Halloween, the one time of year when you could actually find Hank Hill in a good mood and having fun, except of course for the annual Strickland Propane company picnics, but Halloween was definitely his favorite time of the year, and since Bobby was fast approaching his teenage years, he feared this may be the last real, old fashioned Halloween he could have with his boy. Unfortunately for Hank, this was the year when Halloween almost wasn't, because some high-horse riding hag tried to take it away. It all began one evening, three days before Halloween, Hank, Bill, Dale, and Boomhauer were preparing a haunted house set up for the school and remembering when they went trick-or-treating as kids, getting some big-ass candy bars and vandalizing their own mailboxes. Good times. However, it seems modern day Halloween has lost its edge, as Hank notices at the Mega-Lo-Mart. Instead of vampire, monster and ghost costumes, all he sees are Elmo, Aladdin, and Jenny McCarthy. Candy's gone soft too as he notices Peggy buying sugar-free, low-fat funbars, which he declares are for diabetics and not trick-or-treaters. Yeah, it seems some organizations have started an unofficial war on Halloween in middle America, and one such individual who seems to be leading the charge is Miss Junie Harper, a firebrand spinster who modern-day audiences would refer to as a Karen. Luanne was in attendance at her local church when Miss Harper came to spout her rhetoric on how Halloween is the devil's holiday, even going so far as to say the Druids celebrated by eating babies and dancing by the light of their Jack-o-Lanterns. What kind of a dummy would fall for this load of nonsense? I would say Luanne, as she was invested in what Harper was saying, but she isn't dumb. Know why? Miss Harper said she was smart, and that's enough to convince her. She tells Hank and Peggy that Halloween was invented by the "Druish" (insert "funny, she doesn't look Druish" from Spaceballs here). However, Hank tells her she's full of it and dismisses her claims, saying Halloween has nothing to do with the Devil... aside from Hank's Devil costume he passed down to Bobby, but he's right, Halloween is just a day for having fun. But since she's convinced she's a genius, Luanne returns to Miss Harper, who decides to take her crusade a step further when she lets it slip about Hank's haunted house for the school. So she goes down there next day, looking over Hank's work and threatens legal action, citing a separation between church and state. Hank stood firm, saying he's not changing anything, but as we all know, Principal Moss is a spineless, gutless, wimpy pushover who sides with Harper, fearing a lawsuit. As a result, Hank and the guys gathered up all their props and headed home. All may not be lost, as Peggy makes a helpful suggestion for once: have the haunted house in the garage.
To get in the proper Halloween spirit, Hank took Bobby out that night for some good, old fashioned pranking, which involves eggs and toilet paper. Their intended target was Dale's house, but then they see Junie Harper at her place, and Hank remembers an old Bible quote: "do unto others." So they chuck their wares at her house, until a foul hits and destroys her birdhouse. The Hills take off as Junie jumps in her car to give chase, running over her cat in the process. They try to jump a fence, but because Bobby is slow and fat, he's immediately recognized. They ditch the evidence by throwing it in Dale's yard, scaring him half to death. Well, Hank may have thought this escapade was fun, but Bobby is starting to have doubts. Maybe what Luanne and Harper was saying was starting to make sense to him, which isn't a good sign, as he'll be very gullible to whatever they say to him next. As for the aforementioned witch of Arlen, she brings her dead cat to show the city council, claiming the Devil did it. As a result, they passed a curfew, effectively banning Halloween in Arlen. It was very quiet the night of the 31st, with nobody visiting "Hank's Hell's Haunted House." Huh, so that would make him King of the Hell? Not sure if that's a good thing for not. As for Junie Harper, she set up a Hallelujah House at her place, inviting as many gullible fools as she can. Bible-thumpers like her who go "hell this, hell that" all the time really give religion a bad name. She already ensnared Luanne with her rhetoric, and now it looks like she's about to get her sanctimonious claws on Bobby, who is now convinced his father is a Satanist and asked Luanne to take him to her. Oh, when Peggy found out, she was really angry that Luanne tried to think she knew best for Bobby. She's rightfully put in per place by her aunt, who says she and Hank know best, as they get a magazine about it. When Hank heard what happened, he came very close to spitting out beer. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. They took his haunted house, they took his holiday, but they will not take his boy! So after squeezing himself into his old devil costume, Hank marches down the street, chanting "trick or treat." Eventually, he's joined by Boomhauer the mime, Bill the ghost/toga, and Dale the Washington lobbyist, even Luanne had a change of heart and joins them as a lady devil. The protest worked, as soon they were joined by the rest of their neighbors in homemade costumes. They march over to Junie Harper's, just as Bobby was signing his life away. Hank pours his heart out to his son, literally, a fake rubber heart. He tells Bobby that Halloween is no fun without him, then the boy makes the right choice and chooses his old man, despite Harper's threats of going to Hell. The rest of Hallelujah House decide to forego Junie Harper's BS and joins the Hills and the rest of Rainey Street trick-or-treating, with her yelling, "fine, more room in Heaven for me." Yeah, we'll see about that, as apparently she overlooked a few things: Honor thy father and thy mother, which is what Bobby ultimately chose, and also it would stun her to realize that Halloween is the Eve of All Saints. It's no more of a Pagan holiday than Christmas, so get off your high-horse, you silly, silly woman.
