Trey Parker and Matt Stone’sSouth Parkhas been one of the funniest animated shows on the air for over two decades. While the show was initially criticized for its crude humor, it has since proven itself to be a poignant vehicle for social commentary. Since the late ‘90s, whenever a big news story has broken – from the 9/11 attacks to the COVID-19 pandemic –South Parkhasbeen there with a sharp satirical take on it.
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Across more than 300 episodes,South Parkhas delivered some truly iconic and groundbreaking half-hours. These are the best episodes of the show, according to their IMDb ratings.
10Grounded Vindaloop (9.1)
In its opening moments, the premise of “Grounded Vindaloop” seems to revolve around Cartman convincing Butters that he’s in virtual reality when he’s actually in real life.
Then, it becomes a mind-boggling head trip as Cartman learns thatheis, in fact, in virtual reality. The episode is filled with references to trippy sci-fi movies likeThe MatrixandTotal Recall.
9The Death Of Eric Cartman (9.1)
After Cartman eats all the skins on their KFC, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny decide to ignore him. The rest of South Park Elementary follows suit and Cartman is convinced that he died and his soul is trapped on Earth.
Since Butters doesn’t know everyone is ignoring Cartman, Cartman thinks he’s the only living soul who can see him. So, they set about getting Cartman into Heaven.
8Trapped In The Closet (9.1)
The Church of Scientology was very unhappy with its portrayal in “Trapped in the Closet,” which reveals Stan to be the second coming of L. Ron Hubbard and boldly claims that the entire religion is a scam to bilk people out of their money.
The episode closes with Stan daring the church to sue him in a reference to its history of litigiousness, then the end credits list all the cast and crew as either “John Smith” or “Jane Smith.”
7Woodland Critter Christmas (9.1)
Initially set up as an adorable holiday yarn about a little boy helping out some forest critters, “Woodland Critter Christmas” takes an ominous turn when the critters start preparing for the birth of the Antichrist.
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One ofSouth Park’s darkest episodes – and that’s saying a lot – “Woodland Critter Christmas” delivers a doozy of a plot twist.
6AWESOM-O (9.2)
Cartman shows up at Butters’ house in the guise of a robot in “AWESOM-O.” His plan is to enjoy the prank for a while before revealing the trick, but he stays in character when he finds out Butters has an embarrassing videotape of him that he’ll show the whole class if Cartman ever tricks him again.
AWESOM-O is mistaken for a robot designed to come up with movie ideas when Butters takes his “robot” on vacation to Hollywood. Every pitch he generates is for a high-concept Adam Sandler comedy.
5Casa Bonita (9.2)
The lengths that Cartman will go to in order to get what he wants are hilariously explored in “Casa Bonita.” Kyle gives Cartman’s invitation to the birthday party of a lifetime to Butters and tells him he can only come to the party if, for some reason, Butters can’t.
So, Cartman tricks Butters into thinking the town has been destroyed by an asteroid and locks him in a bomb shelter so he can go to Kyle’s party.
4Good Times With Weapons (9.2)
The season 8 premiere blendsSouth Park’s signature cutout animationwith gorgeously rendered anime as the boys get a hold of some martial arts weapons and play ninjas with them.
However, the episode takes a sinister turn when Kenny accidentally launches a throwing star into Butters’ eye. They then attempt to fix it before their parents find out they were playing with deadly weapons.
3The Return Of The Fellowship Of The Ring To The Two Towers (9.4)
When Randy sends the boys to drop off a VHS copy ofThe Lord of the Ringsat Butters’ house, he accidentally gives them a porno he rented instead. The boys’ quest to return the video becomes a Fellowship-esque quest of its own as they’re chased by their parents and tormented by bullies along the way.
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The episode’s story is tightly structured, while the parallels withThe Lord of the Rings– like Butters becoming a Gollum figure after watching the porno – are hysterical.
2Make Love, Not Warcraft (9.5)
OnlySouth Parkcould make an episode like “Make Love, Not Warcraft” work.Trey Parker and Matt Stone are true-to-life gamers, so when they make an episode about gaming, it doesn’t become the laughing stock of the gaming community like the nonsense spouted by characters from various other shows when they are trying to reference the industry.
Embraced byWarcraftfanatics and strangers to the iconic MMORPG alike, “Make Love, Not Warcraft” isSouth Parkat its finest, with sharp storytelling and hilarious gags in spades.
1Scott Tenorman Must Die (9.6)
It’s hardly surprising that “Scott Tenorman Must Die” is ranked by IMDb as the bestSouth Parkepisode, as it’s been named such by a ton of different publications. This episode marked a turning point forSouth Parkaspure evil became Cartman’s defining characteristicand the show’s comic sensibility became truly pitch-black.
In the episode, Cartman is tricked by an older kid into buying some pubic hair, then proceeds to launch a harrowingly diabolical revenge scheme.
