South Park‘s third episode of season 21, “Holiday Special”, has just aired and it was phenomenal. This episode pulls no punches, targeting so many hilarious issues in today’s world. Maybe Matt and Trey are returning to the form that we know and love.
The first episode of the season, “White People Renovating Houses,” dealt with a bunch of housekeeping left over from season 20. It needed to tie up loose ends and provide a way for Cartman to return to the hate-able demon child that we know and love. The second episode, “Put it Down,” set the tone away from serialization but still showed how hilarious Matt and Trey can be with current day topics. It allowed us to see a glimmer of genius that only South Park can deliver.
“Holiday Special” starts with the boys rioting in school because Columbus Day was no longer going to be observed. They will not be able to get a day off because of this. Who led this fateful charge to get Columbus Day banned? None other than the fateful Randy Marsh. Randy influences another resident, Goldman, on the school calendar committee to remove Columbus Day as a holiday. Randy continues to rampage, calling people who live in Columbus, Ohio racist and demanding they rename their city. Randy even goes so far as to travel to New York City to defecate on the statue of Columbus in Columbus Circle, claiming that New York City is racist.
Kyle does some research and finds some crazy posts on social media though. There are pictures on Instagram showing Randy dressed up as Christopher Columbus in the past. Stan confronts Randy about this and Randy says that it was in the past. He cannot be held accountable.
This is where the genius of Matt and Trey come in. A commercial for DNA and me, a parody of all the DNA testing available today, appears in front of Randy. The test just needs a swab of the user’s cheek to find out what their ancestry is. The reason why this test is so popular is that white people can now claim to be part minority. They can feel victimized like everyone else now.
Randy hosts a party where this DNA test will take place. He tries to sabotage the test by making out with a Native American man prior to the test. Unfortunately, this plan backfires when the Native American man develops feelings for Randy and wants a relationship. Randy does not want this and rejects him over and over again. During one of these instances though, he is caught kicking the Native American dressed as Christopher Columbus.
Meanwhile, DNA and Me return to Randy’s house to get a second sample. They want a second sample because they found a weird anomaly in the first sample. A hilarious bit ensues with Randy going to extreme measures to make sure that he has Native American DNA in this sample.
Randy is unsuccessful though. During his result reveal, he finds out that he is a part Neanderthal, which was eradicated by European white people. After learning this, Randy returns home to find Goldman waiting there. Goldman wants to confront Randy about his Columbus obsession, but Randy gets ahead of the situation by punching Goldman. Randy accuses Goldman of oppressing him. In the end, the pointless holiday, Columbus Day, returns. It comes back with a new meaning and mission: where everyone rips on each other and tears each other down.
So far, Season 21 of South Park is definitely an improvement compared to Season 20. While I am thoroughly enjoying this season, I am still left pondering what will become of the open plotlines from Season 20: memba berries, president garrison, cailtyn jenner, etc. Regardless it’s great to see an amazing episode of South Park with so many amazing jokes that left the audience in stitches.
