Last week’s season premiere of South Park was notable for its compelling albeit conservative send-up of p.c. culture. It promised to feature Caitlyn Jenner with the utmost respect, and for the most part, it actually did. In last night’s follow-up episode, however, such regard — not just for Cait, but for everybody — was abandoned:
Jumping off last episode’s call to accept everybody, the South Park universe last night saw an influx of Canadian immigrants. This was in part because of Kyle’s viral speech from last week, but it was also thanks to the fact that Canadians had voted in Donald Trump as their president and couldn’t bear to live under his rule. “There were several candidates during the Canadian elections,†one Canadian noted. “He didn’t really offer any solutions, he just said outrageous things. We thought it was funny. Nobody thought he’d ever be president; it was a joke, but we just let the joke go on for too long.â€
There were, in effect, two Donald Trumps in this episode, as Mr. Garrison adopted some of the Republican presidential candidate’s more ignorant-leaning ideals to oust the immigrants from the U.S. As with most SP-related social and political comments, all the Trump stuff offered a sobering, much-needed warning of what could happen. But, in contrast to last week, this week’s message was also followed up with the show’s signature mixture of blue humor and savage celebrity parody.
If you were at all surprised by the conservativeness of the season opener, that’s because it was a setup. If last week was a jab, this was the cross. This episode was the SP gang’s way of saying, LOL, gotcha, we’re still here. (Warning: The following clip is NSFW; it is also not for the faint of heart, or for any Trump supporters who fear irony.)
South Park never had the intention of being a p.c. town; it’ll always be the type of place where love is called a “slow Cosby†and nobody is safe. You can watch the full episode here.