Review: South Park “Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers”

Spoilers Below

Guess who is back on TV reviews! That’s right, your old pal Gonzo Green’s TV suspension is over (again, I insist that office equipment was already busted before I allegedly “broke” it) and I’m temporarily out of the world of YouTube and Yahoo! So let’s just get into season 17, episode 4 of South Park aka “Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers”

This episode commits completely to the goth kids right from the start, as the opening sequence was replaced by a goth-themed one. This is fitting, considering Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny, and the rest of the South Park regulars don’t appear at all in this week’s installment (Ed’s Note. save for a cameo in the gym).

Nevertheless, there were some great lines and amusing plot turns, made especially funny by the episode’s general anti-emo theme to it. I especially enjoyed the Kinder Goth saying, “Emos suck my goth balls,” and the Red-haired Goth’s ringtone of the Tallest Goth saying “Death & Despair!” over and over again.

This episode also saw the return of the Vampire Kids, which of course meant the return of “per se” – a joke that I still laugh at every time, for some reason.

As a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, I also loved the role of his ghost as the “original goth.” His goth name and constant use of the insult, “posers,” was a hilarious take on the prominent penman.

The best line of the episode, however, I unfortunately can’t repeat because a black dude said it, and he used a word I’m simply too pale to say. So you’ll just have to trust me.

Overall this episode was pretty damn funny. Maybe I just have a soft spot for goths, since I used to kind of be one, but I thoroughly enjoy their appearances on South Park. The characters’ conversations and the cultural references involving them are dead-on, and the lampooning is lighthearted and fun. This episode was no exception, and made for an excellent addition to season 17.

@Gonzo_Green, for one, thinks there is a definite difference between goth and emo kids.