There's a good reason Loretta Swit's Margaret looks so emotional during her final scene in MASS. The CBS comedy MASS it ran for 11 seasons in total, and arguably no character changed more during that season than Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan. She was a sworn enemy of Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and Trapper (Wayne Rogers) during the early years and was involved in an affair with weasel Frank Burns (Larry Linville). Loretta Swit's favorite MASS The episode "The Nurses" featured an emotional breakthrough for her character - which arose from the actress' demand that Houlihan get some proper character development.
Alda and Swit were the only actors to appear in the first and final episodes also. It cannot be underestimated what a huge event the finale of the sitcom 'Goodbye, Goodbye and Amen' really was in 1983. MASH finale is the most-watched scripted episode in TV history, with more than 100 million viewers tuning in to see the 4077th finale. Although there have been some spinoffs like AfterMASH which tried to extend the brand a little further, “Goodbye, Goodbye and Amen” really felt like an end point for the series.
Loretta Swift's MASH co-star David Ogden Stiers gave her a meaningful gift during Margaret's final scene
Loretta Swit's joy during Margaret's final scene is genuine
When Larry Linville left MASS like Frank after season 5, a new character named Charles Emerson Winchester III (David Ogden Stiers) replaced him. Charles was everything Frank wasn't; a great surgeon, an intellectual and even kind of friendly - despite being a total snob. Throughout “Goodbye, Goodbye and Amen”, Charles and Margaret are fighting with each other for a few reasons. This includes Winchester being annoyed that Margaret took a book from his collection - even though he hates that particular volume.
In the final scene, Charles gives this book to Margaret as a gift, and when she opens it, Margaret begins to smile. Throughout his time on the show, Stiers' fellow actors noted that he was a private person, and while he was not hostile, he preferred to keep himself aloof. In MASH end, Swit is smiling because Stiers signed up his phone number for her so they can stay in touch after the show ends.
If Margaret seems genuinely touched by “Charles’s” gesture, it’s because Swit was touched by her co-star’s gift. It's a sweet behind-the-scenes detail and one that only makes Margaret's final scene all the more touching. The character didn't have much to do in MASH “Goodbye, goodbye and amen,” but the episode at least nailed its final appearance.
The meaning of Charles' gift to Margaret at the end of MASH
Winchester's gift has a few meanings
Outside of Stiers' real-life message, Charles' gift is meaningful to Margaret on a few levels. In the end, Charles was angry that Margaret helped him get his next job as Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Boston General. Even though this is his dream job, he wanted to achieve it on his own merits and feels that Margaret's help undermined that. She had also borrowed a volume from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnets in Portuguese from your collection, but Charles' petty demand that Margaret return this book leads to more conflict between them.
This is Charles' way of thanking Margaret for helping him secure the job, a parting gift and, ultimately, a sign of respect.
As the characters say goodbye to MASH In the last episode, Charles presents her with the volume, claiming he doesn't have room for it. This is his way of thanking Margaret for helping him secure the job, a parting gift and, ultimately, a sign of respect. Given how snooty and uptight Winchester could be, his delivery of the volume is no small feat. Charles also inscribed a message to Margaret in the book - although viewers won't be able to see what he said for her. When combined with Swift's actual response to receiving her co-star's number, this results in one of the MASS the most emotional moments at the end.
Source: FoundationINTERVIEWS