Warning: This article contains full spoilers for South Park Season 28, Episode 1!
After another several-week hiatus, South Park is back with "Twisted Christian," an episode that takes square aim at billionaire and self-professed Antichrist expert Peter Thiel, PC Principal's increasingly popular, hypermasculine brand of so-called Christianity, and the current "6 7" craze. As usual, the show is casting a wide net in terms of its satirical content, but it manages to weave everything together into a pretty cohesive whole.
I might as well start with the weirdness surrounding the numbering of this episode. For whatever reason, Comedy Central and/or South Park Studios opted to break this new season in half. Rather than being the Season 27, Episode 6 we were all expecting, this is technically the Season 28 premiere. It's all semantics, really, but it does seem a bit strange to make that distinction when nothing about this episode feels like a premiere. It's not the start of something new, but simply the continuation of the show's ongoing Donald Trump/Antichrist saga.
But label it however you want. The important thing is that the series continues to build a surprisingly effective and focused storyline despite the numerous subplots and constantly shifting focus. This is really the inverse of 2016's storyline, where the show tried to weave a coherent narrative and got completely derailed by Trump's unexpected electoral victory.
As I've discussed before, those longer breaks in between episodes really seem to be making all the difference. Yes, it's not ideal for the show to be taking a week off in between episodes, much less the two weeks that have been happening lately, but it's ultimately for the best. It helps the series strike a better balance between staying topical and building an ongoing narrative that makes sense and properly builds from one chapter to the next.
"Twisted Christian" certainly succeeds there. The focus on PC Principal and his patently ridiculous brand of modern American Christianity feels like a logical extension of what's been brewing since the season premiere. Obviously, Jesus has been a recurring character since the earliest days of the series, but rarely has his presence felt this important and this downright hilarious. It only feels right for the show to call out the blatant hypocrisy of PC Principal and those like him, culminating in the obligatory scene where PC and Jesus throw down in a Cheesecake Factory bathroom.
From there, it's not too much of a stretch to draw in Thiel as a new player in this increasingly complex web. Thiel's obsession with the Antichrist is well-documented at this point, and he fits right in with this slowly unfolding saga where Satan is preparing to give birth to Trump's child. He even gets a catchy little theme song (it's no "James Cameron," but what is?). Again, the series is doing an impressive job of building up a larger conflict despite pivoting each and every week, and here we see the recent revelation about JD Vance's true motives carry forward in a big way.
Having already tackled Labubu's last month, now the series turns its attention to the other craze sweeping the nation's youth. As someone who has to endure a nonstop "6 7" barrage from his own children daily, it's certainly amusing seeing that nonsensical fad make its way into South Park. And much like Labubus, it's turns out the whole thing is part of a deeper, darker, more Satanic force poisoning the minds of today's youth.
I'm still trying to decide if Cartman works as the epicenter of the "6 7" numerology subplot, however. On one hand, it's nice just seeing the character back in the spotlight after taking such a backseat in recent episodes. Even by the show's modern standards, Season 27/28 has really been downplaying the kids in favor of the adult cast. It's about time one of the main four returned to the forefront of all of this chaos.
On the other, this is the one area where the series doesn't quite build on what's come before. The premiere really emphasized Cartman's disillusionment about the current political climate. If everyone feels free to behave like an Eric Cartman now, then what is his purpose? A compelling question worth exploring, to be sure. This feels like a sudden pivot for the character, and I'm not convinced this role couldn't just as easily have been filled by Stan or Kyle (neither of whom have been up to much lately). Let's just hope the South Park crew find a way of returning to Cartman's existential crisis before this new season ends.
Finally, it's worth pointing out that this episode really doubles and triples down on the scathing Trump satire, amid everything else going on. Regardless of your political leanings or your desire to actually see Trump dropping his pants and spreading his legs in an abortion clinic, you have to admire the show's willingness to push the envelope that far. And you can't not laugh at that Towelie cameo. As usual, it should be interesting to see how the Trump Administration reacts to this latest, highly unflattering portrayal.
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