South Park - General Discussion

[Lantern7]

I did the math . . . if the season is ten episodes long, the conclusion would take place after Election Day. Oh, and the "clip" I linked to was a gag from the guys. I thought that would be in the episode. My bad.

ETA: Synopsis for "Skank Hunt" is up.

[TVbitch]

I couldn't make out what the member berries were whispering, until they took a nasty turn. I heard "Bionic Man" --hey, it was "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman"!  --what were some other things the berries were 'membering?

I thought they'd take a nastier stab at JJ, as Star Wars fans seem to have not been a big fan of his reboot. 

[OnceSane]

Quote

The boys decide they have to take down Cartman but meanwhile, Skank Hunt takes his rein of terror global.

 

[Spartan Girl]

So the next episode is focusing on "Skankhunter" aka Gerald.  From the pictures on the site, it sounds like the trolling might drive a girl to near suicide.  The show DID go there in the Wikileaks episode after all...

The clip of Gerald bragging to Ike about Skankhunter made me think...if this is the episode where he gets exposed, maybe he'll get caught trolling with Ike in the room, a la Anthony Weiner.  Considering how bad the trolling could go, the fallout could be HUGE.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Spartan Girl

[Princess Sparkle]

Most people already covered what I was going to say, but I have to say, Butters laughing so hard at the one girl calling Cartman a "fat fuck" ended up making me laugh until I cried.  I think because of how immediate his laughter was, coupled with Cartmen's "That's not funny; that's just hurtful."

[Amarsir]

18 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I couldn't make out what the member berries were whispering, until they took a nasty turn. I heard "Bionic Man" --hey, it was "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman"!  --what were some other things the berries were 'membering?

I thought they'd take a nastier stab at JJ, as Star Wars fans seem to have not been a big fan of his reboot. 

Fittingly, some of them were Star Wars. "Member Chewbacca?" "Member Darth Vader?" "Member Chewbacca again?"

You're right, they went pretty easy on him. But I do think they mean to include him in the whole message of playing on nostalgia rather than actually being good.

[TVbitch]

I agree Amarsir, but remember what they did to George Lucas when they thought the last Indiana Jones film was crap.  ...dayum! 

[ParadoxLost]

On ‎9‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 9:59 PM, TVbitch said:

I couldn't make out what the member berries were whispering, until they took a nasty turn. I heard "Bionic Man" --hey, it was "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman"!  --what were some other things the berries were 'membering?

I thought they'd take a nastier stab at JJ, as Star Wars fans seem to have not been a big fan of his reboot. 

I think that all remember movie references the member berries made were made or announced reboots or remakes.  Star Wars, Star Trek, Ghostbusters, Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, The Fugitive, and Alien Nation.  I turned the closed captioning on.

Alien Nation was announced days before the show.  Fugitive and Six Million Dollar Man were announced.  The others have been remade.

[ParadoxLost]

On ‎9‎/‎19‎/‎2016 at 0:23 PM, Spartan Girl said:

So the next episode is focusing on "Skankhunter" aka Gerald.  From the pictures on the site, it sounds like the trolling might drive a car to near suicide.  

Does Gerald's hybrid drive over a cliff following a lengthy depression over destroying San Francisco?

Thaanks!

[Spartan Girl]

Oh geez, I meant girl not car! Sorry!

Edited September 21, 2016 by Spartan Girl

[ParadoxLost]

Its more fun if its a car ;)

[OnceSane]

I just love that none of us blinked an eye at the idea that a car may commit suicide.

[Galileo908]

Really loved the reveal that Heidi only quit twitter and everyone treated it like suicide.

Loved Gerald going through his day set to "Steal My Sunshine." Just goes to show you that anyone could be an awful troll.

But what's gonna happen now?

[Spartan Girl]

I knew they'd do the Leslie Jones stuff somehow. The girls revenge was epic.

Man, I really hope we don't have to wait for the season finale for Gerald to get what's coming to him.

