One key detail makes Trapper John McIntyre’s MASH exit the saddest. Wayne Rogers was paired with Alan Alda’s Benjamin “Hawkeye” Pierce for the 4077’s original disruptors. Despite their rowdy behavior and lack of military respect, they are the unit’s best surgeons. So, everyone tries to tolerate their antics, which range from harmless pranks to dangerous dares. Alda and Rogers have great chemistry, and that is evident throughout the years that they spend together in MASH. So when the Trapper actor left, it was a big blow to the groundbreaking CBS war medical comedy/drama.
Being on the air for more than a decade, MASH has its fair share of character departures — each one significantly impacting its trajectory. Impressively, CBS and the writers are also able to come up with different ways to explain their absences that no two exits are similar. Admittedly, there is still an ongoing debate about which 4077 roster is really the best, considering that the show goes through some major storytelling transitions during its time on broadcast. Regardless, however, Trapper’s departure from the unit remains the saddest, not because of how abrupt it is, but because of what comes afterward.
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MASH Doesn’t Get Any Update About Trapper After Leaving The 4077
Rogers decides to leave MASH after season 3 due to feeling underutilized. Technically, he and Alda should be equal partners, but Hawkeye gets more attention. Despite this, the cast claims that there are no hard feelings between the actors. Regardless of the reason, the abruptness of Trapper’s exit forces the writers to come up with a fitting send-off to the character without Rogers, and luckily, they are able to come up with a compelling arc that also introduces Mike Farrell’s BJ Hunnicut — Trapper’s replacement. By this time, McLean Stevenson already left, and MASH wrote him out by killing Henry Blake.
Despite a more tragic fate for the 4077’s original commanding officer, at least his former team finds out about his post-Korea fate. The same goes for Frank Burns and Radar O’Reilly — both contacted their old MASH unit after they left the war. Among all the core 4077 members who leave before the war is over, only Trapper never reaches out to his old unit again. His abrupt exit already makes for a sad separation between him and Hawkeye, but the idea that they are never able to properly bid each other goodbye makes his departure the saddest MASH exit.
Why Trapper Never Contacts Hawkeye Or The 4077 Again
Like the rest of the 4077, Trapper didn’t like being forced to use his medical training to do meatball surgery. So it makes sense that he is happy to be back at home, especially since he is a married man. However, if Frank can even look back at his time at 4077, there’s no reason that Trapper wouldn’t be able to, unless it is intentional on his part to not reach out. Aside from the horrors of war, this could be Trapper’s way of separating his days in MASH as a carefree philanderer from his life as a family man.
M*A*S*H
Originally adapted from the 1970 film of the same name, M*A*S*H encompasses comedy, drama, and everything in between as it follows the lives of army doctors stationed in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War.
- Cast
- Alan Alda , Wayne Rogers , Loretta Swit , Mike Farrell , Harry Morgan , Jamie Farr , David Ogden Stiers
- Release Date
- September 17, 1972
- Seasons
- 11
- Network
- CBS
- Writers
- Larry Gelbart , Richard Hooker
