South Park: The Pandemic Special Review

Yo Ho, WeRCatz here!

So South Park is back for a pandemic special! And whoo…

Trey Parker and Matt Stone put together an hour of well-placed satire that rips apart our present issues in the US: virtual education, mental health problems associated with the COVID shutdowns, American ignorance of COVID safety measures, and the reasons WHY Black Lives Matter.

“The Pandemic Special” is all Randy; he is the actual cause of the Coronavirus outbreak thanks to hanging out with Mickey from the episode “Band in China” and did some “fun things” during his stay.

Meanwhile, the kids are trying to adjust to their new station as schooling went virtual. Cartman is happy during this reality since he skips classes for gluttony. But the town’s issues come to light as limited schooling returns with the local cops as teachers due to their reduced funding; this leads to their critique of the conduct of police and their way of hiding the truth.

Even though Stan knows the real reason why Token “got sick” because of the “teacher’s” report, he shows signs of breaking down as he focuses his stress on getting Butters to Build-A-Bear. By the end, he finally expresses what’s on everyone’s mind and breaks down. This prompts Cartman to do a rare move: do the right thing even if it means you don’t get what you want out of it.

President Garrison is at it again as he tries to keep his “promise” to the American people by letting the pandemic do its work by letting minorities die; he is also responsible for the ending of the resulting wildfires because he destroys the cure to Coronavirus: Randy’s DNA inside a pangolin. By the end of the special, we see that Sharon (after numerous attempts to convince Randy that the Pandemic Special marijuana is not needed here) is as weak and hypocritical as the rest of the populace as she grows Randy’s mustache as a result of using the special blend. This prompts Randy NOT to reveal the true reason for Coronavirus to Sharon and goes back into making more specials.

Once again, South Park delivers. From people wearing “chin diapers” to panic shopping, F-ing Dr. Fauci’s message on proper mask-wearing, and rampant mayhem due to misinformation, Trey and Matt were not afraid to show everyone their failures as well as the occasion constructive plea for help.

The most controversial scene is where Cartman and Kyle fight in the classroom as usual; the “teachers” shoot up Token Black to stop the fighting. The aftermath of the incident is that Token was sent to the hospital due to COVID-related issues. The timing and message were well placed in the classroom as it started out funny but ended with the reality of racial unrest.

South Park doesn’t usually make a statement that breaks the fourth wall, but here they did. After the pangolin and the scientist were incinerated, President Garrison smiles and says to get out and vote. This message is very clear as science, empirical research, and the truth were burned away in favor of “alternative facts” and social neglect for one’s health in the time of a pandemic.

We don’t really know when South Park’s 24th Season will start, but The Pandemic Special did mention something interesting. After Randy sees Sharon as a weak hypocrite, he proclaims that he will make some more specials. Hopefully, this means that South Park will be having a few more tricks up their sleeve and talk about even more current events.