The Best Peggy Hill Episodes from King of the Hill

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Judge, M & Daniels, G. (1997-2010). King of the Hill . Fox Broadcasting Company. Link to Image.

"Your mother is a Spanish dictionary."
Peggy Hill, "Lupe's Revenge", King of the Hill

Peggy Hill was one of the most memorable and polarising characters on the American animated sitcom King of the Hill. Voiced by Kathy Najimy from 1997 to 2010, Peggy was the matriarch of the Hill family, the wife of Hank Hill and a proud mother to her son Bobby and niece Luanne. Peggy has a high opinion of herself and a inflated sense of self-esteem. Her egotism is so inflated, she thinks she is fluent in Spanish, when she is not. She also has a habit of praising her own achievements and boasting about her intelligence.

There are many fans of King of the Hill who dislike Peggy because they think that she is a narcissist. I do agree that Peggy can be a narcissist sometimes. It is one of the things that I like most about her. I think that Peggy's arrogance makes her one of the most well-written and funniest characters on the show. She has a hilarious catch-phrase, always stands up for her beliefs, and tries her best to be a good wife and mother. In this article I will be reviewing some of her most memorable moments on King of the Hill.

1. Lupe's Revenge

Judge, M & Daniels, G. King of the Hill (1997-2010). “Lupe’s Revenge” (Video). Fox Broadcasting Company.
Link to YouTube.
Episode Details: Season 6, Episode 3
Air Date: 12 December 2001
Written by: Dean Young
Directed by: Allan Jacobsen
Best Quote:

"Your honour. I can tell you are a reasonable horse. I am very pregnant because of what happened with Lupe. She ate my bus accident and all I wanted was to make Lupe into a book. I have too many anuses ahead of me to spend my life in a cigar factory."

Peggy Hill, "Lupe's Revenge", King of the Hill

“Lupe’s Revenge” is one of my favourite Peggy Hill episodes. I think that the comedy writing in this episode is some of the best in the entire series for how it pokes fun at Peggy's superiority complex and poor understanding of Spanish. The episode begins with Peggy reacting with excitement when she scores a substitute teaching job leading a class on a field trip across the Texas border into Mexico.

While on the trip, Peggy boasts that she is so fluent in Spanish, she speaks it better than the locals. Her actual knowledge of the language is limited, but her high opinion of herself doesn't let her admit that. Her Spanish is so poor, she accidentally transports a local Mexican girl named Lupe back to Texas with the rest of the school group after mistaking her for one of her students. After Peggy realises her mistake, she takes Lupe back to Mexico, where she is promptly arrested for kidnapping. At her trial her lawyer makes her testify in Spanish hoping to prove that her Spanish is so poor she could never have instructed Lupe to get on the bus. The scene where Peggy tries to defend herself in Spanish is one of the funniest scenes in King of the Hill.

2. Bobby Goes Nuts

Judge, M & Daniels, G. King of the Hill (1997-2010). “Bobby Goes Nuts” (Video). Fox Broadcasting Company.
Link to YouTube.
Episode Details: Season 6, Episode 1
Written by: Norm Hiscock
Directed by: Tricia Garcia
Best Quote:

Peggy: "That's right Bobby. As you can see, I do not have testicles. Where's your secret weapon now?"
Kahn: "She's bluffing, finish her!"

Peggy Hill wrestling with Bobby, "Bobby Goes Nuts," King of the Hill

If I had to pick a second favourite King of the Hill character after Peggy Hill it would be Bobby Hill. The episode “Bobby Goes Nuts” has been described as one of the series funniest episodes in the entire series. After Bobby gets beaten up by bullies, Hank takes him to their local YMCA and instructs him to sign up to a class to learn how to defend himself. Instead of joining a boxing class, Bobby signs up to a women’s self-defence course instead, where he is taught to defend himself by kicking his aggressors in the groin.

