Line #19 Recap/KingOfTheHillS4E14HighAnxiety


1	After accidentally smoking marijuana, Hank finds himself to be a suspect in the the murder of Debbie Grund.
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3	!!Tropes:
4	* AccidentNotMurder: The truth behind Debbie's death.
5	* AccidentalSuicide: The ultimate answer to the murder of Debbie Grund, Buck Strickland's former mistress. Debbie wanted to kill Buck for going back to his wife Miz Liz, so she hid in a dumpster with a shotgun and waited for him to pass by. After a while, she got hungry and went to go get some food. She returned to the dumpster but found it too difficult to climb inside while carrying both the shotgun and her food, so she put the shotgun in first. When she climbed in herself, her foot accidentally tripped the hammer and caused the shotgun to fire, killing her.
6	* TheAlibi: Hank does have a credible one. The main problem is it means admitting he accidentally took a hit off a joint, and proceeded to try and sleep it off. (Or at the very least, sleep off the panic attack he was having because of it.) His unwillingness to admit to that is a major reason as to why he's a prime suspect. It takes Gale (the hippie he accidentally took the joint from) almost going to jail due to not having a credible alibi (because it would mean coming clean himself) that finally makes Hank crack and tell the truth.
7	* BaitAndSwitchComment: After the Sheriff's first visit, Hank and Peggy are in the bedroom talking about the investigation and Hank tells her about how Miz Liz tried to make moves on him. Peggy then mentions she got a call from the Sheriff that Hank's name patch was found at Sugarfoot's torn off as if in a struggle. Hank runs to the closet and finds his jacket with the missing patch. To which Peggy responds "So, Hank, my question to you is... why did you not tell me that Miz Liz made a pass at you?"
8	* ChekhovsGun: The opening scene has Hank waiting for Debbie at her apartment with her roommate Gale (unaware she was dead at the time), with Gale trying to get a Hot Wheels car on eBay and losing his auction right before Hank accidentally takes a puff of his marijuana joint. And afterwards, with his paranoia of not trying to let this get out, Hank then fears he might have blacked out after getting high and killed Debbie. But when Kahn approaches Hank for his autograph he plans to sell on eBay, he suddenly remembers Gale's failed eBay auction and quickly rushes back to his place, where he asks about what time the auction closed; it was at 6:58 and Hank didn't inhale until 7:00 at the earliest, with Debbie being already dead by 6:45, which gives Hank relief that he didn't kill her after all.
9	* ClearMyName: Or rather "Clear Gale's Name". After Gale gets arrested for Debbie's murder, the Sheriff has a case-closed dinner at Sugarfoot's and makes a speech about solving the case. Hank finally gets fed up and comes clean about smoking marijuana with Gale, which clears his name and starts accusations around the table before Texas Ranger Payton reveals the truth.
10	* DrugsAreBad: Fearing he blacked out and killed Debbie, Hank has a talk with Bobby and tells him not to do drugs. While Hank is still worried, Bobby assures him he never plans to do this as drugs are for losers and how he doesn't want to disappoint him, plus he wants to be the first [[Creator/JohnBelushi chubby comedian to]] [[Creator/ChrisFarley live past 35.]] [[note]] He apparently forgot about Creator/JohnCandy, who lived to be 43 and Creator/LouieAnderson, who lived to be 68. [[/note]]
11	* FawltyTowersPlot: The episode begins with Hank arriving at Gale's house wanting to talk to Debbie (unaware at the time she was already found dead) and feeling the stress of the situation, he decides to have a CigaretteOfAnxiety, but being unable to get a good light, takes a puff from Gale's, which happens to be marijuana and reacts to horror after finding out what it was. He tries to get it out of his system and sleeps it off, but then Peggy calls for him to inform him about Debbie's death, and even she notices the smell his shirt, to which he chalks it up to spending too much time around the propane tanks. Later on, [[DestroyTheEvidence he burns the work shirt he wore in his grill after unsuccessfully attempted to wash the smell off]], during which the Sheriff questions Hank about it (Hank lies and says he's cooking burgers) before letting him know he's a suspect in Debbie's murder. And then later on, the Sheriff questions Hank about smoking with Gale in front of his family, Hank lies about that too, leading to Gale being charged with the murder. All this ultimately makes Hank decide to come clean.
12	* {{Foil}}: Sheriff Mumford is one for Texas Ranger Lester Payton. Mumford is smarmy and seems more interested in getting an arrest than to solve the murder, all to make himself look good. Whereas Payton is more low-key and we don't see much of him in action, but he is more competent and solves the case by proving Debbie accidentally offed herself.
13	* FrameUp: Fearing Miz Liz killed Debbie (and wanting to protect her), Buck attempts to frame Hank for her death. First he tears the name patch off Hank's work jacket, leaving it near the dumpster, to make it appear it was torn off in a struggle. And later, Buck takes Hank to the quarry at night, questioning Hank about Debbie's attempt to seduce him [[HiddenWire recording Hank's answers with a hidden recorder.]] Also, on the way to the quarry, Buck secretly plants a shell from the rifle that killed Debbie. And finally, Buck drives by the police station and drops off a tape with a note saying to check Hank's truck. While the tape does its way to the Sheriff (who uses it when he questions Hank), Hank does at least discover the shell before the Sheriff arrives, which would have been much more incriminating had it been found.
14	* GenderBlenderName: "Gale" is typically a female name (at least the "Gail" spelling), but the "Gale" here is Debbie's male roommate, is a stoner with incredibly long hair and a scrawny frame. Later, when he gets wrongfully arrested by Sheriff Mumford and shown on TV, Luanne thinks he's a woman.
