10 Oddly Wholesome South Park Moments
A deep dive into South Park's sensitive side.
South Park is a popular and enduring TV show, which has acted as a satirical pop-culture time capsule since 1997. Its creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone target society indiscriminately. This is a key reason they skirt much criticism when delving into controversial and contentious topics. The other is the writing talent that gives life to South Park.
The show has both amused and angered every section of society, often provoking both emotions in the space of a single episode. There are many diverse and visceral opinions on the long-running animated comedy, ranging from cultlike worship to words more succinctly expressed by spitting on the ground. Few would include the adjective “wholesome”.
However, Trey and Matt have crafted colourful yet relatable characters, who you can’t help but empathise with after all these years. Feel-good and oddly moral occurrences in the characters' adventures still surprise viewers. Though they use it sparingly, South Park can pierce its viewer’s souls, no matter how tainted, and play at their heartstrings, blending sincere emotion in between a scatological joke and some searing celebrity satire.
10. Satan Counsels Stan Through Addiction
Freemium Isn't Free (Season 18, Episode 6)
As Jimmy pushes the Terrance and Phillip freemium game on the kids of South Park, nobody embraces it as much as Stan. He quickly becomes addicted to the “free” game and spends hundreds of his parent’s hard-earned dollars on the app.
Randy, oblivious to his own relationship with alcohol, identifies that Stan has the same “demons” as his gambling addict grandfather. Despite Randy’s efforts, it is “The Prince of Hell” who talks Stan through his turmoil.
Satan takes a scientific approach explaining the role of dopamine problems in humans who have “access to all the s**t they want”. He reassures Stan that there’s nothing “spiritually wrong” with him. Satan mocks the addict counsellor staple that those who are addicted are filling a hole in themselves with the diatribe; “well, who’s not filling a f**king hole, right?”
Though Satan claims he is motivated by a drive to preserve nuanced temptation, and uses Stan’s body to combat the Canadian Devil, it is a wholesome moment seeing the evil deity and ex-lover of Saddam Hussein show a soft side.