The 4077 gets a visit from Cardinal Reardon, which makes Father Mulcahy, uncharacteristically, want to ban all forms of pleasure from the camp in order that he make a good impression on the Cardinal. Sturgis (Patrick Swayze), a wounded soldier, wants to give his friend, a soldier worse off than he is, a blood transfusion, but Hawkeye discovers Sturgis has leukemia.
Attention all personnel! Cardinal Reardon wants to bless the camp with the following tropes:
- I Have This Friend: Father Mulcahy does a variation on this when he gives his sermon at the climax of the episode, telling a story about himself and Sturgis:I want to tell you about two men, each facing his own crisis. The first man you know rather well...The first man thought he was facing a crisis, but what he really was doing was trying to impress someone. He was looking for recognition, encouragement, a pat on the back. And whenever that recognition seemed threatened, he reacted rather childishly. Blamed everyone for his problems but himself, because he was thinking only of himself.
- Inspiring Sermon: The rest of Father Mulcahy's sermon, which moves everyone, especially Cardinal Reardon, who gives him a hug at the end:When the first man saw the dignity and selflessness of the second man, he realized how petty and selfish he had...I...I had been! It made me see something more clearly than I've ever seen it before. God didn't put us here for that pat on the back. He created us so he could be here himself. So he could exist in the lives of those he created, in his image.
- It's All About Me: Father Mulcahy acts this way for most of the episode, until he hears about Sturgis.
- Later in the episode, when Hawkeye wants to ship Sturgis to Tokyo instead of letting him be with his friend Lowry, Father Mulcahy gently but firmly points out Hawkeye's doing this not to make Sturgis feel better, but to make himself feel better.
- Mood Whiplash: Father Mulcahy goes from being proud and excited Cardinal Reardon is visiting the camp to shocked he's coming to visit that Sunday.
- B.J. goes from being excited when Lowry (the wounded soldier) improves to being depressed when Hawkeye breaks the bad news about Sturgis having leukemia.
- My God, What Have I Done?: He doesn't say this out loud, but Father Mulcahy is clearly thinking this when he yells at Hawkeye and Hawkeye responds by telling him about Sturgis having leukemia, realizing how selfish he's been.
- Not So Above It All: Cardinal Reardon wants to visit the Officer's Club when he first gets into camp.
- Obligatory Joke: When Col. Potter and Father Mulcahy come upon Rizzo and his dice game, Rizzo says, "Ain't this a wonderful happenstance? Here I am with the padre, and there you boys are down on your knees."
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Father Mulcahy, normally Not So Above It All when it comes to drinking and gambling, starts wanting to clamp down on every vice in the camp and ordering people around just because he's worried about making a good impression for the Cardinal. It isn't until Hawkeye tells him about Sturgis that Father Mulcahy snaps out of it.
- The Tag: After Cardinal Reardon leaves the camp, Father Mulcahy invites everyone to the Officer's Club: "The drinks are on me!"
- Title Drop: When B.J. says Lowry needs a blood transfusion, Sturgis mentions he and Lowry are both A-positive; "Sort of makes us blood brothers."
