King of the Hill Revival Gives Hank a Major Win Over His Father

King of the Hill has returned with a whole new batch of episodes now streaming with Hulu, and the new season has brought Hank Hill full circle over a surprising win against his father Cotton. One of the most compelling dynamics of the original King of the Hill series was between Hank and his father Cotton. Because while Hank was clearly annoyed by some of the things that his son Bobby got into, it was immediately apparent that Hank was a much less strict and less abusive parent than his own father was when he was a child. It informed how Hank saw this kind of connection.

This dynamic was put to the test many times throughout the original King of the Hill series before Cotton died in Season 12, but the new season of King of the Hill finds a way to bring Cotton back into the fold. With a new episode bringing back Hank’s younger half-brother Good Hank, Hank ends up getting a win over his terrible father by making sure his younger brother does’t turn out anything like their father. To which Hank even bids his father one more spiteful goodbye.

King of the Hill Brings Back Cotton in Season 14

King of the Hill Season 14 Episode 9, “No Hank Left Behind” reintroduces a much older version of Good Hank (that does raise more questions about how many years have passed) as he reunites with Hank when the shin jelly company that Cotton used to frequently buy from pays out a surprise settlement. Hank and Good Hank then bond when Hank ends up taking his younger brother to a special camp for men, and it naturally goes haywire as most things Hank ends up wrapped in do. But through all of this, it’s clear that Hank and Good Hank are fostering a new connection now that the two of them are much older.

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Hank and his younger brother were much further apart in age during the events of the original series as Good Hank was no older than two years old by season’s end, but now he’s at an age where he can connect with Hank in much the same way Hank and Bobby used to. But more importantly, Hank sees visions of his father within Good Hank in a way he didn’t see before. He sees the abuse he used to take, and makes sure to push Good Hank in a much different direction.

How Hank Beats Cotton One Last Time

Cotton’s death in the original series left Hank with some confusing emotions as he seemingly saw his father die (after he said he hated him) only to get faked out before Cotton’s real death later. But with this new season, King of the Hill is allowed to explore more of the trauma that Hank himself is still dealing with all this time later. But in seeing Good Hank take on a much better direction with life, Hank bids his father goodbye for real.

As Good Hank is positively impacted by their time together, Hank sees a flashback to where Cotton says he’ll need to make sure he’s alive to see Good Hank come out better than Hank. To which in the present day, Hank says “Too bad old man.” Knowing that his younger brother won’t have the same terrible upbringing that he did, Hank can finally put away this piece of his past once and for all.