South Park: The Streaming Wars, Part 2 Review
Last month, South Park’s latest special, the Streaming Wars, premiered on Paramount+. And I didn’t review it because I was disgusted by its use of that water park made from piss. However, the storyline proved too interesting to pass up, so here I am for part two. This time, South Park shames all the celebrities who peddled Crypto for the Super Bowl by having them peddle actual piss. Not much of a difference in their eyes, though.
Crypto and Streaming Wars Stink
South Park had to juggle many different stories in the first streaming wars special. Randy’s descent into being a Karen, the artificial drought created by PiPi, the water park owner, and ManBearePig. And, of course, Cartman’s threat to get breast implants. Yes, that happened, and it’s as weird as it sounds. As with the Post-Covid Specials, part two of the Streaming Wars ties everything together in the most scathingly silly way possible.
The disparate plot threads come together throughout the special as Matt and Trey take shots at several groups. While PiPi is a good satire of how some people will use climate change for profit by bending it to their will, the best analogy is, by far, the celebs endorsing PiPi’s piss. As I said before, Matt Damon and other celebrities have gotten a lot of flak for doing those Super Bowl ads to sell Crypto, and that blew up in their faces, with many criticizing the ads. It’s clear that South Park wants to give voice to what the detractors think: they think Crypto’s piss.
I’ll be honest: seeing the celebrities have to drink urine and swim in it was disgusting to no end. However, I still thought it was a hilarious metaphor for the crypto and streaming bubbles. It may not happen yet, but eventually, those bubbles will burst. Only the strongest will survive the streaming wars when the dust settles, and Paramount+ seems determined to be among them.
Cartman Won’t Learn His Lesson
In the midst of all this, we have Cartman to deal with as he continues his old tricks. The sociopathic boy refuses to learn a lesson despite having caused his own misery by forcing him and his mom to live in a hot dog. Instead, he doubled down by getting breast implants when his mom refused to do so, and now he has to deal with people staring at him the entire episode. It’s unsettling to see adult-sized breasts on a ten-year-old but hilarious to see Cartman face the consequences of his actions. Being Cartman, though, he doesn’t learn a thing by the time the special ends, even if he ends up helping Tolkien and Butters save the day.
Ironically, the character that seems to learn the most is one that’s become so divisive for fans: Karen Marsh. Or rather, Randy Marsh.
Karen Marsh Saves the Day?
In the last special, Randy became the Karen he’d been devolving into for four years. I’ve been very vocal of how annoying I’ve found Randy since then, and while the Post-COVID specials softened my opinion a little, it wasn’t by much.
That didn’t stop me from laughing my butt off when I saw Randy go full-nuclear Karen on the world. He went around the globe being a Karen to everyone, and it was hilarious. It also proved enough of a wake-up call for Randy that he almost gave up Tegridy Farms for good and returned to being a geologist.
In the end, Randy’s aspects save the day: his science smarts create the solution to the drought, while Karen puts a stop to PiPi’s scam. So, good going, I guess?
This was a hilarious special, in my opinion. What better way for South Park to say that Crypto, too many streaming services, and people profiting off Climate Change suck than by comparing it to actual piss? I wouldn’t recommend watching this while eating or drinking, though, unless you have a strong stomach.
