"Leanne's Saga" is the thirty-first episode of King of the Hill. It first aired on April 19, 1998. The episode was written by David Zuckerman and directed by Tricia Garcia.
Summary[]
When Luanne's mother is released from jail, everyone in the neighborhood is on edge with her being around, but Bill thinks he can make an honest woman out of her.
Plot[]
As Hank and Bobby proudly examine their new workbench inside the garage, Luanne exclaims that her mother, Leanne Platter, has been released from prison. When Luanne is out of earshot, Peggy states that she will "tongue-kiss Bill" before she allows "that tramp" inside her home. A short time later, while discussing the latest news about Leanne with his friends, Bill accidentally drops a heavy table clamp on his foot. Hank pulls off Bill's sock, revealing crusty yellow toenails underneath. Embarrassed, Bill decides to see a doctor. Later, Peggy and Luanne discuss Leanne's past. Peggy warns Luanne that Leanne betrayed her husband by stabbing him with a fork. But Luanne counters that her mother has given up drinking. Leanne is dropped off at the Hill home by a burly female trucker, Alicia. Mother and daughter excitedly embrace one another, but Leanne receives a noticeably stiffer welcome from the Hills.
When Hank avoids offering Leanne shelter, Luanne proposes quitting school so she can find employment and rent an apartment with her mother. Unwilling to let this happen, Peggy reluctantly offers Leanne a place to stay. Hank is greatly annoyed when she transforms the garage into her new home. Meanwhile, Bill's foot condition is diagnosed as a common fungus.
A nurse tells him the ailment can be cured with pills but he must avoid alcohol for them to be effective. A short time later, Bill encounters Leanne inside Hank's garage. The pair—neither of whom can drink alcohol—hit it off. Leanne is fascinated by Bill's now attractive feet and scoops them into her lap to massage them. The two remain like that for the entire night. The next morning, Leanne and Bill stroll into the Hill kitchen dressed in bathrobes. Hank and Peggy can only stare, horrified at the implication. As an increasingly annoyed Peggy continues covering for Leanne whenever she fails to pay her daughter the attention and love she deserves, the romance between Bill and Leanne blossoms. However, a hitch develops when Bill begins spending his money on gifts for Leanne instead of purchasing foot medication. One day, Leanne is repulsed at the sight of the yellow fungus on her lover's toes. She grows so unhinged that she downs a can of beer, causing her expression to grow menacing, and her to return to her evil ways.
Hank discovers the emptied can, but before he can offer a warning, Bill announces that he and Leanne are engaged to be married. Angered that the secret has been revealed, Leanne slugs Bill in the arm. Hank attempts to warn Bill about Leanne's temper, but Bill reveals his love is moving into his home. Meanwhile, an increasingly frustrated Peggy tells Luanne that the next time Leanne breaks her heart, she will not come to her rescue. A short time later, the couple throws a pre-engagement party. When Leanne shows up drunk and belligerent, a desperate Luanne turns to Peggy. But as promised, Peggy turns away, leaving Luanne alone. The situation reaches a crescendo when Buckley is disgusted and insults Leanne, calling her a "skank", as she gives him a lap dance. Furious, Leanne smacks the radio and grabs a fork, which everyone is horrified at, and just as she is about to thrust it into Buckley, she is stopped by Peggy. An all-out brawl ensues when Leanne is sorry before Peggy drops the fork off of Leanne's hand, causing her to start screaming, and yelling, runs over and attacks Peggy, during which Peggy gets the upper hand and kicks her, much to everyone's delight. Realizing she has been defeated, Leanne tells Luanne to leave with her. But Luanne chooses to remain behind with the Hills.
Leanne, furious at Luanne's choice, says, "Fine, then I ain't your sister no more," and angrily drives away in Bill's truck. As everyone watches her leave, Hank asks Bill to call the police on her for stealing his truck. But, Bill declines, feeling that it is for the best that she's gone (even if she stole his car and knowing that he'll rightfully call the police if she comes back). While Bobby was astonished and compliments Peggy on how she kicked Leanne's butt, which she's appreciated at his comments. Bobby claims that she is a better dancer until Peggy objects to that claim.
