South Park takes on the Impossible Burger, while Cartman and Randy's antics drive another strong episode
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Over the course of its 23-year run, South Park has had quite a bit of fun with veganism and vegetarianism. There was season 6's classic “Fun With Veal,” which taught us that “if you don’t eat meat, you become a pussy,” a fate which Stan nearly suffers. More recently, Cartman tricked Heidi into thinking she was eating vegan KFC — when it was actually just plain old KFC — as part of his plot to fatten her up and turn her into a female Cartman. Now, the show turns its attention to the recent plant-based burger trend, specifically the Impossible Burger, which has become increasingly popular since debuting at Burger King in August. The show doesn’t spend much time debating whether it can match the real thing, as Randy says it “tastes like shit” after one bite, but it does pose some intriguing questions as to just how much better of an alternative plant-based meats really are, while also featuring Randy Marsh and Cartman at their absurd best.
After reconciling with Towelie last week, Randy has yet to make amends with his family, as we see in a tense opening scene where he looks to them for ideas to save his now-fledgling weed business. Shelly still hates marijuana, and Randy is unwilling to take Sharon’s advice and cut back on advertising. Towelie comes up with the idea to sell the remaining stems and seeds as mulch, but before that idea can be explored, a stoned drive takes them to Burger King, where Randy comes across the Impossible Burger, and quickly realizes he could make his own plant-based burger with the leftover product. Thus begins Tegridy Burger, which doesn’t taste any better than the Impossible Burger, but everyone’s too stoned to care. I was hoping too see Randy deal with his fractured relationship with his family, but this was quite an enjoyable way to add to the Tegridy Farms plotline. It’s becoming clear that the main story of this season will be Randy looking for ways to keep Tegridy Farms going every week. How he’ll manage to pull this off with his family openly loathing him should be interesting to see.
Back at school, Cartman is incensed when his beloved sloppy joes have been replaced by a dubious-looking food that a cafeteria worker can only describe as “feesh,” in a voice that sounds a bit like Kyle’s ultra-stereotypically Jewish cousin of the same name. How did this happen? The girls (and one vegan boy) lead a protest for healthier, environmentally conscious food, leaving Cartman without his beloved junk. He responds by having a heart attack, and then having another one when yet another protest threatens to take away barbeque ribs day. Between this and his pig antics last week, Cartman has become completely unable to function when something doesn’t go his way, which could be something to explore later on, specifically because its hard to tell whether any of this is voluntary (I can’t help but think of Mitch Connor here). Either way, the stalemate between Cartman and the girls creates the need for a compromise. This is where we meet The Goo Man.
A spot-on parody of There Will Be Blood’s Daniel Plainview, The Goo Man comes to town with a simple goal: to turn everyone in town into vegetarians by consuming his mass-produced goo. This parody works because it’s entirely unexpected, but also fits into the episode perfectly. The Goo Man quickly gets multiple restaurants to convert to his Incredible Meats, as well as the school cafeteria, which is desperate to placate an increasingly belligerent Cartman. They get lucky; Cartman eagerly downs a plate of Incredible Tacos without much difficulty. The problem appears to be solved, but we’re left wondering how Cartman could so easily digest meatless food after reacting so violently to healthier options before.
The answer to that question gives this episode its most satisfying pay-off. The slimy substance being sold by the Goo Man is….actually pretty similar to the pink-slime filled meat products that Cartman had been enjoying all along. As it turns out, Cartman doesn’t necessarily like meat, he just likes mass-produced crap. This episode is quite cynical regarding plant-based imitation meats, asking the question of how much *better* for you they really are. But as Cartman sees it, if he can still eat his usual slop, and it happens to be good for the environment, he’ll take it as a net gain.
With Cartman neutralized, The Goo Man’s only remaining threat is Randy’s thriving Tegridy Burger business, which has the entire town stoned out of its gourd. A rancher arrives at Randy’s door claiming that because no one eats meat anymore, he has no use for his cows, so he leaves Randy to deal with them. This quickly becomes an issue, as they crap all over the place, and eat up his weed crops. With little idea as to how to solve the problem, Randy and Towelie decide to simply kill the cows, smoking a bunch of weed beforehand to make them forget the ethical nightmare they’re in. This is one of the more disturbing scenes South Park has ever done; not on the level of the ending of “Stanley’s Cup,” mind you, but pretty hard to watch, especially if you happen to care about animals. I’ll admit that the sheer surrealism of it all managed to get an awkward laugh out of me.
