After several weeks, South Park’s Game of Thrones parody finally concluded in glorious fashion and I must say I am sad to see it goes. The past three weeks have displayed the show at its creative peak in what has been a mostly lopsided season. The quality and consistency displayed here was hard to ignore and was the hardest I’ve laughed at the show in quite some time. However, it puts into perspective how the show is aging after so many years and with it signed through show’s 20th season one can only hope that the work displayed here holds over into those subsequent years. For now though, “Titties and Dragons” was pure bliss that wrapped everything up perfectly in a crimson Red Robin bow.
“Titties and Dragons” compared to the last few episodes relies the least on plot and character development because everything has been set in place up to now. You can get away with some of the more entertaining qualities here in particular having the first few minutes done in the style of anime thanks to Princess Kenny’s transformation at the end of last week’s episode. I loved the nod to Kenny’s constant reincarnation after an untimely fate by having him simply revived and powered up to the relief of the Sony executives.
All the jokes that have been utilized over the past few weeks were here and still never felt stale. Whether it was George RR Martin’s obsession with wieners (and his ability to draw things out) or the final appearance of the Old Man’s betrayal garden nothing felt stale because it comes when you least expect. If there was one thing I missed it was the storyline involving the newscasters from last week but I think that was played solely for developing the climax and it does fit well into the show’s final moments. Added into these reoccurring gags of the past few weeks was some great plot development through the relationship of Stan and Kyle. While an obvious nod to betrayal with GoT it gave some much needed depth to the relationships within the show that has gone missing for a while. South Park isn’t necessarily a show that needs much depth but it does help to show where the characters are going rather than have them constantly standing still.
This week was another example of being able to recognize Game of Thrones references let alone the quibbling of their fandom without necessarily being a fan. Randy’s continuous rant about how much people really liked certain characters was wonderful As soon as the “Red Robin Wedding” was referenced I knew we were in for a real gem and it was just that capped off by a hilarious show down between the Sony CEO and Bill Gates. Side note, did anyone pay attention to the tattoos he was wearing? Personal favorite was MS-DOS across his torso. This all leads to the moral, finally, and the slow realization in the boys that what they have been fighting for all along is so pointless. The pitch perfect inclusion of the Charlie Brown Christmas music as the boys walked through a sea of blood and devastation was truthful at best emphasizing the pointless nature of consumer fighting around the holiday season. Combine this with the obvious jab at the media that the local news channel was the ultimate victor in this bloodbath and you have the moral in place without having to figure it out.
The end, which saw the boys ultimately disenchanted by their Xbox One purchases and returning to enjoying the smaller things in life, was always coming. Many friends and commentators noted that it seemed like a slow set up to promote the anticipated “Stick of Truth” video game release and sure enough in the final moments it was tacked on. It was expected and was a way of acknowledging that despite finding the methods of consumerism uncalled for it’s a vicious cycle that restarts the instant it starts to go away. It was enough to get the point across and yielded a final laugh of Butter’s declaring that if you believe the game is coming out soon he has a big floppy wiener for you.
“Titties and Dragons” was a pitch perfect conclusion to this three-episode arc but it also leaves a bit of disappointment on its way out. Need we forget that there is still one more episode in this season? How can it possibly measure up to these past three weeks? It took a continuing storyline for the season to finally feel consistent with many of the standalones feelings forced and less than funny. South Park can still hit it home with a single episode but these three episodes measured up better than any standalone up to this point. I’m not saying the show should pick up a Doctor Who like season arc but it’s obvious the show works best on a time crunch that the creators know they don’t need to wrap everything up quickly. South Park is clearly a show that is showing its age after 16 years but it’s still great. Perhaps the success of the past few weeks will bring about some much needed life into the show but for now this was a wonderful three weeks that has made up for a rather up and down season.
