"Hank's Choice" is the one-hundredth episode of King of the Hill. It was first aired on April 1, 2001. The episode was written by Jon Vitti, and directed by Kyounghee Lim and Boohwan Lim.
Summary[]
It turns out that Bobby is allergic to Ladybird, and Hank must decide whether Bobby goes or Ladybird does. When Hank chooses Bobby however, his neighbors start to mock him for appearing to love and care about his dog more than his own son. Bobby starts to enjoy living in the new doghouse so much that he starts to do whatever he can to make himself appear allergic to Ladybird and does not notice what it is doing to the family.
Plot[]
Bobby is taken to the doctors with what appears to be a cold which turns out to be an allergic reaction to pet dander. Hank, who has owned Ladybird for 13 years, wonders if Peggy did not get "the dander" from one of her students. Hank prefers putting Bobby on medication to getting rid of Ladybird, which the doctor suggests.
Dale is all for killing off Ladybird, and Bill volunteers to take her in. Hank, unsure of which option is worse, decides to finally build her a doghouse he'd been planning since Bobby was born (even though it was shown in "Pregnant Paws" that she already has a doghouse inside a chain-link fence enclosure). When Hank unveils a scale-model of the doghouse, Dale's reaction is "It looks too small."
The finished doghouse, dubbed "Barkingham Palace" by Hank, has windows, a skylight, exterior lighting, gutters, a picket fence, and radiant heating in the floor. Ladybird, however, will not go inside. Hank blames himself for designing it for himself instead of for the dog. Yet he does not show the same consideration for Bobby, suggesting he just double the dosage of his allergy medicine. Hank then gets the idea to move Bobby into Barkingham Palace since it's dander-free and would spare them the cost of steam-cleaning the house for Bobby's sake. With promises of a cable TV hook-up, a mini-fridge and a cordless phone, Bobby agrees.
Bobby's life in the dog house becomes the new laughingstock around Rainey Street. Peggy bridles at a joke Minh makes about Bobby living a dog's life; "if Bobby were living in a plastic bubble," she tells Minh, "I would be having lunch with Elton John." Connie visits Bobby and observes that he's resting on one of Ladybird's old, hairy pillows. The penny drops: Bobby's either not allergic anymore (a possibility the doctor spoke about) or the meds are doing the job. Bobby's reaction: "I may be well, but I'm not stupid. I am not giving up this doghouse.
At the Gun Club, where the Gribbles are celebrating their wedding anniversary, Dale makes a "doggy bag" joke about Bobby, which gets to Peggy. She pays to have the house steam-cleaned and orders Bobby to move back in. Ladybird, however, still refuses to live in the doghouse, so Hank is reduced to letting Bill take care of her.
At dinner, Bobby begins fake-sneezing and he's sent back out to Barkingham Palace, where he trashes the cheesy broccoli made for him and orders a pizza.
Hank and Peggy redouble their efforts at cleaning. Connie tells Bobby, who's letting things go in terms of house-keeping, that he should move back into the house. She also tells him how miserable Hank is about Bill taking care of Ladybird. Bobby stands his ground: "As long as I keep sneezing, the lady next door can't say 'boo'." Bobby then aggressively barks down a dog which pokes its head in the house to Connie's bewilderment.
The next time Connie comes to visit, Bobby is wearing only his "tighty-whitey" briefs and drinking cereal out of a dog bowl. Bobby is called into the house where he discovers that the carpet has been taken out, the furniture is covered with plastic, and there's visqueen in the doorways. Yet even a weak fake-sneeze causes Hank and Peggy to despair at their 'failed' efforts. Bobby finally realizes he's pushed things too far. The next day, he brings Ladybird back into the house and tells his parents that he's found a working allergy medication dosage. Under the closing credits, we see that Peggy has moved her office into Barkingham Palace and has repurposed the dog food dispenser to hold gummy candies to reward her "estudiantes."
Characters[]
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Luanne Platter (non-speaking)
- Dale Gribble
- Nancy Gribble (non-speaking)
- Joseph Gribble (non-speaking)
- Jeff Boomhauer
- Bill Dauterive
- Minh Souphanousinphone
- Connie Souphanousinphone
- Lady Bird
- Stuart Dooley (credits scene)
Trivia[]
- Ladybird already had a doghouse: a plain structure inside a chain-link pen, as seen in "Pregnant Paws". "Barkingham Palace," as Hank calls it, never makes a reappearance after this episode.
- Hank claims that he has raised Lady Bird to be an indoor dog, but in "Old Glory," she can be seen sleeping on the patio in a wicker basket.
- This episode features the song "Thank You for Loving Me" by Bon Jovi.
Goods[]
- We hear Luanne giggling when she breaks the champagne, but her mouth is closed.
Gallery[]
