‘South Park’: ‘You’re Not Yelping’ Is One Of The Best Episodes Ever [Opinion]

Caution: spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched this week’d episode of South Park.

Sometimes, South Park gets it wrong. For instance, the show’s attempt to take on PC culture a month back was promising, but failed to deliver. The following episodes were a little bit better. However, South Park finally hit the jackpot last night with “You’re Not Yelping,” which hilariously compared Yelp reviewers to ISIS. The show mocked the self-importance of Yelp reviewers and how they can really affect a business with their stupidity.

The episode opens up with Gerald and Randy going to a fancy restaurant. When they are told it would be a 30-minute wait, Gerald indicates that he is a Yelp reviewer. The host gives in and seats them right away. Then, we see Cartman enter a Mexican restaurant and intimidate the owner to give him free dessert (or pay the one-star consequences). Cartman tells the owner’s son and busboy, David (pronounced Dahh-veed), that he gave a bad review because his poop came out solid, even though it’s supposed to.

This South Park episode fluidly switches between characters and scenes. When we see Gerald on his iMac acting like he is some type of god just because he is able to write Yelp reviews, the theme of the show becomes more clear. One of the funniest scenes is when we see the owner of City Walk (sounding like a nasty adjective when the owner pronounces it with a Chinese accent) deliver Chinese food to the South Park kids’ school cafeteria.

The owner of a kid’s restaurant called Whistlin’ Willy’s becomes the hero when he kicks out all of the Yelp reviewers. He doesn’t care that he is threatened with one-star reviews. This leads to Yelpers being banned by businesses with the owners celebrating. As Kyle says to Cartman, “Haven’t you heard — Nobody gives a f**** what Yelp reviewers think anymore.”

The South Park scene were Cartman tries to go back to the Mexican restaurant is very effective. David, who has also been experiencing racist comments from Cartman at school, looks at him and sticks his middle finger up while sad mood music is being played. Cartman complains to Butters about all the food critic wannabees trying to be just like him.

Cartman soon becomes the leader of an ISIS-like group of food critics that terrorizes businesses. South Park turns the scene where the owner of Whistlin’ Willy’s is beheaded into something risky, but funny and harmless. A full war is waged and it’s worse than World War II. Kyle and David come up with a solution to defuse the war and make every Yelp reviewer in town feel important, convincing the mayor of the town to put a gold badge on each Yelper. She tells each “food critic” what a distinguished person they are (even though hundreds of others get the same reward).

This South Park episode takes a shocking and hilarious turn as the restaurant owners now defecate Yelpers’ food with “boogers and c*m,” even making a song about it. The segment is disgusting, but will — perhaps — make one think before they are rude to a server. This South Park episode ends with Cartman declaring, “Gosh, I love being a food critic.”

South Park has, once again, taken an annoying segment of our society (chronic Yelp reviewers) and uses them to make several points. The episode also shows the ridiculousness of stereotypes. (David reveals he is from Idaho, not Mexico, as the South Park boys think.) Most importantly, South Park‘s “Your Not Yelping” provided a half-hour of intense laughter and thought.

[Feature photo by the Hulton Archive for Getty Images]