RJ Writing Ink

South Park Season 23, Episode 6- “Season Finale” Review

In the first half of South Park’s 23rd Season, Randy Marsh became the Walter White of marijuana. He’s killed dozens of cows while high, murdered Winnie the Pooh, and worst of all, the Halloween Special. It looked as though viewers needed to wait until the end of the Season to see Randy brought down. However, last night’s episode “Season Finale” seemed to finally throw fans a bone. In addition, it did all this while tying together the plots of most of the episodes.

The episode starts off with Randy being arrested by the police. They figured out he blew up everyone’s pot gardens in “Mexican Joker”, and they have the footage to prove it. In addition, all of Randy’s other actions have essentially left South Park sick of Tegridy Farms.

I made my dislike for Tegridy Farms clear from the beginning, and it looks like Matt and Trey took notice of the fans dislike. I looked at the comments in the teaser for this episode, and a lot of them shared my disdain. It’s clear that Tegridy Farms wore out its welcome, and the writers know it.

The ones who are most excited about Randy’s arrest are, naturally, the Marsh’s. If Randy goes to jail, then they can move back to South Park and live their old lives again. They’re so happy at the prospect that they throw a party to celebrate. It’s at this point, though, that the town goes through its crisis of the week.

No One Cares About the Whites

While playing football in the park, a kid named Jason White gets run over by a cop car. In real life, this would be a horrific tragedy, but in South Park, few people care. Except for the Whites, who we last saw in “Splatty Tomato”. Mr. White uses his son’s funeral to complain about how no one cares about them. I think it’s supposed to satirize how Caucasians are becoming the minority in America, but I didn’t care. They also happen to be big supporters of Tegridy Farms, and they show up to ruin the Marsh’s party. Cartman, in a rare display of sympathy, offers to help the White’s move on from the loss of Jason. The place he sends them to, though, is one the show’s familiar with: the ICE detention camp.

The story involving the ICE detention camp never got resolved, so I felt surprised to see it brought back. However, this time the show knows what’s its bashing and doesn’t hold back on it. In this case, South Park tears into ICE’s policy of letting the kids of deported parents be adopted by American families. The fact that it’s portrayed like a pet center’s not only black comedy gold, but reinforces how inhumane the practice is.

At any rate, the White’s adopt a Mexican boy named Alejandro, and viewers see how harmful their actions can be. While they think they’re being loving and affectionate foster parents, Alejandro doesn’t see it that way. All he wants is to see his actual parents, which the Whites fail to understand. This ultimately leads to Alejandro snapping in the biggest way possible.

Randy Marsh Has a Sobering Realization

Meanwhile, Randy Marsh, now cut off from Tegridy Weed, starts to feel guilt for his actions. He calls President Garrison for advice and tries to use his “reverse-blame” tactic, but it fails. Fully sober, Randy realizes how big a jerk he’s been the whole season. At his subsequent hearing, Randy owns up to his actions and that he deserves to be in jail.

Considering how much of a bonehead Randy’s been this season, this moment feels almost cathartic. For a moment or two, it even looks like Tegridy Farms will be brought down for good. Then, the status quo steps in with a bang.

Having snapped over his anger at the US, Alejandro starts causing way more destruction than a normal boy should be capable of. Since the White’s covered him in sunscreen, he looks exactly like Mexican Joker. As a result, Alejandro gets all the blame as he flees the police, leaving Randy a free man. DRAT!

Tegridy Farms Future?

So, Randy Marsh got off the hook for everything that he did, and Tegridy Farms remains in business. I wanted to see his weed business go down, but “Season Finale” reaffirmed my belief that this won’t happen until the finale. That is, if it happens at all. For now, though, the show makes it look like Tegridy Farms’ done for the forseeable future. As in, the growing season for weed’s done. That’s where the title “Season Finale” comes.

It felt good to see Randy get a taste of karma, even if the status quo meant he got off the hook in the end. However, I remain skeptical over whether or not he’s learned his lesson. If the show’s smart, then it will stop focusing on Tegridy Farms. It’s been forever since we had a classic episode about the four main boy. If we’re lucky, it will focus on that in the remaining episodes. Howerver, I now want to see if they’ll do anything with Alejandro and the Mexican Joker plot. That’s too big a plot thread to leave by the wayside. For now, though, I think this was one of the better episodes of the season. Second only to “SHOTS!!!” in my opinion.

I Give “Season Finale” a 4/5.

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South Park, Season 23, Episode 5, “Tegridy Farms Halloween Special” Review

If there’s one holiday besides Christmas that South Park’s big on, it’s Halloween. They’ve had plenty of Halloween specials over the years, and some of them have been my favorite episodes of the show. So even though I don’t like Tegridy Farms, I chose to watch their Halloween Special. After I got done watching it, I could think of one thing:

If there’s one holiday besides Christmas that South Park’s big on, it’s Halloween. They’ve had plenty of Halloween specials over the years, and some of them have been my favorite episodes of the show. So even though I don’t like Tegridy Farms, I chose to watch their Halloween Special. After I got done watching it, I could think of one thing:

What the hell were they smoking when they made this?

I Hate Tegridy Farms

I’m not joking. The Tegridy Farms Halloween Special made little sense to me, and could barely be called funny. The episode starts with Randy excitedly preparing the farm for the titular special; it’s a red herring, though. The “Halloween special” is what Randy and Towelie are calling their strain of marijuana.

