“SCREW YOU GUYS, I’M GOING HOME!”
June 24, 1998
“Summer at South Park is not going well: fireworks are banned, and a giant ash snake is ravaging the countryside.”
Many plot lines are juggled here, the chief one involving a giant firework getting out of control. A federal mandate against fireworks, instilled because a child blew his hand off, riles the citizens of South Park. In response, the Mayor tries to build a massive version of the only legal firework still allowed — only for it to destroy the town.
This seems to be an indictment of government on all fronts: the federal government rashly banned fireworks, which enabled the local government to make something even more dangerous. Notably, the threat is only stopped because Uncle Jimbo smuggled in an illegal Mexican firework.
Uncle Jimbo puts it best: “It’s the American way!”
At the very end, the monster is defeated, casting a rain of ash on South Park. Chef returns to town, only to find everybody covered in ash — as if they’re in blackface. This moment is particularly interesting and relevant, because Donald Glover recently delved into blackface on the most recent season of Atlanta.
Yet another subplot involves Mr. Garrison losing Mr. Hat, leading to a moment where he almost admits his gay feelings and doesn’t put them solely on Mr. Hat. But we’ll see plenty of growth (and degeneration) from him in the future.
Hilariously, despite the plot involving the destruction of South Park, the episode continually jumps back to Cartman struggling to swim. However, he’s oddly grossed out by the 1st graders peeing in the pool, which is something I feel like I’ve only heard adults complain about, but maybe I was just a gross kid (EDIT: I definitely was).
This episode marks the first appearance of Cartman’s iconic line: “screw you guys, I’m going home,” and a notable appearance of Mormons, which heralds a future obsession for Trey and Matt on South Park and Broadway.
Overall, this episode speaks to our current moment exceptionally well. Despite South Park being attacked by a massive ash monster, the kids are bored, almost blissfully unaware of their surroundings. In our modern era, it seems like every headline is foretelling doom, and it’s quite easy to fall into nihilism or, like the kids, focus on the little things that make you happy. Like John Mayer said, we’re all waiting on the world to change.
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