After a fairly up-and-down 18th season of South Park, show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone take all the energy lost in a healthy majority of their latest episodes and throw it into, what has to be, one of their best season finales in years, "#HappyHolograms."
Much like last week's penultimate episode "#Rehash", this week's installment ties together all the events that corresponded with one another this year into an explosive narrative capper. Continuing his ongoing struggle to reconnect with his generation, and especially his younger brother Ike, Kyle goes to try getting young people away from watching YouTube commentators and have them enjoy the living room once again, where TVs sit idly and unused. Speaking as though he is Clement Clarke Moore, Kyle begins the episode purely in rhythmic fashion, speaking on and on about the woes and tribulations of his time before going onto Twitter and attempting to trend #SavetheLivingRoom.
While Kyle seems to have a supporter in Bill Cosby, turns out this was none other than his hologram, who takes his hashtag and "rapes it," as Kyle later remarks. Meanwhile, his friend Eric continues his Internet domination as "Cartman Brah" (or Cartmaan Bra, depending on who you ask about how it's spelt), who now is an unstoppable force of reckoning on the same level as PewDiePie, if not greater. He goes as far as to take the celebrity-filled Christmas television event of the year and name it "The Washington Redskins Go F**k Yourself Holiday Special," much to the chagrin of some producers.
Set to appear in that special is Lorde/Randy, or — as it was revealed last week — their hologram, who is taking their fame and turning it into profits against their will by whoring them out. Randy tries explaining this to the authorities and whoever will listen, but no one believes him. If that were not enough plot for a 22-minute episode, Tupac's hologram has gone full Terminator mode, and is seeking the escaped Michael Jackson hologram, who teamed up with Randy and his wife Sharon to take down the system.
Since last week's full-force reintroduction to the streamlined narrative of this season introduced in its second episode, South Park has done an exceptional job these past two weeks with incorporating the details of the past 10 episodes, while keeping the story fresh and hilarious. Better yet, "#HappyHolograms" takes some of last week's most pressing problems and makes them better. The Kyle storyline this week feels more vital and inspired, while the Randy/Lorde subplot is just as good, and twice as funny, this week.
"#HappyHolograms" is easily the best written episode of the season. Yes, even better penned than the sweetly, and oddly, heartfelt "The Cissy". Whether its the continuously amusing bits in the police station, dealing with how to handle a black hologram, or hologram Kurt Cobain's holiday melody with a shotgun, this episode is filled to the brim with cleverness and vigorously-inspired material. Also, Bill Cosby singing his rendition of "Baby It's Cold Outside" with Taylor Swift: pure comedy genius.
Even when the episode gets more ridiculous, it keeps its head straight and message intact.. Its message is clear, but it is never preachy and is also refreshingly self-aware of its irony. There is a lot of room for it to get heavy-handed and preachy — something South Park has even mocked itself for doing several times by this point — but it keeps the jokes flying and its story focused, despite how complicated it may seem on paper.
While this will not go down as the greatest South Park season by any stretch of the imagination, Parker and Stone certainly found a great way to conclude its 18th run through. Whether its parodying Iggy Azalea or Transcendence, the jokes come fast and hard this week, making everything sharp yet hilarious. While I have doubted you throughout this season South Park, I can proudly say I join your #WeBelieveinYou salute.
That wraps it up. Thanks for reading everyone. To read more of my TV recaps, look for my Mulaney reviews on Sundays.
Image courtesy of INFphoto.com
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