26x06 Spring Break

[7.4/10] After an episode where I criticized Trey for being out of touch, he turns around and gives us a “The Kids are alright” episode. So who knows?

But I generally liked this one. The point isn’t subtle, but it’s affecting, and maybe that's better for a show rounding out its 26th year on the air.

I’m a fan of the Randy story. Him railing against the moves to quash toxic masculinity, only to find that it not only enables horrors like sex trafficking, but his own self-destruction, is pretty bold for South Park. The inherent critique of Randy claiming that being male has been villainized, while doing a variety of idiotic, unpleasant, and self-harming crap, while the boys just enjoy themselves playing Warhammer 40k the whole time, is a good juxtaposition to lay out the critique of Randy’s perspective

In turn, the Mr. Garrison's story doesn’t have much to say about Trump, beyond him spouting the usual bullshit. But the insight is that he gets off on these rallies, on the attention and sense of grievance, even though it’s another form of self-destruction. Garrison knows, in a way that Trump probably doesn’t, that this sort of thing is bad for the soul, but can't stop himself.

Therein lies the resonance between the two stories. Both Randy and Mr. Garrison need someone to be accountable to, that helps them avoid their worst impulses and instead be their best selves. This being SOuth Park, their worst impulses go to some pretty major extremes. But the point stands.

For all the blustering and grievance that people like Randy and Mr. Garrison spout, deep down they don’t like who they become when they give themselves over to it, and in fact want the guardrails and backstops from people close to them that help them be people they can like and respect when they look in the mirror, even as they bristle against those limitations.

I don’t want to speculate too much. I know that Trey Parker went through a divorce not too long ago, and you could definitely see it in the “Alexa” gags from the specials. But if I might be so bold, maybe this episode is a recognition that even grousing manchildren have moments of clarity where they realize they want and maybe even need a partner. It’s not the sort of thing I would have expected from this show, but it’s a nice, surprisingly wholesome note for the season to go out on, even as it suggests, with a note of ominousness, that the risk of becoming those worse selves once again may not be over.