There’s a twist however; the rancher was working for The Goo Man, and with help from a frustrated Burger King employee who also joins up with him, they film Randy and Towelie’s bovine killing spree, making it look like the burgers aren’t actually vegan. Randy tries to explain that they didn’t actually eat the cows, but as one might guess, the damage has been done. Tegridy Farms has suffered yet another blow, and we’re left wondering how many more schemes Randy can come with in order to save it. After finding fortune at the end of last year, Tegridy Farms appears to be cursed in season 23.
While not quite as funny as last week’s episode, “Let Them Eat Goo” continues Season 23's winning streak. Cartman’s violent reactions to healthier food show him at his terror-inducing best, while the resolution to his plot is clever and unexpected. Randy’s escapades continue to be quite enjoyable as well. Admittedly, he’s been acting like a jerk all season, and on any objective level, he deserves to fail. At the same, though, watching his increasingly far-fetched attempts to keep the business going is incredibly amusing. As we approach the mid-point of season 23, the show is in very good shape, and should have more than enough intriguing plotlines going on to keep viewers guessing the rest of the way.
Stray Observations
- “You just got pwned by a towel.” Randy’s being a jerk, but this is a quality burn.
- “This seriously tastes like dog shit, and you get people to buy it?” I can’t help but wonder if Matt and Trey actually tried the Impossible Burger before making this episode, or if they were just going with their gut instinct about how it tastes (I haven’t tried it myself, and now I kind of don’t want to anymore).
- In Cartman’s battle with Wendy and the rest of the protestors, the topic of free speech comes up, as Cartman suggests that their *speech* caused his heart attack, and thus should be curtailed. I’m curious to see where they go with this. After acknowledging that climate change is real last season, this struck me as a clear reference to the ongoing right-wing efforts to stifle conversation and action on the topic. I would have like to have seen this play a larger role in the episode, and I’m hopeful they’ll come back to this point later on.
- My hardest laugh of the night came when Cartman had his second heart attack, and did a pretty spot-on Fred Sanford impression.
114 Comments
I’ve had Impossible Burgers in three forms: White Castle sliders, Burger King Whoppers, and a more gourmet preparation from a place in Pittsburgh called Burgatory. As far as taste, Burgatory’s offering was far superior. The White Castle version is pretty good, too. But I could only taste the patty of the Impossible Whopper by getting one without condiments, and that left the sandwich way too dry.
Burgatory is a great name.
I’ve not had an Impossible Burger, but have had a Beyond Burger. Have you? If so how would you compare them? I rather like the Beyond Burger. It doesn’t taste exactly like a burger, but more like if someone mixed beef and chicken in a 50/50 ratio.
I’ve had both, Impossible from Burger King and Beyond from Safeway and cooked at home. The Impossible Whopper is my favorite so far, tasting and looking very close to beef. The Beyond burger was good, but noticeably less so than the Impossible burger. To put it in perspective, nothing about the Beyond burger made me “excited” to eat more of it, other than the greenness of it. The Inpossible burger on the other hand, I’ve started adding a second patty to and get excited for any time I go out of town where Burger King is. I get legitimately excited to have a double Impossible Whopper because it tastes just that good in my opinion. Trey Parker and Matt Stone don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about, and probably never tried either of them.
We made Beyond Burgers a couple weeks ago and you nailed it exactly. It tastes pretty good but the consistency for me is slightly off and that’s what stands out to me.I had an Impossible Whopper that was perfectly fine, but the thing about that is a Whopper is pretty much 90% toppings (and I ordered it at a food court Burger King at a New Jersey rest stop at 10:30 PM, so they just microwaved it), so ultimately I really have no idea what it’s supposed to taste like.
Impossible is quite a bit better IMO. Beyond isn’t bad but Impossible might be the closest we ever get to fake beef that tastes like real beef, unless/until they start growing steaks in labs.
No, I haven’t tried Beyond Meat yet. I’ve heard people say it smells like cat food, but that hasn’t dimmed my curiosity.
My impression of the Beyond Burger was that it had the texture of a burger, but like 70% of the flavor had been sucked out. It was fine, but less flavorful. I bet it would be good in chili or some other more well-seasoned preparation.
