3 Underrated South Park Episodes

South Park has been running for 28 years now, so it’s fully understandable that not every episode is a winner. In fact, some episodes generate outright ire from the fanbase. But, of those divisive-at-best episodes, some aren’t quite as bad as their preceding reputation indicates. They’re not perfect, but there is without a doubt something like a strong B-plot or a few hilarious moments that stick out in the memory. It’s a case of some gold being buried within rather forgettable soil, whereas episodes like “Make Love, Not Warcraft” and “Scott Tenorman Must Die” are universally and rightly deemed to work from front to back.

The following episodes ruffled feathers in ways probably not intended, but there’s merit to be found. In other words, no “Jakovasaurs,” “The China Probrem,” or “Pip” here, because their negative reputations are truly warranted.

“Stanley’s Cup” (Season 10, Episode 14)

A controversial South Park episode if ever there was one, Season 10’s finale, “Stanley’s Cup,” is definitely hard to watch if you’re currently or have recently lost a loved one to cancer. But it’s also capped with one of the most bizarrely hysterical scenes the show has ever released. Of course, plenty of people may also take issue with this final scene, which has a pee-wee hockey team face off against the Detroit Red Wings.

The episode is fully focused on Stan, whose bike is towed and then must coach a pee-wee hockey team. Unfortunately, Nelson, one of its young players is dying of cancer, and his health is apparently linked to the success or failure of his team on the ice. When they’re invited to play at the Pepsi Center, the other team doesn’t show, putting Nelson’s health in jeopardy. The Detroit Red Wings take pity on the pee-wee team and agree to play against them. They also don’t hold back, beating the tar out of the kids and unsurprisingly win handily. The Queen song “We Are the Champions” then plays over their happy tears-coated victory.

“Lice Capades” (Season 11, Episode 3)

Admittedly, “Lice Capades” was a disappointing episode when it first aired. Like with Season 10’s “A Million Little Fibers” there’s the problem of it lacking what audiences tune into South Park for: Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman (and Butters). But there’s little doubt that, unlike with “A Million Little Fibers,” “Lice Capades” does actually check that box.

At the very least the reference to John Carpenter’s The Thing is amazing. The issue most people took (and still take) with “Lice Capades” is the A-plot, with the adventure of a lice named Travis trying to survive on Clyde’s scalp after being discovered during a mandatory check at the host’s school. But once you get past the fact that Travis’ story isn’t typical South Park, it’s pretty entertaining. Not hysterical, but entertaining.

“HumancentiPad” (Season 15, Episode 1)

There are few episodes of South Park quite as gross as “HumancentiPad.” But to be fair, that’s what makes it an accurate parody of the disgusting Human Centipede movies. So, when Redditors added it to a thread about the “worst” South Park episodes, it’s only quasi understandable.

Is it understandable that someone would not like it because it’s “gross”? Sure. Is that grossness enough to make an episode with a hysterical Marathon Man reference and a handful of A+ Cartman freakouts one of the worst? Absolutely not. For that matter, the cuttlefish or asparagus scene is perhaps the best of Season 15.

[RELATED: South Park Fans Divided Over Character Being Removed from Show]

Semi-Honorable Mention: “I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining” (Season 16, Episode 6)

On the Reddit thread focused on the “worst” South Park episodes, “I Wish I Had Never Gone Ziplining” popped up quite a bit. For the most part, this was due to the episode’s live-action sequence. For instance, one remark with over 130 upvotes reads “Ziplining was quite bad. That live-action part was waaaay too long and unfunny. The actors were quite unlikeable too.”

For the most part, even those who hopped into the conversation to defend the episode still took shots at the non-animated segment, like a now-deleted user’s retort of, “Oh man I love that episode. ‘We’ll get up there and hit that fresh gnar gnar’ makes me laugh every time. But yea that live-action portion was pretty annoying.” It’s a fair point, the live-action sequence never quite pays off. The whole episode is already a pretty accurate parody of survival reality shows, so once it switches to real people it feels like a hat on a hat. The question is, is the live-action sequence enough to make it one of the worst episodes?

What do you think is the most underrated South Park episode? Let us know in the comments below!