South Park: Season 19 Review

Matt and Trey’s second go at continuity was more successful than the first, but not without its flaws.

For showrunners Matt Stone and Trey Parker, South Park: Season 19 was similar to last season in that they both experimented with serial elements and established a continuity within each season. While that experiment didn’t totally pan out in either case, Season 19 was definitely an improvement as far as of creating a through line and connecting all the episodes with the underlying theme of political correctness.

Interestingly, this season began with a clean slate after Cartman’s PewDiePie-inspired takeover in Season 18. In the premiere “Stunning and Brave” (which coined one of this year’s most popular memes, “You PC, bro?”), we met PC Principal, who would go on to become Matt and Trey’s personification of social justice and its growing part in today’s society. This was probably the creators’ most successful new character in terms of keeping all the storylines on one track, and the premiere effectively set the tone for future installments.

From “Sponsored Content”

“Where My Country Gone?” was another solid entry for Season 19, lampooning the GOP’s biggest target, Donald Trump. While Mr. Garrison’s involvement here was hilarious, his overarching storyline sort of fizzled out by season’s end. (Though it looks like his presidential campaign may continue in Season 20, leading up to the 2016 election.) That said, Garrison did find an amusing running mate in Caitlyn Jenner.

Subsequent PC-centric episodes didn’t hit quite as hard, but they did have their moments. “The City Part of Town” offered a clever commentary on gentrification, though Kenny’s personal subplot felt like an afterthought in that episode. Going off that, “You’re Not Yelping” continued the gentrification storyline by adding Yelp to the equation, with mixed results. While this episode did include the highly entertaining “Boogers and Cum,” Cartman’s review rampage was stretched out too long. (And, yes, I see the irony in critiquing an episode that was largely targeting critics.) Then there was “Safe Space,” which was brightened by Randy’s feud with a Whole Foods checkout guy asking for donations.

From “Safe Space”

But I think the easy standout from this season was “Tweek x Craig,” which felt the most like a classic episode of South Park. In addition to lampooning shippers and yaoi, it also tied into the larger PC story by forcing two straight characters to get together in the name of progressivism. Without a doubt one of the smartest, most concise episodes to come out of Season 19, in my opinion.

Finally, the last four episodes went back to the PC storyline with full force, starting with Officer Barbrady’s exile from South Park in “Naughty Ninjas,” which was another strong episode in itself. The final three, on the other hand, were mixed bags, but overall enjoyable. Ultimately I think this season’s constant — political correctness — got a little lost in the jumble of other topics: ads, guns, gentrification, not to mention the tie-ins to movies like Blade Runner and Ex Machina.

From “PC Principal Final Justice”

Also, it was a bit odd how PC Principal went from “South Park Enemy No. 1” to the town’s savior, which suggests he will return in Season 20. Again, the overall message here was somewhat unclear — though as some readers have noted, Matt and Trey like to maintain ambiguity and “not take sides.” But that’s different from waffling back and forth between the two, which is what it felt like here. In the end, I think the finale’s intent was marred a bit from a story perspective, but it nevertheless outdid its predecessor “#HappyHolgrams.”