Peggy Hill: The Decline and Fall is the sixty-first episode of King of the Hill. It resolves the cliffhanger in "As Old as the Hills".
Synopsis
Peggy struggles to regain her strength following her skydiving accident. Cotton names the baby G.H. (Good Hank) Hill, and Hank takes the baby home. A short, but extremely tense family feud ensued, leaving Bobby to be the only person taking care of the baby. The feud, however, is resolved and soon, the Hill family is back to their normal ways.
Plot Summary
Hank finds Peggy who has miraculously survived her fall due to landing in soft mud. She's carried away on a stretcher, at which point her parachute finally does open. Hank is anxious about his wife's condition as Peggy is found to have broken her back and is placed in a full body cast, however has a good attitude after the accident, saying it was a thrill having a near death experience but can only remember up to when she had decided not to jump and is perplexed as to why she actually did it. Hank feels guilty, believing it was his encouragement that made her do it. Luanne is unable to come into the room, overcome with emotion at seeing her aunt in this state, while Hank runs into Bobby at a candy machine. Bobby tells them about his experiences, such as how he got to cut the umbilical cord. Later, Cotton is introduced to his child and immediately begins baby talking to his son. He decides to name the boy 'Hank', only for the actual Hank to remind him he can't use that again and won't give up his own first name. Cotton then settles on G.H. which stands for Good Hank. Hank protests this too, saying it makes it sound like he's Bad Hank. To this Cotton replies "Well, you burnt my burger, didn't ya, B.H?" Peggy invites Cotton, Didi, and the baby to stay with them. Cotton notices that G.H. is lactating, a result of female hormones from his mother, freaks out, and keeps his distance from the baby for most of the episode. Didi meanwhile has postpartum depression, leaving Bobby the only one to care for the child. He makes an effort, attempting to sing him to sleep by singing "Best That You Can Do" (aka "Arthur's Theme"). Eventually, he snaps and shouts that he is a 12 year old boy, the child's nephew, and shouldn't have to deal with this. He leaves the crying baby with Didi, who freaks out and sets him by Peggy. Meanwhile, Dale, Boomhauer, and Bill help bring Peggy into the house, after which Hank angrily kicks them out. Peggy's good attitude persists through Nancy and Minh's poor attempts (Minh refers to her as a "mummy for the '90s") to cheer her up. Hank has dreams about his guilt, while Peggy remains perplexed as to what caused her to jump. Eventually, she remembers it was hearing about the baby and not wanting to leave that child to be cared for by Didi. Hank is relieved it wasn't his fault with Peggy further explaining that she was in fact jealous that Didi had a baby and her fears that her mothering days are over. Peggy's good attitude begins to wane as she is unable to help with the baby and has to suffer indignities such as being fed through a bottle and asking Hank to scratch her underarm with a straw. Eventually, her frustration boils over and she vents about how useless she is and how "Cotton and Stupid" have a baby while she doesn't. It's at this point that Didi leaves the baby with Peggy. Hank tries to soothe the child by using keys and a tape measure (the lack of success makes him question whether G.H. is really his brother). He then notices Cotton outside and goes to confront him, leaving a nervous Peggy alone with the crying baby. Hank yells at Cotton that G.H.'s lactation isn't black magic and that he needs to care for the child. G.H. is no longer heard crying, causing Hank and Cotton to run into the house, worried something is wrong. It's then revealed that Peggy, while being in a full body cast, managed to use her toes to rock G.H.'s carrier and calm him. They are now both at peace. Peggy states, "This is the greatest thrill of my life."
Characters
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Luanne Platter
- Dale Gribble
- Nancy Gribble
- Jeff Boomhauer
- Bill Dauterive
- Minh Souphanousinphone
- Didi Hill
- Cotton Hill
- Doctor (cameo)
- Nurse (cameo)
Non-Speaking Character
Goofs
- While telling Hank why she thinks she jumped, Peggy's mouth stops moving but she continues talking.
- Animation error: The blocks on the mobile rotating over GH's crib transform and change color as they rotate.