[bmoore4026]

Holy God, that break up sequence was glorious!  And I so wanted to reach into my TV, yank out Kyle's dad, and smack the shit out of him.

I can't wait to see what Cartman's become next episode.  I'll bet all his tech stuff getting destroyed makes him a better person, even fatter, or he goes back to having tea parties with his dolls.

And the Scott/Mr. Mackey interactions were gold.  Just pure gold.

We didn't get any sinisterness from the member berries this episode, which kind of disappointed me.

Edited September 22, 2016 by bmoore4026

[SeanC]

This episode felt markedly different than previous ones in its approach to serialization -- it doesn't really have its own standalone theme/story, it's very much a chapter in an ongoing storyline.

The ending being a G-rated Lysistrata was funny, particularly the over-serious montage format.

Edited September 22, 2016 by SeanC

[VCRTracking]

I really thought for a second the girl committed suicide!

"Game on whore. Game. On." The fact that it was Gerald saying it is what makes it funny.

Also I love the band Boston too.

Edited September 22, 2016 by VCRTracking

[placate]

Can someone tell me what happened after Stan got broken up with? Stupid dvr cut it off :\ Thanks in advance!

[Lantern7]

Matt & Trey are going deep. I like it. Interesting to see a case being made for trolling being a reaction to a crappy world. Bonus: no Garrison or Caitlyn. Those two can wear on me. "Oh, geeeeeez!!!"

Interesting to see Cartman being the innocent party for once. He probably deserved to get his stuff wrecked for shit the other boys don't know about, but it's still sad. And will he be wearing the "Token's Life Matters" tee throughout the season?

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Interesting to see Cartman being the innocent party for once. He probably deserved to get his stuff wrecked for shit the other boys don't know about, but it's still sad. And will he be wearing the "Token's Life Matters" tee throughout the season?

I'm pretty sure Cartman will inflict terrible wrath on the boys for breaking his stuff. Remember what he did to Scott Tenorman over a bit of money? Just imagine what will happen when he finds out that Kyle's dad was the troll. At the very least, he'll lord it over Kyle for the rest of life.

Maybe Gerald's comeuppance will come in the form of Sheila and Kyle forcing him to buy Cartman new computers. And knowing Cartman, he'll pick the most expensive stuff in the store.

[Amarsir]

6 hours ago, placate said:

Can someone tell me what happened after Stan got broken up with? Stupid dvr cut it off :\ Thanks in advance!

Literally nothing. That was the last thing and then the credits.

I think this trolling-based season is a nice counterpoint to the "safe space" criticism last year. And I'm now completely on board with the Member Berries Wine being a thing. The wine was just too prominent during all of Gerald's sessions.

[ParadoxLost]

20 hours ago, SeanC said:

This episode felt markedly different than previous ones in its approach to serialization -- it doesn't really have its own standalone theme/story, it's very much a chapter in an ongoing storyline.

The ending being a G-rated Lysistrata was funny, particularly the over-serious montage format.

I think that the quitting social media is death was the episode theme. 

I was actually quite surprised at the end that they went with the delivery of hand written notes for the break-ups.  I would have expected the girls to go to all the boys and show them on a phone that they changed their facebook status to 'not in a relationship'.

I'm expecting Kyle to spiral in guilt over "murdering" Cartman and resort to domestic terrorism to stop Skankhunt for good.  He knows where the government complex where he can unplug the internet is.   Then everybody dies.

Edited September 23, 2016 by ParadoxLost

[TVbitch]

Yay, I found this much funnier than the first epi. Mr. Mackey was a Goddamn gem. And the "suicide" had me fooled.  

PS. The memberberries can add MacGyver, Lethal Weapon, and Magnum P.I.

[Lantern7]

Prior to the current season, when has Gerald been an antagonist? I'm thinking "Sexual Harassment Panda," "Major Boobage" . . . and there was one other episode, but I can't seem to remember it.

