SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't watched the episode yet and want to be surprised, don't read this article. Hopefully you realized what a "recap is" but we just wanted to be safe.
You are probably aware, having watched South Park before, that "The Magic Bush" was not going to refer to a piece of shrubbery. We'll leave it at that. Last night's episode quickly made it evident how that topic would come into play: Butters' dad totally owns a drone.
That's a topic ripe for a standardized episode: Cartman borrows drone, films Craig's mom as she gets undressed, legal parties get involved, things get out of hand and the ethics of drones and personal privacy get discussed. Pretty formulaic stuff for recent seasons. However the storyline becomes classic when Matt Stone and Trey Parker manage to seamlessly work in another real-world allegory, just as they did par excellence in the season opener, "Go Fund Yourself."
We'll get to that element soon, we promise.
First understand that after Cartman's stunt, a neighborhood watch springs up to make sure nothing of the sort happens again...utilizing drones of course. Soon the actions of a few bad eggs forces the police to get its own line of drones. All of South Park is buzzing with remote control peacekeepers. The action kicks up when a police drone catches Randy Marsh's aeronautic device peeping on a pair of fornicating neighbors. A chase ensues and the copper shoots Randy's drone down.
A police drone shooting down an "unarmed" civilian drone. Can you see where this is going? A hint you probably don't need: Yeah, Randy's drone was black.
Soon the town is full of protesting drones, carrying candles to mourn(?) Randy's downed machine. Police drones show up to disperse the crowd, labeling the flames dangerous. Riots break out and a wave of camouflaged National Guard drones show up.
Is this appalling humor? Yeah. Is it the kind of stuff that proves South Park still has the potential to be on the tips of everyone's tongue? Definitely.
We'll save you the conclusion for the sake of not spoiling anything. But it involves fairy tales. One humorous side plot that continues throughout the episode is Mr. Stotch's confusion on how his drone shot the original film when he wasn't flying it and Butters wasn't allowed to fly it without his permission, eventually realizing that the drone MUST be sentient. The Stotch family never fails to keep us entertained.
OUR FAVORITE QUOTE: "My wiener, my b---s, they're all public domain now." -Cartman, ruminating on personal privacy in the modern era.
