South Park 22.02 Review – “A Boy and a Priest”

After reflecting on and rewatching last week’s episode, I still didn’t like it. But I failed to mention a point that Matt & Trey may have been trying to make: that school shootings have become so commonplace in America that we as a country have become to accept them as such. I still feel that their approach was wrong, that they had a chance to speak up and instead decided to make period jokes, and that those who are outraged shouldn’t be made to feel bad. Most importantly, I still didn’t find the episode funny. But, I concede their potential point. That too many people have started “accept” school shootings.

Onto this week’s episode.

It’s nice to see that Stan only suffered a small wound after being shot last week.

Matt and Trey went back to the “Catholic Priests love little boys” well this week. Not the most original material considering “Red Hot Catholic Love” came out in 2002 and was a far superior episode. Father Maxi made reference to his visit to Vatican, but that was it. Just a reference. It felt like they left a lot of material on the floor given how good that episode was. Where were the Galgameks?

Know that Matt and Trey are football fans, it’s easy to see the parallels between Father Maxi’s speech to Butters about turning a blind eye and the Urban Meyer situation at Ohio State. It wouldn’t be surprising if this was their reference point considering how dated Priest molestation jokes are.

Did I mention that “Red Hot Catholic Love” premiered 16 years ago? And I thought the Black Panther references last week were a bit dated.

At least there were some laughs to be had this week. The Cleanup Crew were funny into their absurdity. And the boys ripping on Butters will rarely get old.

Even Butters using Maxi as his pet Priest had some charm to it. Butters is just a naive little boy who needed a friend. His willingness to accept people as they are and see the good in everyone is what makes his character so special.

The secondary storyline of church bringing everyone together for a roasting session didn’t have a ton of legs. I know Randy is one of the most beloved figures in South Park, but when did the show become all about him? He’s taken on a more prominent role over the years, but it feels like overkill through two episodes. Especially in comparison to Stan and Kyle, who are now secondary. And Kenny, who may as well no longer exist.

In a #cancelsouthpark update, there seem to be two theories. The first, which is mine, is that the has lost its way and the humor and story have suffered as a result. The second is that matt and Trey are more savage than ever and that nothing is off limits. I don’t believe in the second simply because nothing has ever been off limits. And are a bunch of Catholic Priest molestation jokes really that savage? Maybe in the PC world we live in, they are. But again, they were doing these same jokes in 2002, just in a more creative fashion.

Give me better material and creativity over recycled shock factor any day of the week. Especially on Wednesday.

3.0

The final score: review Bad

The 411

Well, the effort was better than last week largely due to the Catholic Cleanup Crew and Butters charm. But once again, I struggled to find the humor on a consistent basis and felt the material was extremely dated.