After Hank himself, Bobby Hill is probably the most important character in “King of the Hill”.
Where Hank represents the “Old Guard”, Bobby represents a new generation. One that has to
balance the old way and new-age thinking. This is shown in the difference between Hank and
Bobby’s characters. Where Hank is a straight arrow, Bobby is a lot more crafty and sneaky.
Sometimes though, this leads him to take some actions that may be less than ethical.
Although, most of it is just regular teenage mischief. Bobby is ultimately a good kid with
a good heart. (Slight pause) Even if that boy ain’t right. Sorry, I had to say it once.
I’m Kyle with WickedBinge, and this is Bobby Hill: Best Deeds to Worst Deeds.
For this video, we’ll be looking at the very best… and the very worst. No
Grey Area deeds because those are boring… These are Bobby’s Best Deeds;
starting with the Good and working our way up to The Best.
Helping Hank with his bully
In the episode, “Hank’s Bully”, Hank… gets a… bully. A new family moves on to Rainey street.
The family’s son, Caleb, starts harassing Hank constantly. Hank is unable to retaliate without
appearing like the bad guy in the situation. After Caleb’s parents refuse to make him leave
Hank alone, Hank decides to fight fire with fire and has Bobby start messing with Caleb’s parents.
This eventually forces their hand, and they make Caleb leave Hank alone.
We’re putting this one lower, because although Caleb is a nuisance,
two wrongs don’t make a right. Although, we were shown that all other options were truly exhausted
before Hank and Bobby decided to fight dirty, in their defense.
Driving Didi to the Hospital
During the Season three Finale, Bobby stays with Cotton and Didi while Hank and Peggy spend their
anniversary together. During this episode, Didi’s water breaks. As anyone who has taken
a middle school health class or seen a sitcom can tell you, this meant the baby was on the
way. Bobby tried calling Cotton, but he insisted on meeting them at the hospital instead. This left
Bobby to drive Didi to the hospital himself. This took an incredible amount of courage from
him. However, we’re putting it down this low for one really big reason. Why didn’t Bobby just call
an ambulance? No, really, go watch the episode. Our writer checked, there was no reason Bobby
couldn’t have just called an ambulance to take her instead, or at least a cab. Bobby’s lack of
driving experience could’ve gotten himself or somebody else seriously hurt, or worse.
Helping Peggy overcome her feet insecurity
This episode was actually more Peggy-focused than it was on Bobby. Actually, Bobby takes a backseat
for the bulk of this episode. So, why are we mentioning it here? Well, some shady individuals
take advantage of Peggy’s feet for entertainment that we’ll just call “alternative”. This leaves
Peggy feeling more insecure than ever. Bobby finds his mother in a puddle of her own emotional goo.
He helps her understand there is more to her than her insecurities. He does this by telling her he
knows that he is overweight and he is okay with it. Because, he is more than just his weight.
He is a comic. He has friends. He has a girlfriend. He may not be in great shape,
but that's just a small part of the whole. Just like how Peggy's feet aren't all there is to her.
Helping her in a way Hank had tried to earlier in the episode, but failed to. Although this
is the most we see of Bobby for the episode, it still managed to make him a very relevant
part in just a couple of minutes. This is a real testament to the quality of writing in the show.
Being there for Joseph
During the episode "Of Mice and Little Green Men", Dale becomes convinced that Joseph was
actually fathered by an alien rather than himself. This, essentially, drives a wedge between the two.
Joseph strikes out to look for the fictitious alien that he believes is his true father.
Bobby is a great friend to Joseph in this episode. He follows his pal on this journey
and keeps him from getting into too much trouble. Much like how Hank does with Dale.
Nobody would have blamed Bobby if he decided to stay out of this one and let Joseph do his own
thing. Instead though, he went above and beyond to help Joseph. Everybody needs a friend like Bobby.
Fighting through Gout for Connie
In this episode, Bobby and Connie are making plans for going to their school dance together. However,
Bobby comes down with a case of Gout after eating too much deli food. Hank insists Bobby “fight
through the pain”, so that he and Connie can still attend their dance. Bobby actually takes the easy
way out for most of this episode. Opting instead to drive around on a mobility scooter. At the end
of the episode though, Bobby comes to his senses and fights through the pain to do right by Connie.
This episode really shows us what Bobby's character is all about. Although he is lazy, and
likes to take the easy way out. You can usually rely on him to do the right thing in the end.
Sticking with the Academic Team
In this episode, Bobby joins his school's Academic Team to compete in the Quizbowl. Bobby's area of
expertise is pop-culture. At first, he seems to be able to glide through without much effort.
However, after he makes a small mistake during practice, the pressure starts to mount on him.
Eventually, culminating in him having a panic attack at the Megalo-Mart. Afterwards,
Bobby briefly considers quitting the team. After some gentle guidance from Hank though, he
decides against it. Nobody would've blamed Bobby if he had quit the team after that.
