King of the Hill is back in action with a new season of the revival now streaming with Hulu, and the latest season of the series has said goodbye to John Redcorn with a major change to his relationship with Nancy moving forward. King of the Hill’s new revival era surprised fans with the reveal that Nancy and John Redcorn had picked back up with their affair in the years since the end of the original series. But things have gotten more complicated in that matter as voice star Jonathan Joss tragically died before Season 14’s premiere.
King of the Hill Season 15 includes Joss’ final voice performance for the series, and subsequently says goodbye to him in a major episode that sees Nancy officially breaking off her affair with John Redcorn once more. Though there’s a chance the character could reappear in the future with a different voice actor bringing him to life, this seems to be the final time we’re going to see him in the revival in any kind of extended capacity that fans had seen the character before.
King of the Hill Season 15’s “The Best Little Marriage in Texas” sees Hank and Peggy comparing the strength of their marriage against Nancy and Dale. It’s here that Reverend Stroup discovers that Nancy had been cheating on Dale for all of these years, but ultimately sees the strength of that marriage anyway as it’s clear Nancy and Dale love one another. This then comes full circle as at the end of the episode, Nancy decides to fully break things off with John Redcorn once more.
In his only appearance of the season, John Redcorn says, “Really? Okay. Let me know when they come back” when Nancy tells him her headaches have cleared up. He briefly sheds a tear before driving away, and it’s the last time we see him. It’s an open-ended kind of goodbye for the character. If King of the Hill chooses not to revisit him at a later date due to Joss’ passing, they could use this moment to retire the character completely without issue. But if they do decide to bring him back later, it’s the kind of goodbye that isn’t totally permanent.
The original King of the Hill series put an end to Nancy’s affair with John Redcorn early into its run, and future episodes still found fun ways to use the character anyway without that direct connection. As Joseph’s father he still provides a fun story that could always come to fruition in the future, but the original series had found other ways to bring him into stories as just another funny face around Arlen. That could be the route the revival decides to take in the future.
It’s a very delicate situation as with the loss of Joss and many of the other prominent actors from the original series, the question remains is whether or not to recast particular roles. Joss was the second voice actor behind John Redcorn, so there is a precedent that the show can recast the character and move forward if they choose. But if not, this is a hilarious way to send the character into the sunset.
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