#I do tend to think Trapper was there first and experienced enough that Hawkeye could lean on him per the line in Check-Up

[fallandfigs]

Rewatching early S4 episodes always gets my head spinning because BJ is the first person we’ve seen actually arrive at the 4077th. He’s the first person we see have to adjust to the conditions there. Which of course gets me thinking about Hawkeye. Hawkeye, the old pro, who knows exactly how to be there for BJ when he’s shiny and new and weak-kneed from his first encounter with shrapnel wounds. Hawkeye, who knows what to expect in the OR during a push. And I actually love the ways we see BJ still adjusting and being looked after (mainly by Hawkeye) over the course of his first few episode.

For example, we get the infamous vomit and extended hand/lifeline bit in Welcome to Korea. But to me the interesting stuff is actually in Change of Command, where we get these:

Before they even get in the OR, Hawkeye does a little check-in (above). And then when they actually get to work, Hawkeye is still checking-in (below).

For context, it's Potter's first episode so Hawkeye's paying attention to Potter too, and has Margaret running recon for him because they both care about competence and are concerned Potter isn't up to par from a surgical perspective. But he still makes that time to just touch base with BJ. And then things take a turn...

And Hawkeye's on it immediately.

BJ hasn't asked for him yet, but Hawkeye's been paying attention. Because BJ is the new guy. He's young and inexperienced and even if he wasn't 28, nothing really prepares you for working in a MASH unit.

BJ has been less than calm the whole time he's been in the OR, and when he starts to panic, he asks for help. Potter steps in, because this is the episode where we're shown he is competent and a good guy/C.O. on top of it (that's the narrative at least, I have...thoughts on Potter), but the implication is Hawkeye would have otherwise stepped in. This is both because he's Hawkeye but also because he's conscious of BJ still adjusting to the circumstances. It's a real contrast to how we've seen the well-oiled Trapper-Hawkeye-Henry machine where they could ask for help from each other but no one was necessarily keeping tabs on anyone else (Frank excluded) because they were all seasoned at this by the time we enter the story.

And we even still get some more of BJ's learning curve in It Happened One Night. Here, BJ is basically having a modified version of Hawkeye's plot in Sticky Wicket. BJ has a patient that's not doing well, even after BJ operated.

But when Hawk suggests BJ must have missed something, BJ resists opening the patient back up. Eventually, BJ realizes what Hawkeye already learned in S1 - sometimes you miss things because that's just how it is over here. Everything is sub-optimal. Patients. Conditions. Equipment. Sometimes you just have to go back in. The framing of Hawkeye's episode is more ego-based but I'd argue both are about adjustment to life and practice in a MASH unit. And in the end it all works out:

My point is BJ is still figuring out how things work 4 episodes in. And he’s got Hawkeye there to guide him, which is great. But also… I just keep thinking about what Hawkeye’s period of adjustment was like when he first turned up at 4077th. How quickly or slowly did he adapt? Did he throw up after his first day? Or was he breaking out the banter from minute one because that’s Hawkeye's form of coping. Was the gallows humor/chatty atmosphere in the OR already established? Or did Hawkeye bring it with him?

While I understand why the show opens with the status quo already established, there’s just so much we miss by opening up in the middle of the story. And I’m particularly interested in what Hawkeyes first couple of weeks might have looked like. And the way he acts with BJ is kind of an extension of that thought. Does Hawkeye see himself in BJ? Is he doing what Trapper (or Henry) did for him? Or is he just doing his part to look out for a newer, greener draftee? I tend to think it’s some combination of all of the above - Hawkeye had someone to lean on, but he’s also just a decent guy who would lend a hand to anyone.

And while I can imagine (imply?) that Trapper was checking-in on Hawkeye before and during his first few sessions in the OR, or imagine Henry trying to keep an eye on his newer surgeons as they were rotated it, we really don't know what Hawkeye's actual reactions were. And I literally cannot stop thinking about it.