Reddit’s 6 Best South Park Episodes Are Worth Checking Out Today

Key Points

• Make Love Not Warcraft: Season 6, Episode 8 is the most beloved South Park episode according to Reddit users, as it brings the famous MMORPG into the world of South Park.
• Cartman Gets An Anal Probe: Season 1, Episode 1 shocked the world with its profanity and mature subjects, and it is the only episode in the series to use paper cutouts.
• Trapped in the Closet: Season 9, Episode 12 is one of the most controversial episodes, making fun of A-list celebrities and taking aim at the Church of Scientology.
• Scott Tennorman Must Die: Season 5, Episode 4 is a dark episode where Cartman commits murder, revealing his evil nature.
• Casa Bonita: Season 7, Episode 11 showcases Cartman’s evilness as he tries to manipulate his way into Kyle’s birthday party at the real-life Casa Bonita restaurant.
• Medicinal Fried Chicken: Season 14, Episode 3 is considered one of the best episodes featuring Randy, as he goes on a ridiculous quest to legally purchase marijuana.

South Park is one of the most controversial TV shows ever created, yet it still remains popular even after 25 years of being on the air. Over 300 episodes of the hit show cover nearly every topic imaginable. But today, we are looking at six of the best South Park episodes, as voted on by fans on Reddit.

Many of South Park‘s funniest moments come from current events. Rewatching old episodes can feel like going back in time. However, not every episode comes out as intended. Only time can tell how an episode holds up, and these have stood the test of time.

From the first episode that came out in 1997 to 2023, these are the South Park episodes worth watching.

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Make Love Not Warcraft: Season 6, Episode 8

According to Reddit users, the most beloved South Park episode is Make Love Not Warcraft. This unique episode brings the famous MMORPG into the world of South Park. Throughout South Park‘s run, there have been many tie-ins to real-world events, but Make Love Not Warcraft came out just as the game was taking the world by storm.

The episode sees Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny playing World of Warcraft, but they quickly become disheartened when someone keeps killing their characters. After contacting Blizzard to no avail, the boys create a plan to deal with the annoying player themselves. Their plan has them play nonstop to gain more experience points than the other player. However, this causes the boys to gain weight and become sick.

Meanwhile, Blizzard is aware the kids are trying to take care of the problem player and attempt to help. Stan’s dad, Randy, who also plays World of Warcraft, helps the Blizzard employees deliver a special sword for the kids in the game. Randy gets killed, but the children manage to kill the other player. However, the boys decide they are no longer interested in the game and instead want to play outside.

Cartman Gets An Anal Probe: Season 1, Episode 1

Debuting on August 13, 1997, Cartman Gets an Anal Probe was the show’s pilot episode. This is a must-watch simply because it shocked the world with four young kids using profanity and talking about mature subjects. The other reason that many recommend watching is because it is the only episode in the series to actually use paper cutouts.

South Park has a unique art style where the characters look like construction paper. Today, however, the show is entirely computer generated to look like it uses construction paper. This is evident in newer episodes where they use unique camera angles to pan through the town. But still, many people don’t realize that the first episode was the only one to use paper.

The episode starts with the four boys waiting for the bus when Cartman tells them about his dream. In the dream, he was abducted by aliens and given an anal probe, but Stan and Kyle convince Cartman that he really did get visited by aliens. The kids then talk to Chef about the aliens before boarding the school bus, when they see Kyle’s brother get abducted.

Stan and Kyle devise a plan to use the satellite dish planted in Cartman’s butt to summon the aliens to get Kyle’s brother back. The plan works, and Cartman gets abducted. The scene then skips to the next morning at the bus stop, where the aliens drop Cartman off. Overall, this episode is tame by today’s standards but set in motion the craziness that would ensue for years to come.

Trapped in the Closet: Season 9, Episode 12

Trapped in the Closet is one of the most controversial South Park episodes that managed to press a lot of buttons. Reddit users love this South Park episode because it makes fun of several A-list celebrities. South Park is well-known for its parody of famous people, but sometimes they push things to an extreme. That is certainly true for Trapped in the Closet, which also takes aim at the Church of Scientology.

The episode starts with Stan being offered a personality test. Stan unknowingly takes the test and gets an offer to join Scientology for a modest fee. He clearly doesn’t know much about Scientology and, later that day, proceeds to ask his parents for money to join. Stan comes up with the money and takes the personality test, discovering he has high thetan levels.

Stan’s levels are so high that the Scientologists think he is their founder reincarnated. Scientologists flock to Stan’s house, including Tom Cruise, who Stan offends, sending Cruise into the closet. Stan learns what Scientologists actually believe, and he then goes on to finish the book started by Scientiology’s founder. Upstairs, several celebrities try to convince Tom Cruise to come out of the closet to no avail.