The fact that he didn't shows a real determination in him that we don't see too often in Bobby.
Trying to mend Hank and Cotton's relationship
Families can be tough. In this episode, Hank and Cotton's relationship hits its boiling point,
with Hank telling Cotton that he hates him. Cotton sits down with Hank, and they calmly talk it out
like adults. (Slight pause) Well, that's kind of what happened. If by "sit down and calmly talk
it out", you mean starts destroying the house they worked on together, and locks himself in it. Bobby
enlists the help of ex-president Jimmy Carter. The former US president helps Hank and Cotton
reach mutual ground and they are on speaking terms by the end of the episode. Now, Bobby was
not a huge part of this episode, but his choice to get the former President's help did end up saving
his father and grandfather's relationship. A small action to be sure, but a good one.
Protecting girls who humiliated him
During this episode, Bobby is mocked by three older girls. These girls pretend to
be interested in him. In reality though, they are just making fun of him behind his back.
Eventually, Bobby catches on and unfriends these girls. However, near the end of the episode,
these girls seem to be in danger when a pair of older guys start harassing them. Even though Bobby
has figured out what they were doing to him at this point, he chooses to protect them anyway.
It’s easy to see that Bobby has a bleeding heart, which makes him vulnurable to being
taken advantage of… But his ability to stand up for those who wronged him shows his true
character regardless. How he’ll help people who need him. Even if they don’t deserve it
Shooting Bandit to Save Hank
During the Season four episode, “To Kill a Ladybird”, Bobby befriends a local raccoon that
he finds digging through his family’s garbage. Hank, naturally, disapproves of this. At the end
of the episode, a potentially rabid Bandit nearly attacks Hank. Bobby proceeds to shoot Bandit,
saving his father. Even though this was clearly the right thing to do, having to shoot your pet
is a difficult thing to do for anyone. Especially kids. This level of sacrifice has to earn our
top spot. This episode shows that not only is Bobby capable of acting for the greater good,
but can be trusted to make a tough call in a pinch. A trait that not even all adults have.
That’s it for the Good Deeds… Now let’s explore the darker side of Bobby.
These are Bobby’s Bad Deeds… Starting with bad and working our way down to The Worst.
Ruining Thanksgiving
This one comes from the fourth episode of season five, "Spin the Choice". In this one,
Bobby learns about the tragedy of what happened to the Native Americans from John Redcorn. Enraged,
Bobby leads a protest of Thanksgiving, and its origins. Now, Bobby was not in the wrong for
getting upset here. The issue comes from how he went with a knee jerk reaction, rather than
sitting down with his father and talking about his newfound reservations involving Thanksgiving. Hank
is a reasonable man after all, we're sure they could've come to some sort of understanding.
This one isn't that bad, considering how we all know at least one family member who
loves to make a scene at holidays every year. This year just so happened to be Bobby's turn.
Leading a Protest to impress a girl
Hank says it best himself. Protests are best used as a last resort when nothing else has worked.
We’d also like to add if you’re going to lead one, don’t do it solely to impress a girl.
In this episode, Bobby leads his classmates on a walkout from school that gets out of hand.
The kids begin looting and destroying Arlen. Bobby tries,
unsuccessfully, to stop them. In the end, Hank is able to discourage them
from continuing. If Bobby were leading this protest for the right reasons, we actually
might’ve put this one in the good category, but Bobby’s motives really hold him back here.
Stealing money from Khan
In this episode, Bobby and Connie’s relationship is the focus. At one point, Khan bribes Bobby
to stay away from Connie. However, Bobby takes the money and uses it to rent a motel
room for him and Connie. Bobby shouldn’t have taken Khan’s money and just stuck by his guns
and handled this the honest way. Instead, he tries to have his cake and eat it too.
We get it. Really we do. Khan is Khan. He is insufferable most episodes, and that is why we’re
not putting it too far down the list. However, lying and stealing is still lying and stealing.
Stealing Hank’s credit card
When Bobby tries to learn about finances from his dad, Hank shuts it down immediately, saying
that Bobby is too young. Bobby starts snooping around and is led to believe that his family is
actually rich. This leads to him stealing Hank’s credit card, and going on a spending spree with
his friends. Stealing from your jerk neighbor is one thing, but from your own family is even worse.
Sure, he thought that this spending spree would be a drop in the bucket compared to Hank's income,
but even if he could afford it, it’s not okay to use people’s credit cards without their say so.
Panhandling
In the episode "The Texas Panhandler", Bobby wants a new pair of designer jeans. Hank encourages
Bobby to get a job and earn them himself. Later though, Bobby sees a group of older boys
panhandling, and decides to take it up himself. Let's start off by saying, there is nothing
inherently bad about panhandling. Some people are just dealt tragic hands in
life and that may be their only option, but that is not the case for Bobby. He grew up
in a middle-class home, and doesn't seem to want for much. He has no reason not to work,
other than he doesn't want to. This is just Bobby's laziness. But it's laziness at its worst.
