South Park, Season 16, Episode 14: Obama Wins, Review

There was no shortage of big news this week with the rights to Star Wars being sold to Disney, a hurricane paralyzing half of the East Coast, and a political event or something going on. South Park had a lot of material to use and only 30 minutes to do it. The trouble, like in 2008, was that if they wanted to do an episode about the election, they would have to make a call on who won the presidency in the fictional South Park world and stick with it no matter what the actual outcome was. Luckily they got that one right and BOOM BABY, they did it again.

As the candidates made their last-ditch campaign stops Sunday, South Park Studios issued a press release stating that the season 16 finale would be titled: “Obama Wins.”

So, are Matt and Trey psychics? 

Well, no. This time it was Cartman who decided the outcome of the election.

The episode opens with Cartman on a mission to steal ballots in swing states by walking into polling precincts and pretending to be a lost child, oversized lollipop in-hand. He easily cons the senior citizens that typically run the polling places and brings the punched ballots to his room. When Cartman shows Kyle what he accomplished, Kyle is appalled by the hindrance of democracy and sets out on an episode-long quest to thwart the plans of his fat friend. 

Stealing ballots wasn’t just a typical Cartman power trip. We find out that there’s a whole conspiracy and it goes all the way to the top. President Obama hired the Chinese to fix the election and the Chinese in turn placed their trust in Cartman to get them the American treasure they desire. This is where the plot gets confusing.

Thankfully, they bring in Morgan Freeman to explain the plot. Seems like life is just easier when Freeman is there to guide us.

Just when you think the pop-culture references are starting to get ridiculous, we found out that the Chinese aren’t after money, nukes or the Lincoln Memorial. They want Obama to sell them “America’s greatest asset,” the rights to Star Wars.

But if you thought South Park didn’t have another surprise, in rides Mickey Mouse, the new owner of the Star Wars franchise, on Boba Fett’s ship. Mickey gets Cartman to switch sides to help him reveal the true winner of the election, Romney, who will be tougher on China and keep Star Wars in the Disney Kingdom.

In the end, Cartman’s plans go up in smoke as Kyle leads the police to the ballots and instead of putting the right man in office, everyone agrees that letting the Chinese protect the Star Wars franchise is more important.

The Good:

Plenty of guest appearances.

A Morgan Freeman cameo is never a bad thing.

The foul-mouthed Mickey Mouse makes his return.

Mitt Romney is portrayed as a shit-spewing duck.

The Bad:

Seemed as if they tried to do it all with the last 30 minutes of the season by throwing in as many pop-culture and political references as they could and many of the random jokes distracted from a conspiracy plot that had potential, but sorted itself out in the last five minutes all too easily.

Quote of the Episode:

“Every time I show up and explain something I earn a freckle.” – Morgan Freeman

Prediction for Next Week:

Say goodbye to South Park until the spring! Look for our full season 16 review next week here at Den of Geek.