I know a few 20-somethings that need to be put in a rodeo too.
[4.4/10] What a weird, not particularly funny episode.
I’ll be honest. I don’t really know what the show was going for in either the A-story or the B-story. The A-story, which features Mrs. Cartman struggling with her efforts to get Cartman vaccinated and the town’s reaction, felt really muddled. The one clear point is that the show wants more empathy for parents who feel overwhelmed by the decision and are just trying to do what’s best for their kids. Even as someone who’s strongly pro-vaccination, I can appreciate that, and the episode’s sympathy for Mrs. Cartman’s feeling judged.
But beyond that, I don’t know what the hell was up with this one. There’s some amusing enough bits with Cartman being chased and rounded up like a little pig, which works as the show’s usual exaggerated take on mundane things like getting kids to take their shots. But in terms of what the show was trying to actually say with any of these? Beats me. If I had to pin it down, I’d say that Matt & Trey believe in vaccinations but that the state shouldn’t mandate them, or at least not with school attendance as a cudgel, which seems like an absolutely bonkers position to me. But really, this feels like one where the show wants to have its cake and eat it too, making it an inkblot test so that no one can accuse South Park of taking a particular side beyond the problematic but broadly palatable “governments shouldn’t tell parents what to do.”
The B-story, featuring Randy going nuts over making $300,000 is even weirder and more incoherent. There’s the obvious meta-commentary of the show reaching 300 episodes. If you want to extend that further, I guess it could Matt & Trey feeling like they’ve maybe gone a little corporate and wanting to go back to something more authentic? But even that feels like a stretch. And Randy commiserating with Lianne and reconciling with Towelie felt off.
Overall, this was a rough outing for the show, with little that had clarity or made any real sense, and without much in the way of laughs either.
Wow! This was just 1 year before the COVID vaccine… kinda predicted some of the reaction to it…
Crazy how this show is good when Trey actually writes jokes.
Shout by SmatthewVIP 7BlockedParent2019-10-10T17:22:49Z— updated 2019-10-17T13:32:11Z
After last episode, they really leaned into the "Fuck you, China" .. it's good to see that back in South Park.
I'd be interested in the turnover for this idea to air, based on current events.