If you don't have a rose get the FUDGE OUT of the South Park Thread

[Reply #720 on:]

Well, that episode was pretty gay

[Reply #721 on:]

I think it was a pretty good effort. One of the strongest episodes from this season so far, and that's pretty good going considering that this is the best season in years.

As much as I hate Cupid Me, he was a lot more tolerable in this episode than in his previous outing.

[Reply #722 on:]

I seem to be in the minority here - this episode didn't really do much for me at all. I guess I just didn't really get what the hell they were going for here.

[Reply #723 on:]

Not sure they were going for much at all, it was more of just a silly episode, which worked for me because I thought it was actually consistently funny enough to justify not having a major point to it.

That said, there was definitely at least some commentary about people being over-congratulatory of marginalized groups as a form of self-aggrandizement and at the expense of actually paying attention and listening to the people you're claiming to support. Taking the perceived adversity of others and making it more about yourself than anything else. The whole town was so wrapped up in being accepting and enlightened that they ignored how Tweek and Craig felt completely.

[Reply #724 on:]

I got that part, it was more the Cartman/Cupid Me plot that left me a little baffled (as was the case with Cupid Me's first appearance), not to mention the stuff with Craig's dad. And the execution definitely didn't feel like Matt and Trey's usual approach to this kind of subject matter - the extended montages and so-forth. Not that any of those things make it bad, because it wasn't a bad episode by any means, just a very strange one.

[Reply #725 on:]

For those of you that are interested, Kidrobot has just released a new wave of South Park figures called "The Many Faces of Cartman", and as you can probably guess from the title, they're all alternate versions of Cartman as seen throughout the show:

[Reply #726 on:]

New episode details:

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1907: Rinket Sampler

Cartman is taken in by a pyramid scheme to sell Rinket Samplers, convincing Butters to buy several dozen. However, his plan quickly goes south when he learns Whole Foods are underselling him. Meanwhile, Randy wears a toga.

[Reply #727 on:]

Nice.

Actual details! 1907:

Naughty Ninjas

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Barbrady is the next victim in the gentrification of South Park. When Kenny leads the boys in playing Ninja Warriors, a foreign terrorist organization takes notice.

The ever more PC citizens of South Park decide that they no longer need a police force. As the first American town to get rid of their cops, they plan to celebrate their advanced sensibilities with a PC Carnival.

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[Reply #728 on:]

I'm still holding out for an episode that's just a buddy cop drama with Barbrady and Yates.

[Reply #729 on:]

This sounds like it could be really cool.

And I love that buddy cop idea, Beamer.

[Reply #730 on:]

I don't think we've ever seen Barbrady and Yates together - they either seem to go with one or the other. I think The Stick of Truth might've been the only time they were both featured in the same place, and even then, they still didn't share a scene.

[Reply #731 on:]

Weren't they eating dinner together in a restaurant a week or two ago?

[Reply #732 on:]

Maybe they were, I can't remember, but I don't ever remember them sharing dialogue. I'm sure their banter would be excellent.

[Reply #733 on:]

I had to look it up, but they did share dialogue:

Yates: Wow, can you believe this place?
Barbrady: Yeah, the food is unbelievable.

I'm sure it'd be more memorable if they had a whole episode to play with.

[Reply #734 on:]

Okay, that was absolutely hilarious. And now I'm really curious to see where the season-long story arc is going, given the totally left left turn at the end there. Easily one of the best episodes so far this season.

[Reply #735 on:]

Definitely the best episode of the season; I really enjoyed having a lot more of Officer Barbrady, something I wasn't expecting to be that interested in. Crazy to see him without his sunglasses on, and I felt real bad for him & his dog when he lost his job.

I laughed my ass off at how extreme the Leslie gag was taken, but then was shocked by the implications of the ending haha. Another great joke was Cartman not being able to tell anyone apart when they were in their ninja costumes. I also loved the "Fuck tha Police" montage.

Super strong episode, can't wait to see where this PC shit goes. There's an insane amount of people suggesting it will be the return of Crab People. (The initials of which are just the opposite of PC. )

[Reply #736 on:]

Honestly, I thought that was one of the weakest episodes of the season, so far. I enjoyed it, but it felt a bit all over the place and the whole "ninjas look like ISIS" schtick wasn't particularly inspired. They already did the "ghosts look like the KKK" thing in season 5 and it was a fairly tired joke then.

[Reply #737 on:]

I thought it was really good; hilarious beginning, Cartman and ninjas, Barbrady ending up shooting a kid twice, twist at the end.

[Reply #738 on:]

New episode details:

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1908: Rinket Sampler Part 2

Cartman and Butters discover Whole Foods' secret evil plot to take over the world's entire Rinket Sampler supply. But could a certain handicapped child be behind everything?? Meanwhile, Randy's toga falls off.

[Reply #739 on:]

Because we haven't seen ENOUGH of

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Randy's penis.