Manipulating his Parents
One of Bobby's worst traits is that he can be really manipulative when he tries.
This episode is a prime example of that. In this episode, Hank and Peggy go on a date
that runs long. This causes them to forget that they were supposed to pick up Bobby.
Peggy later tries to buy Bobby's forgiveness. This kicks off a gift war between her and Hank
to try and get back into their son's good graces. Bobby, realizing what is happening,
decides to take advantage of the situation. However, his parents do eventually catch
on and turn the tables on him. They low-key threaten to never, ever leave Bobby's side so
he can never be forgotten again. Bobby cracks and admits what he was doing. What started as
legitimate hurt feelings turned into playing puppetmaster. That is never okay, especially
with your family. The reason we're putting this roughly in the middle is because out of all the
times Bobby has acted manipulative, this was not the worst. Also, we're sure there are plenty of
teenagers out there who would've done the same thing. That doesn't make it okay, it just makes it
more your run-of-the-mill scheme most teens would pull if they thought they could get away with it.
Season 5, Episode 3
Just this whole episode. All of it. He doesn’t exactly do anything too reprehensible per se,
but this might be Bobby at his most unlikeable. He acts really creepy by asking Connie to let Joseph
watch them kiss. He later punches Joseph, who may or may not have had it coming,
but that’s another can of worms entirely. Then, when Connie tries to make up with Bobby,
he calls her some words that you just don’t call your girlfriend. To top it all off; he,
Connie, and Joseph crash the Bug-a-Bago into a street light and lie about it to everyone.
Now, to be fair to Bobby, all the teens are really immature
and insecure in this episode, but, since this is his list, we’re focusing on his actions. It's
no wonder the writers drew comparisons to Cotton by having Bobby dress like him during the party.
Throwing a party at Boomhauer's House
During the Season three episode, "The Wedding of Bobby Hill", Bobby is house-sitting for Boomhauer.
Meanwhile, Luanne meets a new guy named Rad Thibodeaux (Thib-O-Day-Ox). Rad is kind of sleazy,
and pressures Luanne and Bobby into helping him throw a party at Boomhauer's house,
trashing the place. Luckily Hank shows up and puts a stop to it,
although he shouldn't have had to. If you're going to throw a party, you should really do
it at your own house. Apparently, Bobby was never told this. Not cool, Bobby. Not cool.
Kicking Hank in the t**ticles
In terms of Bobby’s bad deeds, this one might be the most infamous.
In the episode “Bobby goes Nuts”, Hank has Bobby sign up for boxing classes at the YMCA. However,
Bobby ends up taking a women’s self-defense class instead. This is where he learns the deadly art of
testicle-kicking. When Hank gets wind of this, he takes it upon himself to teach Bobby proper
fighting. Bobby gets frustrated during the sparring and takes it out on Hank's. This,
combined with some egging-on by Khan, leads to him getting a big head. Eventually, this comes
to an end when Bobby tries the sacred technique on Peggy and realizes that women are immune to it. We
don’t think we need to say this, but assaulting people, especially your father who is just trying
to help you, is wrong. Although this was pretty bad, Bobby did get some pretty good comeuppance
at the end of the episode. Getting pinned to the ground on the front lawn by his mother
while the whole neighborhood watched was the ultimate humiliation for a wannabe tough guy.
Manipulating vulnerable girls
In this episode, Bobby becomes a student counselor in hopes of meeting girls. However,
this backfires on him when one of his clients starts harassing him. This was after Bobby
advised her to skip school and break up with her boyfriend. This one is pretty bad. People
who work in counseling are in a position of power, and using that power to your own
advantage can cause far more long-term damage than a swift groin kick. This episode portrays
Bobby in a pretty negative light with his manipulative behavior out in center stage.
Burning down the church
Yikes. We had to give this one the worst deed spot. Yes,
Bobby had no ill-intent. Yes, no one was hurt. Yes, he felt a tremendous amount of guilt to the
point he even stopped eating. However, in terms of purely bad deeds, we really had no choice.
We won't hold it against him for starting the fire. Accidents do happen after all,
but instead of coming forth and accepting his punishment, he let Cotton take the fall for him.
Now, Bobby DID eventually confess to his parents and Cotton, but this was after the police had
already arrested and interrogated Cotton. On top of that, he did not put up any real fight
to try and accept the consequences after Cotton offered to take them for him. Bobby endangered
a lot of people this episode and ended up letting an innocent man face his punishment for him. While
Cotton's sacrifice was a noble one, we still think it's one he shouldn't have had to make.
But let us know in the comment section who you think are the most good and evil characters. And
tell us what we should cover next. Remember to hit that notification bell and binge our Good
to Evil playlist. Where we break down the morality of the characters in your
favorite cartoons, shows and movies. But most importantly, stay wicked.