[Princess Sparkle]

Mr Mackey is usually so unrelentingly positive, so him muttering "Why don't you just do it already?" made me lose my shit. 

[Princess Sparkle]

I'd add "Smug Alert!" in there. Thaaaaaaanks!

[Lantern7]

I meant "primary antagonist."

[TyranAmiros]

I really  hope Cartman doesn't have a deeper agenda here.  People like Gerald exist in real life (and on the Internet) and it's kind of important to address this topic without having to find some "true reason" for his trolling here. If anything, the obsession with trying to ascribe these behaviors to psychological problems or institutionalized sexism / misogyny belies the truth that some people are just mean and/or don't see the consequences of their actions. 

The thing is, even though it wasn't Cartman here, how can we not think that it could have been him? Even as he "supports" the girls, he turns it into a mockery.  If one sympathizes with Cartman here, are we saying it doesn't matter what he's done before? Only whether he's guilty here? Should we have sympathy for the boys who simply assumed it was Cartman and never looked into it, ready to use him as their scapegoat? 

 

Everyone's a victim here in some way except Gerald; thank God for member berries to remember when everyone was told that it's your own damned fault. 

[Spartan Girl]

Oh no, it matters what Cartman's done before. It was perfectly natural that everyone assumed he did it. And of course after all the times he's messed with their heads before (Mitch Connor, anyone?), no one would take his word for it.

But better to have his stuff broken for something he DID do, and not for something he DIDN'T do.

[halkatla]

The break-up scene at the end was epic.

[benteen]

That episode was pretty great.  Well done, South Park.  I like the shots at social media a lot.

I thought they were going into really dark territory with the girl on the bridge.  Having it be that she deleted her Twitter and everyone overreacting to that was classic South Park.

I would think Cartman would take revenge on the boys but he still hasn't taken revenge on PC Principal for beating him bloody last year.  Even if Cartman isn't the troll, he still got what he deserved.

Quote

And the Scott/Mr. Mackey interactions were gold.  Just pure gold.

Mackey was hilarious in them.

[Amarsir]

6 hours ago, TyranAmiros said:

People like Gerald exist in real life (and on the Internet) and it's kind of important to address this topic without having to find some "true reason" for his trolling here. If anything, the obsession with trying to ascribe these behaviors to psychological problems or institutionalized sexism / misogyny belies the truth that some people are just mean and/or don't see the consequences of their actions. 

Yeah, one of the things I like about this is that South Park already fired back at that stereotype. "He's probably a pathetic loser in his mom's basement who's just miserable all the time." (Paraphrasing.) And then cut to South Park's most successful lawyer skipping down the street.

[Lantern7]

 Synopsis for "The Damned" is up. I'm thinking at least 25 percent of the episode will be dictated by tonight's debate. And I'm guessing there's a reason why Cartman wouldn't go to a library for his social media needs.

[Spartan Girl]

I really hope this is the episode when Gerald gets exposed.

[OnceSane]

Quote

Gerald is thrilled with the media attention as he continues to troll everyone and anyone.

[Lantern7]

I don't think that will happen after three episodes. I am rooting for another press conference where Sheila has a look of utter disgust on her face.

[Spartan Girl]

Ha! At this point, hell be lucky if that's ALL that happens to him...

[Peace 47]

Don't remember any others off the top of my head.

I've been on a tear of watching the original Star Trek on Netflix for the first time, and two South Park homages to that series came to mind as I've been watching.  The "joke machine" episode where Jimmy destroys the robot with a paradox of logic came right from the "Nomad" episode where Kirk does the same thing with a space probe.  And  the kids' preschool teacher being confined to that wheelchair with only beeps for communication came from a first season episode where The Enterprise's former captain was identically disabled.  I didn't realize that Parker and Stone were keyed into that show at all.  Fascinating.  ;-)

Edited September 28, 2016 by Peace 47

[Galileo908]

I know this episode was written before the debate, Real Hillary didn't act like such a Turd Sandwich. But everything else was accurate. If only Real Giant Douche had as much self-awareness as Garrison does.

