"South Park" opened its 29th season by rebranding itself as "South America," but that wasn't the only change the show had in store.
The Emmy-winning animated series' latest episode revealed a seemingly one-time joke from the previous week has unexpectedly stuck: Randy Marsh has been turned into a child, and he is now a part of the main gang along with son Stan and Stan's friends Kyle and Cartman. In the new episode, which aired Oct. 28, Randy has essentially replaced Kenny, who is still dead after being killed off in the season premiere.
The major change to the dynamic of the show began with the Oct. 14 episode, "You Like That on Your Face," in which residents of South America (formerly South Park) become obsessed with "looksmaxxing." In an effort
to look younger, Randy heads to Sephora and emerges as a literal child: He is now drawn to resemble the rest of the kids, and he even goes back to school with them.
At the time, this seemed like a temporary gag playing into the theme of the episode, so it was safe to assume that things would be back to normal the following week.
But in the Oct. 28 episode, "Guinea Pig on a Stick," Randy is still a child, and he tags along with the rest of the kids on their latest adventure. In the past, "South Park" has often had separate plots involving the kids and Randy, but this week, they're one and the same.
The change goes along with Kenny, one of the core members of the "South Park" group, being absent from the series for now. One of the most famous running jokes in the show's history is Kenny being killed off, only to return alive and well the following week. At the moment, though, Kenny is still dead after being killed in a bike explosion in the season premiere. He will presumably return at some point down the line: Kenny has stayed dead for longer periods before, but he always winds up back in the show.
The Oct. 28 episode, titled "Guinea Pig on a Stick," centers on high beef prices leading to a shortage of the meat in the town. Early on, the boys are sitting in the cafeteria complaining about their school lunch when Randy sits with them. Stan is embarrassed by his dad's attempts to fit in with the kids, and he keeps trying to get him to go away. But they reach an understanding by the end of the episode, potentially indicating Randy will stick around in their group and not turn back into an adult anytime soon.
Randy replacing Kenny isn't the only way this season of "South Park" has been different than the previous two. So far, Season 29 has for the most part ignored President Donald Trump, a shift from the prior two seasons, in which the entire show was reoriented around Trump.
For Season 27 and Season 28, an animated Trump was central to the show's main storylines, as were various members of his administration. But so far, the animated Trump has been absent from Season 29 outside of the intro.
Still, Trump humor hasn't entirely disappeared: The name of the town this season is still South America, not South Park, a spoof of Trump changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario to the Gulf of America and Lake America. The season's second episode, "Billionaire Weenietown," also ended with a vulgar scene involving a live-action Trump on a toilet.
One of the season's running gags also involves politics: Since the season premiere, characters have repeatedly referenced the fact that a major change is coming in November. Every time, it's meant to sound like they're talking about the midterm elections, but they actually mean the release of "Grand Theft Auto VI."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'South Park' has made a major change with its new season
