King of the Hill is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. It’s set in Arlen, Texas and follows the Hill family. Hank Hill is the protagonist of this show and he works as a propane salesman.
Kahn (pictured right) is Hank’s neighbor and usually the two don’t get along very well. In season 13 episode 24 titled “Just Another Manic Kahn-Day” we get to see a very different side of Kahn. The premise of the episode is that Kahn’s wife and daughter leave town. His wife, Mihn, asks Peggy (Hank’s wife) if Hank would check up on him every now and then. Peggy, taking this to heart, asks Hank to hang out with Kahn.
Hank, who is working on a new grill for a function at work, wants to go the local supermarket. His wife then suggests to take Kahn with him.
Kahn tells Hank about his job and then broaches a topic that Hank himself is interested in: grills. Kahn wants to see the future of grills as a “total entertainment centerpiece.” Hank is enthralled with this idea and invites Kahn to help him build his grill. Hank introduces Kahn to his boss and then Kahn is given the job to help Hank and becomes a member of Strickland Propane.
The two then head out to the supermarket to find supplies. While they’re at the Supermarket Kahn realizes he needs to fill his prescription.
The line to get there is long and Kahn doesn’t want to wait. He says to himself “maybe I don’t need the medicine, I’m not sick."
He throws out his prescription. Our protagonist Hank, who is a simple man, agrees with Kahn that he doesn’t look sick. Since Hank can’t see the illness, he doesn’t believe in it. What Kahn threw out was his Bipolar medication. The implications of this action will soon become clear.
Moving forwards, Hank and Kahn are now all prepared to start working on the grill.
They start working, and Kahn has started to display much more energy than usual. He’s tossing pans, he’s enthusiastic, and he’s working himself into a frenzy. The best examples that are visualized in the episode is Kahn’s appearance and household.
We see Kahn in a spotless home, a puzzle nearly done on the coffee table, clothes neatly stacked on the couches, lively music playing from the jukebox. Kahn himself is even painting a portrait of himself while doing his laundry. He had stayed up all night and took an online painting class to learn a skill. Also, while he was up all night he worked more on the schematics for the grill.
Hank thinks this new and improved Kahn is great and they start focusing all their energy on the grill. Hank starts to notice that Kahn is acting stranger than usual, though. Kahn is experiencing the Manic phase of bipolar at this point in the episode.
He starts saying crazy things and speculates wild ideas. Altogether, he is becoming more and more manic. In bipolar disorder, there are two sides, mania and depressive episodes. Ups and downs. However, those with bipolar have the most extreme variation of the two. Everyone has their ups and downs, but none feel quite as much as those with bipolar. Kahn’s ups and downs are frightening, even to his friends.
The next day, Kahn didn’t show up to work on the grill, so Hank goes to investigate. What he and his friends find is disturbing.
The walk in Kahn’s place to find it in disarray. Everything is messy. Kahn is immobilized on the couch. It’s dark, the lights are off. This is much different than the manic phase that drove Kahn to have an energy filled and spotless house. This metaphor is important because it shows the extreme nature those suffering with bipolar disorder can experience.
Hank and his friends try to cheer up Kahn, but nothing seems to be working. Finally, they come to the conclusion that Kahn’s medication wasn’t for a physical illness but a mental one. Hank decides that he needs to get Kahn his medication. They have to go through unusual means to get the prescription since Kahn had thrown out his only prescription at the supermarket a few days prior. Hank and his friends prevail, though, and find medication for Kahn.
By the time that they find medication for Kahn, Kahn is once more in another manic episode. He’s lively, he’s jumping around, and he exudes enthusiasm.
He’s working out as he’s designing a part for the grill. All his DVDs are alphabetized in neat stacks behind him. Hank knows that if he gives Kahn his medication that he might not be able to work on the grill, so in a moment of extreme hubris, Hank tells Kahn it’s probably best to hold off on the medication until the completion of the grill.
Peggy, Hank’s wife, finds out about this and berates him. Hank admits the situation about Kahn. At this time Kahn is working on the grill and he’s full of energy. Because this is the mania side, where Kahn is enthusiastic, Hank doesn’t recognize the problem anymore. Peggy tells him that he cannot withhold Kahn’s medication even if that means that the grill won’t be finished on time.
Hank finally realizes her point and gives up the dream of the grill if it means that his friend will be better. He gives Kahn his medication.
Kahn accepts it and takes it, although he warns that it might take a day or two for it to kick in. This is a happy story and in the end, everything works out. Kahn is stabilized and the grill even gets finished in time. Hank realizes that illness isn’t always visible, but it’s still there.
I was stunned the first time I watched this episode. I never imagined that King of the Hill would ever show an episode describing mental illness. I thought their portrayal was well done and really shows the struggles of the ups and downs of bipolar.
*All images are taken from S13 E24 of King of the Hill. The content of the show belongs to Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. I claim no ownership regarding the images or show and do not profit off of them by using them in this article.