"Lost souls who quit twitter. Damned to wander the earth and hang out and stuff." I quite enjoyed the playground of lost souls. Cartman is still horrible. Women ARE funny. And black laughs matter. He's...actually connecting with someone. A girl, too. It's weird, yet touching to see. 

So the war on Skankhunt42 has begun. Who knows Gerald? I'm guessing it's an actual troll.

EDIT: Now we have Memberberry Pie. It's also weird seeing Randy as the (somewhat) sane adult in South Park again.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Galileo908

[Spartan Girl]

And the plot thickens...

I love the irony that Garrison really is way more honest than his real-world counterpart. And Randy almost gets sucked into drinking the Kool-Aid, which I'm pretty sure is Member Berry flavored.

The chickens are coming to roost for Gerald. I was so sure that Ike was the one that figured it out, but I guess we will have to wait until next week to find out who. 

Whoa, so Cartman is so broken that he's actually being nice (for him, anyway). Or else there's something else going on. But he's definitely broken to the point he isn't actively seeking revenge on the boys. Butters is right to be scared...although his parents are so horrible, Cartman would actually be doing him a solid by giving him the Scott Tennerman treatment...

[benteen]

While not as good as last week, I really enjoyed this one.  Like the storylines a lot.  Who would have thought Gerald would have such an interesting storyline?  Really enjoying this Cartman storyline too, with him actually acting like a real person.

I laughed when they said no one leaves Twitter without posting a three-paragraph good-bye message.  So true.

[SeanC]

1 hour ago, Galileo908 said:

I know this episode was written before the debate, Real Hillary didn't act like such a Turd Sandwich.

I think her behaviour here is meant as more of a general statement about Hillary's candidacy as getting in her own way too much, as opposed to being specifically about the debate.

With the Member Berries constantly making 80s nostalgia references, I keep waiting for a more explicit reference to Stranger Things on the show.

It's interesting how PC Principal has at this point pretty much become a normal part of the show's ensemble.

[Galileo908]

1 minute ago, SeanC said:

With the Member Berries constantly making 80s nostalgia references, I keep waiting for a more explicit reference to Stranger Things on the show.

We have 7 episodes, it could still happen. On that same note, that farmer is modeled on Fred Gwynne from Pet Semetary (who's appeared before, I forget when).

[Demian]

Speaking of past episodes, aren't the Danes supposed to be the Canadians of Europe?  Complete with the beady little eyes and flapping heads so full of lies?  Why did that change?

[Galileo908]

9 minutes ago, Demian said:

Speaking of past episodes, aren't the Danes supposed to be the Canadians of Europe?  Complete with the beady little eyes and flapping heads so full of lies?  Why did that change?

Ooh, good point. 

Also, this exchange was killer:

"Ike, do you know who I am?"

"No...but I want to, Dad."

"Not like that, smartass!"

[Demian]

Hee! My nephew's nearly as much of a smartass, and he's only three.  Good going, Ike.

[VCRTracking]

I said "Holy shit!" at the same time as Cartman!

[TyranAmiros]

I loved the fields of Member Berries with their "Member the 80s" vs "Member the 90s"--i.e. Trump (symbol of 80s capitalism) vs Clinton (90s).  Competing nostalgias!

I feel like South Park was referencing something in the Heidi/Cartman subplot, but I can't figure out exactly what.

[Lantern7]

Actions have consequences, even on this show. Nice that Gerald is feeling remorse, but it's way too late for him. Kinda hate how there's probably not going to be a huge reason he went troll.

Not expecting Cartman's evolution to stick. Like Butters, I'm gearing up for the inevitable horror movie homage episode.

[benteen]

Dan Caffrey did post about a concern I had so far in the AV Club review of this episode...

Quote

However, with so much emphasis on plot continuity, it’s beginning to feel like these episodes have no individual identity.