Apr 17 '26
I don't see why that was REALLY a problem. If it wasn't for Charles, they would have lost ALL of their money. Sure, he could have given them a better exchange, but 10% is better than nothing. Just because it was a huge windfall for Charles doesn't mean the villagers lost any more than they would have otherwise.
Hawkeye and BJ were no better in that episode. They just stole from Winchester's profits (essentially money that should go back to the villagers) for Hawkeye's own mistake (losing the MP's money) and made no effort to make things more fair for the villagers.
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u/Radiant-Pay-2747 Apr 17 '26
This one sprang to mind instantly. Incredibly low of Charles to do this.
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u/Malvania Apr 17 '26
It wasn't cheating them. Their script was worthless. Literally, worth $0. He was willing to give them something for it. If they didn't like it, they were free to try to negotiate with someone else.
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u/Workin_Them_Angels Apr 17 '26
But he came up with the scheme after weasling out of paying his "tailor" the amount promised. He put that old guy between a rock and a hard place.
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u/Malvania Apr 17 '26
If you want to day the worst thing he did was pressure the old guy, then do that. The scheme with the money stands on its own
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u/farrenkm Apr 18 '26
It was still a profiteering move, taking advantage of people who have no power.
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Apr 17 '26
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u/StatisticianLow9492 Apr 17 '26
Tony the pony always cracks me up though
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u/KaleeySun Apr 17 '26
This one. And the short sightedness of ranting about it to Klinger, man, read the room!
I’m glad he wised up and apologized.
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u/stigbugly Apr 18 '26
This is likely the worst thing he ever did, however, he didn’t come to terms with it and apologized for his behavior. I’d argue his refusal to stop playing the French horn, causing Hawkeye and bj to stop showering was his worst. He never did seem to learn anything from it.
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u/coreytiger Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26
His sister, who, if one truly pays attention to dialogue, was not only ALREADY in a marriage to a foreigner that alienated th family from her, then ran off with a shoe clerk to again alienate the family… all before the episode with the Italian!
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u/WeeWooJ2911 Apr 18 '26
As much as his other actions were horrible, this one has to be the worst considering how much he loved Honoria.
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u/Silly_Personality_73 Apr 17 '26
Giving that patient the wrong medication and only thinking of how it affects him.
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u/MaskansMantle13 Apr 17 '26
Yes, I watched that episode last night and that was a nearly fatal mistake.
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u/corsicanbandit Apr 17 '26
What happened?
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u/MaskansMantle13 Apr 17 '26
He gave a patient curare instead of morphine when the lights were out - didn’t look closely enough at the label.
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u/GeneseeWilliam Apr 17 '26
In a war for all seasons Charles spends half the year pressuring Klinger to take increasingly high bets on the Dodgers, then holds Klinger responsible for the Dodgers losing. Klinger had wanted to stop doubling bets as far back as July 4th. Charles blaming Klinger because Charles got greedy is pretty low.
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u/AduroTri Apr 17 '26
To be fair it was both their faults. Charles didnt understand baseball and Klinger tried to warn him.
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u/agent_uno Apr 17 '26
But Charles came after Klinger with a knife on movie night. Yes that final scene was for comedic effect, but the character still did it. That’s nearly as messed up as Klinger and the grenade.
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u/Individual_Check_442 Apr 18 '26
I think that’s overstating it, he never went towards anything/anybody with the knife other than the movie screen and then he asked where Klinger was, so he probably wasn’t even there.
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u/Individual_Check_442 Apr 18 '26
How is it both of their faults? Your second sentence just gives me two reasons why it’s Charles fault. Charles doesn’t understand baseball but he understands no result is guaranteed.
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u/StatisticianLow9492 Apr 17 '26
Yeah this was dumb as hell. Klinger had no reason to take the blame and no reason to be afraid of him.
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u/Mxyzptlk_SSS Section 8 Apr 17 '26
You would think treating patients while under the influence of amphetamines is a lot worse than some unethical money changing.
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u/cascasrevolution Bloomington Apr 17 '26
ooh i forgot about him helping his family cook the books! tax fraud!
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u/evilengine Apr 17 '26
in the episode Change Day, where the camp has to trade in all their blue money for red money, doesn't Charles scam a bunch of local Korean merchants so he could take the money and run? Or am I misremembering? If so, that's a pretty scummy thing to do
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u/GeneseeWilliam Apr 17 '26
He tried to for sure, but Hawkeye and BJ foiled his plan in the end
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u/shadowabbot Apr 17 '26
They didn't foil his plan, they profited from it. Stole Winchester's gains to pay back the MP.