When Bobby returns to school and is confronted by his bullies again, he decides to stand up to them. He balls his hands into fists and shouts “That’s my purse, I don’t know you!” and then kicks them in the groin. Bobby's catchphrase in the episode has become a popular meme online and is considered to be his most memorable quote. In a review of season six, Tal Blevins from IGN even went as far to call it 'One of the most memorable lines ever uttered on television.'

Bobby's fighting at school gets him into trouble with the principal and with his parents. Hank decides that he will teach Bobby how to box himself and how to fight fair. This outages Bobby because he doesn't think he did anything wrong kicking his bully in the crotch he was just defending himself. He gets so mad at his father he kicks him in the groin. This gets Bobby into even more trouble. The tension between father and son continues to build which leads to a confrontation on the front lawn between Bobby and both of his parents.

I really love how Peggy handles Bobby in this scene. She calls him out on his disrespect and then wrestles with him for the Gameboy. When Bobby retaliates by kicking her in the crotch, Peggy doesn’t even flinch which is impressive because getting kicked in the groin can cause women a lot of pain. The best part of the episode is when Peggy boasts to Bobby that she does not have testicles and her neighbour Kahn shouts “She’s bluffing, finish her!”

3. The Peggy Horror Picture Show

Judge, M & Daniels, G. King of the Hill (1997-2010). “The Peggy Horror Picture Show” (Video). Fox Broadcasting Company. Link to YouTube.
Episode Details: Season 11, Episode 7
Air Date: 28 January 2007
Written by: Christy Stratton
Directed by: Kyounghee Lim
Best Quote:

"Peggy, drag queens model themselves after strong, substantial, fearless women. Women who aren't afraid to wear purple gauchos and MC Hammer glasses. Women who only need one name to describe themselves, like Liza, Barber and Cher. You, my dear, are simply Peggy."

Carolyn, "The Peggy Horror Picture Show", King of the Hill

“The Peggy Horror Picture Show” begins with Peggy attending a clothing swap with her friends. Peggy is crestfallen when none of her friends want any of her clothes and nothing they have to offer fits her. Peggy decides to go shopping for new clothes to cheer herself up. She visits a store that specializes in plus-sized shoes for women and is delighted to discover that they have multiple different kinds in her size. While she is browsing the shelves, she meets Carolyn, a drag queen. Peggy isn’t aware that she is shopping in a store for drag queens and mistakes Carolyn for a woman.

The two of them become friends and start bonding over shopping, clothes, makeup and dance. Carolyn thinks Peggy is very confident and feminine and asks her for shopping, makeup and fashion tips. Peggy is delighted with her new gal pal and feels feminine for the first time in ages. When Carolyn figures out that Peggy is a woman and not a drag queen, she is distraught. She explains to Peggy that she is a drag queen and confesses that she thought Peggy was a man who looked like a woman. This devastates Peggy and ruins her self-esteem.

Feeling guilty, Carolyn encourages Peggy to bring a bag of her used clothes and come along with her to make some of her drag queen friends. Carolyn’s friends are delighted over Peggy’s clothes and want them for their acts. Peggy is not happy about this at first because a group of men who want her clothes doesn’t make her feel very feminine. Carolyn kindly corrects her that her friends are men who want to look like women and explains that they wouldn’t be interested in clothes if they didn’t think she was a fearless and confident woman worth modelling themselves after. I really love the moment that Carolyn and Peggy share at the end of this episode. Carolyn is a really good friend to Peggy who encourages her to be comfortable in her own skin and to embrace her own unique sense of style.

4. Death and Texas

Judge, M & Daniels, G. King of the Hill (1997-2010). “Death and Texas” (Video). Fox Broadcasting Company.
Link to YouTube.
Episode Details: Season 3, Episode 22
Air Date: 27 April 1999
Written by: John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky
Directed by: Wes Archer
Best Quote:

%%Wesley Archer: "How do you say "Peggy Hill is the smartest, most talented woman on earth" in Spanish?"
Peggy Hill: "Hm... well, that would be "Peggy Hill es bueno."%%

Peggy Hill and Wesley Archer, "Death and Texas", King of the Hill

In the episode “Death and Texas” a death row inmate named Wesley Archer reaches out to Peggy through a letter and tricks her into thinking he was a former student of hers. Peggy visits him in the prison and agrees to tutor him and teach him Boggle. Hank dislikes the idea of her visiting him in prison, but Peggy thinks she is doing something good. She returns to the prison to conduct lessons with Archer. He compliments on her teaching abilities which fuels her constant need for praise.

