After the disaster that was "You're Not Yelping", South Park has really taken a turn for the better. That continues this week with "Tweek x Craig", as Matt and Trey explore one of the more popular fan fictions.
This week's episode follows a very crazy episode last week, and I was interested to see how Matt and Trey would do with this one, particularly based on the premise. For those that don't know, South Park fans have been actively shipping Tweek and Craig as a pair since about season 3, and this was the first time that possible relationship was explored.
Yaoi is the central theme of this episode. For those who don't know what that is, look it up, as I will not be describing it here. Anyway, Wendy's new friend and some of her friends are actively making Yaoi showing Tweek and Craig getting it on. Of course, this is entirely fantasy, but the show does seem to portray this as actual match-making. Soon enough, the whole town has heard about it, and as they are going down the gentrification route, are over the moon with the new gay couple. There are plenty of fun bits to go around, with my particular favorite being the boys' meeting with PC Principal. Tweek and Craig are obviously not gay, but outside pressure start to force them to spend more time with each other. They decide the only way around this is to stage a break up at school, making everyone believe they are gay but just not for each other.
The town is devastated, as they needed this relationship to stay active and in the times. Tweek and Craig put their pride aside and go forward with the romance everyone wanted, leading to an outpouring of love all around. Tweek and Craig are better for it, as pretending to have a romantic relationship leads to a better friendship, which is genuinely touching.
The side story for this episode features the return of "Cupid Me", Cartman's imaginary romantic adviser. This plot doesn't really serve much to any story, and is just used to show off Cartman's love for himself. Despite Cartman insisting that he isn't gay, "Cupid Me" still wants him, and Cartman ends up playing with himself. Not much else to add here.
I wasn't quite sure what I though of this episode, and I'm still not. I like the sly social commentary that takes place, as the town forces the pair into a relationship. As I've already said, the ending to Tweek and Craig's storyline is actually touching, and despite how idiotic the whole thing seems, shows that true love exists in South Park. However, the side plot was not really enjoyable to watch, and added nothing to the episode. To me, a good side plot should be interesting and relevant, and this one failed on both counts.
This wasn't a traditional South Park episode, and that makes it difficult to grade. On one hand, the main story was done very well, and I'll say it, realistic. I could easily believe that this is how these characters would react when presented with this situation, which makes the whole thing a lot better. The weak side plot holds this back, but that isn't the core focus of my rating anyway.
7/10
I tried to give this episode a higher score, but 7 is the highest I could go. If you missed it, I would suggest checking it out. As to a rewatching, I would likely say no. This isn't one of the best episodes of the season, but it is good on it's own merit. Do you agree?
This week's episode follows a very crazy episode last week, and I was interested to see how Matt and Trey would do with this one, particularly based on the premise. For those that don't know, South Park fans have been actively shipping Tweek and Craig as a pair since about season 3, and this was the first time that possible relationship was explored.
Yaoi is the central theme of this episode. For those who don't know what that is, look it up, as I will not be describing it here. Anyway, Wendy's new friend and some of her friends are actively making Yaoi showing Tweek and Craig getting it on. Of course, this is entirely fantasy, but the show does seem to portray this as actual match-making. Soon enough, the whole town has heard about it, and as they are going down the gentrification route, are over the moon with the new gay couple. There are plenty of fun bits to go around, with my particular favorite being the boys' meeting with PC Principal. Tweek and Craig are obviously not gay, but outside pressure start to force them to spend more time with each other. They decide the only way around this is to stage a break up at school, making everyone believe they are gay but just not for each other.
The town is devastated, as they needed this relationship to stay active and in the times. Tweek and Craig put their pride aside and go forward with the romance everyone wanted, leading to an outpouring of love all around. Tweek and Craig are better for it, as pretending to have a romantic relationship leads to a better friendship, which is genuinely touching.
The side story for this episode features the return of "Cupid Me", Cartman's imaginary romantic adviser. This plot doesn't really serve much to any story, and is just used to show off Cartman's love for himself. Despite Cartman insisting that he isn't gay, "Cupid Me" still wants him, and Cartman ends up playing with himself. Not much else to add here.
I wasn't quite sure what I though of this episode, and I'm still not. I like the sly social commentary that takes place, as the town forces the pair into a relationship. As I've already said, the ending to Tweek and Craig's storyline is actually touching, and despite how idiotic the whole thing seems, shows that true love exists in South Park. However, the side plot was not really enjoyable to watch, and added nothing to the episode. To me, a good side plot should be interesting and relevant, and this one failed on both counts.
This wasn't a traditional South Park episode, and that makes it difficult to grade. On one hand, the main story was done very well, and I'll say it, realistic. I could easily believe that this is how these characters would react when presented with this situation, which makes the whole thing a lot better. The weak side plot holds this back, but that isn't the core focus of my rating anyway.
7/10
I tried to give this episode a higher score, but 7 is the highest I could go. If you missed it, I would suggest checking it out. As to a rewatching, I would likely say no. This isn't one of the best episodes of the season, but it is good on it's own merit. Do you agree?
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