"Westie Side Story" is the 7th episode of the first season of King of the Hill.
Summary[]
When a new Laotian family moves in next door, problems ensue when the new neighbor's family dog goes missing and the Hills fear that the stereotype about Asians eating dogs is true.
Plot[]
A large moving van pulls into the driveway of a home next door to the Hill residence. A strapping, all-American father and his teenage son hop out of the vehicle, drawing words of approval from Hank and his friends. But the man explains he was hired to move the belongings of another family, and points to a minivan as it pulls into the driveway. When a Laotian family, the Souphanousinphones, steps out, Hank's jaw drops in disbelief. Telling his buddies that "a neighbor's a neighbor," Hank walks next door and introduces himself. He meets Kahn Souphanousinphone, his wife, Minh, and their daughter, Connie. Kahn explains that he and his family moved from Laos to California, where they lived for twenty years. Peggy invites the family to her home for dinner. For dessert, Peggy serves up her Brown Betty, the recipe for which is a closely guarded family secret. As the Souphanousinphones leave the house, Minh makes a remark regarding Peggy's large feet. The next day, Hank discovers his dog, Ladybird, being mounted by Kahn's West Highland Terrier, Doggie. Hank tells Kahn his dog should be "breeding with her own kind," prompting Kahn to call Hank a "narrow-minded redneck."
Minh apologizes to Peggy for getting off to a bad start during dinner. She invites the Hills to join her family for a barbecue. Peggy accepts the offer. During the meal, Minh serves up Peggy's Brown Betty with an added dash of nutmeg. Peggy is furious that Minh was able to figure out the recipe. Meanwhile, Bobby and Connie give chase when Doggie runs off into the neighborhood. Relations between Hank and Kahn thaw the moment Hank takes a bite of Kahn's barbecued hamburger. Hank calls it "the best damn burger I ever ate." Dale, however, abstains from tasting the burger, noting the dog's empty leash lying on the ground.
Refusing to believe his neighbors would cook dog, Hank does some investigating on his own. After overhearing, and misconstruing, a conversation between Minh and the dog pound, Hank concludes the burger was made of Doggie. Meanwhile, Bobby and Connie unleash Ladybird, hoping she will lead them to the missing Doggie. When Hank discovers Ladybird's leash swinging in the breeze, he mistakenly concludes that his neighbors are using her to make hamburger. Hank bangs on the Souphanousinphones' front door, demanding the return of his dog. Kahn threatens Hank with a baseball bat, but before the argument escalates, the two children race to the home and explain that they are responsible for the missing pets. Angered, both men send their children to their respective rooms without dessert. Noting how they punish their offspring the same way, Hank and Kahn patch up their differences. The two dogs return, and Hank welcomes Khan to the neighborhood.
During the credits in the Hills kitchen, Peggy shows Minh three different dishes asking for ways on how to improve them only for Minh to insist only Nutmeg be added to the first two. The third dish is rabbit stew, which Minh finds disgusting.
Characters[]
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Luanne Platter
- Dale Gribble
- Joseph Gribble
- Jeff Boomhauer
- Bill Dauterive
- Kahn Souphanousinphone (debut)
- Minh Souphanousinphone (debut)
- Connie Souphanousinphone (debut)
- Maddy Platter (mentioned)
- Lady Bird
- Doggie (debut)
- Mover
- Partygoer
Trivia[]
- This episode is the first appearance of the Souphanousinphones.
- The name "Westie Side Story" is a reference to the 1961 film, West Side Story.
- This is the first episode to reference Peggy's upbringing in Montana.
- Despite getting mad at Peggy and Bobby for eating charcoal cooked hamburgers in "Hank and the Great Glass Elevator", Hank seems fine with Peggy, Bobby, and himself eating Kahn's charcoal cooked burgers.
- Peggy asks the Souphanousinphones to remove their shoes when they enter the house. Kahn asks if the Hills have recently shampooed their carpet, and in the next scene at the dinner table, they are seen to still be wearing their shoes whereas Peggy and Hank are not.
- Kahn's van is parked in front of the moving truck when they are introduced. The van pulling into the driveway is not shown.
- As Hank runs away after destroying Minh’s chrysanthemums, Minh shouts in relatively incoherent Lao, tha deiw nii (Lao: ຖ້າດຽວນີ້) meaning, “wait, immediately!”
Quotes[]
- Hank - "So are you Chinese or Japanese?"
- Kahn - "I live in California last twenty year, but first come from Laos."
- Hank - "Huh?"
- Kahn - "Laos. We Laotian."
- Bill - "The ocean? What ocean?"
- Kahn - "We are Laotian–from Laos, stupid! It's a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It's between Vietnam and Thailand, okay? Population: 4.7 million."
- Hank - "So are you Chinese or Japanese?"
- Kahn - [sighs]