"Patch Boomhauer" is the one-hundred-fiftieth episode of King of the Hill. It was first aired on November 2, 2003. The episode was written by J.B. Cook and directed by Anthony Lioi.
Summary[]
Boomhauer's womanizing brother Patch arrives in town to celebrate his upcoming nuptials, and things get complicated when it turns out he is marrying a past love of Boomhauer's.
Plot[]
Promotional art
While relaxing in his jacuzzi, Boomhauer hears his phone ring. Answering the call, he learns that his younger brother Patch is getting married, surprising him. Later, Boomhauer relays the news to his friends in the alley, and they joke that Patch finally beat Boomhauer at something: getting married. At home, he eats some food to ease his mind but is reminded of his own loneliness. To clear his mind, Boomhauer goes out on a drive in his car. At the gas station, as he refills his gas tank, Katherine Hester, who once dated Boomhauer, recognizes him and shouts his name in joy. Turning around, he is likewise surprised at meeting her again and claims that it may be destiny. Katherine confesses that she has thought about him a lot lately. However, she clarifies that she thinks about him since she is marrying his brother Patch, leaving Boomhauer speechless and frozen in thought enough to accidentally overfill his tank. That night, Katherine goes to the airport to pick up her fiancé.
The next day, Hank and the guys learn about Katherine's relationship with Patch, and Hank remarks that Katherine made the best beer. Seeing Boomhauer with a gloom face, he tells him that he had his chance with Katherine but did not see their relationship through, reasoning that he has no justification to be mad. At that point, Katherine and Patch arrive, and to Hank's relief, the two brothers are still amiable with one another. Soon, the neighborhood gets together in Hank's backyard for a barbecue. As Patch tells stories to some of the neighbors, Nancy and Minh admit that he is just as attractive as Boomhauer, and Peggy says she remembers the day that Katherine left for London, recalling that Boomhauer stayed in his jacuzzi for two days straight. When Bobby exits the house with a burger on a pillow, Hank asks what he is doing. His son answers that he wants to demonstrate to Patch that he has what it takes to be a "ringboy", to which Hank asserts that Lady Bird will be the ringbearer. Learning that he can be an usher instead, Bobby keeps his excitement.
Calling for everyone's attention, Patch announces that he wants Boomhauer to be his best man. Although silent for a few seconds, Boomhauer agrees, pleasing the neighbors. Before leaving, John Redcorn tells Hank that his intuition indicates that Boomhauer's feelings do not seem to be over. Afterward, Boomhauer relaxes in his jacuzzi and recites his best man speech when Patch comes by and jumps into the pool, annoying him. Luanne stops by to return Boomhauer's Walkman to him, but she casually confesses that she broke it. Finding her attractive, Patch pulls up a lawn chair and asks her to give her a lap dance, disgusting her. Guiding Luanne away, Boomhauer assures her that he was just immaturely joking, and he warns his brother that he has to be a loyal man who does not ogle at women. Patch jokes that he wants to have "fast food" as much as he can before getting married, causing his brother to punch him in the arm. As a result, a fight ensues between them, so Hank and Bill break them up. Patch accuses Boomhauer of being jealous, though Boomhauer tells Hank that Patch is the one acting immature with his attitude. When Patch threatens to revoke his best man position, Boomhauer retorts that he quits anyway, shocking everyone. Reluctantly, Hank agrees to be his best man to save his face.
The next day, Hank decides to host a bachelor party at his place and he invites Boomhauer to join him, recalling that their own bachelors parties were very fun. Nonetheless, Boomhauer declines and heads back inside his house. To his surprise, Katherine comes by and urges him to make up with Patch. Though he refuses to due to the mixed emotions, Boomhauer agrees to show up to their wedding at least. In the alley, Patch learns of Hank's food plan for the bachelor party, and the former informs them that he has hired "professional entertainers" who will liven up the party, suggesting that the men bring "plenty of singles" to the event. That evening, Hank unofficially invites Bobby to the bachelor party and receives a call from Craig T., Patch's entertainment host. Boomhauer walks through the neighborhood and notices Katherine in her wedding dress. Speaking with her, he states that he still has mixed thoughts about going to the bachelor party too. Discovering the two of them talking, the angered Hank pulls Boomhauer away and into his garage. Not letting Boomhauer give his side of the story, Hank sternly advises that he grow up and make things right with his brother.
