WARNING: The following contains spoilers for South Park’s “South ParQ Vaccination Special,” which aired Wednesday on Comedy Central.
In the last few seasons of South Park, Mr. Garrison has been the show’s nastiest tyrant as a parody of Donald Trump after taking up the Oval Office. As president, Garrison ran xenophobic and racist campaigns, and almost destroyed America during the COVID-19 pandemic for financial gain, with the series clearly taking political shots at the real-world.
However, now that Trump’s out, so is Garrison. But when he comes home in the “South ParQ Vaccination Special,” he’s shocked to find out the town hates him. Luckily, thanks to a sinister deal, he ends up being turned into South Park’s greatest savior and is able to erase his past sins.
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After his presidential term, Garrison thinks he can just waltz around South Park as he did before, but parents and kids absolutely hate him now. Ironically, the egotist genuinely can’t remember what he did wrong, and he still has a pocket of support, the QAnon crew who start decoding his words needlessly. The thing is, he’s not their leader, so he insults these conspiracy theorists as he has no use for them anymore.
These brainwashed citizens led by the White family gaslight themselves into thinking he’s actually relaying hidden messages. This leads to White showing Garrison what the gun-wielding QAnon is about — ending the “Hollywood elites.” He reveals the entertainment industry and political arena are run by a murderous, predatory cult, which includes Jeffrey Epstein, Hilary Clinton, Barrack Obama, Tom Hanks and, yes, South Park creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
But just as Garrison starts to get behind these ideas, the show takes a meta turn. It transports him to a snowy mountain, evoking the cancel culture that White hates. The creators then start messing with White’s design, turning him into a giant penis. When Garrison realizes he could be canceled too, he strikes a bargain — one that’ll be a win for him and for South Park, as the unlucky Colorado town is about to eat itself due to a lack of vaccines.
Just as civil war erupts, Garrison triumphantly returns to town and summons the solution. A plane from Israel magically arrives with vaccines for everyone, and he makes a speech saying, “I thought we could all just magically be friends again, but relationships are very fragile things. And in times of crisis, when we need each other most, it’s sometimes when we grow furthest apart. But through it all, Mr. White here has taught me a very important lesson: Make sure you’re on the side of the people with the most power.”
It’s a deep cut, but it reflects society today. Garrison doesn’t care about the safety of people, just his image. However, after brokering the deal, the town forgets his past and starts liking him again for making them whole. Now, they can drink, party and gather en masse. And as the episode ends, Garrison insults the elites, making it known he enjoyed using them too.
South Park’s “South ParQ Vaccination Special” is currently available on Comedy Central.
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