I ws expecting worse but I didn’t hate the Impossible Whopper. I think the Flame grilling makes it taste similar to the regular Whopper, and really the flame grilling is the predominant flavor of the Whopper patty..
Yeah, I had an Impossible Whopper and you’re exactly right: it tastes like a regular Whopper because any kind of Whopper is 90% bun and toppings. So like, yeah, they basically tasted the same, but you could throw in basically any food instead of the patty and it would also probably taste the same as a regular Whopper.
I had a bite of an impossible whopper and it just tasted someone used super-lean ground beef and flame broiled it *way* too long. So basically, the opposite of what I want in a burger.
But does it taste like meat? That’s supposed to be the point of the Impossible Burger.
I do think the Impossible patties taste like beef. But in the better versions (not Burger King), the texture was more like tender meatloaf than solid hamburger.
Anyone who thinks it tastes like meat has malfunctioning taste buds. It (Whopper)wasn’t horrible, but it (both places I had one at)has a strong (I’m a supertaster, so you might disagree) vegetable taste, green beans(Not a favorite of mine) and something else I can’t quite decide on. The standard whopper I ate right after the Impossible one was vastly better. The IW tastes no more like beef than an other veggie burger. In my book at this point, the Morningstar Farms “Grillers Prime” are the best. Boca anything is to be avoided at all costs. IMHO, “Boca burgers” are almost so bad they are some sort of corporate joke.
I’ve grilled Impossible Burgers. They taste just lovely on a bun with cheese and mustard. Load it up with toppings it doesn’t much matter what the patty is made of.However, they do have an odd smell out of the package and are orange-tinged when raw.
Yes, we do all have freedom of speech. But, at times, there are ramifications for the negatives that can happen when you’re not thinking about others and you’re only thinking about yourself.It’s been a difficult week.
I’m pretty sure the free speech bit was a direct riff on LeBron James and his China bullshit. Cartman even references the financial aspects like LeBron.
Yeah I think he missed that reference.
Lebron:
“so many people could have been harmed … financially, physically, emotionally [and] spiritually.”
Yeah, it’s almost word for word what Lebron said in that interview the other day
I haven’t noticed anyone talking about bringing back City Wok either, which was clearly included to call out Lebron for his constant cultural appropriation in the Taco Tuesday videos and show they aren’t afraid of China, and enjoy the rights of free-speech even if considered offensive. I haven’t seen one reviewer or writer acknowledge this scene and it was one of the biggest points done in the most subtle way.
Thanks, I was wondering why City Wok made an appearance; your theory makes perfect sense.
the reviewer didn’t get a reference? shocking. Is he even on social media? It was pretty huge news.
Splinter is dead so there is currently a news vacuum, all the world got together and had a vote and decided that until another Gawker-esque site pops up there will be no news.
That was abundantly clear to me when watching, but this site has a habit of reading into things (from a staunch left/right political perspective) that just aren’t there.
And the “Taco Tuesday” bit is something LeBron constantly likes to post.
How the fuck do you not know that the free speech bit was about LeBron. Holy shi .
I think they nailed the impossible Whopper. It tastes like shit, but so does a beef Whopper.
Well, as far as junk food’s concerned; I’m curious to try this thing once; there’s no impossible burger in europe for now; but mac donald makes a vegan steak-like burger. Of course I kinda agree with the message in the episode; it’s still processed junk; like a lot of vegan things that are sold in supermarkets. I’m on a “loose” vegetarian diet (I cook only vegetarian; but eat meat or fish when it’s too much of a social hassle to do otherwise) ; and I ususally stay clear of processed vegan “steaks” or wafers or whatever you call it, because it does taste like shit (fallafel would be an exception). You kinda do have to cook your way there if you want to stop eat shit; meat or no meat. (what was my point again?)
Honestly, if you’re going to be vegetarian, that sounds like a pretty good way to do it. Elimination of meat isn’t really the ideal as far as health concerns go. Reduction? Yeah, that’s another story. Of course people have other concerns.
well if you know what you’re doing and replace meat/fish with other kinds of proteins there’s no real health concern. going full vegan requires eventually to take at least B12 supplement. Some people (usually younger) become vegetarien/vegan because they’re viscerally traumatised by the slaughter of animals and so on. While I’m sensitive to the question; for me it’s more about the ecological aspect; I have no problem eating meat/fish; I enjoy it sometimes; and really can’t bother going the extra mile which would involve being the annoying asshole who forces everyone else to acommode me; sometimes not having any option to eat out; or often when I’m welcomed somewhere for work; having no option either. I work half of the time home, I cook a lot and enjoy the luxury of getting served in a restaurant when I’m working in another city. to sum it up the problem is mostly social. Can be a source of tension as well in a couple/family.
