The Only MASH Episode To Feature A Ghost

The only episode of MASH to feature an out-and-out ghost features one of the show’s most tragic endings. While the CBS medical dramedy was about as far from a horror show as it’s possible to get, it occasionally dipped its toes into the genre. For instance, MASH’s divisive “Dreams” explored the fractured and sometimes creepy dreams of the overworked 4077th. This included some haunting imagery, like an armless Hawkeye (Alan Alda) following down a river of prosthetic limbs.

Other episodes like “Trick or Treatment” contained genre elements, but of course, the series was ultimately about the horrors of war itself. That’s why CBS agreed to let MASH drop the sitcom laugh track from the surgery scenes, as sequences involving doctors stitching up wounded patients shouldn’t induce many laughs. Over the course of MASH”s 11 seasons, there were more experimental episodes that broke from formula, including the real time outing “Life Time” or season 10’s “Follies of the Living-Concerns of the Dead.”

MASH’s “Follies Of The Living-Concerns Of The Dead” Follows The Ghost Of A Dead Soldier

“Follies” is one of MASH’s most melancholy stories

What sets MASH’s “Follies of the Living-Concerns of the Dead” apart is that the main story involves a ghost named Private Weston (Kario Salem). The episode opens with Weston’s corpse being driven into camp, with his spirit soon emerging from the body. Klinger (Jamie Farr) is the only one who can see him, as he’s delirious with a fever. The episode details Weston’s journey from denying his own death to his slow acceptance of his fate.

In the meantime, poor Weston overhears the petty arguments between surgeons – including Hawkeye and Winchester (David Ogden Stiers) bickering over a coat hook – or the minor worries of the living. MASH also highlights that the surgeons are so overwhelmed with wounded soldiers they essentially forget about Weston mere minutes after his death. He and Klinger interact a few times, but the poor soldier is left to ponder his fate alone, and this is only made more poignant by all the silly problems he hears the living complain about.

The Ending Of “Follies of the Living-Concerns of the Dead” Is One Of MASH’s Most Devastating

Weston is just one in an endless sea of ghosts for the 4077th

MASH’s “Follies of the Living-Concerns of the Dead” definitely leans more towards drama than comedy and even the normally quippy Hawkeye is in a foul mood for most of it. There’s a coldness to this episode that’s unusual for the series, and this only underlines the tragedy of Weston’s plight. He also observes things like the staff looking through his wallet or his best friend penning a letter to Weston’s parents following his passing.

In “Follies of the Living-Concerns of the Dead” final moments, Weston wanders across a line of ghosts that includes Korean soldiers and civilians. Another American soldier invites him to join and they walk off together, unsure of where the line leads. What makes this MASH outing so quietly devastating is the epilogue, which sees Klinger snapping out of his fever and immediately asking what became of Weston. Unfortunately, Hawkeye and the others are so busy arguing over who has post- Op duty next they dismiss Klinger’s concerns.

More than that, nobody even remembers Weston’s name, with the final shot lingering on Klinger pondering if he just imagined the whole thing. With this ending, MASH isn’t suggesting that the 4077th don’t care, it’s just that they’re so swamped by patients or dying soldiers that Weston’s fate has become routine. There will be plenty of more soldiers and civilians cut down by the war, and to function, the 4077th have numbed themselves to the horrors surrounding them.

MASH’s “Follies of the Living-Concerns of the Dead” Makes Weston’s Appearance Ambiguous

Did Klinger just imagine Weston’s ghostly adventure?

“Follies of the Living-Concerns of the Dead” was one of the rare instances where MASH waded into supernatural terrority or material. It also gives itself an out, since the entire episode could have been Klinger hallucinating Weston’s ghostly walk through the camp. The episode opens with Klinger in bed, and he later wanders outside in time to see Weston’s ghost rise from his body. It’s true that he’s not present for most of Weston’s other scenes, but these could have also been feverish nightmares on Klinger’s part.

This is a question left for audiences to decide for themselves. If Private Weston was all in Klinger’s head, then the soldier should move into screenwriting after the war, since he gave his ghost a fleshed-out backstory and an emotional arc. For all its wacky comedy, MASH was a grounded series, so for those who might bristle at the notion of a supernatural episode, the Klinger element gives the Weston story enough ambiguity to pretend it was all a dream.