"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.
Synopsis
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 papier mache 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, comedy-sized firecracker labeled "La Bomba." Believing it to be real, the children slip the firecracker inside the sign of an Italian fast-food restaurant. Expecting a huge explosion, the pair take cover behind a metal dumpster.
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 panic at the border crossing and run 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.
Characters
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Luanne Platter
- Dale Gribble
- Joseph Gribble
- Jeff Boomhauer
- Bill Dauterive
- Kahn Souphanousinphone
- Minh Souphanousinphone
- Connie Souphanousinphone
- Magistrate (cameo)
- Jacinto (cameo)
Trivia
- In this episode, La Leche del Sol (Translation: "Milk of the Sun"), is illegal in the United States. When the police come to their door near the end, everyone eliminates their contraband items by flushing them down the toilet. However, in episode 102, "The Trouble with Gribbles", Luanne gives the cream to Nancy.
- Speeding up while another car attempts to pass on the left, like Peggy does on her way to Mexico, is against Texas law.
- It is unknown if the Hotel manager got the money the judge ordered Hank to pay or if some thing else was worked out.
- The episode name is a play on the phrase "Three days of the Condor".
- The word "Kahndo" is also a play on "Kahn" and "Condo"
- A firecracker the size of La Bomba would most likely blow the entire front of that building to pieces.
- Once Hank is convinced to go to Mexico he remarks "I guess it's buenos dias Mexico," which causes Peggy to chuckle and say "Hank you just said good God's in Spanish." This is actually incorrect. Good Gods in Spanish translates to Buenos dioses. However Peggy is shown often throughout the series to have a limited understanding of Spanish even though she proclaims herself to be fluent.
- A border patrol agent tells Hank to pull his car to the side of the road. However Peggy is the one driving.
- 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
Goofs
- In the scene where the Hills are at their room at night Peggy is shown to have white socks with her shoes.
- The mopeds used for the escape are loosely modeled after Puch Maxi mopeds, however when hank goes to start the moped back up, he kicks the pedals backwards as if it were a Tomos moped, instead of forwards like on a puch.