South Park Season 23, Episode 1 "Mexican Joker" Review

"What if this is the flashback?!"
-Jeff Corrigan




South Park's 23rd season gets off to a great start with "Mexican Joker."  When ICE starts conducting raids in South Park, Cartman seizes the opportunity and tells them the Broflovski's are in America illegally and Kyle gets sent to a detention center.  Kyle takes it upon himself to try and convince his captors that what they are doing is wrong and could create a super-villain; a Mexican Joker.  Stan gets Cartman sent to the camp as well and he and Kyle continue to try and get freed and it works, but not how they intended.

Randy continues to run Tegridy Farms, but notices his profits are down.  He discovers people in town are starting to grow their own weed.  He tries to get the town government to ban home-grown weed, but fails.  Instead, he teams up with a large weed corporation and blows up all of the home-grown weed.  Towlie is disgusted with Randy's behavior and leaves Tegridy Farms.


What Works:

The ICE storyline is absolutely classic South Park and a perfect target of the premiere.  It's Cartman doing something awful to Kyle, Kyle getting pissed off, and Cartman having the tables turned on him.  You couldn't ask for much more.  It feels very old school and Cartman's casual arrival at the detention center is hilarious.  I lost it when he started singing "It's the Hard Knock Life."

Kyle dealing with the people running the detention center was also great.  These people continually learn the wrong lesson and start freaking out that they are in the flashback that leads to the Mexican Joker.  It's awesome and really pointed.

The Tegridy Farms storyline has always been hit-or-miss for me, but I felt that this one was a hit.  I love angry Randy and I could listen to him yell at Stephen Stotch or get pissed off at city hall all day long.  His argument with Towlie about being a towel is hilarious and they continue to be a great pair.

Finally, the episode ends with some music from The Godfather as Randy embraces the dark side.  It's a great way to end the episode and I'm curious to see what they'll do with Randy next.


What Sucks:

My only complaint with the episode is the final scene with Kyle, Cartman, and the detainees having a Jewish ceremony.  I don't think Kyle's point really lands and I was hoping his plan would have been a little more satisfying.


Verdict:

"Mexican Joker" is a solid series premiere and a great way to kick off what will hopefully be a fun season.  Both storylines were hilarious and we get some classic South Park moments mixed with new stories.  Kyle's plot could have had a better ending, but ultimately this episode has still got it going on.

 9/10: Great 

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