"Three Days of the Kahndo" is the twenty-seventh episode of King of the Hill. It was first aired on February 15, 1998. The episode was written by John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky and directed by Lauren MacMullan. The name of the episode is a pun on the film Three Days of the Condor. Paul Rodriguez guest stars as Jacinto
Summary[]
The Hills and the Souphanousinphones are headed to Mexico — and Kahn's misreading of an advertisement for a Mexican time share results in him, Hank, and Dale getting trapped in the country.
Plot[]
Kahn sings along (off-key) to Tony Basil's "Mickey," which Hank overhears while watering his lawn. Hank then puts the garden hose to his head as if he is going to shoot himself and blasts himself in the ear with water.
Minh boasts of her family's upcoming luxury trip to Mexico, where they will stay in a beautiful "mitad" duplex condo with Kahn's brother and family. Neither Minh nor Peggy knows the meaning of the word "mitad," and it is soon forgotten. A short time later, Kahn learns that his brother has backed out of the vacation, leaving him to pay the entire rent for the condo. He offers the Hills the opportunity to join his family on the trip. Peggy talks Hank into going along, as she is especially anxious to replace a paper mâché pear she purchased as an exchange student. Kahn arrives at the condo first. The manager of the resort, Jacinto, shows Kahn around the unit. Jacinto explains that "mitad" means half--meaning Kahn must share the downstairs portion with Hank. Thinking quickly, Kahn tells Hank that the luxurious upstairs condo is for the Hill family. The next morning, Peggy, Luanne, and Minh tour a Mexican marketplace in search of papier-mache pears and illegal beauty secret supplies. Meanwhile, Connie and Bobby notice a curio shop that sells fireworks. They purchase a giant firecracker labeled "La Bomba," not realizing that it is only a promotional display mockup, then light it and slip it inside the sign of an Italian fast-food restaurant. Taking cover behind a metal dumpster, the pair expectantly wait for an explosion that never comes.
Meanwhile, Peggy and Minh find a vendor who sells Peggy a papier-mache pear. The vendor hands Peggy a nicely wrapped box and asks her to deliver it to a friend just across the border. Peggy takes the package, but moments later, Minh fears she has been tricked into transporting drugs.
Dale shows up at the condo unannounced, luggage in hand. Jacinto walks by and notices the Hills living inside the upstairs unit. A few moments later, the police arrive. Peggy, Bobby, and Luanne panic, believing they are about to be arrested. Hank tells the police his family has nothing to hide... but their actions hint otherwise. Hank, Dale, and Kahn are brought before a magistrate, who orders them to pay Jacinto 10,000 pesos (the payment was originally 8,000 pesos). Their identification is confiscated and will only be returned when the money is paid. Believing the border guards will let them back into the U.S. because they are Caucasian, Hank and Dale decide to head towards the checkpoint with the Asian Kahn confined to the trunk. But the threesome panics at the border crossing and runs off. They trade their belongings for mopeds and make their way to the Rio Grande. After crossing the river with a group of illegal aliens, the men are spotted by border police. Dale jumps the border fence and runs. Kahn also clears the fence, but Hank cannot do so unaided. Kahn extends his hand and yanks him up and over. Kahn later muses how he, an immigrant, helped smuggle an American into the United States.
The end credits run over a shot of the fake La Bomba firecracker, still tucked into the Italian restaurant sign.
Characters[]
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Luanne Platter
- Dale Gribble
- Joseph Gribble
- Jeff Boomhauer
- Bill Dauterive
- Kahn Souphanousinphone
- Minh Souphanousinphone
- Connie Souphanousinphone
- Monsignor Martinez
- Magistrate
- Jacinto
- Kahn's unnamed brother (either Tid Pao's father or Kahn's nephew's father) (mentioned)
Trivia[]
- The episode name is a play on the phrase "Three Days of the Condor."
- The intro is slightly altered in this episode, with the opening notes of the theme song replaced with Mexican guitar strums.
- When Dale tells Hank of the conditions of a Mexican prison, which they believe they will both soon be going to if they are caught leaving Mexico after being convicted, Hank reveals that he suffers from Paruresis, also known as Shy Bladder Syndrome.
Quotes[]
Bobby: "This tastes like turtles."
Goofs[]
- In this episode, La Leche del Sol beauty cream is illegal in the United States. However, in "The Trouble with Gribbles," Luanne gives the cream to Nancy. The ban could have been lifted or the company could have made an American version of the cream.
- Speeding up while another car attempts to pass on the left, as Peggy does on her way to Mexico, is against Texas law.
- Peggy claims to be fluent in Spanish (most likely from when she was an exchange student in Oaxaca), yet does not know or recognize what "mitad" means and thinks Hank saying "Buenos días" means "good gods" instead of "good day" or "good morning".
- A firecracker the size of La Bomba would most likely blow the entire front of that building to pieces.
- A border patrol agent tells Hank to pull his car to the side of the road. However, Peggy is the one driving.