Randy Marsh Gets What He Deserves

South Park Season 23, Episode 6- “Season Finale” Review

In the first half of South Park’s 23rd Season, Randy Marsh became the Walter White of marijuana. He’s killed dozens of cows while high, murdered Winnie the Pooh, and worst of all, the Halloween Special. It looked as though viewers needed to wait until the end of the Season to see Randy brought down. However, last night’s episode “Season Finale” seemed to finally throw fans a bone. In addition, it did all this while tying together the plots of most of the episodes.

The episode starts off with Randy being arrested by the police. They figured out he blew up everyone’s pot gardens in “Mexican Joker”, and they have the footage to prove it. In addition, all of Randy’s other actions have essentially left South Park sick of Tegridy Farms.

I made my dislike for Tegridy Farms clear from the beginning, and it looks like Matt and Trey took notice of the fans dislike. I looked at the comments in the teaser for this episode, and a lot of them shared my disdain. It’s clear that Tegridy Farms wore out its welcome, and the writers know it.

The ones who are most excited about Randy’s arrest are, naturally, the Marsh’s. If Randy goes to jail, then they can move back to South Park and live their old lives again. They’re so happy at the prospect that they throw a party to celebrate. It’s at this point, though, that the town goes through its crisis of the week.

No One Cares About the Whites

While playing football in the park, a kid named Jason White gets run over by a cop car. In real life, this would be a horrific tragedy, but in South Park, few people care. Except for the Whites, who we last saw in “Splatty Tomato”. Mr. White uses his son’s funeral to complain about how no one cares about them. I think it’s supposed to satirize how Caucasians are becoming the minority in America, but I didn’t care. They also happen to be big supporters of Tegridy Farms, and they show up to ruin the Marsh’s party. Cartman, in a rare display of sympathy, offers to help the White’s move on from the loss of Jason. The place he sends them to, though, is one the show’s familiar with: the ICE detention camp.

The story involving the ICE detention camp never got resolved, so I felt surprised to see it brought back. However, this time the show knows what’s its bashing and doesn’t hold back on it. In this case, South Park tears into ICE’s policy of letting the kids of deported parents be adopted by American families. The fact that it’s portrayed like a pet center’s not only black comedy gold, but reinforces how inhumane the practice is.

At any rate, the White’s adopt a Mexican boy named Alejandro, and viewers see how harmful their actions can be. While they think they’re being loving and affectionate foster parents, Alejandro doesn’t see it that way. All he wants is to see his actual parents, which the Whites fail to understand. This ultimately leads to Alejandro snapping in the biggest way possible.

Randy Marsh Has a Sobering Realization

Meanwhile, Randy Marsh, now cut off from Tegridy Weed, starts to feel guilt for his actions. He calls President Garrison for advice and tries to use his “reverse-blame” tactic, but it fails. Fully sober, Randy realizes how big a jerk he’s been the whole season. At his subsequent hearing, Randy owns up to his actions and that he deserves to be in jail.

Considering how much of a bonehead Randy’s been this season, this moment feels almost cathartic. For a moment or two, it even looks like Tegridy Farms will be brought down for good. Then, the status quo steps in with a bang.

Having snapped over his anger at the US, Alejandro starts causing way more destruction than a normal boy should be capable of. Since the White’s covered him in sunscreen, he looks exactly like Mexican Joker. As a result, Alejandro gets all the blame as he flees the police, leaving Randy a free man. DRAT!

Tegridy Farms Future?

So, Randy Marsh got off the hook for everything that he did, and Tegridy Farms remains in business. I wanted to see his weed business go down, but “Season Finale” reaffirmed my belief that this won’t happen until the finale. That is, if it happens at all. For now, though, the show makes it look like Tegridy Farms’ done for the forseeable future. As in, the growing season for weed’s done. That’s where the title “Season Finale” comes.

It felt good to see Randy get a taste of karma, even if the status quo meant he got off the hook in the end. However, I remain skeptical over whether or not he’s learned his lesson. If the show’s smart, then it will stop focusing on Tegridy Farms. It’s been forever since we had a classic episode about the four main boy. If we’re lucky, it will focus on that in the remaining episodes. Howerver, I now want to see if they’ll do anything with Alejandro and the Mexican Joker plot. That’s too big a plot thread to leave by the wayside. For now, though, I think this was one of the better episodes of the season. Second only to “SHOTS!!!” in my opinion.

I Give “Season Finale” a 4/5.

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