Thoughts on South Park Season 18 (So Far)

Curses to you, Matt and Trey. Every time I think I'm done with South Park, that it's finally jumped the shark to me, that I'm "too old" for you, that it's complete dreck...you surprise me.

Make me cringe at some of the straight-up "wow!" moments, but surprise me, in a good way.



Now, as you're aware, nothing about South Park is all that safe-for-work, so I'll have to let you know that viewer discretion is (highly) advised with the following episode, a commentary on freemium cell phone games, addiction, celebrity spokespeople, and more (Candy Crush Saga, Madden Mobile, FIFA Ultimate Team, The Simpsons: Tapped Out, etc). This season's six episodes thus far have been unapologetic (there's a big reveal about Lorde), controversial (poking fun at ebola and speaking on gender-neutral controversies), and for the first time--they've been kind of within the same continuity.

For the first time in 18 seasons, you could argue that South Park has a season-long plot line (kind of) that is, in some ways, part-Breaking Bad/Walking Dead/every-new-and-trendy-drama-that-you-can-think-of-from-the-past-fifteen-years (all dark and brooding and stuff with some underlying conspiracies), part-absurdist awesomeness. Essentially, it's like the show has been revived and is firing on all cylinders like it was back in its most-controversial days.

It's kind of like The Simpsons in the late-2000s after the movie. Yeah, the glory days are kind of gone. But, there's a second (or is it third at this point?) wind that I didn't think I'd see from one of my favorite shows.

Forget the curses. Thanks be to both of you crazy men.