7.5/10. Pretty good episode. Not a lot of outright laughs, but a number of moments where I thought, "that was a clever gag." I got a particular kick out of how the boys and the anti-PC resistance force would get distracted by the pop-up ads and end up far afield of what they were intending to do.
It feels premature to judge this episode, since it mostly seems to be building to the season finale rather than working as a standalone episode. Still, I enjoyed a lot of the things it set up, like the creepy yet oddly compelling monotone of Leslie as she manipulates Jimmy, or the tensions between Stan and Kyle (them calling each other "Cartman" as an insult, with Cartman himself saying "that's low" was the funniest part of the episode), or the missing PC guys. The news anchors and their standard newsman delivery throughout everything was amusing. Plus they're tying a lot of the things set up in earlier episode (Jenner again, charity donations, Barbrady shooting people) together here.
If there was the hint of a clear message behind it so far (beyond the distraction power of ads) it's the hypocrisy of Randy having essentially organized the gentrification of South Park and then complaining when it prices him out. It's the kind of "it's all well and good until it affects me" kind of thinking that Matt & Trey loathe. But otherwise, a lot of how this episode ultimately comes off will have a lot to do with how things go next week, since so much of it seems pointed in that direction. I'm very interested to see how the folks behind the show will tie a bow on this season's shot at longer form storytelling.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2015-12-03T05:44:57Z
7.5/10. Pretty good episode. Not a lot of outright laughs, but a number of moments where I thought, "that was a clever gag." I got a particular kick out of how the boys and the anti-PC resistance force would get distracted by the pop-up ads and end up far afield of what they were intending to do.
It feels premature to judge this episode, since it mostly seems to be building to the season finale rather than working as a standalone episode. Still, I enjoyed a lot of the things it set up, like the creepy yet oddly compelling monotone of Leslie as she manipulates Jimmy, or the tensions between Stan and Kyle (them calling each other "Cartman" as an insult, with Cartman himself saying "that's low" was the funniest part of the episode), or the missing PC guys. The news anchors and their standard newsman delivery throughout everything was amusing. Plus they're tying a lot of the things set up in earlier episode (Jenner again, charity donations, Barbrady shooting people) together here.
If there was the hint of a clear message behind it so far (beyond the distraction power of ads) it's the hypocrisy of Randy having essentially organized the gentrification of South Park and then complaining when it prices him out. It's the kind of "it's all well and good until it affects me" kind of thinking that Matt & Trey loathe. But otherwise, a lot of how this episode ultimately comes off will have a lot to do with how things go next week, since so much of it seems pointed in that direction. I'm very interested to see how the folks behind the show will tie a bow on this season's shot at longer form storytelling.