My wife has a thyroid issue that’s exacerbated by gluten and an auto immune issue that’s troubled by A1 casein, commonly found in cow’s milk products. I completely understand that last part. We’ve had some issues recently because she has an uncle who seems to think that her issues aren’t real or something. We went to his military retirement and ended up splitting off from them because the restaurant they chose to eat at had crap-all for gluten free options. Eating gluten screws her up for about 3 days and she was newly pregnant, so it wasn’t an option.
So we found a decent place and really should have just gone back to the hotel afterward and let it lay, but we ended up going to that restaurant where they were camping at a 10 spot table after eating, and ended up having to take her drunken brother home… about 40 minutes out of our way.
Heh. I was so done with her side of the family after that. Most of the time we try to be accommodating, but I can’t let her go through hell for their whims. And we’d run around all day due to their crappy planning, and hadn’t eaten since breakfast anyway, so we were done. I can imagine what being full vegan would be like, esp. in more rural settings.
thanks for sharing, yeah, in the case of your wife; she really doesn’t have a choice. Coming down to a life threatening situation (like I don’t know, a prison where you can only eat what you’re given); a vegan could always change their regimen.
is impossible very different from the rest? Germany has Beyond Meat and Lidl copied the recipe and calls it ‘Next Level. I ate Next Level burger patties, Next level minced meat, and Next Level cevapcicis. i like it. i think its tasty because it contains mushrooms and smoke aroma and has the expected consistency
I wouldn’t know; I haven’t tried either.
They should have had you review the new Kevin Smith movie. And Parker and Stone are still complaining about vegans? Jesus Christ those two Ritz cracker assholes need to go away.
“They should have had you review the new Kevin Smith movie.”What, did he run over your dog or kidnap your kids or something?
Here’s a counterpoint: Fuck vegans and fuck what they think.
Oh, there’s an asshole in your post, but it’s not anyone you mentioned…
I’m amazed that after 23 years there is still people dumb enough to think that whatever Cartman or Randy say is a reflection of Matt and Trey’s actual exact opinion…. It’s because of people who only catch the first degree that they keep thriving!
No, it is just a tired joke.
Feels like you didn’t watch the episode at all, was about the alt meat craze more than calling out vegans. Cartman’s anti-vegan stance wasn’t portrayed as something positive at all either.Maybe you’re just a stick in the mud. Figure it out.
Just to be that guy – Impossible burgers are not marketed or even discussed as a health food. Any assumptions of health are from the ignorant who just assume anything vegetarian is healthier. Its purpose is a lower carbon footprint compared to beef production, and mainly intended for omnivores who want less meat in their diets. That is all.
You will never go broke taking advantage of the average Americans ignorance. These are the same people who will order a salad and smother it in ranch and cheese and call it a diet.
hey that sounds super keto
Sounds fairly Keto to me.
And I wonder which actually has a smaller carbon foot print? Because it would seem to take a lot of energy in order to gather the various products necessary for the Impossible Burger, and to then process them into the final food item.
Hey look, it’s Actually Man! Here he comes to just ask questions, that’s all.
Actually….my job here is done![flies off into the night on Bird scooter]
Well, according to Vox the Impossible Burger uses genetically modified soy grown in the US, as opposed to GMO-free soy from Brazil. The former has a smaller footprint than the latter, though of course this doesn’t solve the other issues we might have with the finished product.
I imagine it’s smaller, if only because of the 10% rule.
Any plant based thing has an advantage if only because masses of cattle are so bad for the environment. There’s the methane output, the space required for feeding, and the antibiotics. Can’t forget those delicious antibiotics.Also the facilities required for “processing” a whole cow into ground beef are probably more complex than the ones that process plants into patties.
That makes sense. Is there any way one can responsibly eat beef? For example, if they’re grass finished? That and I enjoy bison meat for the healthy fats and omega-3s, and I figure bison are far smaller in numbers with less of a footprint?
Take up hunting. Deer gotta die. You gotta eat meat. It’s a win-win.
