Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen
| "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" | |
|---|---|
| M*A*S*H episode | |
Hawkeye smiles as he sees B.J.'s "note"
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| Episode no. | Season 11 Episode 16 (256th overall) |
| Directed by | Alan Alda |
| Written by | Alan Alda Burt Metcalfe John Rappaport Dan Wilcox Thad Mumford Elias Davis David Pollock Karen Hall |
| Production code | 9B04 |
| Original air date | February 28, 1983 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
Allan Arbus as Sidney Freedman
Goodbye, Farewell and Amen is a television film that served as the 256th and final episode of the American television series M*A*S*H. Closing out the series' 11th season, the 2½ hour episode first aired on CBS on February 28, 1983. It was written by a large number of collaborators, including series star Alan Alda, who also directed Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.
The episode's plot chronicles the final days of the Korean War at the 4077th MASH, and features several storylines intended to show the war's effects on the individual personnel of the unit, and to bring closure to the series. After the ceasefire goes into effect, the members of the 4077th throw a closing party before taking down the camp for the last time. After tear-filled goodbyes, the main characters go their separate ways, leading to the final scene of the series.
As peace negotiations continue during the Korean War, Hawkeye Pierce is being treated by Dr. Sidney Freedman at a mental hospital for a nervous breakdown. Sidney is trying to get Hawkeye to release repressed memories of an outing most of the 4077th staff attended at a beach near Incheon which appears to have led to the breakdown. At the beginning of the episode, Hawkeye remembers the trip home as having a party-like atmosphere with him calling for a bottle of whiskey to be passed to a person who "can't wait" to drink it. Sidney's questioning gets Hawkeye to remember that the person in question was actually a soldier who needed the bottle. Then he remembers that the bottle did not contain whiskey, but plasma, and the soldier was severely wounded. Hawkeye was actually yelling impatiently that "this guy can't wait".
Through repeated counseling sessions, Hawkeye recalls that they picked up some refugees and wounded soldiers farther up the road as an enemy patrol was coming. The bus had to hide off the road and the occupants were forced to remain quiet. Hawkeye refuses to tell Sidney anything further, but then lashes out at two of his fellow patients for getting into a loud argument. Hawkeye says they were screaming like chickens and jokes about chickens taking the bus. Using that as a clue, Sidney digs deeper and Hawkeye remembers a refugee woman who boarded the bus carrying a chicken that would not stop clucking.
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