South Park Twists A Beloved Star Wars Movie Moment To Parody The Trump Administration

The hardest part about keeping up with television is that there's simply too much to watch, and not nearly enough time to watch them all. As someone who often has to play that game of pick and choose, "South Park" unexpectedly became the kind of water cooler event television I couldn't miss out on. Fresh off their $1.5 billion deal with Paramount, series creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker are no less dedicated to throwing more gas on the fires concerning their parent company and the abject cruelty of the Trump administration. The previous two episodes of the series' 27th season garnered headlines from the White House and current Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for their unflattering depictions, and I don't see that stopping anytime soon.

While last night's episode ("Sickofancy") doesn't reach the highs of the last two, it still hits a lot of great notes concerning just how broken the world really is. The Tegridy Farms saga that originated in the 22nd season of "South Park" seemingly came to an end, with a surprise ICE raid putting the Marsh family in a real bind. Randy (Trey Parker) is predictably more upset about losing his Mexican workforce than about these people being kidnapped by masked agents of the U.S. government. He doesn't want to lose the farm and, as last week established, the folks of "South Park" still need to make their nut, m'kay?

The central focus of Stone and Parker's ire this week is the rampant usage of ChatGPT in everything from romantic relationships to therapeutic catharsis, and even business plans. Much to Sharon's annoyance, Randy uses the chatbot (and a whole lot of ketamine) to form "Techridy" or, as his ad puts it, an AI-powered marijuana platform for global solutions. It's a great jab at the Silicon Valley tech-bros forming dead-end AI startups with their ludicrous ambitions in one hand and a microdose of ketamine in the other. In an effort to get Trump (Matt Stone) to reclassify weed as a legal drug nationwide, the Marsh patriarch decides to send Towelie (Vernon Chatman) to present a mysterious offering, pulling a "Return of the Jedi" in the process.

Akin to "Got a Nut," President Donald J. Trump isn't so much the focus of this episode, but rather, his effect on the world at large. Towelie marvels at the military-occupied Washington D.C. and all of its Trump-defiled statues with the wide-eyed awe of a typical tourist. He's only one of several people waiting in line to pay fealty, I mean, bribe, wait, I actually mean, gift the President with trinkets to get what they want out of him. Everyone needs to preface their presents with a declaration of Trump not having a teeny tiny penis, with Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg offering a jewel-encrusted Meta Quest VR headset, and Apple CEO Tim Cook giving him a similar 24-karat gold paperweight he bestowed upon the President in real life (via The Huffington Post). But Towelie arrives with something different, and what's inside channels a memorable moment from "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi."

In 'Return of the Jedi," C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) arrive at the palace of Tatooine's slitheriest crime lord, Jabba the Hutt (Larry Ward), with a holographic message from Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). He imparts his droid counterparts as offerings in exchange for a peaceful negotiation for the carbonite-frozen Han Solo (Harrison Ford), much to their surprise. In "Sickofancy," Towelie presents a similar message from Randy. Stone's Trump even does the signature Jabba laugh while slinking back in his chair. It plays out pretty much the same, albeit as a plea for leniency on marijuana laws rather than mercy for another human being. Towelie, unfortunately, is gifted to the President as an act of fealty.

For as much forced labor as C-3PO and R2-D2 end up performing for Jabba, Luke does eventually come back to rescue them. The same can't be said for poor Towelie. Randy closes the multi-season-long chapter of Tegridy Farms after being shaken out of his ChatGPT stranglehold, but has no idea he gave his right-hand towel to Trump in a ketamine-infused haze. The episode's final scene shows what's become of Towelie within the White House, and, um, it's not the kind of fate you would wish upon anybody. Let's just say it rhymes with "hum gag." You can see this joke coming (hehe) from a mile away, but it makes it no less disheartening to see this innocent-looking character defiled like this.

Everybody under the sun, especially "South Park," has parodied "Star Wars" to death, but this episode hilariously lampooned the "what if" scenario of Luke never coming back for his droid pals. All that scene was missing was the lil chubby-cheeked JD Vance hanging around Trump like Salacious Crumb. I have a sneaking suspicion Towelie won't be saved by the Marshes (or anyone else for that matter) anytime soon.

Parker and Stone feel like some of the only industry artists right now willing to shine a light on Trump in such humiliating manners. It's not even that outlandish by "South Park" standards, but they clearly know it bugs him, and that's what makes it all the funnier. I simply have to see how they're going to poke the bear next. The ending of "Sickofancy," with poor Towelie on that bathroom rack, skewers the hopelessness of feeling trapped under the crushing weight of the Trump administration. Not even Satan (Trey Parker), the Lord of Darkness, can seem to escape from his abusive White House prison. When Parker and Stone released "Sermon on the 'Mount" last month, it was a pretty transgressive half hour of television that ruthlessly mocked the President in a time when few were, and now it almost feels like the pair can hardly keep up with his accelerated eradication of normalcy. How do you keep up in a world where the President posts about how much it upsets him that the Smithsonian teaches that slavery was morally bad (via Politico)? I have no idea, but it's clear that he invokes Parker and Stone's ire, and that will provide more than enough fuel to keep egging him on. See y'all again next week.

Every episode of "South Park" is currently streaming on Paramount+.