Guerrilla My Dreams is the third episode of the eighth season of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H; directed by Alan Alda, the episode was written by Bob Colleary. W.C. Heinz, Richard Hooker, Ring Lardner, Jr., who all were uncredited co-writers for the 1970 M*A*S*H* film, also contributed as writers on this episode, which originally aired on October 1, 1979.
Synopsis[]
Hawkeye operates on a wounded Korean woman who turns out to be a North Korean guerrilla and a prisoner of a South Korean Army intelligence officer who is known for his brutal interrogation tactics.
This is one of the rare episodes where Hawkeye does not prevail.
Full episode summary[]
Wounded arrive, and one of them is a young North Korean woman, who happens to be the prisoner of an ROK army intelligence officer, Lt. Hung Lee Park, who demands to take the woman with him, insisting that she is an enemy spy and a guerrilla, but Hawkeye refuses to listen and orders her prepped for surgery. One of the other wounded is Margaret's old flame, Sgt. Jack Scully, and while Hawkeye, B.J., and Margaret tend to him, they catch Park and his men trying to cart the young woman away. Hawkeye and B.J. angrily stop him, insisting she is their patient now. Park grudgingly agrees, but for the time being he doesn't let her or the doctors out of his sight; biding his time, Park stands outside the O.R., looking in on the surgery, which is successful.
In Post Op, Hawkeye watches over the young woman, and tries to give her some space as Park demands to ask her some questions, but his mere presence causes the young woman to thrash angrily, cursing at him in Korean. Scully confides in Hawkeye and B.J. that he knows about Park, and that he has a reputation for getting information from his prisoners any way he can, including by torture, to which Scully adds, "To take your mind off the pain, he kills you."
Hawkeye and B.J. decide to go to Potter, who tries to buy them some time by going through official channels, particularly G2, to see if they can find a reason to not turn the prisoner over to Park. Later that night, in Post Op, Scully distracts Margaret briefly to flirt with her, but it's just long enough for the young woman to sneak out of her bed and disconnect an IV tube from the arm of a nearby patient; not fully recovered, the woman falls to the floor, shattering the glass bottle.
While discussing the incident in Potter's office, Hawkeye and B.J. prefer to believe that she was only trying to escape from Park. Potter then gets a response from G2, but it is not what the doctors want to hear: G2 has declared that once the woman is well enough, she must be turned over to Park with no questions asked.
Meanwhile, Charles has taken advantage of a chess analogy Park used in conversation and invited the Lieutenant to play in the Officers Club (in an attempt to keep him away from his prisoner). As they play, with B.J. watching, Charles repeatedly attempts to throw Park off of his game with small but significant distractions - rocking in his squeaking chair, humming, and calling the bartender for tea. Park admires Charles for his tactics, but then, citing his previous words that "the loss of a single pawn is insignificant; all that matters is winning the game", he shows that they are all for naught as he captures Charles' queen.
As they continue playing, Hawkeye enlists Klinger to distract Park's sentries outside by giving them some of Charles' high-priced cognac, while Hawkeye sneaks the woman into a nearby ambulance. When the ambulance starts up and begins to drive off, the guards notice and yell for Park, who emerges from the Officers Club (after B.J. "accidentally" gets in his way). Park flags down the ambulance and officially takes the woman back into custody as his prisoner.
Hawkeye tries to stop Park, reaching for the woman, but she angrily pulls away, and starts yelling at him in Korean, cursing him for saving the lives of those who kill her people; Park is translating her words, but Hawkeye refuses to believe him. She says (with Park still translating) that she would gladly kill him just like she tried to kill the patient in Post Op, and that she would gladly die if she could kill any one of them. Park then points out to Hawkeye that her life means more to him than it does to her. As they are about to ride off, B.J. and Hawkeye (calling Park a "son of a bitch") are about to move in on him, but his sentries abruptly stop them when they draw their weapons. Without another word, Park climbs into his Jeep and, taking his driver's rifle, rides off with his prisoner, as the doctors and Klinger watch helplessly.
Days later, Margaret sees Scully off on the EVAC bus, but their romantic parting is interrupted by Hawkeye and B.J., and they all wish Scully well as the bus pulls out.
Guest stars/Recurring cast[]
- Mako as Lieutenant Hung Lee Park
- Joshua Bryant as Sgt. Jack Scully
- Haunani Minn as Guerrilla Woman
- George Cheung as 1st Korean Soldier
- Marcus K. Mukai as 2nd Korean Soldier
- Connie Izay as Nurse (see Lieutenant Connie)
Research notes/Fun facts[]
- The episode's title is a spoof of the title of the 1934 movie "Girl O' My Dreams".
- This episode is reminiscent of "Radar's Report" in which a POW patient unintentionally smashes a bottle of blood, causing Trapper John's patient to subsequently die; in this episode, it is unknown if the patient whose blood bottle was broken survives or not.
- B.J. refers to Park as "Lieutenant Truth-Or-Consequences", a macabre reference to the then-popular radio and television game show created and hosted by Ralph Edwards.
- This episode marks the first time a major profanity is uttered in this show. When Park tells Hawkeye that his job is to capture and execute the prisoner after their failed attempt to get her away from him, Hawkeye and B.J. threateningly approach, with Hawkeye calling him a "son of a bitch." Producers had to apply to the FCC for special dispensation to allow Hawkeye to say the phrase (to emphasize the gravity of the scene). It was the first time in broadcast history that this phrase would be allowed on the air. Several newspapers and periodicals announced the decision in advance, which spurred viewers around their TV to hear Alan Alda utter the phrase.