Season 21 of South Park got off to a shaky start. “White People Renovating Houses” didn’t know what it wanted to say, to the point where I was wondered if the show should ditch politics completely (or at least focus more on Cartman messing with technology). But episode two, “Put It Down,” told a funnier, more cohesive story by making a slight, but significant adjustment.
Whereas “White People” focused on Randy and Sheila’s dealings with white supremacists, “Put It Down” told a current news cycle story through the, to quote Michael McDonald, “eyes of a child.” Specifically, Tweek’s.
South Park Elementary’s most anxiety-ridden student is especially jittery over the possibility of North Korea bombing the United States, and not even baking cupcakes or a playing with a Fidget Spinner, or four, can get him to calm down. (I have not seen a better summation of the last eight months than Tweek banging on a piano and screaming, “WE’RE ALL DEAD.”) His boyfriend Craig (the most pure relationship on TV) tries to explain that he should relax, that worrying is only going to make things worse, but, like, has he met Tweek? It doesn’t help that whenever Tweek checks this phone, there’s a new tweet from President Garrison personally attacking the North Koreans by calling them “dipsh*t, poor ass, Third World rice pickers,” or accusing Tweek of pooping in the cupcakes he sent to Kim Jong-un in the name of peace.
Eventually, it dawns on Craig that he need to stop trying to “fix” Tweek; he should empathize with his partner, which in turn helps Tweek channel his emotions into doing something productive: performing a parody of Logic’s “1-800-273-8255” about how if you’re feeling like the president, you should put down your phone. The “allowing the ones you love to worry if that’s how they process” message is surprisingly sweet, and it straddles the line between juvenile sincerity and cynical irony, which is when South Park is at its best.
It’s also really good at fake Trump tweets.
And Photoshop.
There’s an actual @4RealPresident account, but no tweets yet. I guess Garrison took South Park‘s advice and “Put It Down.”
