"To Sirloin With Love" is the 24th episode of Season 13, and also marketed as the Season 13 finale and was the then-series finale, though it wasn't the final episode by airdate, overall being the 259th episode of the series. It was written by Jim Dauterive, Tony Gama-Lobo, Rebecca May and Christy Stratton, and directed by Kyounghee Lim.
Summary[]
Hank discovers Bobby's talent for distinguishing the quality of beef cuts and puts him on the meat inspection team at Heimlich County Community College, but Bobby's confidence begins to slip when he makes a minor mistake during the semi-finals and his teammates chide him for it.
Plot[]
Hank finds himself left alone with Bobby when Peggy decides to spend an evening with the other women of the neighborhood. The two have an uneasy dinner at a steakhouse, until Bobby tells a waiter that the steaks he served him and Hank are not high quality, going over the different flaws in the bone and meat. Hank, initially embarrassed that Bobby would critique a man's steak, becomes impressed when the head coach of the Heimlich County Community College meat inspection team tells Hank that Bobby has the kind of talent he needs to take his team to the finals. Bobby asks Hank if he can join, and Hank accepts, adding that he's been waiting 13 years for Bobby to join a team. Driven by his talents (brought on by Hank teaching Bobby about cows and cuts of meat ever since he was a baby), the team performs well until the final event of the regional competition. Bobby represents HCJC, confident that he can deliver a victory, but makes a crucial mistake that results in a fourth-place finish. Though the team has qualified at the statewide level, Bobby's teammates lose all their confidence in him.
At dinner the night before State, Bobby discovers that the rest of the team does not share his passion for meat and will do anything to win, even assaulting rival squads if necessary. He decides to quit, but Hank insists on riding to State with the team as well. Suddenly, the bus is hijacked by supporters of Texas A&F, HCJC's nemesis, are stranded in a creek and are forced to surrender their cellphones at taser-point. At home, Peggy, Enrique, and Joe Jack bring out a small propane grill meant as a surprise present for Bobby after the state finals, so that he and Hank can grill together. Seeing the grill inspires Bobby to rejoin the team, but when Peggy drives him there, they learn of the others' absence and Bobby has to represent HCJC by himself.
Dale, Bill, and Boomhauer find the stranded bus, having followed it from Arlen, and give Hank and the team a ride to State. On the way, Hank realizes that Bobby was right about the others and berates them sharply for giving up on him so easily. Peggy calls Boomhauer to find out what is going on, having first tried to call Hank, whose cell phone was taken during the hijacking; by the time the team arrives, Bobby has reached the final event and is about to face off against Texas A&F. His teammates push him to the sidelines, but a pep talk from Hank gives him the confidence to stand up to them. Despite his teammates' verbal lack of faith in him, Bobby correctly identifies a miniscule flaw in a side of beef that all the others had missed, winning the championship for HCJC.
Afterward, Hank and Bobby fire up their grills, having finally found a common interest, and attract a yard full of happy, hungry neighbors ready for a cookout. Kahn tells Connie to take the night off from studying; Dale has figured out how to relieve Nancy's headaches on his own, Lucky and Luanne scoop up Gracie and head for the Hills'; and Boomhauer hurries over, leaving his wallet behind - which flips open to reveal a Texas Ranger badge.
The episode (and, by proxy, the series [at least until 2025]) ends with Bobby lamenting that they're down to the last steak on the grill, but Hank reassures Bobby that he'll be cooking more steaks in the years to come, even if no one else sees him do it. Bobby exclaims that this makes him just like Hank, and the two happily exchange a 'yup.'
Characters[]
- Bobby Hill
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Dale Gribble
- Jeff Boomhauer
- Bill Dauterive
- Luanne Kleinschmidt
- Lucky Kleinschmidt
- Gracie Kleinschmidt
- Kahn Souphanousinphone
- Minh Souphanousinphone
- Connie Souphanousinphone
- Nancy Gribble
- Professor Roger Stiles
- HCJC's Meat Examination Team – Njorl, Lucy, Ron and one unnamed student
- Texas A&F's Meat Examination Team
- Enrique (cameo)
- Joe Jack (cameo)
- Joseph Gribble (cameo)
- John Redcorn (mentioned)
Stinger Quote[]
- Hank, Bill, Dale, and Boomhauer: "Yup, yup, yup, ummmmhummm."