The episode ends with Peggy at Luanne's Beauty Academy's Mother-Daughter Night.
Characters[]
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Luanne Platter
- Dale Gribble
- Nancy Gribble
- Jeff Boomhauer
- Bill Dauterive
- Leanne Platter (debut)
- Miss Kremzer
- Sharona Johnson
- Sharona Johnson's mother
- Kim (non-speaking)
- Kim's mother (non-speaking)
- Lynne (non-speaking)
- Lynne's mother (non-speaking)
- Buckley
- John Redcorn
- Alicia
- Joseph Gribble (non-speaking)
- Nurse
- Hoyt Platter (mentioned)
- Lady Bird
Trivia[]
- The episode title is a play on episode 5 of King of the Hill, "Luanne's Saga".
- This episode marks the first physical appearance of Leanne, Luanne's mother.
- As an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army, Bill would receive free medical care and medication. Therefore, he would have been able to continue his fungus treatment and spend his money on the beverage hats and soda which prevented him from getting his medication.
- Bill uses the alias "Norman Schwarzkopf" at the Arlen Public Health Clinic, similar to how Dale uses the alias "Rusty Shackleford" to conceal his identity.
- There was no tagline for this episode as it had a closing scene over the credits instead of the theme song, just like Season 1's fewer episodes.
- The music played during the montage of Bill buying gifts for Leanne is "Wrap it Up" by the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
- According to the receipts, Bill spent $73.70 for Leanne during his first Mega-Lo Mart visit, $227.84 for her during their Fashion Factory visit, and $24.99 during his second Mega-Lo Mart visit. This adds up to $326.53.
- Hank uses his shop vac twice within the first minute of the show. Once to suck up spilled dog food that Peggy dropped, and another to suck up beer that Dale spit out. Both of these incidents happened as a result of a character discovering that Leanne was out of prison.
- Leanne was placed in a medium-security prison, although, due to the mild nature of her crime, she should have been placed in a minimum-security prison.
- Bill's grill is made from an Agent Orange barrel.
- According to the episode, the sales tax in Arlen is 8%. This is a contradiction to the Season 4 episode "Hillennium" where Hank states that it is 6%.
- Luanne calls her dad Hoyt in the episode. However, this is inconsistent with a later episode in the series, "Life: A Loser's Manual", where we find out Hoyt is actually in prison, not working on an oil rig and refusing to come back unless Leanne's death certificate was sent to him.
- In this episode, Bill claims to have never met Leanne but in a video of Hank and Peggy's wedding, they are both seen on camera at the same time and possibly had some interaction. However, it's possible that one or both of them became too intoxicated and did not remember anything.
Goofs[]
- When one sees Hank and the gang stand in their usual spot, Bill has a black eye and a bruise. In the next shot, it is gone.
- Hank pulls off Bill's sock and shoe but, in another scene, he has his sock on.
- About halfway through, Hank sees Buckley out on his lawn and goes to investigate. Hank opens the sliding glass door and the kitchen behind him is shown. When Peggy appears behind Hank, the glass door is closed and now the living room is behind them. Hank then goes back inside and closes the glass door and now he and Peggy are in the living room instead of the kitchen.
- When Leanne last gives Bill a foot rub the scene where Bill is shown on the lawnmower has a brown sock-like foot. Some scenes later one of his socks appears out of nowhere.
- Hank has a brown door on the side of his garage; this is not seen in later or previous episodes.
- When Hank signals Bobby to run to Dale's house, Bobby is seen running in the opposite direction towards Kahn's house.
Quotes[]
- Dale: Poor Bill. His woman is making a fool of him.
(awkward pause)
John Redcorn: It happens.
Censorship[]
- Sky One (now called Sky Showcase) banned this episode from airing due to frequent scenes of domestic abuse and violence. Despite this, British viewers can find this episode on FOX UK, 4Music, Viva, Channel 4, and the UK release of the season 2 DVD box set.
Gallery[]