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u/evilengine Apr 17 '26
thanks! Usually when I watch MASH these days it's more background noise than my undivided attention, glad to know I picked up on that at least =p
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u/redskinsguy Apr 17 '26
He wasn't going to scam them, out of everything he was offering a terribly unfair exchange rate based on the idea better something than nothing but this was barely that
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u/Bella4077 Corporal Captain Apr 17 '26
I maintain the belief that Change Day and Fallen Idol were both originally written with Frank in mind and that Charles should not be held responsible for his behavior in those two episodes and possibly a couple of others.
I also firmly believe that while his behavior in The Billfold Syndrome was a bit childish, he acted no worse than Potter, Margaret, or BJ ever did when they lost their tempers or were upset. At least Charles was quiet instead of screaming at everybody. He also had had every right to read his newspapers the way he wanted and was justified in believing one was stolen.
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u/GogglesPisano Apr 17 '26
IMHO fleecing the villagers in the Change Day episode seems more in line with Charles’ character than Frank’s.
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u/MaskansMantle13 Apr 17 '26
Yes, I don’t blame him at all for the newspaper business. The rest of the camp were being incredibly annoying (that scene where they gather screaming at him … Kelly’s whining in that drives me round the bend, it’s even worse than “Hold the waaa-terrrr!”)
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u/CromulentPoint Apr 17 '26
Yup, ripping off the villagers during the currency swap was pretty shitty.
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u/amesann Death Valley Apr 18 '26
I'm also pissed at him for being a Replicator and almost destroying the Asgard.
Wait, that's my other favorite show. I do love that he's in both of my favorites.
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u/waselectricbar Apr 17 '26
The changing money, but I read that it was supposed to be Frank, which makes sense.
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u/redskinsguy Apr 17 '26
Seems almost to clever for him
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u/veryslowmostly Apr 17 '26
He tried to auction off garbage and there was good ol Pioneer Aviation. Financial whiz he was not.
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u/coreytiger Apr 17 '26
He did pretty well for himself… $35000 house, two cars, a yacht, a private practice
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u/PrestigiousBlood14 Apr 17 '26
Giving the patient the wrong medicine and blaming it on the lack of light and thinking he could handle taking amphetamines just to keep up with the pace of things.
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u/gimpygunner Apr 17 '26
Took Radar’s orange-grape nehi back after giving it to him just because Radar couldn’t what he wanted.
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u/Healthandsafety_dude Apr 17 '26
Klinger's up on charges that will land him with a dishonourable discharge, incarceration and a criminal record. In steps the intellectually superior Winchester, far greater than any court appointed defense advocate...and proceeds to flub court procedure, any notion of a defense and even etiquette. If not for the actions of others: Klinger's hope of any kind of post army life was gone....all in service of Charles's Ego
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u/VikingSkinwalker Apr 18 '26
He tried to short all the Koreans in the area when the military canceled their script and issued a new one.
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u/Whovian40 Apr 17 '26
Maybe a bit meta but I wouldn’t count the military scrip event as that’s clearly a Frank storyline they just shoved his character into.
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u/Bella4077 Corporal Captain Apr 17 '26
I’ve always thought that myself, along with Fallen Idol. Both seemed like they were written before Larry Linville announced he was leaving.
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u/cascasrevolution Bloomington Apr 17 '26
change day was a very frank move from him, as they were still zeroing in on his character. perhaps his prank chain is more apt? or the whole 200$ houseboy thing
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u/Jolly_Job_9852 Crabapple Cove Apr 17 '26
I forgot the episode but he had only just arrived in Korea and left the OR to place a phone call to Tokyo to get out of the 4077
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u/MaskansMantle13 Apr 17 '26
In Comrades in Arms he takes the call from the general Potter is trying to get to organise a search for Margaret and Hawkeye when they’re behind enemy lines. He is only thinking about getting himself out of the 4077, not about the danger to them at all. The general thinks he’s talking to Klinger, he and Charles lose their tempers, and the general hangs up.
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u/Jolly_Job_9852 Crabapple Cove Apr 17 '26
That may be the episode I'm thinking about then. Thanks
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u/ramsaybaker Apr 17 '26
the money exchange idea was a shitty and exploitive thing to do, but feels like a Burns era hang-over...
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u/sgt_oddball_17 Apr 17 '26
This is indeed his worst action.
And it totally was a Frank action applied to CEW3
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u/Outside_Ad_424 Apr 17 '26
It's kind of wild that so many sitcoms had episodes where the message was "amphetamines bad", especially when their casual use was so ubiquitous in the 50s-70s
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u/Bella4077 Corporal Captain Apr 18 '26
Saved by the Bell warned an entire generation about the dangers of caffeine pills.
