[7.9/10] This is one of the best *South Park* specials in a while. The messaging isn’t perfect, which is an occupational hazard as a *South Park* viewer. But the story is good and chock full of classic *South Park* humor, and there’s some incisive messaging about societal expectations mixed with systemic challenges that make things hard on even the most determined individuals. “The End of Obesity” isn’t a perfect installment by any stretch, but it felt like the *South Park* of old, which is high praise in my book. Randy’s story is delightfully absurd, in classic *South park* fashion. The turn from him warning Shelly that if she wears a midriff top, she’ll end up doing drugs with a bad crowd, only for him to wear one as a sort of prank and end up falling into that exact scenario is conceptually hilarious. The way rampant addict Randy is taken aback by a drug that makes you want less instead of more makes for an amazing reversal. And the way his group of desperate criminals can't help but bear their midriffs even when they’re in full robber mode or pretending to be construction workers is a chuckle-worthy running gag. The main story, with Kyle and the boys trying to help Cartman get his weight loss drugs is where the real substance is, though. That part has its laughs too, with Butters’ little song/montage about the American Healthcare System and the well-observed frustrations at following a lost delivery driver being particular standouts. But here’s also where the real commentary is, with fair (if oversimplified) criticisms about systems to navigate, class divides that create disparities in access, and the sense of people resorting to desperate measures when they’re stymied from getting the things they want or need. This is the most I’ve liked Kyle in a while. Him as a crusader, someone who’s trying to do right by people, even someone who’s been a jerk to him, is a good look for the little guy. The way he rallies the troops, gives Cartman hope, and even acts as a sort of Robin Hood for *South Park* is a nice story for him. I like his closing epiphany too, which works as a metonym for both weight loss and other systemic challenges -- that often blaming results will power and individual choices, when both have to contend with complex systems, is unfair to people. I don’t know. If I might be so bold, it feels like an almost un-*South Park*-like conclusion given the show’s libertarian streak, but it’s still a welcome one. There’s also just some good old fashioned *South Park* lunacy here. It’s hard to put your finger on, but there’s something about turning a bunch of cereal mascots into a group of vengeful gangsters that tickles the funny bone. The mix of wholesome brand mascots and cartoonish violence is a bit of a *South Park* special, and it works well here. (Twinkie the Kid grasping at his cream filling after being bisected is the peak of that.) And while (deliberately) a bit gross, Cartman coming up with increasingly fattening concoctions using a bucket of fried chicken and sugar-frosted cereals is pretty funny as well. What I appreciate is how the show brings everything together. The boys trying to get wholesale product for Cartman, Randy getting involved in the jacking and then going on the run, and the sugar lobby coming down hard to attack everyone and everything makes for a story climax that is full of action and excitement, but also had the added juice of all the major storylines coming together. Plus hey, while 2D characters in a 3D environment still look a little off, this is some of the best action the animators have managed to pull off. Not everything here is perfect. To be frank, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a single Lizzo song, but the digs at her music seem pretty cheap. That said, pop culture insults are the show’s trademark, and the concept of crap coming out of your ears is disgusting but on brand. And the episode writing off body positivity as simply giving up, and marking the idea as a product of the food lobby is a pretty facile take. But again, you have to take that sort of thing as you find it with *South Park*. What I do like about this one is the way it acknowledges a lot of the complexity at play here. What Kyle or Cartman or even Sharon wants to accomplish isn’t easy, and there’s a dozen forces at play, a dozen societal pressures pulling people in multiple directions, that makes it challenging for any one individual to handle it all. The recognition of that, and the weaving together of those multiple considerations evinces a sort of wide-ranging insight *South Park* hasn’t been able to muster in a while. You can see shades of the show’s Instagram episode or social media episodes, that similarly tackled the catch-22 between self acceptance and public pressure that almost everyone has to deal with. Of course, the ultimate punch line is great. In true Cartman fashion, he doesn’t want to become thin for his health or even his self-image. He just wants to be able to insult friends, adults, and even whole countries without having to weather the rejoinders about his weight. The irony that his weight loss quest fails, but Kyle’s movement against fat-shaming gives him what he wants anyway, is the show’s particular brand of cynicism done right. Overall, this is an encouraging sign for a show that's been a mixed bag for a while, and a nice sign that *South Park* can still handle topical episodes with aplomb now and then.

This is the best Paramount+ Special they’ve done by FAR!