I know I was disappointed, but that’s nothing compared to what Shelly feels. Like the rest of her family, Shelly’s fed up with Randy and Tegridy Farms, and makes her feelings known. Randy, being Randy, is so full of himself that he can’t comprehend why, though. His attempts to bring her around only make her angrier, and leads to her brewing a “witch’s potion” to kill Randy’s Halloween Special.

Unfortunately for Shelly, and the viewers (not sorry), her mixture only makes the plants mutate. The result is some bizarre plant abomination that gets people incredibly high.

I Don’t Want My Mummy

While all this is happening, there’s a b-plot with Butters getting cursed by a mummy. Rather than try and kill him, though, the mummy wants to be his friend. An obssessive, yandere type friend that overreacts when Butters seems to slight it. The crazy part is that everyone takes the mummy’s side.

I don’t understand `what Matt Stone and Trey Parker were trying to tell with this story, but it didn’t make sense; at all. It had little to no connection to the main plot, and seemed like a distraction.

Return of the Tegridy Farms Halloween Special

Thanks to the mutated plants, Randy’s Tegridy Farms Halloween Special becomes better than ever. In fact, it leads to what may be the only funny from the episode.

In a scene out of a horror film, it looks like the weed mutate’s people into plant zombies. Making matters worse, it appears that Winnie the Pooh and all the cows Randy and Towelie killed come back for revenge. Except they’re not really back; the Halloween Special’s making everyone hallucinate. 

What Did I Watch?

So in the end, Shelly saves her dad and Towelie with another brew, and the Mummy leaves Butters with everyone thinking he’s the bad guy. Randy wakes up three days later with his family hating him even more. As for me, I’m waiting for the day when Tegridy Farms burns to the ground.

The Tegridy Farms Halloween Special was, by far, the weakest episode of this season of South Park. The plot made little sense, it was barely funny, and I could barely pay attention to it. The only redeeming thing is that the show kept up with its jabs at China by bringing back Winnie the Pooh. You go, South Park. As we reach the halfway point of the season, though, my main motivation is to see if Tegridy Farms burns. 

I Give “Tegridy Farms Halloween Special” a 1.5/5. Waste of my Wedensday Night. 

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South Park, Season 23, Episode 4- “Let Them Eat Goo” Review

If there are any recurring themes in this season of South Park, it’s Tegridy Farms and Matt and Trey’s making fun of China’s policies. In the 300th episode, this took a backseat to the anti-vaxxer storyline, but now its back in force. This time they also take aim at vegan fast food for good measure. The result is a solid, if quiet, episode about, off all things, vegan pot burgers.

Thanks to Randy dropping China as customers, Tegridy Farms needs a new source of income. So Towelie suggests selling the unused parts of their crops as mulch. I had to admit, that was a really good idea and it could have solved their problems. However, that idea falls to the wayside when Randy discovers Burger King’s Impossible Burger. Like everyone says, it tastes awful, yet people buy them because they think it’s healthier and better for the environment. Yet, it’s still Burger King.

Cartman Freaks Out

Regarding healthier and better food, South Park Elementary changes it’s cafeteria menu to serve healthier food. This happened because a lot of students protested how unhealthy the food they ate was. They forgot how Cartman would react to getting his favorite food taken away. Cartman ends up freaking out so much that he has a heart attack. Twice.

As morbidly funny as that was, it drives the point home about unhealthy the food was. Yet Cartman doesn’t care, he just wants the right to eat his junk food, even if it kills him. When Wendy tries to argue her stance, Cartman quotes a recent statement from LeBron James:

Yes, we do have freedom of speech, but at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you are not thinking about others and only thinking about yourself!

Once again, South Park mocks China and Hollywood and the NBA for sucking up to them.

Rather than deal with Cartman, the school compromises by hiring a “Goo Man”. He makes this green goo that can be molded into food and it’s supposed to be good for you, despite not explaining what it is. Now he wants to supply it to all of South Park, and even manages to get Cartman on his side by explaining what it is.

It’s surprising that Cartman would like this, but that’s because it’s the same thing as what he loves. It’s processed junk filled with preservatives and sold from factories, just better for the environment. Even crazier is how he gives a rare apology to everyone. Yet, his statement about the goo being “processed crap” makes it feel like a hollow victory.

Vegan Pot Burgers. They Get You High.

Meanwhile, Randy’s newest business venture, vegan pot burgers, has seen massive success. Despite tasting no better than what Burger King sells, people get so high from the pot burgers that they don’t care. That ends up making him a target of the Goo Man, who works with Burger King and a cattle rancher. They dump a bunch of unwanted cows at Tegridy Farms, so Randy and Towelie kill them while stoned out of their heads. They then leak the whole thing online, shutting down the vegan pot burgers.

Stoned Burgers, Not for Me

While the whole vegan pot burgers thing was hilarious, the episode felt a little disjointed to me. Perhaps it was because I don’t really like the Tegridy Farms arc and want to see Randy fail. Or maybe it felt disappointing after last week’s hilarious episode.

However, I got what the show was getting at: how vegan food can end up being the same junk we eat, but with a different name. Nonetheless, the whole story didn’t click with me as much as it should have. Maybe someday, we’ll be able to create food that’s healthy and eco-friendly, but South Park seems to think that day’s not today. For now, we eat goo.

I Give “Let Them Eat Goo” a 3.6/5

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