Review: South Park “Twisted Christian”

Overview

Cartman is possessed and may be the key to stopping the Antichrist.

Our Take

South Park returned from its hiatus with Season 27, Episode 6, “Twisted Christian,” which immediately zeroed in on the latest absurdities of internet culture and the show’s own sprawling political-religious storyline. The episode successfully merged the scattershot energy of Gen Alpha trends with high-stakes supernatural satire, all revolving around Eric Cartman and a terrifying new meme.

The central focus of the episode is the viral, inscrutable “6-7” meme/trend (a reference to a real-world piece of “brainrot” slang). The students of South Park Elementary become completely obsessed with the joke, which Cartman, in a bizarre turn, finds so hysterically funny that he is reduced to violent, uncontrollable vomiting every time he utters it.

This absurdity quickly draws the attention of the outside world, specifically tech magnate and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who arrives in South Park. Believing the “6-7” phenomenon is not a harmless meme but a dangerous cult attempting to usher in the Antichrist, Thiel launches an investigation. He quickly determines that the possessed-like Cartman is the key to this potential apocalypse, setting the stage for a dramatic, if ridiculous, confrontation.

“Twisted Christian” also serves as a crucial continuation of Season 27’s long-running political subplots 1) PC Principal’s New Identity-Following nationwide mandates promoting Christianity by President Donald Trump, PC Principal has rebranded himself as “Power Christian Principal” and attempts to involve religion in the school curriculum, inviting Jesus to a school assembly to the protest of outraged parents.  2) The Race to Stop the Antichrist: Peter Thiel, in his attempt to neutralize the perceived threat, tries to perform an exorcism on Cartman. When that fails, he attempts to kidnap the boy and transport him to Washington, D.C. to stop the Antichrist from being born, connecting the meme plot directly to the season’s overarching narrative involving Donald Trump and Satan’s pregnancy.

In its signature style, the episode uses the convergence of a meaningless internet trend and paranoid political conspiracy to offer sharp commentary on the state of global and local affairs, proving that for the residents of South Park, the most powerful dark forces are often found right on the internet.