15	* HoistByHerOwnPetard: How Debbie really died. After seeing Buck and Miz Liz reconcile, [[WomanScorned an enraged Debbie plans to kill Buck and/or Miz Liz]]. She takes Buck's rifle and hides in the dumpster near his car, waiting for the couple. After waiting for a while, Debbie gets hungry and buys some nachos from a nearby gas station, unaware Buck leaves with Miz Liz in her car while his car remains. While trying to balance her food and gun, Debbie's foot accidentally steps on the trigger, causing the gun to go off and kill her, showing her death was an accident rather than a murder. Also doubles as a SelfDisposingVillain, as that took care of Hank and Buck having to deal with her.
16	* IDidWhatIHadToDo: At the end, Buck apologizes to Hank for the FrameUp, claiming that he was desperate.
17	* ItsAllAboutMe: While watching Gale get arrested on TV, Peggy is more concerned about seeing her previously-owned restaurant Sugarfoot's in the background and lets out a BigYES when she sees it. And later on, during the case-closed dinner, when Ranger Payton recalls the events that led to Debbie's death, when he mentions Sugarfoot's, she interrupts him to say it's "Peggy's Sugarfoot's, at the time", much to his annoyance.
18	* KarmaHoudini: Buck suffers no repercussions after trying to frame Hank, even as he confessed it to the Sheriff ([[ArtisticLicenseLaw something that's actually illegal]]) and is EasilyForgiven by Hank (although that's no surprise considering his fervent worship of Buck).
19	* KidsPunishingParents: At the end, Bobby suggests that, since Hank would punish him if he had done something like taking drugs, he should punish Hank for it this time. Hank, playing along, asks if he's grounded, but Bobby dismisses that as "too easy" and instead forbids him from mowing the lawn for a week.
20	* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: When Ranger Payton recalls the events of Debbie's death, he mentions how Buck and Miz Liz reconciled and made out in the storeroom, the meat locker and the slop sink.
21	* NervousWreck: Hank becomes this. Rather [[JustifiedTrope justified]] though, considering [[FromBadToWorse everything Hank has been through in the last episode]]. It's heavily implied his inability to drive and supposed blackout were more so due to his nerves being completely shot by this point rather than accidentally taking a single hit from a joint.
22	* NoodleIncident: With Hank and the guys in the alley, Dale mentions how the coroner will figure out Debbie's death and mentions he did the autopsies of two of his gun club buddies in the previous year.
23	* OhCrap:
24	** With Hank worrying about getting caught smoking marijuana, Hank is nervous when the Sheriff comes by to talk to Hank about he's now a suspect and Hank reacts with an "Oh, no!", fearing Gale turned him in and then the Sheriff reveals he's a suspect in Debbie's murder. Hank sounds a bit relieved before letting out an "Oh, God".
25	** Hank again has this reaction when he talks to a high school counselor and asks if it's possible someone could get high and kill someone before coming back down, to which the counselor confirms it.
26	* ShoutOut: To ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger''; Peggy called the Texas Rangers in addition to the Sheriff, and she tells Payton that she loves the show and Walker. Plus Payton resembles one of the show's characters, James Trivette.
27	* SnarkToSnarkCombat: After observing Hank leaving Gale's to prove his innocence, the Sheriff turns around to see Ranger Payton walking out of the gas station with a Slurpee and have this exchange:
28	--> '''Sheriff Mumford:''' Leavin' the Get-In, Get-Out so soon, Payton? I'm sure there's some candy bars you haven't questioned. You better take them Three Musketeers into separate rooms. Maybe one of them will crack.\
29	'''Ranger Payton:''' That's a good one, Sheriff. How'd did ''Series/HeeHaw'' ever let you get away?\
30	(The Sheriff is about to say something, but then gives the Ranger a DeathGlare after being zinged.)
31	* PreviouslyOn
32	* SameContentDifferentRating: Normally, ''King of the Hill'' is rated TV-PG (mostly for mild bad language, some violence, and whatever adult themes the episode covers). This is one of only two episodes to be rated TV-14, the other being "Lost in [=MySpace=]". This episode's higher rating is because of Hank accidentally smoking marijuana and Debbie Grund's accidental suicide.
33	* StatusQuoIsGod: After Buck and Miss Liz reconciled in the previous episode, Buck returns back to work as manager of Strickland Propane.
34	* TakingTheHeat: Fearing it was Miss Liz that killed Debbie, Buck tries to frame Hank for her murder to protect his wife. And during the "case-closed" dinner, Hank admits to smoking pot to clear Gale's name, to which Buck tries to pin it on Hank and even confesses to planting evidence, but the Sheriff doesn't buy it and accuses Liz of killing her. Buck then decides to take the fall and say he did it. And just as he's about to be arrested, Texas Ranger Payton stops them all and reveals the truth about her death.
35	* YouAreGrounded: PlayedForLaughs in the end after the truth of Debbie's death and Hank's marijuana smoking is revealed and he apologizes to Bobby for what he did. Bobby suggests that since Hank would punish him if he did something like that, [[KidsPunishingParents Bobby should punish him]]. Hank plays along and Bobby forbids him to mow his lawn for a week.
36	-->'''Hank:''' Oh, come on, son. It was an accident.\
37	'''Bobby:''' You wanna go for two?
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40	--> [[TheStinger I SAID GOOD DAY, SHERIFF! ]]

Context Recap / KingOfTheHillS4E14HighAnxiety