[Reply #740 on:]

1908:

Sponsored Content

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Jimmy is sent to the principal's office for using an inappropriate word in the school paper. His integrity as a newsman runs head on into PC Principal's ideology. Will Jimmy be the undoing of PC Principal?

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[Reply #741 on:]

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But could a certain handicapped child be behind everything??

Holy shit, I was partially right!

[Reply #742 on:]

God damn, it's crazy how excited I am South Park right now - who'd have ever thought that of a show (let alone a crude animated comedy) in its 19TH SEASON?

Not only is South Park delivering consistently on the laughs, but the satire has been top notch this year, and Matt and Trey are doing an excellent job at serialised storytelling in the process- the overarching plot turns here were genuinely surprising. I am legitimately invested in this, in a way that's practically unheard of for this genre (give or take a Venture Bros. or BoJack Horseman). I was thrilled to see Garrison work his way back into the plot again, along with the interesting twists regarding Principal Victoria and Leslie.

More importantly, it seems like Matt and Trey truly do have a plan this time around, and all the pieces are now perfectly in place to make for an epic final two episodes that can avoid the trappings that came with last year's rushed clusterfuck of a finale.

[Reply #743 on:]

"What the hell is going on, bro?" Yeah, that was good, intense episode. This should be leading to a great finale and whatever is going on, it's going to be unexpected, even after what was revealed in this episode.

Consent forms and what I assume is parody of Ex Machina were brilliant.

[Reply #744 on:]

Holy fuck, man! This is getting super intense!

The only thing I'm trying to work out is what is the link between PC folk and ads? I guess we'll find out who's behind it all in an episode or two.

Was this the best ever episode to not feature the main boys? Stan had 3 lines and Kyle had 2.

[Reply #745 on:]

My guess is that they generate political correctness to generate easy outrage for clickbait headlines - so many news articles feed off of that sort of thing. "This comedian said a bad word on Twitter" - that sort of thing.

Anyway, yes. This season has been more than the breath of fresh air this show needed and I have no doubt that they're going to follow through this time. I'm really enjoying it and, I'd like to say that it's the show I'm most invested in at the moment, but it's airing at the same time as Ash vs Evil Dead and the final series of Peep Show.

I wouldn't be surprised if they pull a "This whole season has been an ad" kind of stunt, like they did with their plug for The Book of Mormon at the end of "Broadway Bro-Down". It would be easy enough to tie things in with The Fractured But Whole.

[Reply #746 on:]

Was this the best ever episode to not feature the main boys? Stan had 3 lines and Kyle had 2.

Other than the Kenny episode and a few small plots with Cartman, the 4 boys have been largely sidelined this entire season, in favour of a "whole town" subplot.

But, honestly, I don't mind. The show IS called South Park, after all, and with 18 seasons under the belt (and more, if we include the movie and The Stick of Truth), the world of the show has never been so rich and ripe for exploration.

[Reply #747 on:]

1909:

Truth and Advertising

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PC Principal disappears with two of the 4th grade students.

[Reply #748 on:]

Slightly more information, though it's nothing we couldn't have already guessed from the ending of Sponsored Content:

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Being the crack reporter that he is, Jimmy sets out to learn everything he can about what makes Leslie tick. Meanwhile, Principal Victoria and Mr. Garrison return to a South Park that has become unrecognizable.

I am so fucking excited about these last two episodes!

[Reply #749 on:]

I'm a lil' late to the party this week, but...

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And a short preview!

[Reply #750 on:]

This was pretty fantastic. More plot-focused than joke-focused, which is rare for this show, but with 8 episodes of pretty substantial build-up (both in terms of the narrative and the thematic consistency), they've damn well earned the right to do that. I'm almost equally as invested in this season's story as I am for most dramas I'm currently watching, which is saying a LOT. Not to say the episode wasn't funny - the gag with the newsreaders was ridiculously inspired, and bits like Randy's "you wanna bail?" were gold. If the episode had one flaw, it's that it kinda felt like Matt and Trey were shoehorning in the four boys just for the sake of it - they're still barely tied to this season's primary arcs at all, and the dramatic crux of the Stan/Kyle fight fell flat on account of how many times they've fallen out before. These, however, are minor complaints in the grand scheme of things.

All I can say now is that I really, really hope they stick the landing. Happy Holograms was a major let-down (well, to be fair, the episode DID mostly succeed in the sense that it was a very entertaining and amusing 20 minutes of television - if only for how much of a bewildering clusterfuck it all was - but it failed atrociously in terms of providing a satisfying conclusion to what had proceeded it), but the fact that Matt and Trey pretty much had all the pieces in place going into these last two episodes would suggest that they've well and truly learned from last year's mistakes. These past couple of episodes have left me on the edge of my seat wanting more, and that's very rare of an animated comedy (the only other examples I can think of would be BoJack Horseman and The Venture Bros), much less a show that's been on the air for almost two decades now.