Luckily I have a brother in law who does that. Whenever he bags a deer, I get some amazing sausage out of it. Sadly he’s not had luck so far this season.
I genuinely have no idea. The things that pop to mind (like community-based cow-farming or making beef a hugely expensive luxury item) are contrary to the values of a democratic (-ish) urbanized society. I just do the American thing and overpay for organic beef. It’s the Tesla principle – if it costs more, it must be better for the environment! (Though the exorbitant cost prevents me from eating a lot of beef, which is at least better for my health.)
One suggestion I have read is to make beef a special occasion dish, or once a week, along those lines.
Animal meats produce a larger footprint because they have to be farmed in tandem with plant products since you’re feeding the animals grains, usually corn meal. Corn takes up a lot of space and is about as good for soil as salt. I’m a rabid carnivore, and grew up on a dairy farm, so I’m not really advocating vegetarianism, just explaining the point behind this particular trend.It doesn’t really matter if the burger tastes bad, or even exactly like a beef burger. The trend is set up to fail because it started out the gate as a concession. From the beginning, vegetarian burgers have acknowledged that they are a replacement for meat. The most successful vegetarian options haven’t focused on what their products aren’t, but what they are, usually in ethnic dishes where the use of vegetables is incidental and from cultures with a much healthier relationship with produce. No one is buying an Impossible Whopper because the vegetables give it a unique flavor, and that’s a problem. Its market relevance can’t be more than a fad if at its core it’s a redundant product. Personally I think if someone wants to truly eat ethically (and shop ethically in general, for that matter), they should fix their focus on where their products comes from, not just what specie it’s comprised of. Factory farmed vegetarian options do pretty hefty damage to the environment being shipped all over the world and generate a lot of waste. Of course who wants to stop and consider the larger picture when convenience culture is offering up sodium packed potato burgers with a $7 pat on the back?
I’m gonna do something irresponsible (like all of the internet) by passing on information without a source (because I can’t remember where I saw it). The gist was if humans switched to a plant based diet the actual difference between the carbon footprints from that and where we are in now in food production is quite small. Like a couple of percentage points. Now maybe if you pooled every small percentage point across every aspect of life it would all add up into something meaningful, but that a herculean task. The piece pointed out that since the difference was so small, it’s better to target larger scale footprints (vehicles, energy production and consumption) and just eat what you want.
Is definitely more complex than simply “if we all go vegetarian/vegan” everything is better but most studies and especially the more reputable ones agree that a drastic reduction in Meat consumption will be a huge benefit to the environment. It’s not just carbon footprint but everything else, including antibiotics we pump all the livestock full of that is helping to create a very serious threat where they become useless to us as humans for example. Also there’s a more general ethical question about killing less animals.Is reasonable though that going entirely meat free isn’t going to be the best thing for everyone though, the transportation of goods is a huge environmental issue, so in more remote places for example it’s probably better to raise livestock/fish etc than have someone fly over soy. Also huge farms of crops arent great for ecosystems and create issues too.Honestly the most sustainable thing would be if people in the Western world ate a local diet, but that won’t happen in the modern world
Ya that’s bad info. It is massively worse for the environment to make meat pattys. Then again it’s not like the multi billion dollar meat industry isn’t spending hundreds of millions of dollars on disinformation campaigns…
Living cows use a lot of resources create a lot of greenhouse gasses. It’s possible the process could be so bad, it’s worse, but you would really have to try.
I mean, maybe it’s not as much of a colon cancer risk? At any rate I like how it doesn’t make me feel like I’m about to have a heart attack or have whopperburps for five hours.
Shut up, just shut up! Let me wallow in the fantasy of good health, as I eat this double-whataburger-whopper smothered in melted cheese, mayo and onions. Why you gotta take this away from me??
So…to confirm here…you consider cows being killed (which they have to be anyway to make food)…more disturbing than an 8 year old child engineering the deaths of the parents of a kid who played a prank on him and then forcing him to eat them?
Leftism, ladies and gents.
Love the Impossible burger at White Castle, always got sick with the regular beef, but not the Impossible patty. Used to work at a slaughterhouse and the cows and pigs are getting crazy cancer tumors. I was in charge of cutting and trimming the parts at a band saw. There would be cancer oozing out of the meat parts smelled awful, my first week there I was just throwing away the entire cuts. One day management saw me throwing the cancer carcasses away and said “What are you doing?!?!, don’t throw it out, just cut around it.” Ever since then, I really stopped eating traditional beef cuts and slowly switched to impossible or Beyond when going out to eat. Love the taste of beef, but hate the antibiotics; hormones, cancer ooze, mad cow, cruelty on the animals. So I try to opt for the plant based stuff now.
