The return of King of the Hill to Hulu offers a welcome reflection of the crazy modern world, but it hasn’t always been a smooth return. The revival faced several hurdles on its way back to viewers, namely, the loss of several important cast members due to their tragic and sudden deaths. While the recent murder of Jonathan Joss offers a bittersweet tinge to the revival, the series also tragically lost Dale Gribble’s voice actor, Johnny Hardwick. Both had been fixtures on the series and were set to return with the revival. Joss reportedly finished his parts of the season before his slaying, but Hardwick had only completed six episodes of the new season when his death was confirmed.
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Dale and John Redcorn were already connected through adultery, and Gribble’s son, Joseph, with plenty of fans hoping to explore more of the situation in the revival. They’ll still get those details, with longtime voice Toby Huss portraying Dale in the later episodes of the season. Despite that, it is still hard to ignore the loss of the actors who brought both to life. In Hardwick’s case, he played Dale Gribble in 257 episodes of the series across its 13 years on Fox. That deserves a full hat tip heading into the premiere of the new episodes on Hulu on Aug. 4.
So with that in mind, and in honor of Hardwick’s work before his death, we decided to put ranks the best Dale-centric episodes of the show to prepare you for the new season.
1) “Soldier of Misfortune” (Season 6, Episode 2)
The best Dale episodes always manage to blend his paranoia and conspiracy together within the world of Arlen. Here we see that Dale is the president of the Arlen Gun Club, though that role is put at risk due to an accidental discharge of a gun and the influence of his rival, Mad Dog.
Another trait we love about these episodes is how Hank Hill is always supportive in ways you don’t expect. It all ramps up to the point where Hank, Bill and Boomhauer are caught trespassing on Mad Dog’s property and Dale is debating fleeing the country before putting up a rescue. Great episode, but probably near the bottom for pure Dale Gribbleness.
2) “SerPunt” (Season 11, Episode 2)
After Bobby gets a snake for his birthday, courtesy of Lucky, and it ends up creating bedlam in the house. Once Hank discovers the snake has escaped down the toilet, he heads to Animal Control to get Tommy and Rollo, who are more interested in milking the situation for more money and glory. They receive extra funding and notoriety, hiring Dale for the job and demonizing Hank for letting the snake loose.
What makes this a good Dale Gribble episode is his dedication to the job and his loyalty to Hank. Despite being duped by Tommy and Rollo, Dale is still the one to swim into snake territory. After some threats involving Nancy exposing them on the news, Tommy and Rollo assist and things return to normal.
3) “Dale Be Not Proud” (Season 8, Episode 14)
After Dale is revealed to be the only matching donor for a kidney transplant, the character gets a chance to show his petty side a bit. Looking to convince Dale to donate a kidney to NHRA driver John Force, and to get him to overcome his fear of hospitals.
Dale agrees, but only if Hank takes his place for a day and every strange piece that makes up the day. We get a nice window into his strange personal life, while also seeing how he can be a bit difficult to handle in even the simplest situations.
4) “The Trouble With Gribbles” (Season 5, Episode 18)
When Dale’s relationship with Nancy gets some spotlight on the show, it’s always fun to see how Dale becomes a bit too wild, risks his marriage, and then uses that wildness to reel it all back in close to him. After Nancy turns 40 and takes a spa date, her TV role is filled by Luanne. The result is Nancy wanting a facelift to compete with the younger blood, with Dale suing his favorite cigarette company to fund it.
Dale cross-examining himself on the witness stand at the end of the episode is your main reason to tune in to this one. It’s also special because it delivers a sweet moment between Nancy and Dale, giving her a lot more depth than just a background character.
5) “Megalo Dale” (Season 7, Episode 10)
When he’s facing a lack of extermination work, Hank tells Dale about a major job with the Mega Lo Mart, dealing with a rat infestation. Only he quickly finds out he’s not dealing with rats, he’s dealing with Chuck Mangione. It turns out to be two Mangiones, when it is revealed that a pair of teens are posing as the famed trumpeter and playing tricks on Dale.
Hank gets to help, condemn, and then apologize to Dale by the end, but it’s the odd, fun tone of the episode that ends with the real Chuck Mangione. While the teens are outed, the real guy was also present and chewing on security camera wires so he could move about freely. Always read the fine print of those PR contracts, folks.
6) “Dale to the Chief” (Season 9, Episode 5)
If Dale putting his favorite cigarettes on the line or donating a kidney aren’t big enough sacrifices for you, what if he put his entire existence in flux? Flipped it upside down? After reading the Warren Commission Report and somehow realizing that the government was telling the truth, he completely abandons his persona as a right-wing conspiracy theorist.
His pro-American stance clearly didn’t stick, but it does seem to have affected his trajectory leading into Season 14 on Hulu. It could be a peek at how Mayor Gribble would’ve handled the town, or at least how he got the job.
7) “Of Mice and Little Green Men” (Season 6, Episode 14)
In our look at the best episodes of King of the Hill, this episode kicked things off and it seems poised to address one of the show’s big open secrets: Joseph’s father and Nancy cheating on Dale. Where things go awry is how Dale believes his biological data doesn’t match Joseph because his son is really an alien. Hank comes through once again, but as we said, this will definitely be an issue that returns despite Hank convincing Dale that genetics don’t change that Dale is Joseph’s father.
8) “Night and Deity” (Season 7, Episode 21)
Much like “The Trouble With Gribbles,” it is nice to always see Dale show his true feelings about his wife, Nancy. Despite her infidelity, the two love each other. So when Nancy grows jealous of Dale growing close with a fellow female pest control legend, Sheila Refkin.
Nancy grows concerned and tries what she can to break up Dale and Sheila’s connection, first by trying to grow closer to her husband and later by trying to send Sheila to John Redcorn’s home for a massage. None of this works, and the pair end up on a motel job at the Econo-Suites. That’s where Sheila makes her move, and Dale shows that he’s not about to break his marriage. He returns home to Nancy and recounts what happened, showing that things will be just fine.
9) “Smoking and the Bandit” (Season 9, Episode 12)
A perfect episode to showcase Dale’s craziness, his rebellious nature, and his love for cigarettes. After a smoking ban takes hold and Joseph doesn’t listen to him, Dale is determined to win his son back and protest the smoking ban. So he becomes the Smoking Bandit, becoming a bit of a local folk hero unbeknownst to Joseph, who becomes obsessed. After Hank tells him to use the Smoking Bandit and his capture to win over Joseph, a plan is hatched, and Dale ends up winning his son over.
Just a great overall Dale episode that hits the right marks and comes with a little heart.
10) “Dream Weaver” (Season 12, Episode 9)
After being pressed to get a new job by Nancy, Dale goes to a “Vocation Vacations” getaway to explore his dream of basket weaving. Hank joins him and seems to excel in the activity, while Dale fails and is made out to be a joke. Now there is a point where he tries to kill Hank with a forklift, but that’s the price of being friends with Dale. One minute, he’s got you wrapped up in a government conspiracy he’s created in his mind, and the next he’s trying to win you back.
He’s also lucky Hank is such a good friend, one who moves everybody to rebuild Dale’s confidence by tapping into his specialty: pest extermination. Good episode to get a feel for Dale’s personal interests, while also showing his prowess as an exterminator.
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