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Yes, this was a dark but promising way to start a season. Similar to their last episodes, this one was also very fast-paced so it will probably take a few more views to fully grasp it. A few good jokes here and there but this episode was mainly a continuity/plot-centered episode, so I will definitely stick around. I don't mind them having some absurd fun from time to time, but I'm hoping for this season to continue this focused approach on the dynamics of the family.

Not much more to say without spoiling it, so yeah, this was a good start. I liked it. I'm sure gonna rewatch it and probably regret this review in the not-so-distant future, but for now this will do.

Ever since the season 23 premiere "Mexican Joker" aired (man that was almost 2.5 years ago!), Trey and Matt have been using Randy as a "meta-scapegoat": a way to fulfill their needs of speaking directly to the audience, and their fans. A percentage of the fanbase was not happy with the show aiming their attention fully towards the patriarch of the Marsh family and his new venture on the weed business. If everyone would've loved the Tegridy Farms plot right from the start, we probably would never have had any more Tegridy episodes to begin with. The reason they keep coming back is because these stories write themselves. It's easy for them, and a lot of us still love the Tegridy shtick.

As a long time fan of the show I noticed that the South Park fanbase has changed a lot. Probably even more than the show. There's a lot of shipping characters and people are way more invested in their relationships and if a certain character will interact with another one and what not. This is probably tied with the fact that the world and the people have also been changing a lot over the past years. And, although they've never been known for a subtle satire, these last episodes have shown us a more obvious satire, now with a touch of hopelessness: I think the world, at some point, maybe decided South Park was the enemy and decided to change by going against its message, when in reality it was the opposite. I think Trey and Matt think there is no turning back with how the world thinks at this point. And so, the satire becomes more of a mirror of the reality rather than an exaggeration. Hey, if the people who gives this a 1/10 think only "staff members at comedy central or bots" could like this episode, then why can I be THAT pretentious too?? People who think there's a problem with the modern South Park have become what they swore to destroy. South Park has not changed; we did. But since nowadays a lot of people think we are saving the world or stopping the war just because we are tweeting a catchy hashtag or a hot selfie, we will never accept that we are on the wrong. That we have changed. And that the joke is on us, like it always has been.

Randy thinks his special is great and doesn't understand why people don't love it: is it because of him? Or because we definitely have to love Tolkien's dad Credigree? Of course, Randy is kind of a sociopath (is everything right at home Trey?) who just wants to make money, so it's kinda hard to defend him in this context. But luckily there's another plot so we don't have to. And the other plot is about Butters (oh Butters), who just wants to have fun on St. Patrick's Day, but things won't turn out to be how he wants them to be. Everybody wants the world to be like Butters thinks it is, but in reality, we are turning the world just like Randy thinks it is. Did we forget how to have fun? Episodes like this makes me think that we need South Park now more than ever. Everything, from the development of the plots, to the conclusion, scream of old-school South Park. Maybe there's still hope. Maybe we deserve better than 5 years of community service.

South Park is back and I couldn't be happier. This episode was great, and a promising season premiere. After the specials and Tegridy Farms (which I'm still a fan of) I have to admit it is refreshing to watch a good ol' kids episode in the school. On one hand I'm intrigued to see what's next for the show since I feel they spent the last COVID-jokes bullet on this one, but on the other no other show on earth could have made an episode like this one. Meaning that South Park still got it. Loved the role of Wendy on this one, and some nazi jokes made me laugh out loud. Luckily the fact that they are back is not the only good new about this.

Also: the "Pajama Time" song has been stuck in my head since this episode came out, and its not planning to leave anytime soon... anybody else?