#he's also very cartoony which is up my alley. very expressive and fun

[lunaryhues]

Me: "Can I please use all this energy to draw on an actual project"

My brain: "You will draw the same character over and over and you will like it."

Me: "Okay."

[c0nnverse]

Why do you like dale so much? Hope this doesn’t sound mean, I just wanna hear you talk about something you like

okay. it's late at night. i've been typing this out on and off for a while now. here goes, i apologize for the long post sans readmore, and if this turns incomprehensive like halfway through:

Why I Like Dale So Much

1. my assigned kin (wears a baseball cap everywhere he goes, possibly mentally ill, makes a lot of weird noises, will just say crap that's like. HUH).

2. he's an anarchist

3. supports gay rights

okay, but for realsies:

dale is like. the funniest fucking character in king of the hill. anytime an episode revolves around him it's guaranteed to be hilarious, and i think his are the most enjoyable out of everyone's.

i feel like the majority of stories revolving around other characters are never as fun as dale's. they don't have to be though; while i very much adore the emotional backbone of king of the hill's storytelling, i LOVE the comedy. holy shit. and personally, dale gets the most laughs out of me!

imo, he's the most Cartoony out of anyone in the show. i mean, it is a cartoon, but king of the hill tries to be grounded in realism. at least, as much as it can be.

but then you have dale gribble. i think he fits the role of "cartooniest" character for a multitude of reasons. he's the only character that regularly wears things such as hats and shades, which conceal his head and face, so i think his expressions have to overcompensate at times to fully convey emotion. that's not a bad thing, it honestly doesn't feel out of place in the show.

dale is also the magnet for the show's physical comedy. i think he's legally required to jump a fence every 5 episodes. why is this so funny? not even scientists know the answer.

and good god i could not do justice describing dale's traits and the ABSOLUTELY wild stuff he's done. here's an incomprehensive list:

- the aforementioned tendency to jump over fences

- one time dale nonchalantly explained to his friends that he was a clone and not the real dale gribble, which sparked a debate from hank

- dale's onomatopoeia: sh-SHA!, wingo!, etc.

- it was discovered that he became extremely sick via not using masks/other protective gear from the poisons he used in his (legally questionable) exterminating business

- in addition, Dale's Dead Bug. the bugabago. the queen ant fixture. everything about it.

- dale becomes terrified of bobby's ventriloquist dummy and decides to process it through a wood chipper. when hank is about to get on him he uses chemicals to pass out.

- dale thought his dad was a government agent when his dad was really just. trying to come out to him as gay.

- he is also convinced that john redcorn is gay

- that time Rusty Shackleford (dale's alias for when he doesn't want to be held accountable for something, which is almost for everything. and always) turned out to be a real guy who was alive but dale thought he like, died. when in reality he just moved away??? and then he (and peggy, long story) proceeded to fake their deaths

- RABID DALE.

moving on,

i think dale is...i don't know a better word for it, an underdog character. while dale is portrayed as a bit of a benign conspiracy theorist, if he's telling you that chuck mangione himself is in the mega lo mart, he's probably right. sure, dale can and does go too far with his theories, but he's a lot more intuitive and resourceful than most credit him to be.

though when it doesn't come to conspiracies, dale's situation is...pitiful (i think that's the word), to say the least. nancy cheated on him for years and he doesn't suspect a thing, and the sad thing is he probably never will find out about the ordeal. i WANT to say that their relationship definetly turns out better once nancy ends her affair with john redcorn, but cheating is a really, really awful thing to do to someone, especially to someone who tends to be oblivious, like dale. it's...the whole thing's complicated, to say the least.

dale also loves joseph a BUNCH and it's adorable, even if his parenting skills are...flawed (like, that whole fucking episode with the panda???). but it's apparent he's trying his best, and there's some very sweet moments between the two.

dale's friendship with the other guys in the alley is nice too, they listen to what he has to say, even if he's just being really Out There. sometimes they even go with what he's doing and it's pretty hilarious. i also like how dale's best friend is hank, they seem to be the most opposite from each other out of the four. their personalities can clash, but it can end up being very beneficial. kind of wish he was nicer to bill though.

overall, it feels as if life set dale up to fail but the dude's so lucky and just kind of. weirdly successful. the world's in his favor for some reason. and i like that dynamic. i root for that.

TL;DR

dale just says shit like this

does shit like this

and it NEVER fails to make me laugh my ass off