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Season guide

M*A*S*H: Season 9

20 episodes Premiered Nov 17, 1980 Updated Sep 25, 2026
Previously on M*A*S*H

Season 9 Lore Primer

Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.

  • ⚡ Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of M*A*S*H Season 8.
  • ⚡ Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
  • ⚡ Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
  • ⚡ Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
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Season 9 Episodes

Episode Guide

🛡️ SPOILER SHIELD

Season 9 Progress Shield

Future titles & synopses blurred. Tap "Reveal" on any card to peek.
Binge Efficiency Engine

Season 9: Filler vs. Essential Canon

Filter episodes by narrative weight. Focus on essential mytharc and skip standalone side quests.

15%
85%
Mytharc (3): Crucial lore & season climaxes
Core (17): Character development & subplots
Side Quest (0): Standalone / filler
S9·E1 Mytharc

The Best of Enemies

Nov 17, 1980 · 25 min

On his way to some R&R in Tokyo, a North Korean soldier forces Hawkeye to perform an emergency roadside operation on his buddy.

S9·E2 Core

Letters

Nov 24, 1980 · 25 min

Members of the 4077th share their impressions of war in response to letters from fourth graders in Hawkeye's hometown. Margaret writes about how there are some patients she will ne

S9·E3 Core

Cementing Relationships

Dec 1, 1980 · 25 min

A jilted Italian soldier, Corpsman Ignazio De Simone, is smitten by Margaret; Klinger pours a cement floor in the operating room to fight the spread of germs.

S9·E4 Core

Father's Day

Dec 8, 1980 · 25 min

Margaret has trouble pretending she's a chip off the old block when her dad, blood and guts "Howitzer" Al Houlihan, arrives for a visit. Also, Hawkeye fixes up a soldier who repays

S9·E5 Core

Death Takes a Holiday

Dec 15, 1980 · 25 min

Hawkeye, B.J., and Margaret try to save the life of a critically injured solider so that his family won't think of Christmas as the day that their father died. Meanwhile, Wincheste

S9·E6 Core

A War for All Seasons

Dec 29, 1980 · 25 min

On New Year's Eve, the staff looks back on the highlights of 1951: The doctors invent an artificial kidney machine; Mulcahy plants a garden; Margaret takes up knitting; and Klinger

S9·E7 Core

Your Retention Please

Jan 5, 1981 · 25 min

Klinger is so depressed by news that his ex-wife plans to remarry, he reenlists for an additional six-year hitch. Meanwhile, a male nurse has a gripe against the army.

S9·E8 Core

Tell It to the Marines

Jan 12, 1981 · 25 min

Winchester takes command during Potter's absence; and B.J. and Hawkeye try to convince the Marines to grant a hardship discharge to an immigrant soldier, Private Jost Van Liter.

S9·E9 Core

Taking the Fifth

Jan 19, 1981 · 25 min

Hawkeye uses a bottle of vintage wine to lure unsuspecting nurses into his den; and Potter tries to secure a different sort of anesthetic when the army threatens to ban a painkille

S9·E10 Core

Operation Friendship

Jan 26, 1981 · 25 min

Klinger saves Winchester's life when an explosion rocks the operating room; and B.J. is reluctant to reveal the extent of his injuries after the blast.

S9·E11 Core

No Sweat

Feb 2, 1981 · 25 min

Margaret develops a case of prickly heat, Charles does his tax returns, and Klinger takes the P.A. apart - just some of the events, which occur during another unendurably, hot nigh

S9·E12 Core

Depressing News

Feb 9, 1981 · 25 min

Klinger's army newspaper reports on Hawkeye's monument to military stupidity; a giant tower made from a half million erroneously shipped tongue depressors.

S9·E13 Core

No Laughing Matter

Feb 16, 1981 · 25 min

Hawkeye wagers that he can go a full day without a wisecrack, and Winchester finally confronts the major who exiled him to the 4077th. Charles: "I will not, even for a return to th

S9·E14 Core

Oh, How We Danced

Feb 23, 1981 · 25 min

Winchester is sent to inspect sanitary conditions on the frontlines, while the rest of the camp plans a surprise anniversary party for B.J.

S9·E15 Core

Bottoms Up

Mar 2, 1981 · 25 min

One of Margaret's nurses tries to hide her severe drinking problem, and Hawkeye is scorned after a practical joke he plays on Winchester backfires.

S9·E16 Core

The Red/White Blues

Mar 9, 1981 · 25 min

Colonel Potter nearly blows his stack when his well-intentioned colleagues mollycoddle him in order to lower his blood pressure.

S9·E17 Core

Bless You, Hawkeye

Mar 16, 1981 · 25 min

When Hawkeye can't stop a sneezing fit that has no apparent cause, psychiatrist Sidney Freedman digs into the surgeon's past for a clue to this unusual malady.

S9·E18 Core

Blood Brothers

Apr 6, 1981 · 25 min

Hawkeye is overcome by the devotion of a terminally ill G.I., who has leukemia, for his critically wounded buddy, but he has trouble coming to terms with the fact that he can't cur

S9·E19 Mytharc

The Foresight Saga

Apr 13, 1981 · 25 min

The 4077th is given a gift of fresh-grown vegetables by a grateful Korean; and Potter questions the veracity of an upbeat letter from Radar.

S9·E20 Mytharc

The Life You Save

May 4, 1981 · 25 min

After Charles is nearly felled by a sniper's bullet, he develops a philosophical obsession with death. Meanwhile, the officers have all been assigned new responsibilities.

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