So ends Hilloween, one of King of the Hill's best episodes, and one of my personal favorites. This was a great series that I wish I had given a better chance to when it was on. I used to watch it religiously, then I stopped around the time it got canceled. Looking back now, I think it's one of the best shows Fox ever aired, if not one of the best animated sitcoms of all time. I'm very glad to hear that a revival is in the works and will hopefully be out next year. As for "Hilloween", the writing, animation, and voicework are all great. That's Sally Field doing the voice of Junie Harper, who we thankfully never see again. I guess she decided to move out of Arlen and more than likely settled in Utah. Sorry to say but Junie Harpers exist everywhere, especially in the south, including Texas. There's a methodist church on almost every street, and Bible-thumpers like Junie reside within. Now adays, people like Junie spearheaded cancel culture and try to block out anyone whom they disagree with. But enough about her, this Halloween, let's journey back to Arlen, Texas and see how our old friends are celebrating the holiday. They're still there, just as you remember them. This one's really got it where it counts, I tell you what. And finally, I wish to dedicate this review to Johnny Hardwick, thanks for giving Dale a voice and helping to shape King of the Hill into what it became. Have a good rest, Mr. Shackelford.
To get in the proper Halloween spirit, Hank took Bobby out that night for some good, old fashioned pranking, which involves eggs and toilet paper. Their intended target was Dale's house, but then they see Junie Harper at her place, and Hank remembers an old Bible quote: "do unto others." So they chuck their wares at her house, until a foul hits and destroys her birdhouse. The Hills take off as Junie jumps in her car to give chase, running over her cat in the process. They try to jump a fence, but because Bobby is slow and fat, he's immediately recognized. They ditch the evidence by throwing it in Dale's yard, scaring him half to death. Well, Hank may have thought this escapade was fun, but Bobby is starting to have doubts. Maybe what Luanne and Harper was saying was starting to make sense to him, which isn't a good sign, as he'll be very gullible to whatever they say to him next. As for the aforementioned witch of Arlen, she brings her dead cat to show the city council, claiming the Devil did it. As a result, they passed a curfew, effectively banning Halloween in Arlen. It was very quiet the night of the 31st, with nobody visiting "Hank's Hell's Haunted House." Huh, so that would make him King of the Hell? Not sure if that's a good thing for not. As for Junie Harper, she set up a Hallelujah House at her place, inviting as many gullible fools as she can. Bible-thumpers like her who go "hell this, hell that" all the time really give religion a bad name. She already ensnared Luanne with her rhetoric, and now it looks like she's about to get her sanctimonious claws on Bobby, who is now convinced his father is a Satanist and asked Luanne to take him to her. Oh, when Peggy found out, she was really angry that Luanne tried to think she knew best for Bobby. She's rightfully put in per place by her aunt, who says she and Hank know best, as they get a magazine about it. When Hank heard what happened, he came very close to spitting out beer. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. They took his haunted house, they took his holiday, but they will not take his boy! So after squeezing himself into his old devil costume, Hank marches down the street, chanting "trick or treat." Eventually, he's joined by Boomhauer the mime, Bill the ghost/toga, and Dale the Washington lobbyist, even Luanne had a change of heart and joins them as a lady devil. The protest worked, as soon they were joined by the rest of their neighbors in homemade costumes. They march over to Junie Harper's, just as Bobby was signing his life away. Hank pours his heart out to his son, literally, a fake rubber heart. He tells Bobby that Halloween is no fun without him, then the boy makes the right choice and chooses his old man, despite Harper's threats of going to Hell. The rest of Hallelujah House decide to forego Junie Harper's BS and joins the Hills and the rest of Rainey Street trick-or-treating, with her yelling, "fine, more room in Heaven for me." Yeah, we'll see about that, as apparently she overlooked a few things: Honor thy father and thy mother, which is what Bobby ultimately chose, and also it would stun her to realize that Halloween is the Eve of All Saints. It's no more of a Pagan holiday than Christmas, so get off your high-horse, you silly, silly woman.
So ends Hilloween, one of King of the Hill's best episodes, and one of my personal favorites. This was a great series that I wish I had given a better chance to when it was on. I used to watch it religiously, then I stopped around the time it got canceled. Looking back now, I think it's one of the best shows Fox ever aired, if not one of the best animated sitcoms of all time. I'm very glad to hear that a revival is in the works and will hopefully be out next year. As for "Hilloween", the writing, animation, and voicework are all great. That's Sally Field doing the voice of Junie Harper, who we thankfully never see again. I guess she decided to move out of Arlen and more than likely settled in Utah. Sorry to say but Junie Harpers exist everywhere, especially in the south, including Texas. There's a methodist church on almost every street, and Bible-thumpers like Junie reside within. Now adays, people like Junie spearheaded cancel culture and try to block out anyone whom they disagree with. But enough about her, this Halloween, let's journey back to Arlen, Texas and see how our old friends are celebrating the holiday. They're still there, just as you remember them. This one's really got it where it counts, I tell you what. And finally, I wish to dedicate this review to Johnny Hardwick, thanks for giving Dale a voice and helping to shape King of the Hill into what it became. Have a good rest, Mr. Shackelford.