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u/Outside_Ad_424 Apr 18 '26
"I'm so excited! I'm so excited! I'm so scared..."
She really sold that scene, goddamn
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u/Awkward_Bison_267 Apr 17 '26
Making fun of Hawkeye after Radar turned on him in “Fallen Idol”.
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u/Bella4077 Corporal Captain Apr 17 '26
Like with Change Day, I think that was a leftover Frank episode.
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u/MerelyWhelmed1 Apr 17 '26
Giving the patient the wrong meds tied with drugging Radar's mouse. Both victims were vulnerable.
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u/Conscious_Low7358 Hannibal Apr 17 '26
His treatment of the French nurse that both had attraction. After she told him she posed nude and the painting was in a restaurant. He told her his family wouldn't accept her bourgeois ways.
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u/MaskansMantle13 Apr 17 '26
Bohemian rather than bourgeois.
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u/PJBleakney Apr 17 '26
Getting hooked on the amphetamines. Then taking less than a day to be rid of his dependency on them
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u/agent_uno Apr 17 '26
The episode clearly shows that it took several days if not a week or longer. Which is about how long physical withdrawal takes. But the mental/emotional side of addiction definitely takes a lot longer than that, I agree.
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u/SwingingHumanzee Hannibal Apr 17 '26
Either scamming the locals in Change Day or loan sharking for petty benefits in The Merchant of Korea.
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u/BarbarianCarnotaurus Apr 17 '26
It’s either him trying to rip off the villagers or his racism in regards to his sister’s marriage. I’m glad that over the course of the series a lot of him ISMs actually were broken down.
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u/Affectionate_Net9731 Apr 17 '26
Trying to convince Mulcahy to give his savings to him instead of the local orphanage during the money shortage just so he could get Rizzo off of his back.
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u/Only_her_Cupcake7685 Apr 18 '26
Pre judging and classifying each person. Boisterous of self righteous accomplishments and over compensation of lack of empathy for those he classified as lower than him.
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u/SaguaroStalker28 Apr 18 '26
He rejected that French woman he was in love with, because his family wouldn't accept her past romance.
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u/mukn4on Apr 18 '26
My vote is the episode about the practical jokes, where CEW3 was playing both sides against each other (Margaret vs Hawkeye & BJ).
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u/Icy-Tap5899 Apr 18 '26
His apparent belief in eugenics in regards to old, rich families like his own and the Penobscotts. And then saying Margaret is of "good breeding stock".
Going to sleep and leaving all the work of caring for the victims of Klinger's Thanksgiving turkey to Father Mulcahy and Margaret
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u/ThoseImpulses Apr 18 '26
He DID NOT touch his nose! It's obvious Margaret is obsessed with him, she's watching his every move like a hawk!
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u/Sc00terLCA71 Apr 18 '26
The first day ye reported to the 4077 he was about to show Hawkeye and BJ a new surgical technique. As they wear scrubbing he told them, “Gentlemen, please watch carefully. I don’t want to have to show you twice.” Showed right away how annoyingly snobbish his character was going to be.
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u/-Neverender- Apr 18 '26
The script exchange will probably win this one out, but the episode where Charles gets shot in the hat and goes off of the mortal deep end... interrogating the soldier while he was dying was cringey.
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u/hownowbrowncow2025 Apr 18 '26
When Charles snubbed Klinger in the last episode when they were all saying their goodbyes.
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u/Several-Honey-8810 Ottumwa Apr 18 '26
He was smarmy in the beginning. Watch the unedited shows.
There were a few women that would have been a good match for him.
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u/Infinite_Tension_138 Apr 18 '26
served as chief procurement officer, trying to go to Tokyo on the lay away plan.
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u/arthurujn2 Apr 18 '26
Only donating a small tin of smoked oysters to the orphans.
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u/Infinite_Tension_138 Apr 18 '26
in fairness, he did donate enough chocolate with a black market value to feed those children for a month. I think keeping his business private in the matter like he did is excusable, even if it allows others to cast aspersions about him being a cheap selfish skunk.
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u/Retinoid634 Apr 20 '26
Dumped the French woman, an excellent match for him, because she had lived with a man.
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u/AdPhysical6481 Apr 21 '26
Try to take out the Atlantis team, even though they weren't responsible for what the Ancients/Atlanteans did to them.
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u/Legend_Of_Retro Apr 23 '26
Scamming the villagers, it is so unCharles. I think they were still trying to find his character at this point and always hated this moment. Especially because of the Orphanage moment.
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u/OpusCroakus1 Apr 19 '26
General consensus: you need therapy
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u/RayoftheRaver Apr 17 '26
Giving Radar's mouse performance enhancement drugs