[7.5/10] I like this one a lot as an exploration of Hank and Cotton’s...shall we say...tumultuous relationship, There’s a good parallel between how Hank has transferred his warm paternal feelings to Buck, especially when Cotton returns every effort at kindness or decency from Hank with a dismissal and an insult. And yet, Cotton is hurt that Hank likes and even loves Buck more than him. It’s striking, particularly, as Peggy puts it, because jealousy is a human emotion.
There’s a lot of good material there, particularly with Hank, who’s so emotionally stunted and starved for paternal appreciation, unwittingly spitting out an “I love you” when Mr. Strickland promotes him to manager. It leads to a nice echo when, prompted by Peggy to express his feelings for his father, Hank tells Cotton “I hate you” in no uncertain terms.
Despite the ostensible heaviness of that, there’s a lot of funny material in this episode. Hank and company building a Habitat for Humanity house for a local couple leads to the kind of antics you’d expect. Peggy and Bobby trying to get Hank the perfect Xmas present and deciding on rebuilding his relationship with Cotton leads to lots of laughs. Plus, not for nothing, this is a great Cotton episode. My wife and I still use his angry “JOY!” delivery to this day, and get a kick out of Jimmy Carter’s bewildered “hated a baby?!” reaction to his pronouncements.
Speaking of which, it’s a big swing to bring a former President into your story, but making Jimmy Carter a fixture of this one works surprisingly well. Maybe it’s just that they already set up the Habitat for Humanity deal. But it’s a solid tack to position him as a negotiator finding common ground between warring parties a la Egypt and Israel, with a family dispute only slightly less challenging.
His approach to a reconciliation with Hank and Cotton, which ends on a note of mutually-assured non-destruction and a shared love of firing nail guns is surprisingly sweet. And Bobby mistaking him for Jesus is a little absurd, but works under the circumstances. All-in-all, this is a great holiday episode from King of the Hill and an essential one for understanding Hank’s relationship with his dad.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-12-09T05:47:31Z
[7.5/10] I like this one a lot as an exploration of Hank and Cotton’s...shall we say...tumultuous relationship, There’s a good parallel between how Hank has transferred his warm paternal feelings to Buck, especially when Cotton returns every effort at kindness or decency from Hank with a dismissal and an insult. And yet, Cotton is hurt that Hank likes and even loves Buck more than him. It’s striking, particularly, as Peggy puts it, because jealousy is a human emotion.
There’s a lot of good material there, particularly with Hank, who’s so emotionally stunted and starved for paternal appreciation, unwittingly spitting out an “I love you” when Mr. Strickland promotes him to manager. It leads to a nice echo when, prompted by Peggy to express his feelings for his father, Hank tells Cotton “I hate you” in no uncertain terms.
Despite the ostensible heaviness of that, there’s a lot of funny material in this episode. Hank and company building a Habitat for Humanity house for a local couple leads to the kind of antics you’d expect. Peggy and Bobby trying to get Hank the perfect Xmas present and deciding on rebuilding his relationship with Cotton leads to lots of laughs. Plus, not for nothing, this is a great Cotton episode. My wife and I still use his angry “JOY!” delivery to this day, and get a kick out of Jimmy Carter’s bewildered “hated a baby?!” reaction to his pronouncements.
Speaking of which, it’s a big swing to bring a former President into your story, but making Jimmy Carter a fixture of this one works surprisingly well. Maybe it’s just that they already set up the Habitat for Humanity deal. But it’s a solid tack to position him as a negotiator finding common ground between warring parties a la Egypt and Israel, with a family dispute only slightly less challenging.
His approach to a reconciliation with Hank and Cotton, which ends on a note of mutually-assured non-destruction and a shared love of firing nail guns is surprisingly sweet. And Bobby mistaking him for Jesus is a little absurd, but works under the circumstances. All-in-all, this is a great holiday episode from King of the Hill and an essential one for understanding Hank’s relationship with his dad.