After one tutor session, Archer fools Peggy into thinking that the hourglass he was using for their Boogle games was emptied in a fight and encourages her to visit a friend to get more sand. Peggy agrees and visits a ramshackle house where a woman gives her some more timer sand. She brings it to Archer, who thanks her, but then asks her for more sand a few days later. Peggy returns to the house a few more times for more "sand" and brings it to the prison. Archer confesses to Peggy that he never had her as a teacher. He is almost forty years old. He only wrote to her because she was the only teacher in the Arlen yearbook gullible enough to respond. He only reached out because he wanted someone to smuggle cocaine into the prison for him which is what he was putting in the hourglass. Archer threatens to turn Peggy in to the guards unless she continues to smuggle cocaine and other items into the jail for him.

Peggy goes to Hank for help and the two of them go into the jail for a meeting with Archer and the Warden. Peggy is nervous and asks to see the evidence against her, but since Archer has licked the empty timer clean, there is none. This is a good episode that shows how strong the relationship is between Peggy and Hank. She is able to go to him for help and with his support is able to find the courage to stand up to Archer.

5.Death Picks Cotton

Judge, M & Daniels, G. King of the Hill (1997-2010). “Death Picks Cotton” (Video). Fox Broadcasting Company.
Link to YouTube.
Episode Details: Season 12, Episode 5
Air Date: 11 November 2007
Written by: Judah Miller and Murray Miller
Directed by: Tony Kluck
Best Quote:
"Enough! Your son has always loved you despite your constant torture. You want to die alone? Fine. You want to keep coming back and never die? That's fine too. In fact, I hope you do go on living forever as the unhappy person you are in the hell you have created here on this earth. I hope you live forever. I really do."

Peggy Hill to Cotton Hill, "Death Picks Cotton", King of the Hill

Peggy has never hidden the fact that she hates her father-in-law Cotton Hill. Colonel Cotton Hill was the father of Hank Hill, the grandfather of Bobby Hill and a U.S Army veteran who served in World War Two. Cotton fought in several battles in World War Two and was awarded the Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Silver Star, and American Campaign Medal. Cotton had his shins blown off by a machine gun when he was in Japan during the war and later had his feet re-attached to his shins. Cotton was very proud of his military record but had a habit of exaggerating his exploits, like his claim that he killed "fiddy" (fifty) men during the war.

Cotton was a violent, abusive, misogynistic, sexist and intolerant man, who was prone to violent outbursts and had a strained relationship with his son Hank and his wife Peggy. He was very open about his dislike of Peggy, who he never addressed by name, and referred to her only as "Hank's wife". Cotton was a terrible, abusive father to Hank, who mocked him, verbally abused him and terrified him as a child and as a grown man. Cotton hated himself for growing old and being a bad father to Hank, but struggled to find the words to say it. His only redeeming trait was his positive relationship with his grandson Bobby who he loves.

In the episode "Death Picks Cotton" Cotton suffers a war flash back and ends up in hospital on his death bed. Hank visits him in hospital and tries to say his goodbyes, but Cotton just taunts and mocks him. In the next scene, Peggy visits Cotton in the hospital, and tells him off for being a horrible father to Hank and for being a cruel, unhappy person. This is the scene that made me really respect Peggy. She has her flaws but she is a loyal wife to Hank who stands up for him against his horrible father when he is too emotionally devastated to do so himself.

More TV Show Reviews by Marisa
10 Female Characters That Received Internet Backlash
Fantastic Fat Characters Part One
6 Unforgettable TV Mothers
The Best Bobby Hill Episodes From King of the Hill
The Best Dale Gribble Episodes from King of the Hill


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