RJ Writing Ink

South Park, Season 23, Episode 9, “Basic Cable” Review

Ever since Disney+ came out last month, I’ve been binging all things Star Wars off it. It’s all to prepare for The Rise of Skywalker. Until that movie, though, the hot thing everyone’s talking about is The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda. Which is why South Park uses the nuances of streaming services as a reason to gush over the show.

Given how many times they referenced it in their show, I think its safe to say that Matt Stone and Trey Parker are big fans of Star Wars. They love it so much, that it’s led them to harshly criticize any problems they have with the franchise. The whole premise of the classic episode “Jakovasaurs” was to express their distaste for Jar Jar. Yet they seem to sing nothing but praise for The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda in their latest episode, “Basic Cable”. If South Park says something’s good, then it has to be.

Like the rest of the season, the episode’s based around a fake spin-off, this time focused on Scott Malkinson. He’s the kid with the lisp and diabetes and all he wants is to get Disney+. That desire becomes two-fold when he gets a crush on the new girl in class, fellow diabetic Sophie Gray. She loves The Mandalorian and thinks its the best thing since Empire; and she isn’t wrong. So Scott thinks the best way to win her heart is to watch The Mandalorian with her.

Cable Hates Baby Yoda and Streaming

There’s just one small hiccup to Scott’s plan: his dad works for the local cable company and refuses to do streaming. Instead he stubbornly clings to basic cable and says that it’s all anyone needs to watch. To be fair, Mr. Malkinson does bring up some valid points about the rise of streaming. It’s forcing cable out of existence, and ensuring that people don’t watch anything together anymore. However, his efforts to improve cable’s success are undermined by the show stereotyping cable’s incompetence. They did this years ago with the episode “Informative Murder Porn”, but here the incompetence is genuine.

In true South Park fashion, Mr. Malkinson and the other cable guys refuse to better themselves. Instead, they decide to shut down everyone’s access to streaming services. This ends up foiling Scott’s plans to woo Sophie. However, Sophie reveals that she wasn’t into Scott like that and just wanted to watch Baby Yoda and The Mandalorian.

In the end, the entire town of South Park gets cut off from their streaming. Despite everything, though, the episode ends on a positive note. Scott forms a genuine bond with Sophie over their diabetes, giving him hope for the future. It then turns into an ad for The Scott Malkinson Show, complete with ad and phone number. The show even goes the extra mile: dial the number, and you’ll be directed to the prices for the various spin-offs South Park’s done this season.

A Roaring Good Time

Ever since Disney+ came out, I’ve been thoroughly invested in it and The Mandalorian. As a result, I could relate to this episode a lot, and thus find the humor in what was happening. In fact, I think this was my second-favorite episode of the season. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it sing praise for Baby Yoda!

I Give “Basic Cable” a 5/5. I loved it and Baby Yoda.

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An Important Message

Shortly after the episode went up, South Park’s Twitter account posted this message

Help him out. For Karpman!

Star Wars, The Mandalorian, Episode 4 Review

Chris Adams; Clint Eastwood; and Samurai Jack. What do these disparate people have in common? They’re all lone warriors who chose to help save a small frontier settlement from bandits. They face down overwhelming odds, yet manage to come out on top in the end. Since the legacy of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood is strong with The Mandalorian, this week’s episode follows that tradition. We got an Old Western stand-off, Star Wars style!

Baby Yoda, Muppet Star

After risking his neck for Baby Yoda last episode, Mando needs to find a place where the child can live in peace. However, his choice of a backwater world, Sorgan, has its own problems. There’s a group of raiders harassing village of krill farmers. While he doesn’t want to do it at first, Mando agrees to help them out in exchange for taking the kid in.

Did I mention that Baby Yoda’s getting even cuter, because he is. That adorable little creature’s won the hearts of millions with his looks and how fond he is of his unwitting guardian. The kids on Sorgan fawn over him. It’s ironic without trying to be: fans have been scrambling to demand Baby Yoda merch, and for once, Disney’s caught off guard. However, their initial releases prove to be bad.

Cuteness aside, Baby Yoda’s proven to be a good partner for the Mandalorian. He helps bring out the warrior’s protective side, and I think it’s gotten to the point where he can communicate without say a thing. When his caretaker’s in a brawl outside a tavern, he’s just standing there, nonchalantly eating his stew.

Possible Partners

Speaking of the brawl, this episode saw the introduction of an awesome female character who may or may not be the Mandalorian’s future partner/love interest. Her name’s Cara Dune, ex-shock trooper for the Rebel Alliance. Now she’s working as a mercenary while trying to find a place to settle down to. She’s almost as good as the Mandalorian in a fight.

On a more intimate level, the Mandalorian gets a more solid love interest in one of the villagers, Omera. She’s a young, widowed mother whose surprisingly good with a blaster. Unlike Cara, though, Omera manages to get the bounty hunter to open up a little, and we learn more about his past. He’s never taken his helmet off in front of others since he was a child, for that would mean never putting it on again. For a moment, though, he considers taking off his armor and living out his life on Sorgan with Baby Yoda and Omera.

Western Stand-Off in the Dark

Fate, however, has other plans in store. It’s discovered that the raiders have an AT-ST on their side, something the villagers can’t hope to match. As a result, Mando and Cara teach them how to fight and have them erect barricades. Their ultimate plan is to lure the AT-ST into a giant pit and trap it there. Thus begins an old western stand-off.

I think that the fights in the show have been great so far. However, this was the first one I had a problem with: it was too dark to see. I started getting flashbacks to “The Long Night” from Game of Thrones, and I didn’t like that. I understand that having a stand-off at night helps with drama, but there needs to be a balance to it. Other than that, though, the fight was superb.

Sadly, Sorgan won’t be the place where Baby Yoda can live in peace. The morning after the battle, a bounty hunter almost kills the child before Cara takes him out. As a result, Mando and Baby Yoda have to move on. It’s a standard trope in old west films: the lone gunslinger moves on with the fight over. It’s sad, but it has to be done.

Nice Standalone Adventure

This may be my favorite episode of the show yet. We finally learned why the Mandalorian never takes off his helmet, he gets a chance at happiness, and Baby Yoda remains cute as ever. In other words, it’s everything the fans wanted. While the fight could have been more visible, I left satisfied with what I saw. I can’t wait for next week’s episode!

I Give “Chapter 4: Sanctuary” a 4.5/5. Best episode yet.

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Also, here’s a CGI Loth-Cat!