Henry spots an emotional Radar saluting him and approaches to return the salute, hug him, and chide him like a loving father to behave himself, before boarding and flying away. The staff follow Henry to the helicopter pad, which also bears a wounded soldier that Henry tries to care for before the other doctors nudge him on. Henry's affectionate individual goodbyes to the others are cut short by the imminent arrival of his helicopter, but Hawkeye pulls him aside and persuades him to give a long parting kiss to Margaret, to her surprise and Frank's annoyance. Henry arrives in his new suit, and Frank and Margaret give Blake a formal salute, but Henry chides Frank for being too disciplined. The next morning, Frank attempts to assemble the company for a formal send-off, but Hawkeye and Trapper are out of uniform and unshaven, and Corporal Klinger ( Jamie Farr) wears a particularly elaborate dress made specially for the occasion. On the night before Henry's departure, Hawkeye Pierce ( Alan Alda), Trapper McIntyre ( Wayne Rogers), and Radar throw a drunken going-away party for Henry at Rosie's Bar and Grill, and present him with a tailored civilian suit as a parting gift. Henry and Radar share a sentimental moment in which young Radar describes Henry as a father figure, and gives Henry an inscribed Winchester cartridge a surprised Henry returns the favor by spontaneously giving Radar a rectal thermometer that once belonged to his father. Majors Margaret Houlihan ( Loretta Swit) and Frank Burns ( Larry Linville) celebrate privately that Frank will become the unit commander. Henry begins planning his return and places a telephone call to Bloomington, Illinois to inform his wife and family of the good news. The episode opens with a typical operating room scene Radar O'Reilly ( Gary Burghoff) enters and informs Henry Blake that Blake has received all of the needed Army service points to be discharged and sent home. These combined departures and their subsequent cast replacements also signaled the beginning of a shift in focus of the M*A*S*H series as a whole, with a greater focus on the character of Hawkeye Pierce, played by Alan Alda. While Stevenson's departure was announced prior to and written into "Abyssinia, Henry", Rogers unexpectedly left the series during the break between seasons, and so his character's departure takes place off-screen in the following episode, " Welcome to Korea", the first of the show's fourth season. ("Abyssinia", pronounced "ab-ee-SIN-ee-ah" can be understood as "I'll be seeing you".) Īfter the production of this episode, both Stevenson and Wayne Rogers, who played the character of Trapper John McIntyre, left the series to pursue other interests. The title of the episode refers to the 1920s–1930s slang use of "Abyssinia" for "goodbye". This ending prompted more than 1,000 letters to series producers Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart, and drew fire from both CBS and 20th Century Fox. The episode is notable for its shocking ending, in which the unit's amiable commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake (played by McLean Stevenson) receives an honorable discharge and leaves for home, but in the final scene is reported killed by enemy fire. It was written by Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell, and first aired on March 18, 1975. " Abyssinia, Henry" is the 72nd episode of the M*A*S*H television series, and the final episode of the series' third season. 24th episode of the 3rd season of M*A*S*H " Abyssinia, Henry"
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