Zero percent chance this is true.
A lot of stuff about beef really sucks. Yes it tastes amazing, but when Impossible comes to my local grocery store, I will be cooking with it often. It’ll satisfy my vegetarian wife as well as my environmental and other concerns, if not my waistline (but that’s what moderation is for).
“asking the question of how much *better* for you they really are”oh, such a provocative tought that of course *no* vegan ever asked themselves.there’s almost no vegan on earth that thinks impossible meat and the likes are healthy, some people just like to eat junk food.but thanks south park for bravely questioning what has already been questioned by everyone who gives a shit about the topic.
No-one suggested vegans hadn’t asked themselves this. Still always nice to see SP doing a fine job of getting someone like ciemme who takes themselves too seriously worked up.
“what has already been questioned by everyone who gives a shit about the topic”Which, to be fair, is maybe about 5% of the country – and an even more vanishingly small percentage of the South Park audience.
it’s a cartoon no need to get so defensive, have a little ‘tegridy.
Your missing the point. It’s not about what vegans or other eaters of Impossible Meats think, it’s the fact that the marketers aren’t stopping everyone ELSE from thinking they’re “healthier.”
The impossible whopper tastes just as disappointingly bland as the real one.
A whopper is just a mayo delivery system.
Then get it without mayo? I don’t get the problem here. If you don’t like the taste of Burger King or the Whopper, there’s a good chance you might not like any fast food beef-alternatives either. But that’s nobody’s fault. Getting mayo on your burger, however, IS your fault. Just ask for it without mayo, it’s not that hard, I do it literally every single time I eat fast food burgers, and it’s worked like a charm.
Trust me, I have zero issue with the amount of mayo it comes with. The reason the Whopper is my favorite fast food burger is precisely because it comes with half a cup of mayo on it!
Interesting tidbit. I once looked at the BK nutrition facts and it gives you the Whopper’s nutrition info w/o mayo. I thought it was hilarious that having no mayo nearly cut the caloric and fat content in half. not trying to shame you for that mayo goodness or anything, just a funny observation.
You’d be amazed how much empty calories you’ll cut for just skipping condiments. I get all my burgers with just meat and cheese or if it’s a place I trust to get a special order right, with onion and pickle. Fast food is still crappy for you, but cutting out all the condiments really takes a lot of the calories out of the meal. I think the fact that while I eat shitty and am a fat, I’ve never crossed that line into morbid obesity because I almost never eat condiments.
MAYO? (Shudder). Not in my universe. The only thing mayo is good for is…well…there isn’t anything it’s good for.
I do the mustard whopper. Mustard covers a lot more sins than mayo.
I thought it was much worse, and that’s saying something.
“In Cartman’s battle with Wendy and the rest of the protestors, the topic of free speech comes up, as Cartman suggests that their *speech* caused his heart attack, and thus should be curtailed. I’m curious to see where they go with this.”Cartman’s lines were, word for word, LeBron James’ comment on Daryl Morey’s tweet about China. That was there specifically to skewer James.
The restaurant I work at started offering Beyond burgers because our previous veggie patty used eggs as a binder and therefore wasn’t vegan. They have to be stored frozen and in order to fully heat through without burning they have to be microwaved for a minute before going on the charbroiler. They smell awful. Some of the staff don’t mind the taste and some of the staff can’t stand it. Tacos made with a Beyond patty aren’t bad but as an actual burger the difference is more striking. They tend to fall apart if not handled properly and my first experience with one was tasting a little chunk that had fallen off a patty while making one for a customer. The taste of slightly charred Beyond “meat” left an awful taste in my mouth that lingered for 15 minutes. I compared it to the time I accidentally lit a cigarette backwards while tripping acid and had the taste of burnt cigarette filter in my mouth ruining my trip for the next half hour.
