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VOICE OVER: Ryan Wild WRITTEN BY: Holly Hoyt
#10: Cartman Enters the Special Olympics
Nothing about this Season 8 episode could be considered okay which makes it a favorite among South Park fans. After hearing about the Special Olympics, Cartman decides he can win the $1,000 prize. He goes all out, dressing and behaving in an exaggerated manner. While its pretty satisfying when the plan backfires and Cartman performs terribly, its still all kinds of painful watching him try to fake having special needs in the most outrageous ways possible. Meanwhile, Jimmy becomes hooked on steroids and starts acting erratically, which isnt exactly pleasant to watch either. Leave it to this show to redefine the word offensive.
#9: The Hot Tub Incident
Season 3s Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub is, well, pretty self-explanatory. The men in question are Randy Marsh and Gerald Broflovski, the respective fathers of protagonists Stan and Kyle. While at a meteor shower-viewing party at Mr. Mackeys house, the dads find themselves alone in a jacuzzi and decide to quote-unquote experiment. Although they expect to forget the encounter and move on right away, this proves impossible. Gerald becomes overly attached to Randy, and Randy grows increasingly paranoid. Ultimately, the tenseness is mitigated when they finally confess to the others what happened in the hot tub, learning that many of their peers have undergone similar experiments.
#8: The Courtship of Ms. Lopez
Fat Butt and Pancake Head has Cartman create a crude caricature of J-Lo in the form of a hand puppet named Ms. Lopez. The real Lopezs partner Ben Affleck, who is apparently not the brightest, falls head over heels for Ms. Lopez, landing Cartman in the middle of an unseemly love triangle. Affleck and Ms. Lopez go on several dates and even appear to have a few X-rated encounters (though, mercifully, we arent shown much of that). The affair ends when Ms. Lopez is revealed to have been a fugitive con artist in disguise, leaving it ambiguous whether Cartman could have ended the charade at any point. Does that make this whole premise any less weird? Not really.
#7: Inspector Butters Discovery
In Season 5s finale, we finally get an episode focused exclusively on South Parks sweetest little tyke. But, predictably, Butters is subjected to various craziness throughout the story. Much of Butters appeal comes from his innocence and ignorance of the corruption taking place around him. His day in the spotlight takes this to a new level. While playing detective, Butters follows his father to several questionable locations, eventually finding him in a bathhouse making love to a man. Of course, Butters has no idea whats going on, but his dad certainly sees the potential harm in this situation. And unfortunately for Butters, its all downhill from there.
#6: Jimmy Hits Puberty
The South Park boys have been in fourth grade since 2000 and are unlikely to move on anytime soon. But here, we witness one of them being thrust unceremoniously into puberty. Jimmy Valmer starts noticing the first signs of manhood right before hes slated to perform a stand-up comedy routine in the talent show. After mistakenly being told by Butters that intercourse is the only way to solve the issue, Jimmy attempts to find a sexual partner, but this goes just about as well as youd expect. Its rough to watch Jimmy, a sweet and funny kid known for his optimism, be the first in his class to explore this unfamiliar territory.
#5: Cartman Spews the Truth
Upon meeting a boy his own age with Tourette syndrome, Cartman comes up with an ingenious idea: by pretending to have the condition, he can get away with saying all the horrible things that pop into his mind. Cartman takes full advantage of this free pass, vocalizing the most disgusting and racist insults he can think of without consequence. He even gains a platform to ostensibly speak about the syndrome while actually spreading antisemitic propaganda. His plan backfires when he starts uncontrollably blurting out his deepest, darkest, and most humiliating secrets. At least we can say this was one of those times Cartman got what he deserved!
#4: Kyles Proposition
This reflection on Mel Gibsons controversial blockbuster satirizes religious extremism and the impact of media on personal beliefs. Given his Jewish background, Kyle becomes distraught after viewing Gibsons film in the movie theater. This causes Kyle to struggle with guilt and confusion over the role of Jews in Jesus death. Being pummeled by Cartmans usual antisemitism doesnt exactly ease his pain. Kyle resolves to stand before his congregation and propose that the Jews apologize for crucifying Jesus. Although he aimed to ease the tension caused by Gibsons movie, Kyles suggestion only serves to fan the flame. Hell really breaks loose when Cartman leads his Gibson-Nazis down the street just moments later.
#3: Butters Takes a Stand
One of the main plot points to emerge in Season 20 is an ongoing war between South Parks boys and girls. After being dumped by his Canadian girlfriend Charlotte, Butters grows tired of being ashamed of his gender and argues that he and the other boys should stand together in pride. As such, he rallies the boys to drop their pants and expose themselves in protest, chanting "Wieners out!" Butters bold, albeit misguided, leadership turns into a movement, with many males joining in. Noble as their intentions may be, watching a group of fourth-grade boys parade around with their pants down is pretty uncomfortable.
#2: Randys Computer Time
Season 12 sees the unthinkable happen: the world loses internet access. In a clever parody of The Grapes of Wrath, the Marsh family heads to California in search of an internet connection. Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to use the internet, including Stans father Randy, who has been craving alone time with the computer to satisfy some, er, personal urges. The Marshes finally settle at a camp where each visitor is allotted only 40 seconds at a time but thats not enough for Randy. So he sneaks in to use the computer and binge-watches obscene porn, resulting in one of the most truly gag-inducing moments ever featured on the show.
#1: The Chili Con Carnival
Call it awkward or call it terrifying bottom line, no moment in the history of South Park can bring about such negative emotions. In this notorious Season 5 episode, Cartman is up against ninth-grader Scott Tenorman, who swindled him out of $16.12. This proves to be the biggest mistake of Scotts life when Cartman devises a twisted plan for revenge, which culminates in whats often called the series darkest moment. Thats right: he tricks the older kid into eating chili made from the ground-up remains of his own parents. Thats not to mention the way Cartman gleefully taunts Scott after his deeds are revealed. No wonder this episode messed so many people up.
Which of these charming moments could YOU barely stand watching? Let us know in the comments!