There's a special kind of frustration which comes from a South Park episode with a great premise but mediocre execution. In these past couple seasons, it's becoming more and more evident show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are working their way past their iconic creations. However, because they still remain inspired and pulsated by daily news coverage, they still throw some good episodes together each year. When they don't know exactly what to do with that inspiration, things get a little, shall we say this week, hairy.
Much like the season premiere, "Go Fund Yourself," this week's "The Magic Bush" seems just a little too big for its britches. At the core of this week's episode is a solid idea: When Cartman discovers that Butter's dad owns a flying drone, he takes advantage of it and causes havoc on the Colorado town after people's privacy is evaded.
There's an obvious connection to this week's episode with the recent Fappening incident victimizing celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Ariana Grande and others of their privacy. But it seems that the best thing Parker and Stone can do with this news bit is make jokes about Craig's mom and her abnormally hairy vagina leaking onto the Internet.
Solid jokes are available in this episode's foundation, yet the creators don't really seem to direct their attacks in one specific direction, instead just make light of a popular news situation and Internet scandal. Pokes are almost made on our dependence for technology and also on Ferguson, of all things, yet these jokes either lack a point or don't go anywhere. Worse yet, this episode gives another chance for Butters and Cartman to butt heads, yet the episode sees no way of making their oddball relationship have any resonance.
Speaking of Butters, there's an ongoing subplot here about Butters' dad losing his mind when he believes the drones are taking form on their own and causing havoc all over town. Instead of it being his son being deceitful behind his back, he believes that there must be something wrong with forces out of his control. There are some strong reaction shots here that earn some chuckles against Butters' dad absurdity, but the problem with this segment is that Butters' dad feels more like a substitute for Randy than an organic figure in ""The Magic Bush."" It's not as though we haven't seen Butters' old man act weird, but this kind of absurdity is usually reserved for Randy and Randy alone. So when another character steps on his toes, it comes off more weird than humorous.
The genuine funny moments of this episode should not be downplayed. While repetitive, the situation with Craig's mom does earn some of the episode's best laughs. The last scene being the episodes funniest if just for its randomness and ongoing irreverence. Craig's mom hasn't gotten to do much of late, but she serves as a good straight woman for this episode's hijinks. Additionally, the CG animation on the drones themselves is pretty good as well, probably accomplished from the creators' week in the sun last week, and makes for some of the most inspired moments in the mid-season episode.
If only the episode had focused itself and made its good premise sustain its potential. It's always sad to see a South Park episode fail to take off, but it's even worse when it has a great premise that fails. Maybe next week will see the showrunners more focused, for if they keep this up, South Park will not be the same.
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