On the night of the bachelor party, everyone except for Hank, Bill and Dale are bored with the party. Boomhauer comes by and offers his brother a case of beer, pleasing Hank. At that moment, the doorbell rings, so Hank answers it and invites Craig T. to commence his entertainment. Though Hank believes that Patch planned a karaoke event, Craig T. is actually the employer of several female exotic dancers. When the dancers enter the house, Boomhauer is frustrated with Patch's idea of entertainment, so he tries to dissuade them from performing by offering money to them to leave. Coming into the living room, Hank mistakenly believes that Boomhauer hired the strippers since he sees him waving several dollar bills. At the same time, Katherine and Peggy visit to see how their party is going. Being around the strippers and seeing Katherine, Patch pins the blame on his brother, alleging that Boomhauer tried to make it seem that Patch was committing marital infidelity. Not being allowed to defend himself from the accusation, Boomhauer is forced to leave along with Craig T. and his employees.
The next day, Hank confides in Dale and Bill that he is disappointed with Boomhauer's behavior. Dale assesses that Boomhauer technically did not lie to him since Hank only assumed that he lied. Deciding to give Boomhauer the benefit of the doubt, Hank goes to visit him to see if they can repair their friendship if Boomhauer tells the truth. The sour Boomhauer admits that although he does still have romantic feelings for Katherine, he had no involvement in hiring the strippers. Relieved, Hank realizes that Patch actually hired them, so he apologizes to Boomhauer and agrees to reveal the truth to everyone at the wedding rehearsal. That night, at Catfish Plantation, Patch goes to his table and wonders where his best man Hank is. As Boomhauer and Hank arrive, Patch ogles a waitress as Hank apologizes for being late. Hank attempts to give his speech and indicates to Patch that he knows about his infidelity, but Katherine interrupts to confess her own thoughts.
To Boomhauer's shock, Katherine says that it was a dream come true for her when Patch asked to marry her. Despite her happiness, she reasons that when she came to Arlen, she realized how much Patch reminded her of Boomhauer, believing that she only fell in love with him to recreate a relationship she had lost. Katherine adds that she was at first angered when Boomhauer allegedly hired the female dancers to sabotage their relationship, but she claims that she perceived the move as a romantic gesture and that she may actually have feelings for Boomhauer. To Patch's surprise, she affirms that she cannot marry him. Confused, Patch admits that he was the one who hired the women and also says he has hired them multiple times, shocking everyone else. Scolding him, Katherine claims that him hiring the women is sleazy, not romantic, declaring that their engagement and relationship is over for good. Trying to retract his confession, Patch instead claims Hank hired the women because he "loves hookers", but Katherine storms out of the restaurant.
The next day, Katherine leaves, but not before saying goodbye to Boomhauer. She jokes that she promises not to perform a donut on his front lawn like the last time. In the alley, Boomhauer accepts a beer from Hank and admits he has no idea if he will ever get married, but if he does, he wants Hank to be his best man. The latter simply replies, "Boomhauer, I would be honored."
Characters[]
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Luanne Platter
- Dale Gribble
- Nancy Gribble
- Jeff Boomhauer
- Bill Dauterive
- Katherine Hester
- Patch Boomhauer
- Luanne Platter
- Minh Souphanousinphone
- Kahn Souphanousinphone
- John Redcorn
- Buck Strickland
- Craig T.
- Connie Souphanousinphone (non-speaking)
- Joseph Gribble (non-speaking)
- Bonnie (non-speaking)
- Lady Bird
- Lenore Dauterive (indirectly mentioned)
Stinger Quote[]
- Dale: (laughs) "Oh, Patch."
Trivia[]
- When the girls arrived, the music in the background was Wild Cherry's 1976 workhorse "Play That Funky Music".
- The song played during all the bachelor parties is "The Joker" by the Steve Miller Band.
- This episode marks the beginning of the series' regular use of digital ink and paint. While it had been tested before in "Bobby Goes Nuts" and "Megalo Dale", as well as a few specific scenes in "Kidney Boy and Hamster Girl: A Love Story", "Returning Japanese II", "Board Games", and "The Miseducation of Bobby Hill", the series generally used cel animation up until this point. The only future episodes to use cel animation - "New Cowboy on the Block", "Flirting With the Master", "After the Mold Rush", and "Rich Hank, Poor Hank" - would be those produced for Season 7 but held over until Season 8.