Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Last week’s painful episode of South Park saw the show in a bad moment — scrambling, rushed, misguided, and lost. It was an episode that was created with a Clinton victory in mind, and it played to Season 20’s detriment. The long-running Comedy Central show needed time to process 2016’s election, much like the rest of America. Time has now passed and the series has reacted to this season’s all-time low with a season high. “Members Only” is an indication that South Park may be able save Season 20 after all.
Whereas last week’s episode was barely about Donald Trump, Episode Eight throws the president-elect back into the center of the episode’s drama. Most of this season has followed a regretful Mr. Garrison / Trump, a man who has made far too many promises he cannot keep, is in over his head, and wants out of the election no matter what the cost. It’s an out-of-sync portrayal that has garnered a fair amount of heat from critics. However, this week’s Mr. Garrison / Trump has taken a complete 180, gleefully embracing his unchecked power and flaunting his victory in the face of his enemies. There are a lot of other things that make “Members Only” a positive turning point in this lackluster season. There are several scenes that revolve around the gleeful and secretly evil Member Berries taking control of the White House and making even more obscure Star Wars references. Also, the now-sweet Cartman finds a delightfully hypocritical foil in Butters, and the internet trolling subplot had a hilariously vulgar scene involving Gerald asking his five-year-old son to troll for him that is classic South Park to the letter. However, much like everything else in 2016, this episode will likely be remembered for Trump.
As the A.V. Club’s Dan Caffrey notes in his review, the most absurd Trump moment in “Members Only” involves a machine lowering a Trump wig onto Mr. Garrison’s waiting head, a homage to The Empire Strikes Back. It’s a clear joke that plays on points South Park has made throughout this season — Mr. Garrison / Trump is Darth Vader. This is “Members Only” at its most ridiculous, and that’s what gives this episode’s president-elect moments teeth.
A later scene follows Mr. Garrison / Trump as he walks through the Pentagon. As he casually strolls through, he’s handed secret codes, top military secrets, and shown the “famous football” where he can order a nuclear attack on anyone in four minutes. At one point, Mr. Garrison calmly asks, “So I can do whatever the fuck I want in here, right?” That’s the most vulgar and insane the scene gets, and it’s that level of composure coming from South Park that gives the episode teeth. For two decades now, this is a show that has proudly offended everyone by taking practically every topic and extending it to its insane conclusions. I don’t need to tell you that South Park is gross, absurd, offensive, and vulgar. You know that just from being a person in the world. The fact a show with this reputation chose to satirize Trump by showing his surrogate peacefully strolling through the Pentagon says a lot in its silence. It’s a reflection of the panic many Americans, likely including Matt Stone and Trey Parker, are feeling. The most intense and upsetting thing has already happened, so there’s no need for over-the-top satire.
This episode also saw the introduction of Steve Bannon, former executive chairman of Breitbart and Trump’s recently appointed chief White House strategist and senior counselor, as well as a noteworthy confrontation between Mr. Garrison / Trump and PC Principal. Last season, PC Principal fired Mr. Garrison essentially for not being politically correct enough. In a pointed moment that reflects Jon Stewart’s recent criticism of liberals, Mr. Garrison/ Trump blames PC Principal for his creation before saying, “You insisted that I was a bigot, that I was an intolerant relic left over from another time. But now, I’m your president.” It’s smart if not painful observation that is likely an indication of criticism to come.
Early on this season, the show made a point that it would be using its past to comment on the election. For the most part, it’s stayed true to that promise. However this week, South Park relied on its past in a way I doubt even the show expected. It didn’t call back to past plot lines or developed relationships. Rather, the show utilized its own reputation for leverage. When the world is so confusing and unexpected that South Park’s only reaction is to present a slightly blunter version of history, what is going on?