Trivia[]
- The episode title is a reference to the 1967 film To Sir, with Love, which was also referenced in To Spank, with Love from Season 3.
- In "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Clown", Luanne points out that Bobby can take the clown class at Heimlich County Community College because "you don't have to be college years." That same loophole allows Bobby to compete on the meat examination team.
- During the ending montage, Boomhauer puts his open wallet on his dresser. Inside is a law enforcement badge, branch Texas Ranger. Mike Judge, creator of the show, explains that Boomhauer's job is never known during the series, so he wanted to reveal it in the last episode.[citation needed] In contrast to this episode showing the only definite indication of his career, Pretty, Pretty Dresses implies that Boomhauer was once an electrician who was put on workman's comp due to an unspecified injury, while Three Coaches and a Bobby reveals that Boomhauer has never had a job because his parents won the lottery and gave their share of it to Boomhauer as part of a trust fund.
- A deleted scene shows that Bill found a woman to spend his days with and finally got over Lenore.
- The only character not seen is John Redcorn, though he is mentioned by Dale when he relieves Nancy's headache.
- Texas A&F is a parody of real-life Texas A&M University, based in College Station, Texas.
- The last minute of the episode shows a camera pan up out of Arlen, much like the pan down in into Arlen from the first episode "Pilot".
- Luanne and Lucky are barefoot during their final appearances, leaving their house without even putting on shoes at Lucky's insistence when the scent of the meat cooking at Hank's backyard draws them out. "Well shoot, don't even bother with shoes! Grab Gracie and let's go!"
- The then-final lines of the series, where Hank mentions he waited 13 years for Bobby to gain an interest in outdoor cooking, can be interpreted as an offhand nod that the show itself ran for 13 seasons. Bobby also noting that the steak he's cooking is the last one refers to this episode being the then-final one of the series.
- The meat evaluation tournament is held at Laron's Meat Products Plant. This is referencing Trip Larsen, the man who inherited the Larsen's Pork Products plant from his father. He was a very wealthy and successful businessman who was featured in the episode "Pigmalion", which was centered around him.
- When the neighbors come over, everyone is shown beforehand to smell the cookout and come over, except for Bill - who just appears in the crowd walking in.
- This episode is:
- The last episode to be produced during the lifetimes of Brittany Murphy, Tom Petty, Johnny Hardwick and Jonathan Joss', as they passed away in 2009 (three months after this episode aired), 2017, 2023 and 2025, respectively. It is also the final episode to air during Murphy's, Petty's, and Joss' lifetime, with the next episode airing in dedication of Murphy's memory and the Season 14 finale airing in dedication of Joss's memory.
- The final episode where Breckin Meyer and Toby Huss voice Joseph and Kahn respectively.
- The final episode to be released before 21st Century FOX's buyout by The Walt Disney Company.
- The last episode to be animated by Film Roman, Inc. before shutting down in 2018.
- The final episode in both production order and airdate to air in the 2000s.
Quotes[]
Hank: "You're leaving us alone? But you're a good buffer when things get awkward."
Bobby: "What's a meat examination team?" Hank: "It's like debate team, but instead of doing something useless, they compete by judging cut and quality of meat."
Peggy: "Between this trophy and your certificate for attendance at Vacation Bible School, I am one proud mother"
Hank: "If I had a nickel for every time I buckled under pressure, I would have five nickels"
Hank: "A boy who has a unicorn ranch in his bedroom shouldn't call other people weird. That's right; we know about Rancho Unicornio"
Hank: "What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit but more powerful"
Dale: "Well I may not have John Redcorn's magic touch, but I do know a lot about the female body on account I once saw a possum get ripped apart."
Reception[]
In its original American broadcast "To Sirloin with Love" was viewed by an estimated 6.11 million households and received a 2.9 rating/8% share in the 18-49 demographic.[citation needed]
Gallery[]
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