South Park Season 27 Uses Donald Trump (And Satan) To Tease A Classic Horror Concept

This episode contains spoilers for "South Park" season 27, episode 4, "Wok is Dead."

Sticking to an erratic release schedule is nothing new to "South Park," but it's become a real asset in its 27th season. The hit Comedy Central series has witnessed a revival of interest since its wild season premiere "Sermon on the 'Mount," which aired back in July. Lampooning Donald J. Trump as a Saddam Hussein-style figure who flaunts his teeny tiny manhood, coupled with an official White House response about how much his portrayal disappointed them, proved that "South Park" is still as relevant as it's ever been. Every new episode comes with the anticipation of water cooler event television, especially now that series creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker are aware that Trump is watching. I keep worrying that they won't be able to keep up given the sheer influx of escalating developments from the current administration. But the past three episodes, however, have proven that the pair have their fingers on the pulse and know exactly what they're doing.

"Wok is Dead" largely centers around Butters (Stone) becoming embroiled in the Labubu craze in order to impress Red (Mona Marshall) at her birthday party. The girls of "South Park" can't get enough of them, going so far as to fight one another in the hallways at school and perform satanic rituals in their bedrooms. It's as hilarious as it is insightful, considering the Labubu trend has made me feel out of touch with what the youths consider popular. I opened up the first Labubu unboxing video I saw during the first commercial break out of curiosity, only to see that Parker and Stone had really done their homework. ("Cute!!". The episode mostly focuses on Butters doing his best to find the rare Labubu that Red wants, but it does end up tying back to Trump (Stone).

While Butters' story takes jabs at Trump's international tariffs causing the already exorbitantly priced Labubus to skyrocket, the B-plot updates the situation between Satan (Parker) and Trump, and it's probably not what you're expecting. It turns out the "South Park" version of Satan doesn't have, say, puppy-murdering ICE secretaries watching over him. Rather, he's become pregnant with Trump's butt baby. The idea of Satan stewing over a positive pregnancy test is funny in its own right, but it also plays upon a horror movie trope that could potentially factor in later this season.

There's been this source of tension throughout this season concerning the abusive relationship between Satan and Trump. It feels like we're all trapped under this administration, sure, but previous episodes have shown that Satan feels particularly bound to him for some reason. He even confides in the hilariously chubby-cheeked depiction of Vice President J.D. Vance (Parker) amid the demolished Rose Garden about wanting to leave for months, but he claims the dark tides of destiny are soon approaching. It surely casts an ominous spell on future episodes, now that the orange man has knocked up the Prince of Darkness. While the very nature of the pregnancy being a new development this season, there's actually some precedence to this within the show.

In the beloved "Woodland Critters Christmas" episode from season 8, Stan (Parker) encounters a cluster of talking animals who end up using him to help bring about the arrival of the Anti-Christ. Cartman's twisted class story then sees Kyle (Stone) becoming its possessed incubator on Earth, but he quickly starts to regret his decision. It prompts the trained mountain lion cubs to perform an abortion through his butt, at which point Santa (Parker) pulls a premature "Immaculate" on the wicked newborn. This also creates a precedent for male characters on "South Park" to give birth through their behinds, even though this episode is technically one of Cartman's tall tales.

There's another interesting thread with Satan's new baby bump, considering there already exists an Anti-Christ of sorts within the world of "South Park." The first season episode "Damien" is a hilarious spoof of "The Omen" that sees the titular spawn of Satan wreaking havoc at school to carry out his father's mission. Aside from that episode, however, Damien has largely been relegated to the status of a background character who doesn't really interact with his big red dad, nor the other students. We're already bringing Satan back into the series' fold, so there is a slight possibility of the demonic little scamp also returning upon hearing the news that he has a new sibling on the way.

The funniest aspect about the incoming butt baby saga isn't so much the pregnancy itself, of course. It's the manner in which it gives Parker and Stone free rein to get away with further goading Trump to his face.

Anyone who has paid a modicum of attention to the news cycle of late is aware that the actual Trump treats legitimate members of the press in an antagonistic manner, all the while championing Fox News almost every chance he gets (via Newsweek). He's even brought on contributors like Pete Hegseth and Jeanine Pirro to embody huge roles within his cabinet. The channel's practically become something of a lottery to see which candidate is going to be onboarded next. But while "South Park" has taken its fair share of potshots at Fox News throughout its tenure, "Wok is Dead" sees the show taking a golden opportunity to kill two birds with one Stone (and his best friend Trey).

It's the perfect follow-up to the episode "Sickofancy," which saw various world leaders and tech bros impart golden bribes upon Trump to get on his good side, except here the fawning is done with Fox News hosts. They're all so besides themselves to get the hot gossip from Trump over his supposed relationship with the King of Hell. They even stand outside the White House lawn like fans next to an arena. It's not so much what they're asking but how they're asking it. The most oft-repeated phrase through "Wok is Dead" is some variation on "Are you f***ing Satan?" that's mostly Parker and Stone using the mouthpiece of Trump's glowing press coverage hub to call him an unholy entity directly to his face on a recently-sued Paramount network.

The creators of "South Park" are more than aware that Trump is a trigger-happy individual when it comes to lawsuits concerning unflattering depictions of himself, yet they bravely continue to defy him anyway. They're some of the few creatives on television who are willing to poke the bear at this point in time. For example, there's a subtle genius in a Fox News helicopter reporter commentating on Trump emerging out of a house with screaming children while the real one is currently embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Parker and Stone get to hide behind their $1.5 billion deal with Paramount and Comedy Central, at least so far as their show's safety is concerned. It's an easy joke, but they know that having characters say things like "Pretty much the whole country thinks you're f***ing Satan now" is even funnier since it will absolutely get under his skin.

Meanwhile, each episode in season 27 so far has left threads open-ended to be potentially expanded upon later, including Mr. Mackey (Parker) abandoning his position with ICE, the Marshes finally leaving Tegridy Farms, and the aftermath of a butt-pregnant Satan. Time will tell how and/or if this will all come together.

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