South Park S26, Ep 6 Review
Eight years ago, South Park turned resident teacher Mr. Garrison into its stand-in for Donald Trump. Unfortunately, that decision became one of the show’s biggest mistakes. When Trump won the 2016 Presidential Election, not only did it derail the show’s plans for the season, but it also meant they had to send Mr. Garrison to the White House for four years. Eventually, Matt and Trey had to stop using Garrison as much; they didn’t want to add fuel to Trump’s fire. Then Trump lost the election, leaving them free to return Mr. Garrison to South Park and his teaching job (while killing his replacement with COVID.) However, now Mr. Garrison and the show are facing another dilemma: what if Trump wins in 2024? How will South Park handle this?
Evidently, they’re handling it with weary resignation, as seen in the Season 26 finale, “Spring Break.”
Mr. Garrison Gets Spring Break Derailed by You-Know-What
It’s Spring Break now, and kids and adults enjoy their free time while school is out. Mr. Garrison, in particular, is excited to take his boyfriend, Rick, on a trip to Myrtle Beach. However, Rick’s apprehensive about it because he doesn’t want Garrison to relapse into his past. Because, as it turns out, Myrtle Beach is home…to a MAGA store.
Yes, much like Trump in the real world, Mr. Garrison still has fans and supporters who want to see him come back despite losing in 2020. And when he sees this, Mr. Garrison can’t help but feel tempted back into his Trumpsona. First, he just browses at the store, then he starts to rally with the customers. After that, the whole thing spirals out of control as Mr. Garrison returns to his role as the South Park stand-in for Trump.
I think that South Park handles Mr. Garrison’s reversion into his Trumpsona in a clever fashion. By framing him as someone who’s relapsing into an addiction, despite knowing how harmful it is, they make Mr. Garrison sympathetic. He doesn’t want to go back to how he was, but he also remembers how good it felt to be like that. Ultimately, this leads to consequences as Rick almost gives up on him, much like those struggling with addiction can eventually drive their loved ones away.
The thing is, though, despite everything, Mr. Garrison doesn’t want to go back to his Trump phase. He doesn’t, and South Park doesn’t want to see it happen. However, if the 2016 election taught them anything, Matt and Trey can only hope that it doesn’t come to that and little else.
Randy Embodies the Worst Aspects of Spring Break
While all this is happening, Randy Marsh wants to enjoy a stereotypical Spring Break with Stan while Sharon and Shelly are away: partying, drinking, and surrounded by attractive women. However, Stan wants to spend it playing Warhammer 40K with Tolkien. Being who he is, Randy overreacts, becoming convinced that Stan’s been brainwashed to be ashamed of his masculinity and thinking he’s playing with dolls.
This B-plot doesn’t have any bearing on the plot involving Mr. Garrison; they only intersect when Randy sees Garrison cry about how much he misses Rick, prompting Randy to call Sharon and say she misses him. This has happened before.
Lack of relevance aside, the whole plot with Randy is a funny jab at how some people use Spring Break as an excuse to do dumb, potentially dangerous things. Case in point, Randy invites strippers over and almost gets arrested for harassing a female cop.
Don’t Take Mr. Garrison Away Again
Mr. Garrison is one of the most important adult characters in South Park. He always has been. Next to Randy, he’s the adult most likely used to personify the dumbest things that people do, and when Trump won, they had to use him less and less. Now that we have him back, I doubt that Matt and Trey want to lose him again for another four years.
Overall, while I think this episode is a plea to fans not to let that future come to pass, it also shows how the show’s team is mentally preparing themselves for the worst as the show’s 26th season wraps up. So, if you don’t want to lose Mr. Garrison again, you know what we must do.
