Pandemic/Pandemic 2: The Startling (South Park)
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The worst way to do a two-part special.
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Pandemic and Pandemic 2: The Startling are both the tenth and eleventh episodes of the twelfth season of South Park, and are the 177th and 178th episodes overall, respectively.
Plot
Pandemic
While the world struggles to contain an epidemic of epic proportions, the boys find a way to make money off of it.
Pandemic 2: The Startling
Giant guinea pigs are attacking cities all over the world. The boys have the key that will save everyone from the onslaught but they're stranded in the Andes Mountains.
Bad Qualities
- Like other episodes of season 12, its only objective was to insult and offend without any factor, which makes these episodes too insensitive and ridiculous just because.
- The boys got very nasty in this episode. In the beginning, they claim to hate Peruvian pan flute bands because they see it everywhere, and then take advantage of it to make money. In addition, they cheat Craig so that later they will begin to scold them.
- Craig himself is not a pleasant character here, since all this time he spends the episode scolding the boys about their 100 dollars and that nobody wants them, which instead of being funny becomes annoying and boring.
- Michael Chertoff (Guinea Pirate) is a weak and forgettable villain since his only objective is to get rid of Peruvian pan flute bands and take over the world, which effectively makes him a Generic doomsday villain.
- The subplot of Randy obsessing over a video camera went from funny to boring, as it turned out to be a parody of Cloverfield that was too simple and doesn't show signs of showing any grace.
- The timing of the episode is too slow and it takes too long to deliver a joke or something important in the plot, especially the infamous scene where Craig leaves the pyramid.
- The title seems to be effortless, plus it hasn't aged well for some reason. Oh yeah, you can guess why since you know what struck in 2020.
- The ending ends in suspense when it is discovered that Michael Chertoff (Guinea Pirate) has escaped from jail and we never get to know what happened to him.
Good Qualities
- Some funny scenes:
- Kenny dancing to Peruvian music.
- The scene where Randy takes a recording of dinner.
- "I'm so STARTLED!"
- The part where the guinea pigs attack South Park is amazing as it combines live-action scenes with animation.
- Craig had a leading role in this episode, despite being an idiot.
- The events of this episode are never told again.
- The Guinea Pirate is cute.
Reception
Both parts received mixed reviews mainly by critics. IGN rated the first episode a 6.2/10, stating "The show falls back on its old gimmicks of a national crisis with fast-paced scenes of men talking importantly about stupid things. The show is good at this stuff, but we've seen it all before and it seems out of place and meaningless here. It's a long walk for a joke that's only somewhat amusing." The A.V. Club graded the second episode a C-, stating "That was too damn long to tell a story with so little substance and so few real laughs. Kinda like Cloverfield. Maybe that was the point".
Despite this, the episode did not have a great impact on Peru.
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