From the moment King of the Hill dropped its opening credits as a teaser for the long-awaited Season 14, my heart quickened. The theme song roared in with images of Arlen residents like Bill, Dale, Boomhauer, and the Hills: Hank, Peggy, and Bobby, all behind the fence of the eponymous family's home. It was like no time had passed, but even in a cartoon series where characters can remain the same age for season after season, time has passed.
Season 14 of King of the Hill picks up with Hank and Peggy being retirees who have returned from their time in Saudi Arabia to Arlen, Texas, and Bobby Hill, now a 21-year-old chef who skipped college to begin his own restaurant. Episode 3 of the new season from creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels digs into Bobby's business specifically. And I was not prepared for how emotionally invested I was in seeing Bobby (voiced by Pamela Adlon) turn out okay.
"Bobby Gets Grilled" proves the biggest test for the fan-favorite character yet. And that brought me levels of stress I haven't felt since the real-time episode of The Bear, Season 1, "The Review."
What happens in "Bobby Gets Grilled?"
It's a big day for Bobby Hill. Now living in Dallas, he's the head chef and co-owner of Robata Chane, "a traditional Japanese barbeque with a fusion of flavors and techniques of the German traditions of the Texas hill country." But despite a staff that is dedicated to his vision, problems abound. Nearly out of the Binchotan charcoal they need to grill, Bobby must source some immediately, or Robata Chane will have to shut down. And the could-be new supplier, Mr. Yoshida, refuses to sell to Bobby, because he sees this white man as a cultural appropriator.
Yoshida flyers the district, calling out this perceived transgression, which draws the ire of three German-Americans who are bothered that Bobby's not as "pure" in his German heritage as they'd like. ("Really? You're going there?" Bobby responds with surprise.) And that's not all. Bobby's investors, the smug father-and-son duo of Ted and Chane Wassanasong, are waffling on their commitment to backing Bobby's vision. And still, there's more.
Charcoal. Bobby Hill, son of proud propane (and propane accessories) salesman Hank Hill, is using charcoal and not propane in his restaurant. When Peggy and Hank come to visit Bobby's restaurant for the first time, Hank is utterly shattered to learn this bit of grilling information. So, what's Bobby to do?
A last supper. With the encouragement of his new friend and sous chef Emilio, Bobby prepares a possible last supper, serving his fusion food his way to all who doubt him: The Germans, Mr. Yoshida, the Chanes, the Hills, and the Gribbles (who came along for the ride).
It's a setup reminiscent of the impeccable indie Big Night, which came years before The Bear brought the stresses of running a restaurant to streaming. I realized as I watched, my muscles tensed, tighter and tighter, my fear for Bobby pulling me into a full-body clench. And as Bobby laid down his grilled kebabs of yuzu-wurst stuffed with rice and pickled daikon, I gasped. My eyes rimmed with tears, ready to weep with agony if he failed and joy if he thrived.
And Bobby Hill thrives.
Bobby Hill is no Carmen Berzatto.
"That boy ain't right" was a catchphrase from the original run of King of the Hill, coined by Hank to sum up how he couldn't make sense of his artistic young son. Where Hank grew up stewing in the toxic masculinity of war stories, womanizing, and football that was his father Cotton's worldview, Bobby shrugged off such trappings, perhaps in no small part because of the influence of his mother Peggy Hill, who is similarly a confident and creative oddball.
Whether it was prop comedy, dancing with dogs, or playing video games, Bobby's interests were generally met with initial dismay from Hank. But despite his bristling, Hank loved Bobby, and showed it in the ways his own stymied emotional awareness would allow. In "Bobby Gets Grilled," Bobby reflects on his own awareness of how he often disappointed his dad, explaining to Emilio, "My dad loves four things in life: America, my mom, me, and propane. And when I was a kid, depending on the week, propane would be above me on the list."
It's a moment that's funny, but also achingly true. Bobby and Hank love each other, but also have a big gap in how they see the world. For Hank, he worried that Bobby's creativity and softness would be a disadvantage. Because in every flashback, Cotton Hill bullied Hank into the idea that sensitivity was a weakness a man could not afford. So Hank's critiques of Bobby came not from a place of disgust, but of concern and confusion. And in "Bobby Gets Grilled," we get to witness Hank finally get it. Bobby being Bobby is how he wins.
Addressing his diners before the last supper, Bobby says, "Before we serve it, let me make something perfectly clear. This is not authentic Japanese or German food. It's authentic Bobby food. It's important that I'm authentic to myself."
Then, he lets his food speak for him. With his thoughtful attention to detail and taste, he wins over all who doubt him, one by one — even his dad. "Everyone loves the food," Hank tells Bobby, as his son stands over the charcoal grill, "And that includes me." Hank even leads a toast to Chef Bobby.
Bobby Hill is a hero to small-town weirdos, who dreamed of something else.
For 13 seasons of the original run of King of the Hill, Bobby became a representative for kids who didn't fit the mold of their small town's ideals. Being a dog-dancer in a football town isn't easy. But Bobby gave a vision of confidence that gave us a path to follow and encouragement to stick to it. Sometimes, he even led that path for his parents.
In Season 4, episode 23, "Transnational Amusements Presents: Peggy's Magic Sex Feet," Peggy feels down on herself because a devious foot doctor has exploited her "ugly feet." Bobby finds her talking negatively about herself, calling herself stupid for loving her body as it is. Bobby offers a speech that's been shared around the internet ever since this episode aired in 2000.
“I'm fat. But big deal. I don't feel bad about it. You never made me feel bad about it, and just because there are some people in the world who want me to feel bad about it, doesn't mean I have to. So Bobby Hill's fat. Eh. He's also funny, nice. He's got a lot of friends, a girlfriend, and if you don't mind, I think I'll go outside and squirt her with water. What are you gonna do?”
Bobby dared to love himself, even when he was mocked or misunderstood. He was true to himself as a watergun-toting 11-year-old and now as an embattled 21-year-old. He stuck to his metaphorical guns and showed the world his heart, his truth, and his food. Season 14 of King of the Hill will throw other curveballs of adulthood his way, specifically in terms of romance. But here, in this moment, Bobby Hill proves a role model again.
For every creative kid who made their parents scratch their heads, for every small-town oddball who'd found their community in a big city, for every fat kid who dared to love themselves, or a goofball who did good, Bobby has been an inspiration. And seeing him get grilled and come out on top meant not only that King of the Hill is back and as good as ever, but also that Bobby Hill is still a hero for us weirdos.