If they're able to pull off a satisfying finale, this will be the best season of the show since seasons 6-8 (and hell, that'll probably still be true even if they don't). And if they deliver a truly great finale, this could very well end up becoming my new favourite season. South Park's evolved so much over the years and has gone through some significant "phases," and this phase has me more excited about the show than I've been in a very, very long time.

[Reply #751 on:]

...meh.

[Reply #752 on:]

Yeah, I thought it was a pretty underwhelming episode.

It was good, but it just felt like a transitional piece, getting us from last episode to next episode. I really hope that they stick the landing, as you say, but I'm concerned. There seems to be an insane amount still going on for them to satisfyingly wrap it all up within 20 minutes.

As for the newsreader joke that you felt was inspired... I'd say that whilst it was funny, it was reeeally low-hanging fruit.

[Reply #753 on:]

It's a shame this ep felt mostly like filler to get us towards the finale.

I, for one, enjoyed seeing the boys a little bit more. This was a great example of how to use Cartman appropriately. He didn't say a lot, but when he did, it was hilarious.

Like c_t, I'm worried about how they're gonna successfully fit everything into the final episode. Hopefully they'll pull it off better than the season 18 finale.

[Reply #754 on:]

It was good, but it just felt like a transitional piece, getting us from last episode to next episode. I really hope that they stick the landing, as you say, but I'm concerned. There seems to be an insane amount still going on for them to satisfyingly wrap it all up within 20 minutes.

It's possible they might leave some plot points unresolved to pick up again next season, such as Garrison's presidential campaign - next season will be airing right around election time, after all (although, unless they alter Garrison's campaign to just be "generic loudmouth republican" fodder, that does mean that Trump would need to be a serious contender for president this time next year, which is a truly terrifying thought ).

As for the newsreader joke that you felt was inspired... I'd say that whilst it was funny, it was reeeally low-hanging fruit.

I'm not denying it was an obvious gag, but it was also one of those jokes that just made me think "Holy shit, how have I never seen this done before?" I wish I'd thought of it.

Anyway, as for where this is all going, I was thinking maybe the through line for all these disparate plot points is that the town South Park is essentially becoming the internet. We've got sentient ads, a character who essentially embodies a left wing online comments section (PC Principal) up against a character who essentially embodies a right wing online comments section (Garrison), not to mention the literal safe spaces and the fact that Reality is now dead within the show. If they're planning on tying everything together, this seems like a logical way to do so.

Of course, there's also the aforementioned possibility that this entire season is one long cross-promotional ad for The Fractured But Whole. They've introduced plenty of new antagonists, and made enough changes to the town to ensure any open-world exploration will differ from their previous video game outing, so maybe this whole season is a precursor to the game (the same way the Black Friday trilogy was for The Stick of Truth)?

[Reply #755 on:]

Anyway, as for where this is all going, I was thinking maybe the through line for all these disparate plot points is that the town South Park is essentially becoming the internet. We've got sentient ads, a character who essentially embodies a left wing online comments section (PC Principal) up against a character who essentially embodies a right wing online comments section (Garrison), not to mention the literal safe spaces and the fact that Reality is now dead within the show. If they're planning on tying everything together, this seems like a logical way to do so.

It would be amazing if the big twist is that this entire season has just been a simulation inside the Oculus Rift headset.

[Reply #756 on:]

Ehh... I think that would be pretty lame. They already did that twist in the Oculus Rift episode and it came with a joke about the animation, whilst they were at it. If the entire season had some lame, cop out "it was all a dream" kind of ending, that'd suck.

Good points about Garrison, though, Beamer. I hadn't considered that that might continue on into next year, but it would make perfect sense.

[Reply #757 on:]

It would be amazing if the big twist is that this entire season has just been a simulation inside the Oculus Rift headset.

That would be immensely disappointing, in my opinion. As CT mentioned, they've already done that same twist - not to mention the fact that pretty much every other big turn in the story was at least hinted at in some way beforehand (ie. PC Principal repeatedly telling Leslie to shut up, which at first just seemed like a running joke before it was revealed to be foreshadowing a major plot point) - there's been nothing in this season to indicate that would be the case.

Good points about Garrison, though, Beamer. I hadn't considered that that might continue on into next year, but it would make perfect sense.

Garrison's story arcs also have a tendency to continue over multiple seasons, so I definitely think they'll leave that door open for season 20.

[Reply #758 on:]

It wasn't particularly strong episode, compared to previous ones, but it still had some good jokes. So far the pace has been pretty slow with overall story, so I'm also concerned if the finale will come to satisfying conclusion.

[Reply #759 on:]

1910:

PC Principal Final Justice

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PC Principal is back with a vengeance. The citizens of South Park feel safer when armed. The gentrification of South Park is pricing Randy right out of town. Meanwhile, Kyle’s distrust of Stan has broken their friendship and thrown Kyle into a dangerous alliance.

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