Ep 13. Hawk's Nightmare

Hawk's Nightmare is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of M*A*S*H. In this episode, the character Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce experiences a series of nightmares after witnessing a gruesome incident during surgery.

The episode opens with Hawkeye performing a complex surgical procedure on a wounded soldier. The surgery is going well until Hawkeye's patient suddenly begins seizing uncontrollably. Despite his best efforts, Hawkeye is unable to save the soldier, and the experience leaves him shaken.

Over the course of the next few days, Hawkeye begins experiencing vivid and terrifying nightmares. In one dream, he is being chased by a giant hand with surgical implements for fingers. In another, he is trapped in a room with his dead patient, who begins to come back to life and accuse him of killing him.

The nightmares start to take a toll on Hawkeye's mental health. He becomes irritable and unable to concentrate during the day, causing concern among his fellow doctors. He also becomes obsessed with trying to figure out why he couldn't save his patient, even going so far as to reenact the surgery on a cadaver in an attempt to understand what went wrong.

Meanwhile, the other members of the MASH camp are dealing with their own issues. Colonel Potter is worried about his horse back home, and Klinger is attempting to win a weekend pass by staging a "fashion show" for the camp. But for the most part, the episode focuses on Hawkeye and his struggle to overcome his nightmares.

As the episode progresses, Hawkeye's nightmares become more intense. In one particularly disturbing dream, he is performing surgery on a faceless patient before realizing that the patient is actually himself. He wakes up screaming and covered in sweat.

Finally, Hawkeye turns to his friend and fellow surgeon, Captain BJ Hunnicutt, for help. BJ suggests that Hawkeye try to confront his fears and face the traumatic incident head-on. With BJ's help, Hawkeye is able to do so, and the episode ends with him finally finding some peace of mind.

Overall, Hawk's Nightmare is an emotionally intense and thought-provoking episode of M*A*S*H. It tackles the issue of PTSD and the toll that violent events can take on a person's psyche in a sensitive and nuanced way. While the episode is certainly not lighthearted, it is an important reminder of the sacrifices that military personnel make every day, and the toll that those sacrifices can take on their mental health.