The episode ends with Stan admitting that he is not the reincarnation of Scientology’s founder and telling the world that the entire religion is a scam. Tom Cruise eventually comes out of the closet to tell Stan he will sue. The whole episode antagonizes Tom Cruise and serves as a metaphor for the persistent rumor that he is homosexual.

Scott Tennorman Must Die: Season 5, Episode 4

South Park is one of the few comedy shows that can also have some real darkness to it. What makes this even stranger is that the show’s protagonists are all small children. But episode 4 of season 5 changed everything when Cartman commits murder. Although it isn’t graphically depicted on screen, this is the moment that the world saw just how evil Cartman really was.

Before Scott Tenorman Must Die, Eric Cartman always got into trouble or tried to exact revenge in a myriad of creative ways. But after getting tricked out of $10 by an older kid named Scott Tenorman, Cartman will do whatever it takes to get back his money. He even tries to use his wit to outsmart Tenorman and loses another $6 in the process.

They continue to go back and forth for the first part of the episode as Cartman continues to get more embarrassed. Things come to a head when Cartman creates a fake chili carnival and invites Tenorman to come. Tenorman and Cartman bring bowls of chili to the mock carnival, where the two exchange chili bowls, and things take a turn for the worst.

Tenorman tried to taint Cartman’s chili, but Cartman secretly switched the bowl that Tenorman brought with one from Chef. However, Cartman then informs Tenorman that he killed his parents, ground them up, and turned them into chili. This extremely disturbing scene was only made crazier after episode 201 aired, and we found out that Tenorman‘s dad was also Cartman‘s dad.

Casa Bonita: Season 7, Ep 11

Casa Bonita is another must-watch South Park episode recommended almost unanimously by Reddit users. This episode is another prime example of how evil Eric Cartman can be. The episode centers around Kyle’s birthday party, which he is having at Casa Bonita, which is actually a real place in Colorado.

But even more remarkably, the restaurant just reopened after being purchased by South Park‘s creators and getting a massive renovation. Casa Bonita starts with Kyle telling kids at school that he can invite three friends to his birthday party. Naturally, Cartman, Stan, and Kenny assume they are going, but Kyle actually asks Butters to join instead of Cartman.

Cartman then tries being nice to Kyle to get an invite. After that fails, he concocts a plan to make Butters go missing so he can join. To do so, he makes Butters think that a meteor is heading for Earth, so he willingly hides in a bomb shelter. Cartman keeps Butters locked up until the weekend of the party. In the meantime, Butters’s parents and the townspeople start a massive search to find Butters.

Cartman then tells Butters that the meteor hit, but it isn’t safe to come out. He then relocates Butters to an abandoned garage. Cartman finally joins his friends as they go to Casa Bonita for Kyle’s birthday. Unknowingly, Butters was found by a local dump worker, and the police show up at Casa Bonita to question Cartman. Ultimately, Cartman says the whole charade was “totally” worth it.

Medicinal Fried Chicken: Season 14, Episode 3

Over the years, Stan’s dad, Randy, became a main character in South Park. He went from an ancillary background character to one who could steal the show. That is evident in Medicinal Fried Chicken, as Randy carried the entire episode with his ridiculousness. Medicinal Fried Chicken is so good that countless Reddit users consider it the best episode with Randy and one of the best South Park episodes.

The episode starts with the boys leaving soccer practice on their way to go get some KFC. Upon getting to the KFC, they learn the chicken restaurant was replaced with a medicinal marijuana dispensary. Randy, who drove the boys, goes in to see what is happening. The employee informs him that all KFC restaurants in Colorado were shut down because of a new state law.

Coincidentally, another state law passed simultaneously allows for the sale of medicinal marijuana. Randy tries to purchase some but finds out he needs a doctor’s referral. Randy quickly abandons the kids to go on a quest to get a referral, going so far as giving himself cancer. He is eventually able to legally purchase marijuana before his cancer gets so bad that he is no longer able to enter the store.

Meanwhile, Cartman has another plot that involves teaming up with KFC smugglers to bring fried chicken into Colorado. This part of the show parodies Scarface as Cartman runs a flourishing crime ring. The episode culminates in doctors and legislators realizing they made a big mistake, which leads them to legalize KFC and outlaw marijuana again.

Wrapping Up

With over 300 episodes and so many different opinions, it is hard to pick the very best of South Park. But the six episodes above cover most Reddit users’ best of South Park lists. From the show’s early days to recent coverage of everyday events, these certainly are a must-watch for every South Park fan!

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Maria Spb/Shutterstock.com.