“’This seriously tastes like dog shit, and you get people to buy it?’ I can’t help but wonder if Matt and Trey actually tried the Impossible Burger before making this episode, or if they were just going with their gut instinct about how it tastes (I haven’t tried it myself, and now I kind of don’t want to anymore).”Trey and Matt piss me off sometimes, because as conservatives, they will often just assume they hate something because certain groups in America like it, without actually bothering to educate themselves on it. Like, for instance, how they didn’t hesitate to jump on the climate denial/anti-Al Gore train and took years and years to finally, and to my immense surprise, apologize for it and correct themselves. They may be comedic geniuses, but they can be pretty fucking stupid when they base an episode around a topic they know jack shit about.These beef-replacements might not necessarily be for everyone, but to just say “it tastes like shit”, is a disservice to your viewers and fellow citizens desperate to stop climate change. Don’t let this one episode steer you away from trying one of these beef alternatives. As a huge beef lover, I actually enjoy these enough to replace most of my high-beef diet with these alternatives, so it obviously doesn’t taste like shit. If that’s what you think of these, I have to assume you’ve either never tried them or did so expecting it to taste bad (expecting something to taste bad is a good way to make sure you hate the taste, just like a child eating brocolli or green beans for the first time). If you haven’t tried the Impossible Whopper yet, don’t listen to critics, just try it yourself, and be sure to have an open, preferably positive, mindset when you do. Also, use all your regular condiments.
Been feeling kinda down this week, think I’ll go and kill a bunch of cows.
I’m alternating between being really sick of Tegridy Farms and finding everything they do hilarious. Kind of like that episode Cartman trolled Kyle with the satellite for about 5 minutes and Chef was like “ok now its funny again”
Remember a few seasons back where Randy and Sharon divorced when Randy was having his Steamy Nicks moment? They may be heading to that again, only this time making it permanent. That’s how you get Stan back to South Park.
That episode took me from being SO annoyed with Randy’s antics to crying in 3 minutes. That was one of the ballsier things they’ve done, and it made me want South Park to go out on a depressing but poignant note. I kind of still want at least Randy to not have a happy ending. But that whole plot of Stan being somewhere else entirely and meeting new people while the others adjust to seeing him less could work.
I was thinking the same thing, and couldn’t remember what episode the “ok, it’s funny again” came from.
I find the Tegridy Farms story to be very funny and I’m enjoying it, while also hoping that it ends this season.
Hey, tried my first (and last) BK Impossible Burger! It was dry, didn’t taste like meat, and overpriced.
I guess if I were a vegan who hadn’t eaten a single burger in years, I might be happy with it, but seriously, that was a disappointment after hearing all the hype. I much prefer their old Gardenburgers. At least they were tasty, even if I didn’t think they tasted like meat either.
Being that guy: fledgling means new/immature/just starting out. So a business can’t be now-fledgling. You probably meant now-flailing, or something along those lines, since it’s not a new business, it’s a now-struggling business.
Don’t agree with the direction of dealing with Cartman this season (unless there is a big pay-off at the end). It doesn’t seem to make sense to me. I mean, in one episode Wendy kicked Cartman’s ass and in another the school staff actually threw Cartman under a bus. Even Butters once farted in his face! Yet this season now has everyone walking on pins and needles dealing with Cartman’s increasingly wild and abusive behavior. I keep wishing for someone to finally say “F—- You Eric!”I did love The Goo Man because he embodied the pink sludge McDonalds always uses. And how Cartman loved the goo regardless because it’s still familiar-tasting salty junk (like most of America). The Randy-thing is getting a little old (how many times are Matt and Trey going to keep proving the famous quote “Our parents are as stupid as these people”?) And Towelie’s still the worse. And on a side note: before the next review is published, please slide it by an editor. I mean is correct grammar and spelling asking too much?
I don’t think fledgling means what you think it means.
It’s incredibly old and juvenile yet I never tire of the City Wok joke.
I’ve tried Impossible, and like pretty much every other soy/tofu meat substitute I’ve ingested, it’s basically flavorless apart from whatever seasonings they put in to simulate the meat flavor. I wouldn’t go so far as to say, “tastes like shit,” more like, “wow, I’m paying money to taste nothing.”As clever as the resolution was, I couldn’t help but wonder why the common sense solution of “Just have normal stuff alongside vegan options” was never brought up, even if it was just to be cynically dismissed.Given all the vegan stuff, I’m surprised we haven’t checked in with the Feegans and their life preservers from “Broadway Bro Down.” I know Larry’s dead, but given that he and Shelly dated for a minute, it might be cool to see them again, if nothing else than to give Shelly another reason to hate her father.It is my sincere hope that Cartman has further health problems, and no matter what the cause, every time he gets carted off he flips off Wendy just because.I’m also loving the sitcom scene establishment music sting that plays at the beginning of each episode, just to further the classic comedy tropes we’ve had so far (“Sanford and Son” with Cartman’s heart attack, the “Green Acres”-style opening, etc.).
