Death Picks Cotton

I can't believe Cotton was killed off on King of the Hill.

I can't believe it. Although he kept flatlining, I never doubted that he'd make it through the episode alive.

Wrong.

According to the King of the Hill site's synopsis, here's what happened:

Hank, Peggy, Lucky and Luanne dine at a fancy Japanese restaurant to celebrate the first trimester of Luanne's pregnancy. Cotton ends up watching Bobby that evening but goes to the restaurant anyway and interrupts the couples' meal. Believing that the chef resembles an enemy form his WWII days, Cotton goes berserk and accidentally but severely injures himself. He is hospitalized and given little time to live, and Hank finds difficulty in saying goodbye. After returning from death a number of times, Cotton finally dies when Peggy honestly conveys her assessment of him and his life.

It was an odd episode.

Maybe the episode itself wasn't really so odd. Hate killed Cotton. It led to his demise. I guess that's no surprise. Still, my reaction to the episode caught me off guard.

First, I don't like that Cotton is off the show. He was a funny character and it was such a sudden, unpleasant departure. Major characters in animated series don't die. I can't think of any others.

You can't compare Hank Hill's father with Bambi's mother, but loss is loss.

Second, I don't like that Hank and Cotton never reconciled. Hank was momentarily out of the hospital room when Cotton died. When Hank returned to find his father dead, after Peggy had said her peace to Cotton, she told Hank that Cotton had said that he loved him and wanted him to know. That was a lie.

How sad is that? Cotton was so cruel and miserable, and he spread his misery around.

Yes, he was a bitter old man, but he had his moments of goodness. There were occasional glimpses of light in his soul. Like when Bobby accidentally burned down the church, Cotton took the fall for him.

Third, I don't think WWII vet Cotton should have been killed off on Veterans Day. It seems inappropriate to pick this day to air the episode of Cotton flipping out at a Benihana-type restaurant, as he flashes back to his time in the Pacific during WWII. In a rather grisly scene, as Cotton lunges at the chef, he falls and sizzles on the steel grill at the table.

Cotton's bio from The King of the Hill website--

NAME: Cotton Hill

OCCUPATION: Retired war hero ("The Big One")

PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT: Received Purple Heart for having his shins blown off

GREATEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Hank Hill

FAVORITE PASTIME: Stopping by the wax museum to give FDR the finger

The fact that Cotton had no shins made it impossible to forget that he was a veteran.

I think a better day could have been chosen to air the episode of Cotton's death -- like ANY other day but Veterans Day.

In a way, Cotton was killed in action. He was still fighting the war in his mind.

I really like King of the Hill, but I don't like the way Cotton's death was handled.

Certainly, in real life, fathers and sons have bad relationships. Fathers die without telling their sons they love them; but it doesn't have to happen on an animated comedy series.

There must be a reason for killing Cotton off. His death does set up a possible plot line that would tie up some of the loose ends in the series.

My prediction is that Peggy and Hank will eventually get custody of Cotton and Didi's infant son GH ("Good Hank").

Cotton Hill: I'm going to call this son Hank. I always wanted a son named Hank.
Hank: Dad, my name's Hank.
Cotton Hill: Oh, yeah. In that case, I'm going to call this one Good Hank.
Hank: Dad, you shouldn't call him Good Hank. It makes me sound like Bad Hank.

As Luanne's pregnancy progresses, Peggy will get more depressed about being unable to have more children, due to Hank's narrow urethra.

I think Didi will either ask Hank and Peggy to raise GH, or she'll be forced to give up custody.

Peggy's dream of being a mother to another child will finally be realized. She would have that fulfillment.

Granted, it would be a little weird for Peggy to be mother to her husband's half-brother. And it would be a little weird for Hank to act as father to his sibling.

If things do play out that way, Hank would have the opportunity to achieve a sort of reconciliation with Cotton through little GH. He could come to terms with his relationship with his angry and cruel father Cotton and their unfinished business by loving GH.

Little GH could grow to tell Hank that he loves him, acting as a sort of surrogate for Cotton.
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R.I.P. Cotton Hill, American.