Author: Robert Skuch Published
as south park Continuing with the politically charged storyline, Season 28’s latest episode, “Sora Is Not Sorry,” finally features a new sense of balance. In what feels like a much-needed return to form that the show has been hinting at for weeks, the boys are finally back in town, as is one of the show’s best supporting characters: Sergeant Harrison Yates. While the overarching story involving Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, Satan, and Peter Thiel is clearly gearing up for the finale in the coming weeks, it’s now happening quietly in the background as new conflicts and character arcs come into focus.
Fully aware that I’m one of those braggarts who complains endlessly south park With an obsession with Donald Trump and the lack of small-town absurdity that made the series timeless from the start, I finally felt like I could cool off my jets. This was Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s best episode of the year, but it wasn’t even close. The plot front and center belongs to the boys and their antics while 47 continues to do his thing. At the same time, the episode was just in time to topple generative AI and create the narrative shift needed for a clean break when Season 28 ends on December 10.
The boys are back in town
“Sora Not Sorry” opens with Butters using Sora 2 to generate a video of Red reluctantly accepting a golden shower from Santa Claus. In the Season 27 episode “The Pot is Dead”, Butters is distressed when Red pretends to be interested in him purely to get a rare Ragdoll, but as the video spreads across South Park Elementary, Butters becomes too comfortable with the generative AI. Red immediately counters by playing an AI video showing Butters violating Totoro, escalating the situation.
Meanwhile, Cartman becomes another victim of Sora 2 under the supervision of Peter Thiel. Liane begins receiving health updates, which contain several famous catchphrases from Cartman’s early days. south park. Considering how dated the references are, they’re obviously fake, but the production quality is convincing enough to fool everyone.
The beats come together perfectly as Officer Yates becomes convinced that the videos are real and believes that the real cartoon characters are part of a massive child trafficking ring. Posing as Rocky and Bullwinkle in preparation for another dubious sting operation with Detective Mickey, Yates encounters representatives from Studio Ghibli who are outraged that their intellectual property is being used without authorization or compensation.
Donald Trump has become a B story
recent unfortunate reality south park Parker and Stone have painted themselves into a corner with their Trump arcs, so they have no choice but to see a proper conclusion. The good news is that this episode finally treats it like a B-plot rather than the main event. JD Vance continues to plot to use Peter Thiel and Cartman to prevent Satan and Trump’s butt baby from reaching term.
In full manipulation mode, Vance seduced Trump, leading to a graphic night of passion in the Lincoln bedroom that was captured on security cameras and leaked to Fox News. Caught between Vance’s conspiracy, Satan’s wrath, and Fox News’ reaction, Trump managed to convince everyone that the real video of his affair with Vance was actually generated by artificial intelligence and was nothing more than fake news.
We may get the radical solution we deserve
It felt like Parker and Stone heard their fans loud and clear. This episode puts the boys front and center and Sgt. Yates is back south park The chaotic energy of the town defined its golden age. One of my biggest criticisms of seasons 27 and 28 is that Trump’s storylines became one-dimensional. Now, the boys are back in a bigger role, and their standalone story about the misuse of generative artificial intelligence to mislead the public ties the entire season together. The commentary on media manipulation works on both fronts, and it’s clear that all of this needs to be addressed by the time we reach the finale.
south park Everything suddenly feels like it’s firing on all cylinders again, and somehow shows how effortlessly Parker and Stone can juggle multiple storylines without feeling awkward or forced when they make up their minds. It still frustrates me that they still have to push for the serialized Trump conclusion. However, the new Sora 2 angle involving The Boys and Yates sets the stage for what looks to be the beginning of an epic three-part finale.
If they continue to balance the two stories like they did in this episode, I have no doubt that the Season 28 finale will be stronger than I expected. Loose ends are being tightened, and thanks to the kids, everything is finally starting to make sense again.
south park Now streaming on Paramount+.