There was season 6’s classic “Fun With Veal,” which taught us that “if you don’t meat you, you become a pussy,”
I was hoping too see Randy deal with
Proofread! It’s not fucking hard! Have some fucking pride in what you get paid to fucking do!
“PEDANTRY IS IMPORTANT, DAMMIT”
Well, that’s ONE ad Hulu didn’t make me watch 5 times over while watching South Park this week.
Huh. Sounds like South Park is still doing that whole thing where no one should ever care about anything or try at all because if you do you’re a big dumb pussy. How does that not get old?
You clearly don’t understand South Park at all. That or you just don’t understand the difference between caring about something and being a fanatic. It’s quite a scary thing to not understand the difference between caring about something and being a fanatic. It’s no doubt how fanatics don’t understand they’ve crossed between taking a moral stance to justifying committing immoral acts in the name of their moral stance.
Dude, you failed in watching this one too. Cartman was clearly having a heart attack from the stress of learning about healthy food being served, not the actual healthy food itself. fucking shame
“After acknowledging that climate change is real last season, this struck me as a clear reference to the ongoing right-wing efforts to stifle conversation and action on the topic. I would have like to have seen this play a larger role in the episode, and I’m hopeful they’ll come back to this point later on.”Just how dumb are you, John? Or rather what is the left paying you? What Cartman said was nigh verbatim of Lebron James and his hypocrisy.
Last week’s episode kinda sucked. This one was much better. So far, this season is looking good.
The second heart attack was enough of a ringer of Fred Sanford I was wondering who Cartman was comin’ for as he clutched his chest.
Nope, they don’t smoke a load of weed before the cow massacre they eat a load of weed burgers. That’s what gives the massacre itself it’s awkward power, in order to save the meat free burger business they have to kill a load of cows, by eating a load of weed burgers, which were they meat burgers would require killing a load of cows.
Cartman’s free speech riff was almost word-for-word LeBron James’ disatrous statement on China. How did you not get that?
Cartman’s free speech riff was almost word-for-word LeBron James’ disatrous statement on China. How did you not get that?
The buns on the Tegirdy Burgers were branded like at Burger Fi.Burger Fi has a “Conflicted Burger”, which has both a beef and a veggie patty.
Hey Internet: Let’s all argue over the spelling of “barbecue”!
Great soundtrack this week, although they used “Pass the Dutchie” by Musical Youth instead of “Pass the Kutchie” by The Mighty Diamonds.
I recommend the “Big Blunts” album:
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Blunts-Smokin-Reggae-Hits/dp/B000000HJJ
As for the “freedom of speech” aspect to this episode, this entire season has basically been about freedom and how freedom that doesn’t limit other freedoms is pretty impossible. Someone exercising their freedom takes away someone else’s freedom. We saw this with Anti-Vax stuff last week. We saw it with the detention facilities and homegrown weed. We saw it with how companies and organizations are free to do business with China, which ironically doesn’t value freedom.
This week we see it again. Randy did to Burger King what he bombed home growers for doing to him and he started cutting into other’s business. The free market of plant-based food and consumer choice towards sustainability drove the rancher out of business. Changing all the foods in a school cafeteria isn’t everyone’s idea of freedom either and as the kids seemed to figure out at the end of this week’s episode, maybe the freedom they got isn’t the freedom they want…all they did was swap out one processed food for another and all the cows ended up dying anyways.
Speaking of cows, we see the conundrum of what wide-scale veganism means for cows. They are only alive because we eat them and use them. If that demand ceases, then there is no use for cows, and they’ll eventually die off, which seems pretty antithetical to wanting to keep animals alive.
The conflict of freedoms is the central conflict in America right now and this season of South Park is showing that wonderfully right now.
The music’s been consistently strong these last few seasons (especially the bedroom vaccination scene in last week’s episode and the Johnny Greenwood-inspired “There Will Be Blood” bits in this one), and I’m surprised that it doesn’t get much attention. I wonder if it’s all Parker’s work.