South Park S28 Ep 2 Review
Matt and Trey, why do you guys insist on trolling your fans so? We should know the answer to that, but every now and then, South Park has to spell it out for viewers: because they think it’s funny. They will make fun of anything they find hilarious, consequences be darned. So if fans start complaining about the boys being out of focus, they’ll make a joke out of it. Which is exactly what they proceeded to do with their newest episode that aired this past Halloween. Meanwhile, the ongoing President-Satan story arc takes another silly turn as the White House is haunted…sort of. And we’ve got some literal brown-nosing at work.
Stan Can’t Catch a Break
A few episodes ago, fans were ecstatic to see Tegridy Farms finally shut down. After all these years, it looked like Stan could finally move back to South Park and we could get more focus on the boys again. It turns out, though, things aren’t that simple. The episode starts off by revealing that the Marsh family hasn’t gotten their old home back since Randy can’t work. And Randy can’t work because the government shutdown means his geologist job is nonviable. So they’ve been living in a motel like the Parr family in The Incredibles 2. Except this episode sees the entire family having to move into the retirement home with Grandpa Marsh.
South Park has never been that optimistic when it comes to its views about retirement homes. It’s often equated them to prisons for the elderly due to the loss of autonomy, something that Stan can’t stand. But even so, this is a new low for Stan and a giant “take that” to fans who just want things to return to the pre-Tegridy days and focus more on the boys that started it all. In fact, Stan’s entire arc this episode is him being a voice for fans who have been complaining about how the show sucks now because it’s too political. Naturally, Matt and Trey troll the complainers by having the show make fun of them a la an online community Stan, Kyle, and Kenny start. And somehow, it devolves into Stan starting a meme coin and a pump and dump scam to get rich, presumably so he can buy his old house back. It doesn’t end well. Cryptocurrency can be a volatile market, after all.
While Stan might be emulating his dad’s own egocentric mannerisms, the show at least makes you understand his rationale. He just wants his old life back and is willing to do anything to get it. And while it is well within Matt and Trey’s power to do this, I think it’s more interesting to have him earn it back. Plus, there are people in real life that are in the same boat as Stan thanks to the government shutdown, so it’s a little comforting to see South Park address that.
That, and the White House Arc takes a spooky turn for Halloween.
So Meliana Does Exist in this Universe! As a White House Ghost
Despite being slated to air on its usual Wednesday, it seems Comedy Central couldn’t pass up the opportunity to air this episode on Halloween. Which is fitting, since it sees the White House being “haunted” by a “ghost.”
The whole thing starts because of the President’s decision to demolish the East Wing to build a new structure, which some people aren’t happy about. Most notable of whom is the First Lady, who the show finally acknowledges exists in-universe in the funniest way possible. Everyone treats her like a ghost that’s haunting the President while also becoming paranoid once rumors spread about someone trying to kill the President and Satan’s unborn baby. Unfortunately, that plot thread doesn’t make much headway this episode, as Cartman is sedated and Thiel can’t make it to Washington yet. The whole thing is pretty messy, chaotic, and somehow leads to Kyle’s cousin getting arrested for crypto fraud on Stan’s behalf.
The entirety of this episode’s plot can be summed up as Matt and Trey continuing their criticism of the President and his supporters. This time, Attorney General Pam Bondi gets the short end as she’s repeatedly portrayed as a literal brown-noser. Since this is a satire, though, people aren’t that bright and take it more seriously than they should. The one solace is that Kyle’s annoying stereotype of a cousin is behind bars. He was such a pain in The Fractured But Whole video game, and I’m not sad to see him go.
This entire episode feels like the show’s way of telling us that any chance of the status quo being restored anytime soon isn’t happening. Presumably, it will happen by the end of the season, but until then, we’re stuck in limbo. It’s not all bad, though. The next episode should mark the arrival of the President and Satan’s child, which is when things will get even crazier. Hopefully, Matt and Trey have some kind of plan in store for how they want to end things, but even if they don’t, people are still going to watch it. Even the people complaining about it are going to keep watching it! We’re way too curious to bail now!
