Warning! SPOILERS for Halloween Kills
As the sequel to 2018's Halloween, Halloween Kills undoes one of the most unexpected murders of the previous film: the murder of Deputy Frank Hawkins (Will Patton). Introduced to the Halloween franchise with David Gordon Green's 2018 reboot, Deputy Hawkins is one of the film's more intriguing characters, namely due to his established history with Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), the brave (albeit traumatized) heroine of both 1978's and 2018's Halloween. As one of the officers involved in the apprehension of killer Michael Myers in 1978 (as depicted via flashbacks in Halloween Kills), Deputy Hawkins is somewhat trauma-bonded with Laurie, who, like Hawkins, feels personally responsible for Myers' continued killings. However, like Michael, both Hawkins and Laurie simply will not die.
Towards the end of 2018's Halloween, Deputy Hawkins searches for Michael Myers with Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer) when the two stumble across Laurie's granddaughter, Allyson. Shortly after, Hawkins runs over Michael Myers with his car and prepares to shoot the killer, killing Myers for good, when Dr. Sartain stops Hawkins by stabbing him in the throat. Driving with Michael and Allyson in the backseat of the car, Dr. Sartain runs over Hawkins' body for good measure, leaving the deputy presumably dead.
Of course, as Hallween Kills reveals, Deputy Hawkins not only survives the entire, violent ordeal but he continues to play a pivotal role throughout the reboots. Early in the movie, a passing teenager, Cameron Elam (Dylan Arnold), finds Hawkins' prone body and, after realizing how badly injured Hawkins is, calls an ambulance, essentially saving the deputy's life. For most of the movie's runtime, Hawkins remains bedridden in a hospital, recovering from his wounds next to Laurie, who's also bedridden and recovering from Myers-related injuries.
No doubt, "resurrecting" otherwise doomed characters in the way Halloween Kills does with Deputy Hawkins is risky, as it often times feels cheap and far too plot-convenient. However, with the slasher horror genre -- particularly this slasher film, which centers on a serial killer who, like the Energizer Bunny, simply can't be stopped -- the exaggerated gore and absurd violence allow for enough wiggle room for such shifty plot maneuvers. With Hawkins, this maneuver feels earned, as his character arguably serves as the emotional core of Halloween Kills, which is narratively framed by flashbacks of a younger Deputy Hawkins (Thomas Mann). Having missed an early opportunity to kill Michael Myers in 1978, an opportunity preceded by Hawkins accidentally killing his partner in an attempt to stop Myers, Deputy Hawkins carries with him an immense guilt, one that's exacerbated with each of Myers' kills.
With that in mind, had Halloween Kills left Deputy Hawkins for dead, most -- if not all -- of Michael Myers' kills in the sequel movie would feel emotionally hollow -- or, at the least, emotionally hollower than what's typical of a slasher gore-fest. Certainly, even without Hawkins, the main narrative thread -- the primary point of redemption -- lies between Laurie and Michael, as their stories actually link back to the original film; whereas Hawkins had to be retconned into the Halloween movies. Yet, even so, the return of Deputy Hawkins in Halloween Kills seems like a smart move, as his need for redemption is also central to the Halloween reboots.