Remembering Loretta Swit and Margaret Houlihan: "Hot Lips Back in Town"

So, sadly we recently lost the lovely and talented Loretta Swit, and naturally it got me thinking about my slightly complicated relationship with the character Margaret Houlihan. Before we get into my feelings about the character specifically (and the episode I want to look at in regards to her) I want to first preface that my feelings about Loretta Swit, much like Larry Linville, are not complicated. She was a talented woman who did the character proud. She also managed to take Margaret through many different stages of development without ever missing a beat. She did an exceptional job, and I was greatly saddened by the news.

But as I said… my feelings on Margaret specifically are a bit more complex mostly because the character was. If you haven’t seen the show or need a refresher on just how much Margaret changed and developed, buckle in. I will try to make this short, but it’s important to understand the character.

When the show first started Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan was “Frank’s girl” through and through. She was often his back up or even taking charge in going after Trapper and Hawkeye. And while they would do hints that Margaret was something more and influenced by Frank, she still shared some of his worse qualities- Her jingoistic patriotism that could bleed into outright racism. Her demands for order to the point that it could actually be harmful to the unit. And just a general coldness that put her at odds with people.

As the show developed so did she. Her “good” moments started happening more frequently, though she was still often at odds with Hawkeye and now Hunnicutt. Finally, the show made a rather big push and separated Margaret from Frank. Margaret returns from a trip engaged to another man and no longer “Frank’s girl.” At this point Margaret still did not fully become who the character was in the end, but it was a massive and incredibly important step in that direction. Because she was no longer with Frank the writers had a lot more freedom with her character. For instance, she no longer had to instantly take Frank’s side in most situations. And there became a lot more focus on her as a foil due to her demands for military strictness and general coldness as her method of handling things. She still had moments, but it represented a huge shift.

Then Frank leaves, Charles joins, and the writers decide that maybe Margaret doesn’t need to be married and we get the last and final shift in her character. She is still tough, still cold, and still militaristic to the point of being a problem at times, however they show her more human side. She is tough and cold but can have moments where she breaks. Militaristic but is much more likely to set it aside or at least acknowledge why the others do. And importantly she goes from being “Frank’s girl” to having developed into quite the strong woman. Which leads us to, “Hot Lips Back in Town.”

The episode starts with Potter complaining that triage is taking too long, and he tells Margaret that she should push the nurses to get more involved and help. The meeting is interrupted by mail call including… Margaret’s final divorce papers.

– Just a quick digression, I always found Margaret’s marriage to Donald interesting because it is one of the few plotlines that actually has continuity and develops throughout multiple episodes, and in this case seasons. There are callbacks to specific things, like Peg having to be more independent back home and BJ worrying she’ll basically stop needing and thus stop loving him, but even that plays out differently. We see Margaret get engaged, then married, then the problems start, then the slow process of her divorce. It is unique for how this show plays out because continuity was often lost in the realities of the show itself. Just a brief note about that –

Margaret is at first stunned and hurt, she wanted the divorce but these things are complicated, but after some fun with Hawkeye and Hunnicutt she comes around. Specifically she comes around to the idea that she is her own priority and the army is what she needs not a man. She then tells Potter that she wants to set up a program to have the nurses take over triage.

Potter agrees but is annoyed that she invited a General to see the program so quickly and without Potter’s permission. Hawkeye makes a quip about her doing this to help her career. Margaret shuts them both down with saying they will be ready. And rightful pointing out that if the program helps the M*A*S*H who cares that it also helps her? Margaret finds strength in herself and refuses to apologize for her ambition, both of which I respect.

The General shows up, is a pain for everybody, comedy happens, but the important part is the nurses nail it. Instead of giving a demonstration actual wounded show up and with just a bit of guidance the doctors realize the nurses have it under control. Margaret and her nurses are all incredibly proud of themselves.

Until Margaret realizes the General isn’t there to reward her for this program and help her get it set up in the other M*A*S*H units, he’s there to start their “relationship” again. He’ll promote her, but it’s not really about her nursing or her career… She soundly rejects him and the episode has a bittersweet top off. Margaret sadly toasts herself, showing her disappointment but pride that’s she’s changed. “Frank’s girl” would have only rejected the offer for Frank and maybe not even for him.

I had a difficult time deciding if I wanted to talk about this episode in regards to Loretta Swit, but in truth despite the less than happy ending it is a good episode both in terms of Margaret the character and Loretta’s acting.

We get to see a wide range from her with Margaret going from sad over her divorce, to happy, to being back to her serious no nonsense self, all the way back to both disappointed and proud of herself in one. And Loretta nails it all. As you watch the episode you truly feel for Margaret every step of the way.

I went from sympathy, to hell yeah you go girl, to “oh there’s the Margaret I am used to,” right up to being proud and disappointed too. The triage program is a good idea and it is a reminder that for all the things Margaret was, she was a “damn good nurse” (as she said so herself). Yes, they show her at odds with other people in the camp, but there are many times they show her stepping up and her nurses proudly doing so right behind.

So its heartbreaking for it to not amount to much. Margaret’s old reputation and the realities of the military come crashing down. But that is the show for you, good things often come with something bad.

But what is there, what does remain are two things. One, though it’s never written about again, Margaret made a difference for the 4077^th. And two, and more importantly, Margaret stood by her renewed sense of self and will keep on charging forward.

After her divorce from Donald there are only a few brief moments where they hint at romance with Margaret. There is even and entire character that comes into play for a few episodes to once again highlight that Margaret is simply not the type of woman she was at the start of the show. She doesn’t want to be housewife, she doesn’t want to give up her career for a man, and she wants a partnership. It is a huge change from the woman who chased around a married man and was often shown putting men above her. For all the bittersweet ending of this episode it does slot in nicely with that final shift in her character.

So where is the complication? Well the many other seasons building up to who Margaret becomes still exist so it is a bit harder for me to fully accept the shift. Especially because they do sometimes make a few hints to the old Margaret here or there. In the end though, when you look at later seasons Margaret, she is a strong woman, with feminist ideals, and who fundamentally becomes not only a more interesting character but a better person. I also like that M*A*S*H is not always easy. It’s good to feel a variety of emotions for different characters and plotlines.

And I will once again Loretta Swit played all aspects of Margaret and played them well. Larry Linville had the challenge of playing an unmitigated ass and he did it well. Loretta Swit had to play about five different versions of Margaret and rose to that task.

So, from the bottom of my heart she will be missed and rest in peace. And if you are looking for a good Margaret episode I do recommend “Hot Lips Back in Town.” I skipped over most of the plot points because I wanted to really focus on the highs and lows for Margaret specifically. There are several others I could recommend too. I tend to like her a lot in season 7 because the divorce plotline feeds her development so well.