South Park’s Newest Episode Proves the Delays Have Been the Perfect Move

South Park‘s newest season has been one big delay after another, but the newest episode of the long running animated series is so much better than everything else this season that it proves these delays have been the perfect move. South Park Season 27 has been a very bumpy ride thus far as it has been hit by a number of delays since before it even had its official premiere with Comedy Central and Paramount+. Then the season itself has been airing its new episodes on a bi-weekly basis. That was until we got to the fifth episode that finally aired this week.

South Park Season 27 Episode 5 finally made its debut this week after being hit by a last-minute delay last Wednesday as the creators noted how they did not get the episode done in time. But given the quality of Episode 5, that third week seemed to have been worth it. Taking into account just how much better it has been put together than everything we have seen in the latest season thus far, South Park releasing on a delayed schedule like this seems to be the perfect move for its overall health even if fans aren’t too keen about the wait.

South Park Just Released the Best Episode of Season 27

South Park Season 27 hasn’t been a bumpy ride only because of this release schedule, it has had some troubles with the content of each of the episodes as well. The animated series once again returned to its reactionary storytelling as it has been taking on major political figures and recent events through the lens of this small town. It’s a natural move for the series as it has been doing so since it first began, but the cracks in this storytelling style are beginning to show.

With series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone openly admitted early on in the season that they didn’t know how they were going to continue South Park after that very wild Trump focused premiere, it was also apparent in the text of the show itself. South Park has been a strong episodic series where events of each episode don’t tie into the others, but later seasons have started to incorporate more serialized elements that essentially move a “canon” for the series throughout any given season. There are anchor events that change the status quo for the other episodes to play around with.

But what South Park demonstrates with Season 27 Episode, “Conflict of Interest,” it’s best when the creative team can do both. Not only does the episode continue building on the long running story through the season with Satan, but it also has a rather self-contained story that wraps up by the end of the episode. All the while, the episode still has the same amount of biting political commentary that those who have been watching for that specifically had been hoping to see. It’s dug the season out of the hole it had been falling into.

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What Does This Mean for South Park’s Future?

South Park Season 27 Episode 5 makes the first big notable change in finally focusing more on the boys themselves within this wider world. The ongoing story with Satan and Trump is instead moved to the sidelines with a few gags that also take aim at some notable recent figures, but it importantly also establishes a surprise villain moving forward in the ongoing story as well. But it’s not the focus of the episode itself, and that’s a huge improvement from the rest of the season.

South Park Season 27 has been so focused on real world events that it’s almost swallowed the rest of the season thus far. As its characters react to big changes, it’s led to messy episodes that even aired with an incomplete ending at points. But returning the focus back to its main characters helps the series distance itself from these messier elements. It’s a balance that’s great to watch as the extra time working on the episode clearly allowed it to better handle all of the spinning plates it has in the air. So this is definitely a great method to see continue moving forward.

This bi-weekly schedule has been rough to wait through, but if South Park continues to deliver episodes on this level of quality than it’s likely going to be all worth it. The creators will never commit to a longer production style as its quick pace is what makes the series stand out in our current television era, but this episode is proof that maybe taking another week to better iron things out is a good move going forward. It’s at least better than the two week drafting to final release stage the series is in now.

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